When visiting a new city, who do travelers turn to for a restaurant recommendation?

In many cases, it will be a hotel concierge. Visitors view these people as trusted advisors, offering recommendations for restaurants, tourist destinations and a variety of services to provide guests with the best experience possible. Additionally, some concierges are recognized as certified experts in what they do.

The value of the service has grown to where many businesses—not just hotels—now provide concierge services. Credit card companies have also started to offer this premium service to their customers, giving them access to a concierge from anywhere in the world via phone or internet.

While these examples fall under the idea of a concierge in the traditional sense, people are often willing to pay to be given back their time in a variety of ways. The definition of “concierge services” has expanded to include any type of personalized service that makes life easier and more efficient.

Some companies now offer concierge-style services that complement their main products. DayMark Safety Systems, for example, offers a premium onboarding and training program for its automated food labeling platform.

Kevin Jackson, manager of the DayMark team responsible for this program, offered his take on the value of these services:

What is your objective in working with your customers?

Jackson: We find out from the customer what their end goal is and then guide them in the most efficient way possible. Based on what the customer wants to accomplish with their menu data and food labeling, we customize the program so that it meets their specific needs and shows how organization of the data will influence certain outcomes.

How are customers benefitting from concierge services?

Jackson: It’s having an expert that you’re able to get in touch with to save you from having to “guess-and-check” your way through the process. Think of flying a plane—the pilot is the expert in the cockpit. I would much rather get into a plane with someone who has been flying for 20 years than take the controls myself. Similarly, with our automated labeling platform—even if someone is technologically savvy—the process to get up and running can be much faster when they have a knowledgeable guide leading the way.

Can a premium concierge service end up saving money in the long run?

Jackson: Quite often, services like these do provide cost savings as they cut down on time spent trying to decipher a new product or system. In one instance, by providing one national, multi-unit chain worthwhile insight on how to import their electronic data into our platform, I was able to help them redirect their time to focus on other critical projects. One can learn a lot of things given enough time—something people never seem to have enough of—but a concierge-style service is the difference between maximizing the value of this new tool immediately versus taking valuable extra time to figure it all out on your own.

Article originally appeared on the Restaurant Business website.