A Boston hospital is getting an extra dose of hospitality, thanks to a hotel industry in recession.
Nearly half of the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s young service ambassador program have come from concierge jobs at such luxury hotels as Taj Boston, Boston Harbor Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton.
“There’s a crispness they bring to the table,” said David Clough, BI’s manager of hospital services. “We look for people with hotel experience and retail experience to bring that hotel feeling to our lobby.”
Two years ago, Clough launched the hospital’s ambassador program to enhance basic information desk services. he enlisted Nicholas Kriketos, formerly at the old Ritz-Carlton, to oversee the staff of 17 ambassadors, all of whom walk the halls of the hospital sporting maroon uniform jackets.
“I didn’t expect the hospital to have such a hospitality setting,” Kriketos said. “It’s proven very fun.”
Among his early hires was Joanna Dunn-Smith, who had worked as a club concierge at Taj Boston.
“It has its similarities and differences at the same time,” said the 26-year-old. “Customer service is about the same thing though. I like to make sure I go above and beyond.”
But Michael Martin, another former Ritz/Taj employee, said the difference between hotel guest and hospital patient is stark.
“When you’re at a hotel, it’s ‘What do you mean you can’t get me a table?’ ” said the 56-year-old Martin. “Here, you want to help them and they have no hair on their head.”
The hospital concierge job ranges from giving directions to escorting patients to appointments. the staff regularly handles requests for restaurant, theater and hair salon suggestions, but there are unusual questions as well.
“Last week, someone asked if we have a piano (they don’t),” said Alderene Rowe, who worked at the John Hancock Hotel before joining Beth Israel.
Some employees have high-end retail backgrounds - Hung Pham worked in customer service for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York - but most come from the hotel sector still struggling in the recession. Newest is Megan Laning, who started a little more than a month ago after being laid off from Taj Boston.
“The position (director of guest relations) I held didn’t exist any more at hotels,” she said. “But I still wanted to work with the public.”
Beth Israel’s hospital guests are more likely to be repeat customers, said the ambassadors. “I saw one woman who had come three times for her sister. She was taking her off life support and she was crying,” Rowe said. “That’s something you don’t get at a hotel.”
Neither are the over-the-top thank-you gifts many concierges used to earn at past jobs. Kriketos recalled countless pens and ties he received from hotel guests - “comedienne Elaine Stritch sent me a case of English muffins” - but noted that a BI thank you is usually a cup of coffee, a small tip or a handwritten note.
“If you help them, patients really go out of their way to let you know,” Rowe said.
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