Checks at window two; theater tickets at window three.

• Position: Brief Article

You've remodeled your lobby, added comfortable chairs, a coffee bar, a working fireplace. What else can you do to make your customers happy?

Well, says Janet Kraus, how about a concierge to help customers make hotel reservations, plan corporate events or shop for the perfect gift?

Kraus, co-founder and CEO of Circles, a Boston-based consulting firm that offers third-party personal assistance services, thinks banks have strayed too far from the day when bank managers knew not only their customers but their customers' children. Today, as banks reemphasize personalized customer relationships, the addition of a concierge may provide a vital competitive advantage in the struggle to prevent customer attrition. A 5 percent reduction in customer defections would translate into a 25 percent increase in...