The power of a good concierge

I remember it vividly. Somehow, I was in charge of finding a restaurant for 20 people at a conference.  I had been to Chicago before, but I was far from knowledgeable about the city.

Then from the corner of my eye, I saw the concierge desk. 

I sheepishly approached, and told her my burden.

With a nice smile, she started flipping through a book.  She made a call, spoke with someone she obviously knew well, and before I knew it, we had a private room in a nice restaurant within walking distance.  It was a fun evening for everyone, and somehow I got the credit for scoring the reservation. 

Ah, the power of a good concierge. 

Friendly and approachable. Yet professional and worldly.  A good concierge makes you feel safe. And you trust them. After all, at the end of the evening, you’ll walk past their desk on your way to your room. That’s just about everything you could want in a foreign city – someone with connections looking out for you. 

That reminds me of my first introduction to our industry.

I picked up a job a month before graduating from Penn State. I needed a car. My father was (and still is) a member of Corporate American Family Credit Union. He gave me the number of “his guy” at the credit union. “He’ll take care of you, Anthony,” my father said.

And he did. Before I knew it, I was pre-approved for a used car loan. 

The trust my father had with his credit union was clear. He handed me off to “his guy” without a fear in the world. 

It all makes sense to me. If there ever were a financial concierge for the American consumer, my money would be on credit unions.