The concierge desk is a validation technique that shows a (digital) product/service. Customers think they’re interacting with an automated product, when in reality, a human is actually performing the backend tasks. 

It’s a fast and effective way to test if your solution creates customer value. Because the testing is done manually. It is most relevant to conduct before you implement huge back-end infrastructures. It will save you a lot of effort, money and time, to validate the functionality itself upfront.

So an example. If you want to test a rental model, you do not have to build a whole new marketplace and rental system. Instead, you create a simple landing page where a user can fill in what they want to rent. This request can be sent to one of your employees, who will handle the request and deliver it to the customer himself. It’s like having your own… concierge! Fun fact: Uber started it’s famous taxi service with a concierge desk as well. Their concierge was an employee with a phonebook filled with phone numbers of cab drivers!

How do you set up a concierge desk experiment?

Video Congierge Desk