My concierge story

I was in New York for a bit (you didn't know because the Grapevine goes on), but I had a problem with a concierge at the hotel I stayed in. It was the Affinia Shelburn in Murray Hill, I usually stay at the Affinia Dumont in Murray Hill, which is my favorite hotel. I love it, but for some reason, I don't remember what, I had to stay at the Shelburn. A dump compared to the Dumont.

I bring this up because of the Concierge Night we had last week. At the Affinia Shelburn, I asked the concierge Amy for a car service to the airport, she said it was $89.00. But having used a car service so many times in the past, I knew for a fact it is about $35.00 plus tip. I couldn't remember the service I usually use so I called my cousin, got the number and called. It was $33.00 plus tip.

I went back down to Amy to ask her what the $89.00 was all about and she got defensive. She said something like, "Oh, you wanted my service!" I said, "Yes, I wanted the service you use, not the rip off service." She went on to tell me that she only offered the best, so that is why she gave me the $89.00 service, which of course is b.s. if you know how this works -- the services are all in competition, so they all charge the same fee, they don't charge triple, over their competition.

Amy then went on to tell me that if I wanted to "shop around" I should have asked the doorman. Why would I ask the doorman when it is the concierge's job? I told her that I was going to a concierge event on Tuesday in Miami and that I would bring this up to see if her behavior was appropriate. She must have thought "concierge event? this guy is full of it," but of course, I was at a concierge event, and every concierge I spoke with at the event told me that Amy was wrong.

But I just had to tell this story because I thought it was so funny how the concierge thing tied in. Anyway, the moral of the story is that you should avoid the Affinia Shelburn, the concierges are shady, the elevators don't work and it's pretty shabby. Housekeeping even left a dirty rag in the sink one night, so I give them two thumbs down.