Common House Concierge
Concierge is the first point of contact for Common House members and their guests.
The front desk is both our first and final opportunity to interact with members and guests — whether at the club or from a call or email. Simply stated, convince each person you encounter that you are in control and you care about them. Be genuine and authentic. Stay alert and look for ways to help people. Each time we engage members and guests, it is an opportunity to impress them and learn how to serve them better in future interactions.
Most things that occur in the club, or affect the operations of the club, involve Concierge in some fashion. Concierge is an essential part of the House, as the team deals with member accounts, reservations, programming, private events, and more. Because of this, it is imperative that the concierge team is organized and communicates clearly with each other and other departments.
Concierge Communication + Expectations
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It’s important to remember members’ names and faces, and to refer to members by their names as often as possible. Concierges are expected to greet everyone with a smile, and ask them how their day is going. As we learn more about our members, record notes in their profile in SevenRooms. Examples: “likes to be called Mr. Taylor when with guests,” or “prefers full-bodied red wines.” The more we know about our members, the more personalized we can make their experience at Common House. Notes that are added in SevenRooms profiles are accessible at all locations, so when a member visits another club, they will still receive the same personalized service they’re used to.
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It is important to establish a relationship with members wherein they trust that you are capable of answering their questions in a calm and professional manner. When members trust you, they will feel calm when going to Concierge with an issue, and will be more forgiving when a mistake has been made. Always thank members for their patience and understanding when correcting an issue.
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Because Concierge is the primary point of contact for members throughout their membership, the Concierge team receives several inquiries each day. It is not expected that Concierge has all of the answers to every single question. However, it is expected that Concierge will direct the member to the correct CH employee, or that they will find the correct answer for the member.
It is always acceptable and encouraged to tell the member, “I’m not sure, but I will find out and get back to you as soon as possible.”
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This includes phone calls, radio communication, and in-person communication with CH staff. It is imperative that members are the primary focus when they are at the Desk. If a Concierge is on the phone with someone when a member comes to the Desk, they are expected to either swiftly finish the conversation or gracefully put the caller on hold to speak with the member in person.
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Unless the House is closed for any reason, all emails received by the Concierge inbox and voicemails left must be responded to promptly. If the email or voicemail requires further investigation or discovery, Concierge still must reply to acknowledge receipt of the message and to inform the inquirer of their next steps.
Concierge may respond to voicemail messages either via email or phone.
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Concierge communicates with their team members and CH staff via Slack, email, radio, and The Daily.
Each House has their own version of The Daily, which is a running document filled with notes from each shift and color coordinated for each Concierge. CH1 Daily / CH2 Daily / CH3 Daily / CH4 Daily
Radios are the primary way the service staff communicates with one another in the House. Radio Protocol is clearly defined in this document.
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Concierge will receive several calls each day for various members of the CH team. When someone calls looking for a specific person on the team, you should let them know that they are not available, but you would be happy to take a message for them, i.e.: “Our Programming Manager is in a meeting at the moment. May I take a message and have them get back to you as soon as they can?”
When taking a message over the phone it is imperative that you record the following information:
The caller’s name, phone number, and email address
The reason they are calling and any specific information they included
Any specific questions they need answered
Always include if the person leaving the message is upset or frustrated - there is likely a cause for this frustration, and if it is known, that should also be included in the message
Email messages to the applicable team member with the subject line: “Message from [Caller’s Name] re: [subject matter]”
Check In Process
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Greet the member, by their name if you know it. If you do not know their name, ask for it.
Create a walk-in on the SevenRooms iPad app, search for the member’s name and select the correct profile.
Add any notes to the booking if necessary; ensure the party size is correct and accounts for any non-members in attendance.
Click “Seat Now” and select a table. After seating the walk-in, click on the booking and change the status from “Seated” to “Arrived”.
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Greet the guest with a smile and ask which member they are visiting with.
Collect the guest’s name and email address and populate it in the NMG Check In Form for your House: CH1 / CH2 / CH3 / CH4
If the member is already in the House and it is easy to direct the guest to their location, send them on their way.
If the member is not in the House yet, or their location is unknown, ask the guest to step to the side and wait for the member to arrive / collect them.
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All programming RSVPs are collected in PeopleVine. As members and their guests check in for programming events, they should be checked in using the standard procedures listed above.
Once the majority of the programming event attendees have checked in, toggle to PeopleVine to record the check ins on the event RSVP list.
If a member or guest needs to purchase a ticket for a program upon arrival, Concierge will accomplish that on their behalf on the PeopleVine Control Panel. However, if the event is a large party (i.e. New Year’s Eve), management should create an item in Square to quickly process these transactions.
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Private event attendees are not considered when tracking NMG visits. Attendees should not be required to provide their contact information at check in.
When an event attendee arrives, they typically appear a bit lost. Welcome them to Common House and ask what brings them into the House. Once you have identified which event they are visiting for, direct them to the correct location and note that signage should be out to help them find their way. Always offer to call a team member to escort the attendee should they need more guidance.
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Coat Check is a central part of the Desk during the colder months, and it is important to keep it as organized and free of clutter as possible. It is the responsibility of the Concierge team to ensure that everything in Coat Check belongs there and is in its proper place.
Whenever someone comes in with an umbrella, large bag or luggage, or a coat, always offer to hold it for them. If they decline, let them know that if they decide to check it later, they can give their coat to any member of the staff to bring it to Coat Check for them.
Concierge should check and update the coat check tags at the beginning of each shift to make sure each hanger is able to be used at least once. When taking a coat from a member to hold a coat check, you’ll hang their coat on a tagged hanger. You will then rip off one of the perforated sections with the corresponding number from the tag to give to the member. When they are ready for their coat, they will give the Concierge their tag and you will give them the coat on the hanger with the corresponding number.
Glossary of Key Terms
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Banquet Event Order (BEO)/ Event Details: the document that holds all the information pertaining to an event. It is created and edited in TripleSeat by the Director of Events only. It is used to communicate with and confirm event details with the host and front of house/back of house teams at Common House.
Beer and Wine Only Bar: includes 1 standard red wine, 1 standard white wine, 1 standard sparkling wine, and 3 beers. The options are the same as the standard bar options, just without liquor.
BEO Meeting: Weekly meeting between events team, programming, BOH, FOH and concierge to go over details for all upcoming events/programs in the house over a 2-week period.
BOH: Back of house staff including kitchen, pastry, and sanitation teams
Cash Bar: event guests pay for their own drinks by card or cash
Club within a club: the name of a monthly program at every Common House that includes book club, chess club, etc. that are typically organized by or “sponsored” by a CH member
Cocktail style menu: A food presentation style of multiple server led stations for guests to try multiple different items. Most similar to a buffet, but individual servings are appetizer sized. Can be appropriate for a relaxed wedding reception or other social gathering
COD: delivery invoice requiring a check on delivery
Common Ground Members: CH offers a limited number of Common Ground memberships each year, which are essentially sponsored memberships. These memberships are designed to be given to members of the community who would both benefit from and be an asset to the CH community. These member applications are different from the standard application and are reviewed annually by the CH Membership Team. At Common House, we are committed to building a vibrant community that incorporates many different voices and perspectives, and our goal for this program is to offer membership to people who may otherwise not be able to afford to join. Common Ground will provide emerging leaders and creators in our communities an opportunity to come together at Common House, share their talents, and enjoy benefits such as:
One year of free Common House membership with full access to weekly programming and House amenities
Quarterly networking events with other Common Ground members
Opportunities to lead a discussion or program at Common House
Common Law: Our member policy guide, explaining the rules and expectations of the House. By and large, Common Law is the same at each House.
Contract: the legal document that lays out our policies and procedures for the client to review and agree to. This document must be signed by the host in order to be considered a booked/definite event
Corporate Meeting: a type of event hosted by a company or organization that has a meeting/presentation component; no alcohol
Corporate Members: If 5 or more people who work at the same company become members of Common House, we offer each person from that company a discounted membership rate. If the company has an employee under the age of 30, that person will be charged the under 30 rate until they are no longer eligible, at which point, their membership will change to corporate and their monthly dues will increase. Pricing discounts are confirmed by the Membership Director.
Corporate Social: a type of event hosted by a company or organization that does not have a meeting/presentation component and typically serves alcohol; but does not have to
Event Binder: Physical three-ring binder kept at the concierge desk with most recent BEOs printed for future events, as well as any printed materials needed for the event (signage, menus, etc.) and a floor plan
Event Revenue: the event subtotal (room rental + food totals + beverage totals + any other charges on the event) + service charge (20% on the food and beverage totals). Or, another way of looking at it is everything except taxes
Family style meals: A food presentation style consisting of platters for all items (protein, veggie, starch) placed in the center of each table for guests to serve themselves
Fintech: delivery invoice paid via electronic payments
Floorplan: PDF document attached to all BEOs showing where tables, chairs, bar, dessert, A/V should be set-up in the venue.
FOH: Front of house staff including servers, bartenders, concierge, etc.
Goings On: all of our current programming live on the website
Guest (as referenced in RSVP blocks): in an RSVP block attached to a program, an RSVP counts for the member and the question “How many guests?” refers to NMGs attached to that member’s reservation.
House Members: House memberships are the standard Common House membership. Most members fall in this category. House memberships can be either for an individual or a couple. Pricing depends on location.
Internal: notes about the event details that are not visible to the client. They are only visible to Common House teams
Investor/Lifetime Members: Our investors receive membership at no extra cost as a perk of being an investor in the company. Investors have profiles in Salesforce and their membership type is listed as “Lifetime.”
Invoice: the document that outlines the cost of the event, when payments are due and what payments have been made
Kitchen Notes: notes about the event details pertaining specifically to the kitchen such as dietary restrictions, food timing, food allergies, specific changes to the menu, etc.
Kitchen sheets: documents posted in the kitchen pass organized by day of the week that have all menu/food service information that the Chefs need to properly execute a private event or program.
Looking Ahead: 1-3 events coming up the following week or farther out that get promoted early in the Weekly and Weekly Poster
Membership committee: An annually rotating group of ~30 people who are active in the local community and committed to building Common House’s community. They promote CH membership to their networks, and act as a sort of focus group for club experience and evolution. These members are diverse in background, membership type, and industry.
Membership dues: Monthly fee that is charged on the first of each month. You can see a member’s transactions and subscription in their PeopleVine profile.
Membership engagement programs: These initiatives fall under the programming umbrella, but are not as formal as other programs. These gatherings are an informal way for the membership manager to bring members who may not know each other together or engage members in danger of canceling.
MOD: Manager on duty
Month at a Glance: a monthly email sent to members on the first of every month that lists all of the programs for the month ahead, along with a narrative about the theme of the month that includes specific upcoming programs that the team would like to push for added ticket sales or call out for other reasons
NMG: non-member guest
Non-Profit/Teacher/Military Discounts: Those who work in the non-profit sector, as a teacher, or in the military receive a discount on membership dues. These members are still considered House members in the grand scheme of things, but have a discount listed in Salesforce.
Notes: the document that pulls all information for Common House teams to execute an event. This contains all the information that a client can and can not see and is used for BEO and printed in the Events Binder.
Office Tenants: People who lease offices from Common House receive a full House membership in addition to their leased office space. These members have the same access to the building and other Houses as all other members. Office tenants are only able to use their office space during club operating hours, meaning that if CH is closed for a day for some reason, office tenants will not be able to use their space during that time. Office tenants also receive monthly credits to apply towards conference room bookings; these credits expire at the end of each month. More information on this can be found in the Office Tenant Rules and Regulations.
On-Consumption Bar: one running bar tab throughout the event that our bartenders track. This is added to the host’s final invoice. The bar options for a consumption bar are the same as for a standard bar.
Plated meals: A food presentation style that individually plates single portions of protein, veggie and starch. Typically has a guest count maximum and should always be approved by Chef before confirming with the event host
Premium Bar: includes premium liquors and 1 premium red wine, 1 premium white wine, 1 premium sparkling wine, and 3 beers. This is more expensive than the standard bar
Programming: Programs are events that Common House hosts for its members, largely included with the cost of membership. Almost all programs are limited to members and their guests, wherein guests must attend with a member and pay for a ticket to the event. Some programs are hosted in tandem with other organizations and businesses, and their networks and customers are typically able to participate in those specific events.
Recurring programs: a program that happens at a regular frequency like weekly trivia, music, yoga, monthly new member happy hour, club within a club, etc on a schedule with the same partner. These are the programs that members come to expect to see in weekly and monthly promotion.
ROS: run of show
RSVP Block: the form that is attached to a live program in Goings On. This is filled out at time of signup and includes (if applicable) guest count, dietary restrictions, and anything else that needs to be specified by a member at time of sign up.
Setup: the part in the BEO that contains the event timeline, floor plan, AV/tech, and other miscellaneous details that the host can see
Social: a type of event hosted by an individual, not in relation to a business, that is typically for something social and fun; usually serves alcohol, but does not have to
Splash: The system used to advertise programming events. It is the back end of the ‘Goings On’ page of our website. We are able to create events in that system and take RSVPs with detailed information.
Square: Square is the Point of Sale (POS) system that we use to process restaurant orders, carryout orders, and retail purchases. Concierge uses Square for several tasks, including, but not limited to, adding a card to a member’s account, submitting a refund, sending a receipt, sending invoices, retail purchases, and more. Tasks are split between the iPad app and the Square Dashboard (accessed on a computer).
Standard Bar: includes rail liquors and 1 standard red wine, 1 standard white wine, 1 standard sparkling wine, and 3 beers. The standard bar options are also what we use when the bar is on consumption
T&G: tax and gratuity that is typically added onto the ticket price. Tax is almost always added to the price, and if there is a service element, gratuity will be added too.
Ticketed Bar: host purchases a certain number of tickets to be distributed to their guests to use for drink tickets. Ticket cost is dependent on the bar offerings.
Timeline: includes detailed information about an event like start time, end time, VIP guest arrival, food timing, etc.
The Weekly: an email that includes the upcoming programs that will take place in the house that week, along with house announcements and some Looking Ahead.
TripleSeat: event software used at Common House that tracks all leads, prospects, proposals, definite/booked events, etc. The software also houses all signed contracts and all event payments are collected through this system.
Under 30/Student Members: We offer a discounted rate for those who are either students or under 30 years of age. A member does not need to be both under 30 and a student to receive this rate - they only need to fall into one of the categories. This allows those who go back to school later in life to take advantage of the discount, as a large amount of their income is likely going toward the cost of school. Pricing depends on location.
Weekly Poster: A printed version of the upcoming programs that will take place in the house that week along with some Looking Ahead. Generally, they will be the same programs as listed in the Weekly. The poster is hung on the wall in front of the concierge desk.
Wine dinners: Personalized, small scale multi-course custom dinner with wine pairings that occur in a private room
Yearly or Across house program: a program that is scheduled to occur at every Common House location like big parties or holiday programming like Christmas Eve, Friendsgiving, etc. These are the traditions that we spend extra planning and time branding to elevate the experience. We find that these programs are the ones that bring infrequent use members out so we believe they are a great tool for member retention.
Common House Policies
Membership Policies
Membership dues are automatically charged on the first of each month. Members may use either ACH or credit card payments, but credit cards incur a 3% service fee.
If a member wishes to cancel their membership, they must do so by emailing membership@commonhouse.com with their request. Memberships will be cancelled 30 days after the request is made unless otherwise approved by the Membership Manager.
Members may bring up to three guests to the club at once. If a member would like to bring more than three guests, a reservation is required.
Common House is a 21+ establishment aside from Saturdays until 5pm and some family friendly programming events.
House Policies
Outside food and beverages are not permitted onsite unless discussed prior with House management. CH will allow members to bring in a dessert on a case by case basis if requested ahead of time.
No pets are permitted at CH. Trained service animals are always allowed in the House.
Prohibited items: Firearms, drugs, tobacco, cigarettes, and vaporizers are strictly prohibited at the House, including exterior areas.
Members and guests are responsible for their personal property. Lost and found items will be stored at Concierge for three months, at which point they will be donated to charity.
Conduct Policies
Members are required to abide by the unwritten rules of courtesy, dignity, and good conduct. Every member is responsible for the actions and behavior of their guests.
Complaints against any member or guest alleging an infraction of the House Rules or conduct should be submitted to the membership team.
Common House follows a one-warning policy and has the right to refuse service and terminate membership at any time.
The following instances do not fall under the one-warning policy and would be subject to immediate termination of membership: harassment, discrimination, and unwanted physical contact
Metrics + Reporting
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Meeting Agenda
Check Ins: [Monday - Sunday of prior week]
Total:
Members:
Guests:
Average Daily Check Ins: [total number of check ins from the week divided by number of days open, rounded to the nearest whole number]
Unique Member Visits
(EXAMPLE) Unique member visits through January 21: 537 → 52%
General Updates
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Links to reporting sheets:
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Exporting Data from SevenRooms
Make sure all guests were marked as left in 7R for the time you’ll be reviewing
Go into SevenRooms → Reporting → Search Reservations
Select the desired time frame
Weekly data should be pulled Monday - Sundays
(Click “update” or you’ll export all reservations and it takes forever)
Once you click export, it will send an email to you when the sheet is ready to download
Clean Up the Data
Copy the contents of the sheet into a Google Sheet and drag the grey line down to lock the first row (title row)
Remove all columns except for Date, Venue, Shift, Time, Client Name, Covers, Table Number, Seating Area, Notes, Reservation Tags, Detailed Status.
Sort the Detailed Status column by A - Z → Delete all rows with statuses of Canceled or No Show
Sort the Covers column A - Z → Delete all rows with 0 covers
Sort the Client Name A - Z → Delete the name of all hourly employees, and any entries titled “Paper Key” or something similar. Keep the rest of the data in this row; only remove the entry in the “Client Name” cell.
Sort the Client Name A - Z again → Delete the rows of any “Guest T123” entries (these are walk ins without a member name).
Employees
Treat hourly employees like NMGs
Consultants (Spark3, Josh Charles, etc) as standard members
CH salary unit level employees
When working - remove the rows completely
When enjoying the club, treat as a regular member
CH OpCo – always treat as regular members
Sort the Client Name A - Z again to pull the NMG entries to the bottom of the sheet.
To get total weekly or monthly visits
Add up all covers to get the total visits. Formula: =SUM(F2:F390)
Number of rows (less one) is the total member visits.
Difference between total visits and total member visits is the total NMG visits. Formula: =f392 - f393
Total visits divided by days open is the average daily visits. Formula: =f392/7
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Copy the week’s visits info into another tab in your Google Sheet that has the visits for month to date. This will be referred to as the “total visits sheet”.
Always use month to date visits for unique visit count.
In the “Total” tab of your Google Sheet, click Insert → Pivot Table → Click “yes” in the pop up
Drag “Client Name” to both Rows and Values
Copy the results into a new tab and title it “Unique [date range]”
Unique visits is number of rows less 1 (remove the column titles from the count).
Unique utilization is found by dividing the unique visits by total active members.
Total active members can be found in Hubspot, or by asking your Membership Sales Manager.
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Visit frequency is derived from the unique utilization.
The pivot table created from the Total Visits month to date counts up the number of times the Client Name appears in the sheet. This is how many times a given member has visited during the designated time frame.
Visit frequency is looked at
1 Visit: rare visits, at-risk members
2 - 4 Visits: standard member usage, bi-weekly or weekly visits
5 - 7 Visits: higher member usage, weekly or twice-weekly visits
8 - 10 visits: twice-weekly visits, typically members who cowork consistently
11+ Visits: superusers, those who visit the club several times a week for multiple reasons
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We track check in times to see which day parts our members frequent or prefer, to better inform staffing, programming, etc.
Time Frames:
7am - 10:45am: breakfast, early coworking visits, gym
11am - 1:45pm: lunch, meetings, afternoon coworking visits
2pm - 4:45pm: happy hour, pre-evening visits
5pm - 8:45pm: dinner, programming visits
9pm+: late night, music programming visits
This information is derived from the SevenRooms reservation report by adding up the covers that visited during the designated time frames.
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Daily foot traffic is derived from the SevenRooms reservation reports. Looking at our daily foot traffic allows us to identify trends and anomalies over the course of the month.
Total foot traffic: number of covers that visited during a certain day.
Member visits: number of entries with an entry in the “Client Name” cell.
Non-member visits: total visits less member visits.
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We ask members to rate us on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the worst, in the following categories:
Overall Experience
Food
Service
Ambiance
Guests are also encouraged to leave specific notes to expand on their ratings.
All club managers, Directors of Operation, Member Experience Managers, and Membership Sales Managers receive a daily feedback summary email from SevenRooms specific to their club. This email compiles the results of the feedback survey sent by SevenRooms after each visit. Valuable information is found in these feedback emails, and all negative feedback must be addressed within 48 hours of receiving the information. Typically, the Director of Operations will own responding to feedback, but all employees listed should be aware and conscious of all feedback that is submitted.
