"Concierge Confidential," by Michael Fazio with Michael Malice, St. Martin's Press, 267 pages, $24.99 (nf)
NEW YORK — The cover subhead says it pretty well, "The gloves come off — and the secrets come out! Tales from the man who serves millionaires, moguls and madmen."
“Concierge Confidential” is kind of like having this great, gossipy conversation with a guy who knows all kinds of funny and interesting details about the rich, the famous and the rude.
He also knows how to get the impossible: the theater tickets for the show that's been sold out for weeks, dinner reservations at the exclusive restaurant and even two Sony Playstations when everyone is buying one and every store is sold out.
It's a very entertaining and enlightening book even though it's a bit discouraging to realize these kinds of games are being played while the rest of us sit by and pay full price or go without.
Author Michael Fazio is a good storyteller. He gets to the point without too much embellishment or name dropping and he tells his tales with enough drama to make it hard to put this book down.
He has rubbed shoulders with many icons and butted heads with some who ought to learn some manners.
Along the way, he learns and now shares his "secrets" which in most cases simply involves taking the time to think about what kind of day the head waiter or bellman or shop owner is having. He points out that being rude rarely gets the job done while sympathizing and acknowledging another's plight does.
He details a few things like what one should do when the meal is badly cooked and needs to be sent back and how to ask a concierge for help (wait in line, for one thing, instead of pushing to the front with a demand and ask nicely without trying to prove you are important).
He describes creating his own company and landing a plum spot on the Whoopi Goldberg weekly radio show.
He's articulate in his career and in his writing.
He's funny and likeable and brutally honest. He doesn't hold back on who he is or what he's about: He likes money, enjoys outwitting the system and breaking rules to come through with what his customer wants. He's inventive and clever in his approach.
Everyone who ever needs the help of the hotel concierge — and that's pretty much all of us at one time or another — ought to read this.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com