Concierge service is a hallmark of a luxury living experience. But what if the concierge decides to take advantage of residents rather than serving them? Without the right employee accountability and controls in place, that’s a real risk — just read these concierge horror stories.
The $200,000 Jewelry Heist
At a condo complex in Cleveland, Ohio, a concierge used his access privileges to enter four different units, from which he stole over $200,000 of jewelry. He then worked with an accomplice to pawn the stolen property.
The Booze-Loving Concierge
One Virginia concierge treated a resident’s home as her own personal bar. Upon entering the unit, the employee was caught on camera guzzling the resident’s alcohol.
The Man in Black
While traveling in Thailand, a Vancouver, British Columbia, woman checked her condo’s security camera footage and observed a man in black — whom she recognized as the building’s concierge — enter her home, slip on a pair of white gloves, and help himself to several hundred dollars from her dresser drawer. Another woman in the same building reported that a total of $5,350 in cash had disappeared from her home in two separate incidents — with no evidence of forced entry.
How to Protect Your Residents
When provided conscientiously, concierge services are a much-appreciated complement to busy people’s lives. To reduce the risk of a dishonest employee abusing their access to condo dwellers’ homes, use electronic key control to enforce the following checks and balances:
- Avoid using master keys and require concierges to check out the key to each unit individually.
- Set up alerts when a concierge has a key for longer than necessary and restrict access to keys outside of their normal shift hours.
- Notify residents by text or email when the key to their unit is checked out.
Take the time to thoroughly assess how you treat key access. Are you providing residents a service or is your complex a nightmare waiting to happen?