FACILITIES PEOPLE TOWER 42
HIGH UP ON THE AGENDA Terry Burns started out as a porter and now handles all kinds of requests as head concierge of the fifth tallest skyscraper in London
NAME: Terry Burns JOB TITLE: Head concierge WORKS FOR: Tower 42
I started my career as a hall porter at the exclusive Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall in 1982. As a sociable outgoing person, it felt like an ideal job, being deskbound was not for me. My role there involved looking after the club’s exclusive private members. I worked my way up to become head hall porter. I think showing initiative and being a self-starter were key qualities. I was able to help people with the service that they wanted and needed. My role involved requests by clients to assist them with their reservations and private itineraries and I became well-known for my resourcefulness and ability to get the job done in record time. I relished the challenge of helping people, and with no formal qualifications in this field, I created a bespoke market to meet the wishes of clients. To this day, I get a big buzz out of making the impossibility a reality.
Moving on up In 1997 I was headhunted by a member of the Royal Automobile
Club for the position of head concierge at Tower 42, the international finance centre. Tower 42 is the tallest skyscraper in the city of London and the fifth tallest in London as a whole. It was originally built for the National Westminster Bank, hence its former name, the NatWest Tower. This is multitenanted building with over 3000 people in the estate. The building has 42 floors of office space and the Gary Rhodes Restaurant on the 24th floor, and the famous Vertigo champagne bar on the 42nd floor. I am the first port of call when people enter the building. I love assisting people and was recently awarded the 2009 WOW award for Customer Services, I am referred to in the book called WOW! That’s What I call Service written by Derek Williams and Don Hales. One of my proudest moments was when I was sent to the US to receive the Building Owners and Managers Association award for Tower 42.
Pulling out the stops A typical day is a whirlwind of telephone calls, texts, and email requests giving personal attention to hundreds of people at any time. Multi-tasking is key in this job and I need to have
I’VE BEEN KNOW TO ARRANGE PRIVATE JETS FOR VIPS, CHAUFFEURS FOR AIRPORT DROP OFFS/ COLLECTIONS THROUGH TO ORGANISING VIP TICKETS FOR SOLD OUT SHOWS
an encyclopaedic knowledge of recommended restaurants, hotels, resorts, night clubs, casinos, shows, concerts, sporting events, chauffeur and sports car hire in and around the capital. But work doesn’t stop there – I’ve been know to arrange private jets for VIPs, chauffeurs for airport drop offs/collections through to organising VIP tickets for sold out shows. I like to think that I make the impossible possible and I need to have a can-do attitude and a good sense of humour in this job. More recently I was asked to asked to arrange an away day for a national charity with a very limited budget to spend on their team activity. Negotiating with various suppliers I was determined to give them a lovely day. One of my regular discerning foodie clients asked me to book someone a restaurant which would serve her three courses of deserts only (she recently discovered that she was pregnant). It’s all in a day’s work. GUIDE TO CAREERS IN FM 2011 | 37
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