Article: The softer side of security. (Advanced Micro Devices' and Compaq Computer Corp.'s training approach for security staff)

When people get a responsive waiter, a helpful salesperson, or a friendly usher, they remember it. That's the thinking at two high-profile computer companies, which have turned to an unlikely source to train their security officers in customer service: a hotel concierge.

While the director of security at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Pete Costner, CPP, had an effective security force, he would often get complaints about officers' customer service skills, such as poor conduct and inappropriate language. "They were good officers, but enforcers," he says.

Having admired effective hotel concierges, Costner asked a well-traveled colleague for the name of the best ...

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