Grand lessons from The Grand Budapest

No, we do not expect you to honourably shout out, "Get your hands off my lobby boy!" as Nazi musclemen try to deport him on board a moving train and then have Edward Norton surreptitiously pop out to save your behind. And frankly, you probably lack the finesse and charisma of Monsieur Gustave to successfully charm your way into inheriting a precious art piece or talk your way out of the trickiest of situations. Or those other things that he does which we can't really write about, but you know what we mean.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was the buzz of social media last year; everybody seemed to love the quirky characters and eccentric quips of this Wes Anderson film. And with good reason. However, if you look beyond the glory of past grandeurs and Zero's clueless face, the film is a lesson in relationship management, loyalty, and if you are the personification of endless mobile operator promotional texts – retaining your customers.

M. Gustave, the concierge on The Grand Budapest is a man who knows how to please his customers. He is seen as knowing every single one of his regulars by name, their preferences, and as he says so himself, they always keep coming back for him. In the corporate world, where you start your career at the lowest rungs, you will meet customers and if you manage to develop a relation with them, chances are they will be loyal to you as you move up – they might even shift with you if you decide to move.

But M. Gustave's dynamics with his employees is also something to learn from. He is precise about what he wants done, demands the best all while almost never losing his cool. He knows his employees personally, fraternising when necessary. He demands respect without fear, and his employees turn out to be loyalty incarnate. And why wouldn't they when their boss stands up for them at times of trouble, instead of throwing them under the wheels. In real life if you are a boss who will defend and fight for your employee with management, your employees will have your back when you need them to.

It is not only what Gustave does that draws people to him, it's about how he does it. When he talks to his customers, he understands why they are complaining, he listens and he does not hand them over to someone else like an unwanted burden. He is there personally when needed and in return we see a fading old age hotel kept at its prime through the constant rush of dedicated customers. Gustave, probably without taking any course on relationship management, delivers customer satisfaction to perfection. So when Edward Norton ends up saving him from Nazi torture because Gustave was nice to him as a kid, you realise the importance of his attitude. You never know when you will need to call on the service of someone important and chances are if your interactions with them have been right, they will do the same for you.

But perhaps the most important lesson of all has to be from the lobby boy Zero who starts from the bottom and only has dedication to offer. Maybe one day you too will end up owning (read: managing) your very own Grand Budapest.