There was no one else to depend on so she left her skirt with Ms Cheung, requesting her to get it fixed, and rushed back to the office. Ms Cheung found a nearby tailor, got the zipper mended and delivered the skirt to the guest's room ready to be worn again the next day.

As a frontline member of staff at Central 88 serviced apartments, Ms Cheung, business development and operations manager, is used to dealing with all sorts of daily emergencies. A big part of her job is keeping customers happy and ensuring that they have a pleasant stay.

This means being flexible enough to roll with the punches, to keep smiling no matter what and to always be pleasant and cheerful while fulfilling requests, solving problems or handling complaints.

'We want our customers to feel at home and to feel that there is someone they can count on,' Ms Cheung said.

Front-of-house staff at serviced apartments typically start their day by going through the arrival list for the day and making a mental note of details such as guests' special preferences, special requirements and airport pickups. The preparation work for welcoming a guest and making sure they feel at home usually begins way before the guest arrives.

Four Seasons Place orientation specialist Cora Chan starts her welcome by planning a unique and personalised orientation tour that addresses the needs of each guest, especially those who are new to Hong Kong.

For the single professional, Ms Chan might organise a quick tour covering essential venues such as the nearest bank, the most convenient supermarket and some night entertainment places. For a family, she might add venues that include toy shops and children's clothing stores.

Ms Chan has even accompanied a guest to buy an Octopus card and then on an MTR trip to help ease her fear of the crowds at the MTR stations.

'We can't have standardised tours because our guests all have individual needs,' she said.

Ms Chan organises activities for Four Seasons guests on a regular basis. She said this was especially important for newcomers to Hong Kong because it allowed guests to get to know each other and have a life outside of work. A children's Easter party was followed by a wine tasting evening, and there was a World Cup party recently.

Getting acquainted with the guest arrival list is usually followed by a room and floor inspection to ensure that all rooms are well prepared and that everything is clean and in good condition.

Cosmopolitan Hotel assistant manager Ronald Cheung said this was an important part of his day. The hotel offers long-stay packages. 'It is better that we find some problem rather than have it picked up by a guest,' he said.

Frontline staff find that it is critical to be up to date and well versed with individual guest preferences, which may vary.

Central 88's Ms Cheung said: 'Some people may leave their magazines on the floor but this may not mean that they want them to be taken away. Sometimes tenants leave notes telling us their preferences.'

Ms Chan said the Four Seasons had a guest who liked her room neat and tidy and requested that the housekeeping staff use her own cleaning detergents and materials when they cleaned her room. Fulfilling these requests goes a long way towards making guests feel at home.

Cosmopolitan's Mr Cheung pays guests courtesy calls to get to know them better. 'I like to talk with guests. I want to improve our service level by finding out what guests want,' he said, adding that 90 per cent of his duties called for guest contact.

Frontline personnel also need to have a wealth of pocket knowledge as guests tend to approach them with all sorts of 'local' questions. Mr Cheung surfs the net to keep up with the latest on shopping, eating, sightseeing and theatre performances in Hong Kong.

Ms Chan once had to study the art of making dim sum after a guest, who she'd had yum cha lunch with, wanted to know how these small dishes were made.

Complaints and special requests are all part and parcel of the job for front-of-house staff. Cosmopolitan Hotel has a unique way of dealing with complaints about guest pillows being either too hard or too soft. Mr Cheung introduces the guest to a pillow machine in the hotel that measures their heads and shoulders and then makes a pillow for them.

Special requests such as a place to shower after checking out, and having luggage sent to the airport while in transit, are all taken in stride. Four Seasons once received a guest request for a full inventory of the kitchen in the apartment before check-in.

Do guests appreciate the service and care that they receive from these tireless staff? Ms Cheung and her team of customer service officers have been the recipients of countless boxes of chocolates and biscuits and bottles of wine from grateful clients.

'They ask why our team is still working in the lobby at 8.30pm. We keep a hi-fi in the lobby which plays jazz and other upbeat music so the team is happy, cheerful, smiling and the guests are also happy,' she said.