Josiah:
San Francisco Sundays is a special series we’re doing here in my hometown to show what it’s like to work together to provide hospitality from the communities we’re based in Today. I’m delighted to welcome back to the show Tom Wolfe, chief concierge at the Fairmont San Francisco, to talk about what this city means to him and how he shows hospitality even when he’s not on the job. Of all the places you could live in the world, you’ve chosen to live in San Francisco and I’m wondering if we could talk a little bit about what keeps you in this city and how San Francisco has shaped how you view hospitality.
Tom:
Well, I would say this I moved here at first 50 years ago and I loved the beauty of the city. I mean getting on a cable car. I remember that and I remember getting on the it would have been the California line because I was actually staying at the Fairmont because I had a connection, and so I was staying at the Fairmont and I got on the cable car coming up from wherever I had been, and I was looking at this couple who got on and the guy had on a leather jacket and the girl was casually dressed and I was like whoa, they actually live here. And I thought how cool would it be to live in San Francisco. It’s not a city that you immediately spring to mind. If someone’s saying, well, he’s from the United States, where is he from? Oh, he’s from New York. That’s like the default city that people want to live in. Well, I grew up in New York. Let me tell you something New York should be so gorgeous that’s what Joe Alioto, the mayor, said one time when he was talking about San Francisco compared to Naples.
Josiah:
Oh, wow.
Tom:
Okay, he was speaking at some function and Alioto, he was wonderful, he had, and he had all the charisma in the world he says you know, ladies and gentlemen, some people have told me that the Bay of Naples is like San Francisco. Well, let me tell you one thing the Bay of Naples should be so beautiful and of course everybody came up and I thought he sounds like a New Yorker there, you know, but he was a San Francisco diet. I mean, you can’t get more San Francisco than being an Alioto. Okay, that’s the set, right.
Josiah:
Yeah Well, it’s interesting to think about. As residents of this city, it almost feels we’re ambassadors in a way. Do you feel that? In both a resident and also somebody who’s welcoming so many people in your role?
Tom:
Totally. You are the ambassadors, you’re representing the city and, of course, sad to say, we’ve had some tough times in the last few years. But on the other hand, I’m still the ambassador and I still, on my little three block walk home. I bump into people. I have people coming up to me, not coming up to me. I come up to them because I see them stuck on that same street corner that people always get stuck on right around the corner and I say can I help you find something? And a lot of times it’ll happen when I’m out walking my dog. Well, that’s about as safe as you can be If somebody’s walking the dog. They live here. Okay, you know. And I’ll get reactions of ranging from now we’re okay, those are the New Yorkers, right? We?
Josiah:
knew it all.
Tom:
To people who can’t speak English, but that’s no problem. Name a language. I’ve got it there. There are certain rules that we have to follow, being so lucky to be residents of this magnificent city. Rule number one is never beep your horn at a tourist in front of you. Never do that, scream at them. No, no, no, don’t scream at them. Be very polite, let them slowly make their way along and find their way where they need to turn, and so on and so forth. That’s particularly true if you’re driving up Hyde Street near Lombard.
Josiah:
Oh yeah, I used to live on Hyde.
Tom:
You know that.
Josiah:
I know that. Yes, very well, very well.
Tom:
So be patient with them and help them every step of the way, because what we want to do is we want that person, who’s probably Joe Doe from Kokomo, we want him to go back to Kokomo and say you know, I was in San Francisco and the people were so nice, they were so sweet and kind to me, and that’s somebody who will spread the word and then more people will come here, and that’s what we want to have. We want to have nice people coming here all the time, every single day.
