Serviced offices are Godsend

ALEXIS de Tocqueville, a 19th Century French political thinker and historian, explored the rising equality of social conditions for the individual and the state in western societies. 
 

Tocqueville wrote: “Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.”
 

We are obsessed with customer service too. Created equal, we all have the right to expect that no matter where we go, we will be served well. There is no stigma concerning “service to others” either.
 

Ariadne Capital, my firm, just moved into the new Avanta Serviced Offices at 9 Devonshire Square, and I feel a bit like Melanie Griffith in the 1998 hit “Working Girl” who was agog at the big world of business.
 

These Avanta offices are gorgeous, and I just can’t believe they are mine –  or serviced.
 

We have a lean operating model — the new norm. For a year we were in another serviced office, but Avanta has been a joy.
 

Bad service equals bad karma, infiltrating everything. Disdain your customers and deal with massive reputational hits. 
 

When Ariadne moved into our Avanta offices on a Saturday, we forgot the key, and had to bother the operations director who was delightful despite the fact it was the weekend weekend. When customers’ mistakes are met with cheerfulness, you build long-term loyalty. 
 

Julie Meyer is chief executive of Ariadne Capital