A building in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the richest city in France (illustration) – STEVENS FREDERIC / SIPA
For high-end concierge services, daily life comes down to satisfying the slightest needs of their upscale clientele. Finding a table at the last minute in a Michelin-starred restaurant or renting a jet to go on a dream vacation, many activities are no longer available due to containment measures taken all over the world.
The consequences of this confinement are far from affecting everyone in the same way, but the most privileged have also had to adapt. With the end of the use of domestic workers for the majority, the (re) discovery of a simpler life requires adjustments. With the help of the conciergeries all the same, which are no longer as busy as before and whose customer requests are of a different nature, travel restrictions and closing of businesses oblige.
First “radical change” therefore, learn to fend for yourself. “A huge number of them sent the employees home,” said Jérémy Vosse, CEO of Premium Conciergerie, one of the most important high-end French conciergeries. “They must be vigilant for their families but also for their employees. “
Discovery of the kitchen
For the vast majority of customers, therefore, more gourmet dishes prepared by a chef. Change of atmosphere for a clientele made up of a vast majority of athletes, 95% of whom are men. For them, finding themselves without a chef able to prepare a meal that respects their diet can represent a challenge. “When we talk about soccer players, who are generally very young men, it is true that they cook quite basic things. “
From a nutritional point of view, there was no question of letting them continue to “eat pasta for a month”. Thanks to the network of dieticians mobilized by the concierge, it was thus possible to communicate to athletes simple recipes that they could cook themselves. “They are told to take chicken breast for example, it cooks in thirty seconds in the pan! We also recommend them for that. “
The “Validated” series validated
Deprived of training and sports competitions, they are even advised to entertain themselves: “They were advised to follow the last seasons of the Casa de Papel and Ozark, but the most successful series is by far Validated! “
“We do their shopping, we advise them, we are very close to our intimate members,” says Jérémy Vosse. “We know everything about them, but we also know where we belong. “
Same story with John Paul, another leading French concierge on the market. In normal times, their role is to “satisfy everyday life and create moments of magic”, explains business manager Olivier Larigaldi. Today, customer requests continue and adapt, far from being stalled due to the coronavirus. “The day before yesterday, we had to deliver a huge bouquet of red roses with a white rose in the middle for a marriage proposal. “
International in scope, the company has also provided assistance to customers affected by the coronavirus, such as ensuring the repatriation of their children who were staying abroad.
Contaminated customers
Fortunate or destitute, the virus does not discriminate. With a long list of footballers who have publicly announced that they are affected by the virus (Blaise Matuidi, Paolo Dybala, Daniel Rugani…), Premium Conciergerie has also had its share of difficult situations to manage, although the names of the members remain strictly confidential.
“We had complicated times with the Covid-19 epidemic, some clients fell ill so we had to accompany them to find doctors, find places in public hospitals as well as in private. More tragically, we had to assist our clients during funerals, “says Jérémy Vosse, whose clients have lost loved ones.
None of the companies have yet announced that they are in economic difficulty, although sales are in “free fall”. No worries on the horizon for Jérémy Vosse: “For the moment I am putting things into perspective and I am helping my employees and my clients to put things into perspective on the current situation, we will find better days. “
–
