Let’s be honest, here. We all like to read funny stories about stupid things people do and say. It makes us feel somewhat better about ourselves. Helps us know that we aren’t the only ones who have done things to embarrass ourselves. (Yes, I have. No, I’m not telling!)
So when I got the chance to read and review “How may we help hate you : Notes from the Concierge Desk” by Anna Drezen and Todd Dakotah Briscoe, I expected a lot of stories about crazy people and dumb actions. What I found instead was a lot of really good information. And, yes, quite a few funny stories about crazy people.
Honestly, there is some good advice in this book written by two aspiring actor/comedians who need to eat and pay rent and therefore need a job that pays actual money. Because in their words, they are not to be trusted with keeping small humans alive and food service wasn’t really their calling, so hotel concierge it is.
Now, take into consideration that I am heading off to my first visit to NYC soon and they happen to work in NYC, so I got a bit of the lowdown on how to tackle the Big Apple. And how to make friends with the concierge and not get on his or her nerves. A huge plus!
The manager of the hotel where they work knows all about their book, but before that he knew about the blog they started which is still up and running here. The blog received some critical acclaim…and by that I mean there were a great many critics, many of whom work in other hotels. (Personally, I think they are just upset they didn’t think of creating the blog and writing the book themselves.)
The biggest takeaway from this book and the blog? BE NICE. Just because someone is being paid to help you does not give you the right to be nasty to them. After all, I believe in the saying from William H Swanson’s 33 Unwritten Rules of Management, “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person. (This rule never fails).”
On that note, I think that every person should be required to work at least 2-3 months in some type of customer service job. It would teach everyone how to treat other people. There is something to be said for treating others the way you want to be treated.
Short of working a customer oriented job, read this book! It will (hopefully) teach you a little bit about how to treat others, especially those who are paid to smile and be nice to you no matter how rude you are to them. Plus you’ll learn a little about NYC and you will laugh. You will laugh a lot!
Propensity to Discuss 