The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 8, issue 5

International Institute of Modern Butlers

Message from the Chairman

One of our colleagues in the profession is on trial because he took action to protect his employer and family, as he saw it. Details below, but I look forward to your comments on the subject. Any one of us could find ourselves in a similar situation in the future, so it would be good to learn from this situation, perhaps.

 Letters to the Editor

A quick question for which I have found no answers in etiquette literature about funerals: are we expected to write “Thank you” letters only in response to condolence letters, or to those who signed a funeral book as well? For the former there is no doubt the answer is yes, of course; but for the latter I am note sure if one is expected to write to them, especially if the individuals did not leave their address. GL

Ed: I am not aware of any formal statement on this matter, and it would be hard to create points of etiquette to cover every single eventuality in life: there has to be a point where common sense and application of basic concepts takes over. In this case, I would suggest that a “Thank you” is not required or expected for simply signing one’s name; but it would certainly be courteous to thank an individual for coming and sharing in the experience and homage if they chose to fill out their address—in a way signaling some further communication would not be amiss.

****

The following exchange with a butler in the Americas might be instructive for other butlers who sometimes feel that they are not in the ideal position and feel inclined to look elsewhere—often, a little patience will see things come out right.

I graduated from a Butler School a year ago and am finding my family a little stressful to work for, as the Mrs. is never happy with anything we (the staff) do. It gets you down when you put everything into a job only to have them ignored. I am thinking of leaving even though it’s not good to be at a job for only a year. Have you heard of other butlers in similar situations to mine?

Ed: Thank you for asking. Sorry to hear you have been experiencing what many other butlers have learned the hard way: to vet employers before working for them, just as they vet you. That is why we recommend at least a month and preferably a three-month trial period before moving in lock, stock, and barrel, committing to a relationship that may not work out either way. Of course, as with any relationship, it takes some give and take and tolerance to make it work, and there is always the possibility that a relationship could be made viable, even if not ideal. However, if the employer is never happy with anything done, even when it is very well done and according to her wishes, then you are better off ending the relationship, even if it will make future potential employers look askance at you, wondering if you are a job hopper. The alternative, as you say, is you will be gotten “down,” and it will be repeatedly until you stay down. Decisions, decisions, decisions, but to answer your question, yes, your situation is not unusual: this is Planet Earth, after all, where things do not always follow the ideal.

You will be pleased to know that I and the other student at the butler academy both had your book at our sides and used it to verify and supplement discussions, etc. Anyway, I am committed to giving two-months notice even though my contract says nothing about any notice being required:  I would like to know they have a suitable replacement lined up.

Ed: I am glad to hear the book was useful. Yes, that is enough notice, and it is good you would like to ensure there is someone to replace you. I wish you well wherever you end up.

I just spoke with my placement agency. They tell me the current house manager will be replaced at the end of the month.  The placement agency would like me to give this new leader a chance and see if it improves things within the house.  They also said four week notice would be brilliant.  This is not a problem for me.

Ed: On the new leader, is the problem something else, or is it the Mrs.? If it is the Mrs., then a new leader will run into the same issue. If it be the current leader, and he has made everything so bad that the Mrs. is quite correct to be upset at everything being done, then I could understand your being willing to continue. Just a thought about the inconsistencies.

The problem is with both, but I think the leader certainly does not help the current situation. I will see if Mrs. is more reasonable with a more organized leader in place. Thanks for you time and advise.

***

Thank you so much for your article. Yours are always worthy reading. MR, Magazine Editor

Butlers in the Media

Pascal Bonnefoy, the former butler of L’Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, has been charged with violating her privacy after he secretly recorded her conversations with advisers to prove they may have been manipulating his aged employer. He handed the information over to his employer’s daughter who was attempting to stop others from taking advantage of her mother.

Was he correct to have done this? It is a good example of a tricky, real-life situation with various angles to consider. Please feel free to write your thoughts.

One angle is that of ethics, and this is raised, also, in the matter of the upcoming movie, The Butler, about Eugene Allen, the White House butler between 1952 to 1986. Forest  Whitaker will portray him and Oprah Winfrey is apparently playing Mrs. Allen,  with Jane Fonda, Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson, and John Cusack reportedly portraying various presidents and their wives. This much may not be so new, but the movie does include interplay with the butler’s son, who is an activist who is repeatedly arrested, and which does rub off on the butler toward the end of his life—even though, naturally, he is a conformist—when he makes a decision to fight (according to Forest Whitaker). This theme repeats one first broached in Remains of the Day, when fellow butler Mr. Benn questions Mr. Steven’s blind support for questionable activities on the part of his employer.

***

Butlers, Real and Unreal

The Jerusalem Post carries a story entitled “An Executive Butler” which describes an enterprising gentleman who runs a cleaning company and concierge service.

Similarly, Glenn Close’s excellent performance as a hotel waiter in Albert Nobb has the character still being described repeatedly in much of the media as “a butler.”

A good article on Sean Davoren, Head Butler at the Savoy in London.

Cigars, Part III

 by Frank Mitchell 

Harvesting & Processing Tobacco Part 2

For the next step in the process, the tobacco will typically travel to the factory where it will be rolled into cigars. Here the leaves are sorted according to how they will be used; small or broken leaves for the filler, large course leaves for the binder, and large fine (often shade-grown) leaves for the wrapper.

Tobacco leaf sorting equipment (photo: Words & Images)

Each type is collected into bunches of 10 -15 leaves called “hands” and placed together with similar leaves to ferment. The leaves may ferment in a wooden box or cask called a hogshead, or they may be moistened and stitched up in a burlap-covered bale. In the 18th century, hogsheads were popular for shipping, as the tobacco packed in the New World would ferment en-route to the cigar-making establishments in Europe.

Tobacco press and weighing equipment (photo: Words & Images)

For cigars rolled in the country of origin, fermentation took place in the cool cellars of the tobacco rolling factories. These cellars are still used for some Cuban brands today as the temperature inside remains fairly constant, making them ideal for the task.

Fermentation can take as little as six months, but for fine cigars it usually takes anything from two to five years. Of all the tobacco production processes, none has as much effect on the flavour, aroma and burning characteristics as the fermenting process.

Once the tobacco has been fermented, it is ready for rolling. The bales or hogsheads are broken up and the leaves separated. The spine of the leaf must be removed to allow the leaf to burn evenly. This can either be done with a treadle-operated machine, or by hand with a knife mounted on a thimble—a small cut being made near the tip of the leaf and the spine pulled down. The cut leaves are stacked in piles called books or pads and may even be wrapped up in bales for further fermentation.

When the leaves are ready finally for rolling into cigars, the bales will be broken up for the last time and the leaves steamed to restore lost humidity before they are sorted yet again.

Before the finished cigars are shipped, they will be sorted a few more times and graded—a process requiring great skill and experience (most visitors to cigar factories are not able to see any difference between the leaves in adjacent piles), thereby contributing to the quality and consistency of the final product. A fine, handmade cigar costs as much as it does in part because it will have been handled by as many as forty pairs of hands before the consumer ever smokes it.

Next month we look at an even more advanced skill, that of rolling the cigar.

by Nick Ares

Do yourself a favor and skip this article if you prefer to think the ship is simply rolling heavily in the calm seas. The captain of the Good Ship Earth, I am afraid, has a very definite agenda that is taking it off the course everyone thinks it is on as they go about their lives: sitting down to dinner, sleeping peacefully. Nobody thinks the ship can sink, as big, beautiful, and safe as it is, but the truth is rocks tear holes in metal hulls and they turn turtle. So it is with our world economy: sail close enough, long enough to enough rocks, and the ship goes down, no matter how many people are opining on the matter with complex or oversimplified theories.

Being asked to state accurately the condition of the world’s economy during calm times is difficult enough; predicting where it might go next is pushing the envelope of possibilities. But trying to state and predict the condition of today’s and tomorrow’s straining yacht in the thirty foot swells of today’s economy is as adventurous as navigating the real thing. At the risk of turning turtle in the explaining—if someone stands up to say something and is not willing to make a fool of himself, he is probably too timid to be standing there in the first place—I offer the below, simply because in any activity, if one cannot see ahead, one is sailing blind and liable to hit the rocks.

After my last article on the economy, Don’t Just Sit There, many hoteliers around the world commented on the apparent inadequacies of fixing the global financial system by issuing more credit to failed institutions while withholding it from the real economy. The continued contagion of the real economy by financial sector excesses has continued to result in wobbliness for the productive side of the economies in the US and Europe, and by extension, the rest of the world.

So where is the economy heading: onto the rocks and whirlpools or across a vast ocean at breakneck speed, the wind filling the sails? And what can we expect in the service industries in particular, for owners, operators, and employees of hospitality venues, for guests, both the wealthy and economy-minded, and closer to home, for those in my profession of butlers, and their employers who need the wherewithal to support their lifestyles?

Certainly, some 2012 predictions for hospitality offer grounds for cautious optimism—a PricewaterhouseCoopers report shows 2011 to have been a good year for occupancy in the US, up at 60.1%, RevPAR increasing by 8.2, and ADR growing by 3.7%. Based on a predicted increase in business travel and group bookings, 2012 looks to be another good year, with occupancy predicted at 60.9%, ADR growth at 5.1% and RevPAR growth at 6.5%.

The World Economic Forum weighed in recently with the findings of a Marriott International survey showing that, in the opinions of opinion leaders, international travel stimulates the economy and we should do more of it. In concrete terms, international arrivals have doubled in the past decade and the UN World Tourism Organization predicts it will increase to one billion this year. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts an extra 69-million net jobs in the industry by 2021, 80% of which will be in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. In the US, one job is created for every 35 international visitors. WTTC also estimates worldwide GDP increases for the industry will rise by 4.2% annually to $9.226 trillion by 2021.

Certainly in the butler-training field, a small niche I have some familiarity with, there is much demand in the Far East and some in the West to support the general notion that things are improving.

Deloitte surveyed 1,000 business travelers in September 2011, 85% of who said they expected to travel in 2012 as much as, or more than, in 2011—Gen X and Y being the main drivers. The Global Business Travel Association recently predicted 2012 business travel will increase 4.6% over 2011, reaching $263 billion dollars—but then revealed that the increase was due to rising costs, not more travelers, and that the 2.1% increase in number of travelers during 2011 would decrease 0.8% in 2012.

To be sure, there are other rumblings of difficulties in our client bases. We can, perhaps, ignore the Chinese New Year astrology predictions for the Year of the Water Dragon being not so good for tourism and hospitality; but then the Chinese market is coming to the rescue of quite a few properties as they flood out of the region in mind-boggling numbers not seen since the forces of Ghengis Khan. If the Chinese were to take this prediction seriously, they might just bring it about.

According to Peter Yesawich, a growing number of mass affluent consumers (with household incomes of $125,000-$300,000) in the US has cut back on travel plans for various reasons boiling down to higher prices and their greater indebtedness/the economic realities. As the numbers quoted are between 51% and 68%, and 41% don’t have enough time to travel, limiting themselves to local weekend trips, we are talking about a significant market segment moving in the wrong direction from the hospitality perspective; as could be said of the number of millionaire households in the $1-9 million net-worth range, which has diminished by three million since 2010, having been inflated by home prices and stock market investments. A November 2011 Harris poll found 30% of the more-affluent Americans saying they will take a vacation for more than a week in the next six months, a 20% drop from the prior six months, because of uncertainty about the economy.

While there will always be those who travel intensively because their wealth permits it, a snapshot of the bulk of US consumers is not encouraging: they have lost $20 trillion in wealth since 2007, their homes having lost an average 30% in value, and twelve million homeowners are underwater; the actual unemployment rate of 22.5% reflects nine million jobs lost, with 48 million having no work at all in 2010, and 5.5 million filing for personal bankruptcy (2008 through 2011). Those with work are mostly struggling, as incomes have dropped 10% since the crash (a median of $504 a week), measured against a background of incomes increasing only by 1% since 1987, while the official cost of living increased 103% in that time, and is running currently at 10-12% per annum. Retirees and investors are feeling the pinch with interest rates almost zero. 77% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, up from 43% in 2007, while Americans carry $798 billion in outstanding credit card balances at an average rate of 14%. 56 million Americans (18.5%) live at or below the poverty line in 2010, with a record 44.7 million on food stamps.

OK, enough already!

So what now, is the economy able to support the expansion anticipated? Well, it is easy to become introverted on US and European troubles—the rest of the world is enjoying growth rates averaging 7%, so they may be impacted by a drop in US and European guests, but these are not the only pebbles (guests) on the beach.

From the discordant voices pitching different ideas, it is not clear which way the economy will go, so more late nights of investigation lead to un-chartered territory and finally, to cut a long story short, falling precipitously down a large black hole, like Alice in Wonderland, into a place the author did not want to be—the kind of situation where a butler finds his boss in flagrante delicto with the maid, at the same time as the Mrs. is discovered elsewhere doing the same with the tennis coach. Too much information, but once known, it cannot be unknown. It can be kept to oneself, in true butler fashion, but anyone who has read the classic book or seen the movie, Remains of the Day, with Stevens, the butler (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the movie), strictly focusing on his work while his boss backs the wrong horse in the bigger picture results in ruination for both butler and boss. Philandering bosses is one thing, but something on the order of a spiraling economy is another, as it impacts so many people’s lives.

As Sir Winston Churchill once said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” And so, for better or worse, here it is—the cascading torrent of unwelcome revelations that kept me up late at night: make of it what you will.

Just as magicians rely on confusing their audience in order to make them see what they want them to see, so can a subject be made so confusing that nobody can understand it, not even the experts: such obfuscation has occurred with the subjects of economics and money. Do you really understand them? Indulge me while I lay out the basics which then make the departure from the fundamentals crystal clear:

Money is a means of moving beyond simple barter, which is impractical beyond a simple village environment; money is simply the assurance that coin, paper, digital entries or whatever other symbol is in use, will be accepted by those wanting to sell and buy to and from each other. The authority issuing the currency (or credit) has one key responsibility: to always keep the supply of money in balance with the amount of goods and services in circulation, so that there will always be enough money to produce and consume, but not so much that the money inflates (raising prices) or so little that it deflates (prevents production and purchase by its absence). What is the key here? Money simply represents produced services and goods already in existence or about to be brought into existence—allowing for their exchange, which is really what economics consists of.

The difficulties in communicating these fundamentals are a) that the minds of readers crammed with complex and incorrect information will freeze and they will be unable to think with these fundamentals; b) the eyes of those who cannot understand the subject at all may glaze over as they space out; and c) experts will decry how over-simplistic are these ideas. I sympathize. The best I can suggest is that the reader, if he finds himself so embarrassed, go over and over the above paragraph and see how it could be true.

If I haven’t lost you yet, then hang on, because the slide down the black hole becomes steeper at this point: if we believe President Franklin Roosevelt when he said: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way,” then we cannot simply accept that the sub-prime, predatory lending loans, the trillions (and perhaps quadrillions of dollars) in unsecured derivatives, the collapse of the economies of whole countries, could just be a case of bad judgment, untrammeled greed, poor planning, unpredictable market forces, nor bad luck.

And indeed they weren’t. Not to name any names, but brokerage houses mainly centered on Wall Street, have placed their men in the White House and US administrations for quite some time now, and they worked together with the privately owned central bank of the US (not naming names) to strip away any possibility of government oversight of their actions: they passed at least 14 key laws between 1989 and 2006 that gave them free rein in the financial sector, the results of which we see today in the US and Europe. If it were not for the fact that the privately held central bank for all major central banks then made an accounting rule change that forced all banks to reevaluate their portfolios drastically downwards,* sending them into instant insolvency and precipitating the crisis of 2008, and then insisted on keeping that rule in place so banks went under or were bailed out, the crash would not have happened.

* The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, for instance, projected a quarterly loss of $44,000, but per the new accounting rule, ended up writing down the value of its mortgage-backed securities by $87.4 million and $98.7 million in the following quarter.

And at this point, we are in the twilight zone that Alice discovered in Wonderland, because further investigation shows, as William Pitt the Elder (Prime Minister of England during the 18^th Century) said: “There is something behind the throne greater than the King himself.” He also said: “The little I know of it has not served to raise my opinion of what is vulgarly called the ‘Monied Interest;’ I mean, that blood-sucker, that muckworm,* that calls itself ‘the friend of government.’” He was referring to a relatively small group of individuals who, in his time, ruled England behind the scenes, and has since come to rule most of the world. This group handily pulls the strings behind our elected officials, and believes itself superior enough in intellect to determine our futures. If it were not for the fact that they scrambled their way to their current positions of power by at least twenty dishonest strategies that I have counted, and if their actions did not lay waste to countries at a time and their bewildered and suffering populaces, I would say “all power to them.”

* Muckworm: worm-shaped insect larva found in manure.

But that is not the way it is, their superior intelligence notwithstanding.

Just as it was not the place for Stevens the butler to tell Lord Darlington that he was making a mistake in supporting the Nazis—something he was to find out for himself after it was too late—it may not be my place to point this out, either. Certainly, a messenger’s lot is often unenviable, especially when the people of which he speaks bankrolled the Nazis in real life—but there comes a point where standing by while well-meaning individuals and groups, trying to determine their fate, are looking everywhere but the ceiling (where, to borrow from investigative report Matt Taibbi, there is a giant vampire squid controlling things unseen), would show a lack of moral fiber that cannot be countenanced in a butler.

For while the majority are working and hoping for good forward progress, the few who steer the boat actually have the ship heading straight for the rocks, and no matter how much you stoke the fires, keep the brass shining, and ensure your guests are comfortable, the ship will keep heading for the rocks unless someone pulls the wheel hard-a-port, and in a timely fashion. And there it is, just as Churchill said.

Conclusion: Do nothing and watch it all unfold, including the collapse in the value of the US dollar and perhaps Euro in the next year or two (lots of ramifications there for the hospitality industry) and the concomitant loss of business volume. Or become active in returning the US and other economies to a sound, production-oriented footing, with government issuing money and credit, and usurious personal and national debt to bankers a thing of the past.

The above is necessarily short and generalized: an easy-to-understand, thorough (and complimentary) ninety-page analysis is available—what it took eventually to write this article—including specific outcomes and action points.

Published initially by Hotel Executive magazine, March, 2012 

Also http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article62341.html

Also http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2012_2nd/Apr12_WorldEconomy.html

www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4055516.html

The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 8, issue 4

International Institute of Modern Butlers

Message from the Chairman

Last year, the Institute engaged in a first for the profession: the training of guest-facing staff of an upscale retirement community in the superior service skills of butlers. The staff are not butlers and do not provide all the services that a butler could in a private estate or even a hotel, but they know how to deliver the same solicitous level of caring service. The media picked up on it this year, validating the experiment carried on by the visionary owners and management of On the Avenue, in Toronto, Canada. This is just one project across various industries and walks of life where the Institute is engaged in its mission: the application of butler standards and expectations of service to all service industries. The target we’d like to approach next? How about government agencies, some of which excel and some of which leave much to be desired?

On a different note, the MBJ is available to anyone with something of interest or value to the profession, to share their information. Feel free to email your best efforts: the editor won’t bite, promise.

 Letters to the Editor

“I appreciate all you do for the profession!  I stumbled across and printed the article on Brand Butler a while back and am trying to relocate it so I can forward it to colleagues for use in an upcoming DEMA meeting in Greenwich. Can you send the link to relocate it? GW

Editor: Thank you. We have had the published articles on the profession (some thirty of them) placed in their own category again just recently: With the upgrade in design of the Modern Butlers web site last year, the articles, and the wealth of information they provided, were mixed in with blogs and Modern Butler Journals, so became hard to find. Sorry for the inconvenience.  You can find that article, as with all the published articles, at resources>published articles.

As an additional side note to the readership, the list now includes the latest article just published, What is Behind the Gyrations of the World Economy & Where is It Going?  One person expressed disappointment last year at finding an article not directly relating to the butler profession included in the MBJ—one that addressed the concern expressed by many at the time about Fukushima Daiichi, the radiation possibly impacting all life on earth from the Japanese nuclear reactor breakdowns.

As with the world economy article, both issues have some impact on butlers in private service and their employers, as well as butlers in hospitality and other sectors, and their colleagues and employers. By impact is meant having some bearing upon their ability to do their work effectively, not to mention their welfare.

The MBJ, therefore, will continue to carry such papers and articles very occasionally as a service to its membership. The next one being researched is our food and water supply and quality—something, we believe, most people will concede has some bearing upon a butler’s ability to provide his or her most traditional of services.

***

“I agree that quite a few butler academies copy and paste their materials. I saw this first in 2000 in [Ed: location deleted]. Some see the prices that can be charged for courses and think that, with little-to-no knowledge, they can make money by setting up an academy. There is a relatively new academy in the world that makes me crazy with its emails, Twitter, and Facebook outpourings. I asked where they acquired their experience and who had labelled them the best in the world, as was being claimed. No satisfactory answer was received, of course. Only clients give you such a label by inviting you again. It is disconcerting that such people are given assignments by principals who most of the time have no idea they are being shortchanged because they look to that person for guidance on what is a butler.” TW

***

“I am shocked but not surprised at the foreshortened butler training that is taking place, as covered in this most recent MBJ. I have witnessed or heard about this time and again (as have many other professionals, no doubt)—the perpetrators putting on a good dog-and-pony show that provides instant gratification until the unfortunate lack of change or improvement in the real world leaves the employer or manager back in the same unhappy position: needing to train their employees: this standard does create a negative impression and stigmatize the profession as a whole. AJS.

***

Scam Alert: One member asked for advice on a job offer from a Jefferson Hotel in the US—a curious move, given that he is in private service, but he is free to move in any direction he pleases and so, as he was unfamiliar with the US environment, felt some advice to be in order: “I have just received the attached job offer, if I may please ask for your opinion? I applied online a while ago and this is the response.” He had spotted already that hours were listed as Monday through Friday and additionally, web sites, email addresses, and area codes were inconsistent.

Editor: Too many things do not make sense, most particularly the use of language; the amount of time off (usual in the US is 2 weeks, not 2 months plus 20 days); and the requirements that the applicant arrange his visa through a specific office. 

To all private service and hospitality butlers outside the US hoping for a position, please see this link and steer clear of this scam.

Butlers in the Media

An interesting article in the Sunday Independent about domestic service in the UK, which seems representative of service in other countries (with [apologies for not including it in the last MBJ and] thanks toMr. Aris Chrisanthakopoulos, who brought it to our attention and is quoted in the article).

Forbes Travel Guide provides a short summary of three “unique” butler services in hotels: a fragrance butler  (which is new, although the person bringing the goodies to guests is not a butler); a waiter who presents tea as a “tea butler” (the photograph shows a well-presented tea service, but the service is far from unique); and a bath butler (not unique either, and the menu is not overly creative, but  the butler is delivering it and no doubt guests enjoy it).

In a wonderful example of the media having a firm idea of what they want to say and finding information to support it, come what may, a Bloomberg reporter ignored my information to publish the fiction that lady butlers are paid more than their male counterparts. How did they come to this conclusion? Bloomberg reviewed census data, where butlers, apparently, are placed in the same category as  house sitters and shoe shiners—where females earn $1.02 for every $1 their male counterparts earn and the average income is  $25,000 pa. While the main thrust of the article is fine—showing that in most professions, males are paid more than females—what makes the article illogical in respect to butlers is

a) the incorrect assumption that butlers are the same as shoe shiners and house sitters in terms of professional skills and salary ranges. Yes, they work to service others in a private capacity, but using the same level of logic, one could equally well combine the chairman of Goldman Sachs and his secretary into a single category of “finance” and reach a similarly illogical conclusion;

b) the idea that, because female shoe shiners (have you ever seen a female shoe shiner?) earn 2 cents more per shoe shine than men, female butlers earn more, too;

c) Omitted information: of the 38,210 people surveyed in this category, how many were butlers? 3? 300?

As I told the reporter, nobody knows whether male butlers are paid more than female butlers. As we all know, salaries are all over the map depending on the employer,  the duties demanded of the butler, the experience of the butler, the value to the employer of that particular butler, etc. The gender of the butler has no bearing on salary range. And as salary is only part of the entire package when room, board, transport, health insurance and bonuses are factored in, salary alone would be an incomplete measure.

Oh dear, another “The butler did it” reported in a variety of media. Whenever tired writers see the word “butler,” the rest of the phrase that should immediately be struck from what they are writing, inevitably makes its way into print anyway. In this case, however, there is the possibility that the butler did do it, and a jury has just decided as much. Of what was he found guilty? Helping hold his employer to ransom at syringe point and then fleeing with nary a penny but apparently leaving behind enough clues to make sure he was caught.

Do we have to cringe, as a professional body? Yes, but it would be instructive to consider whether the butler was ever trained as one and what other qualifications he might have had to lay claim to such a title. As far as can be determined using the information available in the media, the butler worked for the victim for only a few months in 2006  before being fired for crashing one of the employer’s vehicles while using it on an unauthorized personal trip. Prior to this position as “butler,” he held chauffeur and personal assistant positions for three New York families. Judging from his background and his ethic level, it seems his hiring as a butler was the result of the willingness by agencies and employers to take on butlers based on experience in similar lines of work, and without any training for the position—as logical as hiring a trainee accountant to work as a lawyer because they are both professional services required to deal with business and government requirements.

The home invasion was not just a case of a bad apple, but also a flawed system that we, the various professions involved in private service, can do something about to better serve our clientele.

The wonders of technology: there is now a car butler in your iPhone.

by Wayne Fitzharris of Global Search International

To update all readers of the Modern Butlers’ Journal on the last MBJ post on The Butler movie being directed by Lee Daniels, you will be pleased to know that more progress is being made in the casting: It has been reported that Jane Fonda will play Nancy Reagan, and Forrest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and David Oyelowo may also be in the cast.

Mr. Allen began his career in 1952, when segregation laws were still in place, working his way up from the pantry to waiter to Maitre D’ and finally to White House butler, serving under eight Presidents before retiring in 1986.

Reportedly, First Lady Nancy Reagan came looking for Eugene in the kitchen one day: She wanted to remind him about the upcoming state dinner for then German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl. Mr. Allen told her he was well ahead in the planning and had already picked out the china. She replied that he would not be working that night: “You and Helene are coming to the state dinner as guests of President Reagan and myself.”

Few butlers there are who can make such a claim.

Placement 

We have noticed a definite increase in requests for butlers in private estates, as well as head butlers, from various parts of the world. If you are in, or anticipate being in, the job market again, and we do not have your resume/CV or a recent copy, feel free to e-mail  it with a statement of your position and location goals, and salary requirements.

Alternatively, if you have experience in hospitality, catering, or customer service, then the Queen of England is looking for a footman to provide a range of services, from messenger and valeting duties to food and beverage service to members of the Royal Family and their guests. Live-in, 15,000 GBP—meager salary but an excellent opportunity to learn the ropes (including training and apprenticeship) and launch yourself in this new profession while serving a notable family.

Casting call for any Brits living in, or able to work in, the US, who would like to audition for a TV series on the day-to-day life of a British household staff working with an American family. The New York-based production company specializes in documentaries  and (non-gutter) reality television. Positions available: housekeeper; chauffeur, nanny, and PA/Secretary—the last three needing to be in their 20s and 30s. Email if interested.

Cigars, Part II

 by Frank Mitchell 

Harvesting & Processing Tobacco Part 1

The traditional tobacco harvest is somewhat unusual in that, rather than bringing the harvest in all at once as with other crops, the leaves are harvested in phases. Called ‘priming’, the plants are primed in thirds or fifths, meaning that there will be either three or five harvests to complete the process.

The plant is harvested from the bottom up as the leaves nearest the bottom start turning brown first. In this way, eac successive priming moves up the plant until the final priming removes the leaves at the top.

The leaves may be plucked with a rapid downward motion, or may be cut off with a small hatchet. The leaves are very large, and there will typically be 18 useable leaves spread over five primings. From bottom to top, these primings are referred to as Volado, Seco, Viso, Ligero, and Corona. These areas of the plant are defined and named as they have special significance to cigar makers. Some parts of the plant produce leaves that are stronger in flavour, while others are weaker. All are used in different ways – they may become cigar filler, binders, or wrappers.

This method of harvesting is obviously very labour intensive and is only used where labour costs are low, or when making premium handmade cigars. The alternative is whole-stalk harvesting, where the entire plant is simply cut off at the base.

Tobacco drying, photo by Words & Images

Once the leaves have been harvested, they must be dried slowly to prevent rot. The process is called “curing” and takes from 25 to 45 days. The leaves may be tied in bunches and suspended from horizontal poles, or they may be pierced and strung up to dry. During curing, the fresh, bright green leaves turn brown and develop their distinctive aroma as the chlorophyll slowly breaks down and is replaced by carotene. By varying the curing process, the colour of the final leaf can be manipulated.

Tobacco drying shed Windsor, CT. Photo by Words & Images

In warm climates, air drying takes place in well ventilated barns with slatted sides. The temperature inside can be controlled by opening or closing wide doors, following the passage of the sun across the sky. An alternative, called flue curing, is used in cooler climates. Here the barn is heated but care must be taken to prevent the leaves drying out too quickly. Sawdust or hardwood may also be burnt in the barn to aid drying and impart flavour. These curing barns are often located alongside the very fields in which the tobacco is grown.

Let’s Talk about Wine, Part V

 by Amer Vargas 

Champagne bottle by Creative Tools

In the current article, we deal with the production of the most famous of alcoholic drinks, the king of wines, Champagne.

To start with, Champagne is a sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wines are Champagne. The drink acquired its name from the region in the North-East of France where it is produced. Any wine made under the same conditions, with the same ingredients and following the same procedure has no right to call itself Champagne if it is not grown in this region; instead, it’s called sparkling wine, with the right to show on the label that it has followed the same procedure. What’s so special about Champagne, the region? Both its climate and its soil: temperature and humidity are ideal for growing the particular grapes to make the desired drink, and the soil is very rich in chalk and very absorbent, allowing the vines to obtain just the right amount of water needed to prevent them from drying out or drowning.

Champagne is made of 3 different grape varietals mainly, that can be used singly or mixed in different percentages. Other varietals are sometimes used to give the drink different hints of flavor.

Chardonay by Pete Markham. Chardonnay is the only white grape used, giving Champagne its freshness and flower notes;

Pinot Meunier by Konk Niffe. Pinot Meunier is a small red grape with very dark skin but very clear must, giving a little acidity to the drink;

Pinot Noir by N. Murayama. Pinot Noir is a slightly larger red grape that adds full acidity, body and structure.

Pinot Noir is the kind of grape that improves with aging, so it’s presence is especially important in Champagnes to be aged for several years.

If the Champagne is made of 100% Chardonnay, it’s called Blanc de Blancs (white of whites), and if it’s 100% Pinot Noir, Noir de Noirs (black of blacks), due to the color of the grape skin used.

Champagne is made using the “Méthode Champenoise” or “Méthode Traditionnel.” Legend has it that Champagne was fine-tuned by a Benedictine monk called Dom Pérignon in the second half of 17^th century (yes, the same famous Champagne brand).

In the beginning of the 17^th century, many wine producers from the area started to bottle their white wines before the fermentation had finished in order to preserve the aromas. As a result, bubbles where produced (without them initially realizing it) and vintners started to worry and call that drink the “devil’s wine,” as bottles suddenly exploded or the cork simply popped out. Dom Pérignon introduced some changes that would lead to the creation of the exquisite libation we enjoy nowadays: he was the first one to choose the grapes carefully to make the best wines in the area, and took care of the devil by holding the cork with a stiff metal staple and bottling the drink in thicker glass bottles (made available courtesy of advances in the manufacture of glass bottles by the British, who were actually the first to make sparkling wines—but that is a different story).

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The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and skills of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resort,  spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts, & cruise ships around the world.

The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 8, issue 3

International Institute of Modern Butlers

Message from the Chairman

Copying, copyright, and doing the right thing

The gap between what is promised and what is delivered is not always so visible

You may have noticed the MBJ has a new look—fewer photographs. This is the result of a rather heavy handed enforcement of copyrights by lawyers trolling the Web for improper usage. We had inadvertently used one image that we had thought had been in the public domain. We have no issue with enforcement of copyright—we have, after all, seen such copying of our own material as the entire web site, down to font, color, and commas, by some outfit out of China. It took persistence to have it removed.

More common is the usage of our concepts and text by others in our industry. The most recent example was brought to our attention a couple of days ago, when an affiliate in the Far East asked us to confirm that a training outline from a web site was correct. In checking, we found that this site had copied verbatim from another site, which, in turn, had copied verbatim from our site.

I have brought this up in an earlier Journal: if an individual is so short of ideas and original thought that he or she has to copy the work of others and hide their source, they could at least put some effort into it and use their own words. Simply cutting and pasting betrays a lack of effort and understanding that would neither serve nor impress potential buyers of their services. Those clients won’t know until the copycat arrives on their doorstep and fails to deliver the expected level of service. Then, over time, word spreads and the individual goes out of business. Maybe these people should quit while they are ahead, instead of leaving upset clients in their wake and muddying up the industry.

Along the same line, I need to beat another drum about a similar “quicky impulse” that is degrading our profession. As we have just posted on our home page, our consulting and training rates are the highest in the industry for the simple reason that we believe five-star standards are best served by five-star training. This does not mean exorbitant rates, but it does mean that when we write proposals, they are designed to bring about well-trained butlers who are a credit to their employers. We are happy to bid on, and participate in, projects where this is the understanding and the goal. However, we cannot endorse training of butlers in a day or two just so a certificate can be issued—the butlers know when they have been trained properly, as do their employers and guests. The simple truth is, it is well-trained butlers, not certificates, that provide superior service.

To the majority who understand that the butler profession is principally about quality, not superficial appearances, thank you!

 Letters to the Editor

Photo by Janos Feher

I have some reservations about the article in The Guardian that was mentioned in the last MBJ and signed by an unknown ‘Stevens’—a reason to suspect that the article may not be genuine. What is more suspicious is that this reported colleague confuses the duties of a butler with those of a valet and personal assistant. It is true that sometime the three roles can be combined into a wider butler role, but the butler is inevitably attached to an employer’s property, today as in the past, and yet Stevens travels around the whole time with his employer. Stevens concludes that his job ‘hasn’t changed much since the 19th-century, other than the fact I carry two Blackberrys instead of tails.’ The reality is indeed that the job has not changed at all if we talk about the mindset and the tradition: The key difference is probably in the complexity and size of the properties and the number of members of staff we are today called to manage, which has decreased over the last century.” G.L.

Editor Note: Thank you for your observations and thoughts. We are happy to take Stevens at face value—his misnomer could perhaps be ascribed to his lack of formal training, having switched to the profession (obviously quite successfully) from acting.

Butlers in the Media

The White House Butler

Eugene Allen, the butler who worked at the White House in Washington DC under eight presidents from 1952 to 1986, will have his life immortalized in a planned film aptly called The Butler by director Lee Daniels. Oprah Winfrey is in talks about playing the role of Mrs. Allen. The source for the film appears to be Wil Haygood’s A Butler Well Served by This Election, a story published in a Washington Post edition during 2008. Hopefully, the source will be augmented by enough material for an accurate portrayal. Lee Daniels seems to specialize in macabre movies (The Paperboy and The Precious), so hopefully this one will be a break from his norm.

The Secret Appeal of Downton Abbey

In an article entitled The Secret Appeal of Downton Abbey, the Wall Street Journal explains the popularity of Downton Abbey in the United States as being based on a voyeurism or “pornography of class and hierarchy.” Points good and bad are made, the worst assumption being that happiness depends upon wealth; the worst assertion being that we are all snobs; and the best insight (wonderfully phrased) being, “Downton Abbey portrays a fairy-tale way of life in which butlers and footmen appear far better dressed than today’s billionaires—many of whom, after making their fortune, seem to want to be sartorially indistinguishable from the most sloppily dressed adolescent rebel. The series thus satisfies a secret or vicarious longing for elegance without imposing the hard work that’s necessary to achieve it in reality.”

Placement 

Upbeat Household Manager  required for family in large estate in Miami. Must speak Spanish to manage the  large number of staff.

A PA/Valet for high-profile individual traveling extensively between London, New York, Kuwait, and his yacht.

Email us if you are interested and feel you might qualify.

Cigars, Part II

 by Frank Mitchell 

 Growing Tobacco

It is believed that tobacco may have been cultivated in the Americas as far back as 6,000BC. These days Brazil, China, USA, Turkey and India produce about 2/3rds of the world’s tobacco. Our focus for this instalment will be Cuba, as we are interested in tobacco grown for use in premium cigars, rather than the mass agriculture of cigarette tobacco.

At one point, Greece was the only country in the world dedicating more land to tobacco cultivation than Cuba.  This is extraordinary if one considers that Cuba is about the size of Pennsylvania. While Cuba is not ranked in the top ten producers by yield, it certainly is considered one of the best in terms of quality. Both the lower production figures and the high quality of Cuban tobacco may be attributed partly to their use of traditional labour-intensive farming methods. In addition, the climate and soil in certain parts of this country seem almost uniquely suited to growing this crop.

85% of tobacco grown in Cuba is produced by small-scale farmers belonging to the National Association of Small Farmers. Such farmers are historically more productive than the state-owned cooperatives, producing a leaf yield of up to 80% per plant while some state-owned farms manage only 10-20%. For some years now, the Cuban government has been returning land to small farmers in the interests of both higher yields and quality.

The premier tobacco growing regions in Cuba are; Oriente, Remedios, Partidos, Semi-Vuelta, and Vuelta Abajo, with the Vuelta Abajo region generally being regarded as the finest.

Tobacco is part of the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae), of the genus Nicotiana. There are many types of tobacco, but Cuba mostly grows varieties of Criollo and Corojo.  Criollo is considered one of the original Cuban

An old tobacco press in a Connecticut plantation, photo by Words & Images

tobaccos and can be traced back to the time of Columbus. Corojo on the other hand dates back to the 1930’s and was originally used as wrapper leaf, relegating the Criollo leaves to the inside of the cigar. Subsequently, it was found that if Criollo is given the proper care and grown in the shade, it too can make a good wrapper leaf. In the 1990’s Corojo was replaced with a less delicate hybrid, Habana 2000. These days Cuba mostly plants two hybrid strains, Criollo ‘98 which is Blue Mould resistant and Corojo ’99.

The seeds are as fine as ground pepper and are sowed on top of the soil as they need sunlight to germinate. In some countries the seedlings must to be protected from frost by germinating them under glass in the early spring. In warmer climates it is only necessary to cover them with thin cloth to protect them from beetles. Once the seedling is around 8 inches tall, it will be planted out in the fields and may still be grown under muslin tents if shade-grown wrapper leaves are required.

Tobacco is an annual crop and if the planting is done by hand, it will be done after the rain so that the seedlings can be planted in moist soil. This is not necessary when using an automated planting machine, as it waters the hole it makes before planting the seedling.

The plants remain susceptible to water stress and need to be kept in well-drained, moist soil. Tobacco fields are also usually well tended as the plants do not like competing with weeds for water.

Tobacco growers traditionally spoke of the magic sixes – six weeks to germinate, six weeks to grow, six weeks to harvest, six weeks to cure and six weeks to ferment. Obviously the actual timing can be affected by many factors, but the ‘magic sixes’ remain a valid, if somewhat coarse guideline. Unless a farmer wants to collect seed, the plants will be topped as soon as they start forming flowers. This allows the upper leaves to grow larger and thicker than they would otherwise. Soon after topping, axillary buds will begin forming and these buds, called suckers, must also be removed otherwise they will reduce the quality of the tobacco leaf.

Next month we will discuss the harvest, as this is done in stages, different leaves being put to different use.

Click on http://www.businessinsider.com/cuba-tobacco-farm-2011-9 to see some beautiful pictures of tobacco farming in Cuba taken over a ten-year period by photographer John Valls.

Let’s Talk about Wine, Part IV

 by Amer Vargas 

Stabilization in barrels, photo by Robert Mondavi

After the must has undergone the desired fermentation and/or maceration, the drink is ready for the next step, called stabilization, in which the tank is emptied through a large strainer into a container so as to separate the liquid

from the skins and pips. This wine is then transferred into iron or concrete tanks, or wooden barrels where it becomes the best quality wine (compared to lesser-quality wine obtained by pressing the skins and pips again).

 At this stage, the wine is allowed to go through malolactic fermentation (as explained in last article) if desired, to have lighter and fresher wines, reducing its acidity and giving more complexity.

From cloudy alcoholic juice to pre-wine

At this stage, the wine is a dark and cloudy drink and the next steps is designed to improve the appearance and taste: this is where the so famous “aging” starts that can last from several months to many years!

Aging begins with racking the wine, which involves naturally clarifying it: low temperatures prompt the sediments to fall to the bottom of the containers, so leaving a clearer drink that is then transferred to a clean receptacle. This, done several times during the aging period, will change the liquid into a more palatable and visually appealing drink.

Red wine can also be filtered through soils, as mentioned in the earlier article on white wine production, so that the resulting drink is an almost completely bright and clear beverage.

The real wine: blending

After the wine is clean and has aged as long as the vintner determines to be necessary, it is ready for blending. What is blending? It’s when different wines (from different varietals and/or after undergoing different fermentations or macerations) are mixed according to a determined percentage of each, to create a unique libation.

This is where oenologists (wine experts) move into action: each year the grapes are different because of different climate conditions, yet all brands like to keep the same taste under the same label year after year. The oenologist takes samples of the wines so that, after tasting, he or she can decide what wines and in what percentage to blend to achieve the desired final red.

Once the percentages are established, they are blended in big tanks and the resulting brew is ready to go through different filters to remove smaller particles, and then through a filtering device after which the wine is ready to be bottled.

Bottling wine, photo by BillBl

 

With the wine in the bottle, the last step involves inserting an appropriate cork and removing the oxygen from inside to avoid the development of microorganisms and any uncontrolled

Aging wine in bottles, photo by Guttorm Flatab

evolution.

Some wines are, at this point, ready for sale; others will spend a few or many years in the bottle in cellars, far from strong lighting and maintained at constant temperatures. The wine will increase in complexity as it ages, requiring only good care and time.

In the next article, we will toast with a glass of the most famous wine the world over—Champagne.

 

 

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The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and skills of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resort,  spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts, & cruise ships around the world.

 The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 8, issue 2

International Institute of Modern Butlers

Message from the Chairman

Letters to the Editor

Have you seen the recent British TV series, Downton Abbey? It has been a great success in the UK and has just been broadcast on

Italian TV, too. It portrays the life of a large mansion in the pre-First World War England with all the downstairs and upstairs dramas.  It has beenwritten by the same author of Gosford Park , Julian Fellowes, and it certainly catches the audience’s attention. However, in my view, there are a few  too many “dramatised” rivalries and plots amongst the domestic staff…although we know how certain members of staff can be that mean, but they normally do not last for long once the butler comes to realise the sort of “sneaky” people he is dealing with.

Let us hope that this re-born interest on period dramas, with such a detailed description of the private service lives and roles, with a strong focus on the butler of course —who, in this series,  comes across as the solid point of reference in the house—will also bring a renewed interest in the butler figure, too, and to more and new job opportunities! Giovanni Lodigiani

Ed: Indeed! As for the excess amount of dramas, your point is well taken, although the series would no doubt be most boring to most viewers if it had no drama in it!

Greetings from HOTEL32, a “hotel within a hotel” on the top floor of the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas.

 I have read your Modern Butler Journals for quite some time and enjoyed them very, very much as I am a hotel butler. 

Is there some sort of membership available with The International Institute of Modern Butlers?

 

Kindest regards,

 R. Joel Heidtman

Ed: Glad to see butler service is available in the Monte Carlo.  Yes, membership is available.

Butlers in the Media

This is very sad, really, but 100% predictable. Nobody wishes this on another individual—being vilified in the media—especially when it is the kind of low grade rags like London’s Sun and the Daily Mail that will turn any plus into a minus—but the end result of betraying confidence as a butler is this kind of treatment. The comments from readers show that once respect has gone, it takes a definite effort to regain it over a period of time. Please take note anybody who feels tempted to cross that invisible line. If Mr. Burrell be reading this, it is not too late to make up the damage and walk back up the road…feel free to contact us.

On a more upbeat note, and talking of Downton Abbey being in the public consciousness, a well done account, We English butlers are in demand – but it’s not like Downton Abbey any more, about a modern day butler can be found in the Guardian (England). The last line was quite pithy: “My job probably hasn’t changed much since the 19th-century, other than the fact I carry two BlackBerrys instead of tails,” but quite a few pearls of wisdom, and interestingly, and explanation of why Russians and Chinese appreciate the butler figure.

Also interesting is the general tenor of the 97 comments on the article, providing a window into the general Web-going public’s ideas of and attitude towards butlers today. Probably 85% were negative and gleeful, even vulgar. But 30% were hung up in the idea of being obsequious. They have no concept of dignity, and it is unfortunate that the butler being interviewed did not communicate this directly, although it is obvious from the article that he does act with dignity. As covered in Remains of the Day, during the staff dinner, dignity is key to being a butler.
As one person stated, “Sadly the misanthropes [commenting] can’t refrain from throwing poo at everything that’s written here. If Santa wrote an article, there’d be comments from them like ‘Christmas is a tool of oppression by the working classes’ and ‘Tories are going to abolish Christmas, because they’re all racist paedos.’” Another said, “I wouldn’t worry about all the negativity you see in the comments. They’re very unhappy people who use the internet to attack others in ways they never would in real life. It makes them feel better for a short while.”
And one had an interesting comment about the apparent subservience of British butlers: “You only think you’re walking all over him. In fact he’s walking all over you, it’s just that you’re so quartz-brained and crass you don’t realise that he thinks of you as a sort of amiable pet or an idiot child and that’s why he is indulging your self-delusions. That’s rather the point of Jeeves and Wooster isn’t it, or is that another thing that flies over your head?” Well, musings aside, it is worth remembering that the drama of real life is not necessarily the same as drama on the silver screen or flat-screen TV.

We have butlers in hospitals as a slowly developing market that is perhaps best done in a low key fashion, judging by the letter written to the editor of the New York Times by one of their readers, a doctor, after reading the front page article, Chefs, Butlers, Marble Baths: Hospitals Vie for the Affluent. “Repugnant. Reprehensible. Show the photographs of the luxury hospital suite or the guest service desk to the poor man or the working-class woman who can’t pay for medical care, inpatient or outpatient. Then show the menu to the patient who is too ill to eat. Medicine has been hijacked by business.” There is no reason that hospitals should not offer superior service to those who can afford it, as with anything else in society. However, resentment will run high if too many people suffer at the hands of a small minority, as many a civilization’s elites have discovered through the ages. We do need to take responsibility for our fellow man, or the inevitable implosion of society is guaranteed.

Then we have those offering interesting services hanging on the coattails of the superior service “butler,” as stated in the article Brand Butler—all good for the profession, in the way that it keeps our profession up front and center as providers of superior service. In this case, we have perfume butlers at some Rosewood hotels, and tartan butlers for those who want to trace their Scottish roots.

Institute member, Giovanni Lodigianni ,was featured on two television spots in Italy recently, promoting the private service butler and the hotel butler.

Her Nobbs is no Nibs Talking of Downtown Abbey (yet again), a recent movie, Albert Nobbs has a butler in it of the same name —or so the movie critics repeatedly claim. In actual fact, Albert Nobbs is a waiter (and also covers bellman/porter), not a butler, and keeps saying so herself. She, or I should say, “he,” has quite a few of the characteristics of a butler, in terms of the restraint, but the self-effacing and irrational determination to self-implode in pursuit of an illogical dream leaves much to be desired.

In case the title does not make much sense (because it is written from Brit to Brit), “his nibs” is early 19-century slang, as in “His Nibs,” itself modeled mockingly after “his honor” and referring to an employer or superior, with additional meanings of a self-important person and a shabby, genteel person, “with no means but high pretensions.” It relates to British university slang for the head of a college, with “nob” referring to “head,” based on its meaning as a “projection from a hill,” as well as the variation “His nobship,” perhaps coming from “nabob” (a person returning wealthy from India) and “nobleman.”

One variation, dating back to the same time period, records that London Clubs had a policy of “no Irishmen,” which was communicated discreetly in Latin with “Adeste, nisi Hiberniae” (no Irish here). This was abbreviated to “Nis Hibs” and over time inverted to refer to the members of the clubs holding these policies, and reflected in the words by forming a spoonerism (inversion of the initial letter of two words): “His Nibs.” Now, this is the kind of thing that fascinates some British butlers, and I apologize if it bored.

Placement 

Three positions need to be filled. If interested and qualified for any of them, contact the Director of Placement.

1. An experienced butler/estate manager with hospitality experience, to be the general manager of a luxury boutique hotel and spa opening 1,200 meters above sea level on 80,000 square meters of grounds with a further 1.2 million square meters to be a botanical garden outside San Paulo, Brazil. Intended to be a showcase for spa and culinary delights as well as nature, the GM needs to run the hotel like a private estate,. To the same standards. Also needs to speak English as well as Portuguese, or if not the latter, Spanish or Italian so he can learn Portuguese more easily. Professional remuneration.
2.  One of the premier resorts in the Maldives is looking for an experienced Head Butler managing about 35 butlers. who will soon be receiving three months of training. 42K and 42 days off a year in three periods.
3. The Institute is looking for an experienced Indian butler living in India or willing to return home, to take care of training assignments in that country. Needs to have some experience with training and also management positions.

Cigars

by Frank Mitchell 

 Introduction

When doing Cigar Training, students will often ask me why they need to learn about cigars if they don’t smoke. The simple answer is that if one does not smoke, one will know little or nothing about cigars and therefore have more to learn. The longer answer is that cigars are a hand-made luxury item – one that requires careful handling and storage. If you work for someone who does smoke, or perhaps keeps them to offer to guests, then you will need to take care of their cigars in the same way that you might be entrusted with the care of antique furniture, valuable paintings or fine china. A cigar collection may be worth a great deal and can be irretrievable damaged in less than a fortnight. Perhaps the best answer of all is that cigars are quite simply fascinating. While I don’t smoke, I do appreciate the history, mystique and anecdotal wealth surrounding the industry.

History

There is evidence of tobacco use dating back almost 2 millennia and upon his arrival in the Americas, Christopher Columbus found that it was in widespread use all over the islands of the Caribbean. There is no evidence to support the theory that tobacco use had its origin in Cuba, but it was certainly already in use there by the time Columbus landed. The sailors began to use tobacco themselves and soon the practice spread to Europe, initially via Spain and Portugal. The introduction of tobacco to France is attributed to Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal who lent his name to ‘nicotine’. Incidentally, the word ‘cigar’ comes to us via the Spanish Cigarro which in turn is either from the Mayan-Indian word ‘sikar’ for smoking, or the Mayan ‘sicar’ meaning “to smoke rolled tobacco leaves”. Tobacco use spread to Italy and only later to England after Sir Walter Raleigh’s voyages to the Americas. The British initially preferred to smoke their tobacco in pipes, but high taxation limited its use.

In 1592, the Spanish galleon San Clemente delivered 50 kg of tobacco seed to the Philippines to be distributed by Roman Catholic missionaries and by the early 1700’s tobacco was being cultivated commercially in America.

While some believed tobacco to have medicinal value, there were those who resisted, most notable being Phillip II of Spain and James I of England. In fact the segregated smoking sections we have today in bars and restaurants are nothing new. Smoking cars on trains and smoking salons in hotels and clubs were the norm by the 1860’s. Ladies generally did not smoke and it was not considered proper to smoke in their presence. The men therefore would retire after a meal and smoke apart from their female dinner companions. The practice of smokers subjecting non-smokers to their unpleasant habit is a 20^th century phenomenon and one which thankfully died out within a few decades.

Способствует   установлению Стандартов Сервиса посредством Обучения персонала в Отелях класса люкс, на курортах и Спа-курортах.

Деятельность Института направлена на поднятие уровня стандартов обслуживания в

частных домах и в гостиничной индустрии посредством широкого распространения мышления и навыков того освященного веками, основного поставщика услуг, Британского Дворецкого, адаптированного к потребностям современных работодателей и гостей.

ЖУРНАЛ СОВРЕМЕННОГО ДВОРЕЦКОГО

Для профессионалов в сфере услуг по всему миру

Книга 6, Выпуск 7 – Июль 2010

Послание от председателя

Мы рады представить вам июльский номер журнала Современный Дворецкий. Наша профессия все еще находится под гнетом недавнего кризиса / депрессии, можно называть это по-разному. В начале июня я посетил 32 Ежегодную Международную Конференцию Гостиничных Инвесторов в Нью-йоркском Университете и ушел с обнадеживающими новостями, которые касались гостиниц по всему миру, испытывающих сильный всплеск спроса, и верой в то, что тяжелые времена отступили.

На одном собрании я слышал, как Генеральный директор одной из цепи отелей класса люкс сказал, что они были вынуждены убрать со своего сайта и брошюр все изображения дворецкого, держащего серебряный поднос, поскольку это выглядело слишком  показным.  Кажется, гости отеля хотят, чтобы их баловали, но не хотят выглядеть избалованными. То же самое можно сказать и о работодателях в области частных услуг.

Они потеряли здоровье из-за  ситуации на фондовом рынке и неуверенности в будущем, и начали нанимать «исполняющих домоправителей» с обязанностями дворецкого за половину зарплаты. Я дал интервью автору довольно оптимистичного Richestan. В настоящее время он готовит следующую книгу, чтобы показать, как кризис лишил почвы под ногами (некоторых) домоправителей и дворецких. Если вы находитесь в подобной ситуации, и хотели бы поделиться опытом, пожалуйста, дайте мне знать, и я вас познакомлю (это касается только сектора частных услуг, не гостиничного бизнеса).

С другой стороны, недавно я видел публичные отчеты отеля Плаза в Нью-Йорке, Лейнсборо в Лондоне, и Сандалз Резорт, – все они поощряют и содействуют службам дворецких, они содействуют очевидному: основным источником для баловства гостей в отелях являются дворецкие!

И, наконец: глупый дворецкий из West Palm Beach, штат Флорида, чей босс, как он знал наверняка, имел дело с малолетними проститутками, и, возможно,  из-за неверных представлений о преданности,  утаил от полиции журнал, подтверждающий сексуальные подвиги миллиардера.

А возможно, это было из-за денег: он был схвачен при попытке продать журнал за 50 000 долларов. Как бы то ни было, его босс получил более мягкий приговор, чем следовало бы, а дворецкий получил точно такой же приговор, как и его босс. Мораль этой истории такова: да, следует защищать своего босса, но кто сказал, что нарушение закона  таким очевидным (и неприятным) образом заслуживает защиты?

Как и в любой профессии, этика является ключевым моментом в профессии дворецкого (в противовес тюремному искушению). Есть еще более свежая новость: скандал во Франции, который разразился из-за дворецкого, записавшего на пленку своего работодателя, богатейшую даму страны. Она говорила со своим финансовым  советником о 80   миллиардах Евро, которые они спрятали (в Швейцарии) от налоговой полиции.

Дворецкий на этом ничего не заработал, возможно, он просто выполнил гражданский долг, и остался законопослушным гражданином, а не стал сообщником преступления; но он пополнил перечень причин, по которым работодатели не хотят нанимать дворецких. Возможно, мы могли бы добавить к этому утверждению «почему нечестные работодатели не хотят нанимать дворецких». Сложная ситуация, но поступил ли дворецкий правильно? Вот почему понимание и применение на практике этики было так важно для дворецких раньше, сейчас, и в будущем.

Стивен Ферри

Председатель

Вы можете написать Стивену Ферри по адресу (stevenferry@modernbutlers.com), или зайти на сайт (http://bloggingbutlers.wordpress.com).

ПИСЬМА К РЕДАКТОРУ

Уважаемый г-н Ферри,

Надеюсь, у вас все хорошо. Хотелось бы узнать вашу точку зрения на следующие вопросы: 1. Должны ли быть одеты на дворецком белые перчатки, когда он / она встречает гостей? 2. Должен ли он / она использовать их, когда распаковывает или укладывает вещи? Буду с нетерпением ждать ваших ценных советов,

С наилучшими пожеланиями,

Освальдо Торрес

Уважаемый г-н Торрес,

Не уверен, что дворецкий отеля обязан носить белые перчатки. Конечно, он может это делать. Надевая белые перчатки во время упаковывания вещей, вы  заботитесь о гигиене, а также о вашем стиле. Встречая гостей, конечно можно надеть белые перчатки. Опять же, это скорее вопрос стиля. Поскольку дворецкие не пожимают руки гостям, им не придется снимать перчатки.

Всего наилучшего,

Стивен Ферри

Дорогой Стивен,

С удовольствием прочитал прошлый выпуск журнала, с таким необычным содержанием… Забота о животных, дворецкие на пикник, интервью с дворецкими из Италии, советы о том, как завязать галстук, и так далее…. прекрасные статьи! Что касается  дворецкого из Непала – наследнике, этот человек унаследовал вместе с подарком и некоторые проблемы, так как возник вопрос выбора между  налогом на наследство и безопасностью! Спасибо за обмен опытом!

Морин Херрон

MH-Global Communications Network

Уважаемый г-н Ферри,

Я видел множество видео роликов о том, как начистить ботинки. На мой взгляд, ваш способ – лучший. Очень хорошо сделано, я благодарю вас, сэр

Без подписи

И ЕЩЕ О БОТИНКАХ

Возвращаясь к разговору о видео ролике по полировке обуви на YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeScJ_ Hemno), хочу добавить, что ботинкам, которые я использовал в видео, теперь уже 38 лет, и это служит поводом для удивления многих зрителей. Они удобны как старая пара тапочек, но я часто ношу их на работу, кожа ботинок все еще в хорошем состоянии.

Тем не менее, мне нужно быть скромнее, так как есть сообщение о найденном недавно в пещерах Армении кожаном шнурованном ботинке 7-го размера (только правый ботинок). Доисторическая Prada, датируемая 5,500 лет тому назад, когда люди предположительно только изобрели колесо, приручили лошадей, а также научились делать прекрасную кожаную обувь (и вино, согласно археологическим раскопкам Национального Географического Общества).

Принимая во внимание тот факт, что этот ботинок старше, чем пирамиды Египта, можете представить себе технику: использовали они Киви или  Мелтониан? Сменяли они друг друга для того, чтобы поддерживать кожу мягкой? Кажется, что эти ботинки из воловьей шкуры были смазаны растительным маслом и хранились не в Сидаре, а под несколькими слоями овечьего помета.

Девятнадцать лет назад, была найдена мумия, захороненная во льдах Альп недалеко от Итальяно-Австрийской границы, на ней были надеты ботинки, датируемые 5,200 лет тому назад. Медвежья подошва, боковины из оленьей кожи, сетка из коры дерева и травяные носки, возможно, это было эквивалентом снегоступов.

Обувь даже старше чем 5,500 лет была найдена в Миссури и Оригоне, но сделана она была из растительных волокон. Таким образом, кажется, что по планетарной шкале, 5,500 лет назад наступил поворотный пункт в производстве обуви; и, без сомнения, мои любимые ботинки   имеют хорошую родословную, и есть надежда, что они останутся в прекрасном состоянии на тысячи лет.

Стивен Ферри

Председатель

Еще кое-что на тему ботинок…

ОБЗОР ПРОДУКТА: BOOTIE BUTLER

Автор: Джим Гриз

Это всем известная ситуация, которая повторяется  ежедневно в лучших усадьбах повсюду: вы только что начистили до блеска паркет из дерева белого ясеня, с минуты на минуту должны явиться гости. Внезапно приходит ваш драгоценный электрик, водопроводчик, декоратор с тем, либо кто-то еще, чтобы доделать свой монтаж или ремонт.

Возникает проблема: ботинки – погибель для чистых полов в течение многих веков – прибыли вместе с ними и являются тем, что может разрушить за секунды то, на что ушло столько времени и труда. Теперь, они должны либо не забыть вытереть свои ботинки о коврик (что часто бывает неэффективно даже с хорошими ковриками), либо снять свою обувь совсем (что является обременительным и / или непрактичным из соображений безопасности).

Bootie Butler приходит на помощь. Это не просто очередная глупая идея под маркой Дворецкого, этот прибор замечательно послужит  всем нуждающимся посредством установки удобных фабричных колодок поверх ботинок или туфлей любого размера. Bootie Butler можно разместить на служебном входе, а также загружать новыми, чистыми, одноразовыми booties для эффективной защиты вашего блестящего пола от мусора с ботинок вашего поставщика.

Лучше всего установить Bootie Butler там, где часто переобуваются. Существует несколько моделей на любой вкус и кошелек, но модель Kinetic Bootie Butler Large является наиболее эффективной, так как в ней сверху есть ручка, которая позволяет потребителю держаться, если это необходимо, и таким образом уменьшает  вероятность падения, или несчастного случая (а также избавляет вашего работодателя от иска об ответственности). Компания также производит  изящный набор для снятия колодок, чтобы сделать уход ваших посетителей таким же легким, безопасным и приятным, как и их прибытие. Посетите страницу: http://www.bootie-butler.com/bootiebutler- kinetic.shtml

Джим Гриз  является профессионалом домашнего сервиса с 1989 года. Его увлечением  является обучение и развитие на своем рабочем месте. Джим живет в Северной Калифорнии.

СЕРЕБРЯННЫЕ ИЗДЕЛИЯ С БОЛТАЮЩИМИСЯ ИЛИ СЛОМАННЫМИ ДЕТАЛЯМИ

 Автор Джефри Херман

Со временем изоляторы, ручки, наконечники,  декоративные вставки и другие пористые компоненты чайников и кофейников, кастрюль, подставок для бутылок вина, щеток для волос и т.д., могут расшататься или сломаться. Это может быть в результате естественной усадки, небрежного обращения, в случае, если предмет упадет в воду, или жидкость попадет в розетку, или металлический ободок (стержень), который удерживает его на месте, что вызовет порчу (гниение) предмета, которое снаружи не заметно.

К таким восприимчивым материалам относятся: дерево, слоновая кость, китовый ус, рога носорога, перламутр, а также панцирь черепахи. Непрочные предметы, которые используются ежедневно, со временем становятся еще более непрочными. Это может привести  к разрушению изоляторов, поломанным ручкам, или искривленному дну подставки, и дополнительным повреждениям на основании предмета. Вот несколько советов:

1. Всегда поддерживайте чайник или кофейник за дно, когда берете его за ручку;

2. Если ручка начала болтаться, отнесите чайник к надежному  специалисту по серебряным изделиям. Поставьте на место и закрепите сломанные детали;

3. Никогда не позволяйте, чтобы вода соприкасалась с  пористыми элементами;

4. Удаляйте высохшую полировку с помощью ватных тампонов, или мягкой щетки;

5. С помощью ткани без ворса, нанесите три слоя высококачественной, кристально чистой карнаубской пасты, которая защитит от  влаги и порчи. Эта паста также предотвратит попадание полировки в поры дерева;

6. Можно чистить и полировать предметы если:

а) все детали надежно держатся на своих местах, и нет зазоров, через которые влага может просочиться в полые области и

б) на детали предварительно была нанесена паста (щетки для волос, пилочки для ногтей, и гребни должны чиститься только неабразивными средствами  без запаха и без алоэ, либо полировкой для серебряных изделий, которую должна высохнуть на изделии, и затем полировать);

7. Периодически натирайте воском пористые компоненты;

8. По любым вопросам консультируйтесь со специалистом по восстановлению серебра.

 Г-н Герман – владелец компании по восстановлению и хранению серебра Herman Silver Restoration & Conservation.  С ним можно связаться по телефону: 800-339-0417 или по почте:  jeff@hermansilver.com

 Страница в Интернете: http://www.hermansilver.com

МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ АССОЦИАЦИЯ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛОВ В СФЕРЕ ЧАСТНЫХ УСЛУГ (IAPSP)

Объявляет о своей Второй Ежегодной Конференции Частного Сервиса, названной «Знание  / Расширение прав и возможностей / Сообщество». Эта конференция пройдет в Хьюстоне, Техас, с 23 по 26 сентября 2010 г. Конференция IASPS будет работать как симпозиум, посвященный образовательным, лидерским и сетевым возможностям; содействуя профессионализму, превосходным навыкам   управления и службы экспертизы. По многочисленным просьбам, организаторы конференции  добавили еще один день к конференции этого года.

Конференция начнется в четверг днем, на ней будет предложено множество семинаров, секционных заданий, круглых столов и возможностей для работы в сети в течение всех выходных. В программу мероприятий также включены места для компаний, которые поставляют продукты и услуги кейтеринга для частного сервиса и заведений класса люкс. Вечером в субботу состоится Праздничный Ужин, сбор средств для IAPSP, затем закрытие конференции, а после мероприятие в эксклюзивном  конспиративном номере гостиницы ZaZa.

Следуя традиции, установленной в прошлом году, члены организации – домашний персонал исполнительского уровня со всего мира и разных направлений Частного Сектора, а также те, кто работает в сфере услуг, соберутся в Хьюстоне, Техас, на единственную в своем роде конференцию. Собираются приехать, в том числе управляющие поместьем, дворецкие, личные помощники, кадровые агенты и педагоги.

Президент IAPSP, Давид Бертник, сказал об этом событии, «В прошлый раз участники конференции пришли к заключению, что посещение подобного мероприятия в выходные дни имеет фокусированный, длительный и позитивный эффект, который нельзя сравнить с  местным собранием, длящимся один – два часа. Команда организаторов конференции этого года упорно трудилась для того, чтобы создать атмосферу, которая отвечала бы потребностям всем собравшимся на  конференции и это совершенно магическое зрелище – видеть, как все собираются вместе на выходные, привлеченные одной общей идеей – достичь совершенства в сервисе».

Регистрация уже началась. Пожалуйста, зарегистрируйтесь на сайте www.iapsp.net и кликните на логотипе конференции для того, чтобы больше узнать, или зарегистрироваться.

ПЕСНЬ НЕЗАМЕЧЕННЫМ ГЕРОЯМ

Мы начинаем выпуск ежемесячной рубрики, которая открыта для всех, кто хочет написать об эффективном сервисе. Первым нам написал письмо г-н Ллойд Вайт,  о поколении дворецких (чьи родители также работали в сфере частных услуг), г-не Роберте Дапоццо. Г-н Дапоццо, который работал в качестве управляющего поместьем, был вызван в кабинет к начальству во время рождественских каникул.

Начальница г-на Дапоццо услышала  по радио просьбу о помощи: местные рестораны нуждались в помощи в выполнении просьб о подарках для нуждающихся детей, размещенных на рождественских елках в их ресторанах. Предполагалось, что меценаты будут брать наугад пожелания, покупать подарки, а затем вернут подарки в ресторан.

Тем не менее, просьб было больше, чем людей,  пожелавших их выполнить. Г-ну Дапоццо было поручено собрать все невыполненные пожелания из каждого ресторана, выполнить их, и вернуть подарки, не называя себя. Он собрал сотни самых разных пожеланий, всех цветов, размеров и форм, не говоря уже об играх и игрушках.

Понимая, сколько времени и сил уйдет на выполнения этих пожеланий, г-н Дапоццо обратился в

местный универмаг с просьбой помочь в проекте, затем была организована команда из восьми человек, чтобы справиться с заданием. Г-н Дапоццо арендовал большой грузовик и стал развозить подарки по ресторанам.

Руководство ресторана было настолько взволнованно щедрыми подарками, что настояло на организации телевизионного интервью. Г-н Дапоццо сообщил начальству о просьбе относительно интервью, о проделанной работе, и затем отступил на задний план с тем, чтобы начальство могло принять всю честь за проект в телевизионном интервью.

Поздравляем, г-н Дапоццо, за понимание и демонстрацию самой сути, всех нюансов и представлений о профессии дворецкого. 

С нетерпение ждем от вас еще историй. Пожалуйста, присылайте их по адресу info@modernbutlers.com

Институт – это единственная организация, которая проводит обучение профессии дворецкого, фокусируясь на мышлении и превосходных коммуникативных навыках традиционного дворецкого с учетом потребностей современного мира сервиса. Вы можете связаться с нами по поводу проведения тренингов по почте enquiries@modernbutlers.com или позвонив в США по телефону: 1-813- 354-2734. Мы также приглашаем вас посетить наш сайт http://www.modernbutlers.com для получения более подробной информации.

ПРИМЕЧАНИЕ К НАШИМ ЧИТАТЕЛЯМ: Мы продолжаем добавлять к нашему списку рассылок имена тех людей, которые связывались с нами непосредственно, или тех, кто связывался с нашими членом правления. Если Вы не желаете получать Журнал, или другую информацию из Института, пожалуйста, напишите об этом нашему редактору по подписке. Пожалуйста, отправляйте редактору Журнала Современного Дворецкого на адрес newsletter@modernbutlers.com любые пожелания, комментарии по поводу статей, предположения относительно новостных писем.

Способствует   установлению Стандартов Сервиса посредством Обучения персонала в Отелях класса люкс, на курортах и Спа-курортах.

 Деятельность Института направлена на поднятие уровня стандартов обслуживания в

частных домах и в гостиничной индустрии посредством широкого распространения мышления и навыков того освященного веками, основного поставщика услуг, Британского Дворецкого, адаптированного к потребностям современных работодателей и гостей.

ЖУРНАЛ СОВРЕМЕННОГО ДВОРЕЦКОГО

Для профессионалов в сфере услуг по всему миру

Книга 6, Выпуск 8 – Август 2010

ПОСЛАНИЕ ОТ ПРЕДСЕДАТЕЛЯ

За последнее время мы имели удовольствие посетить несколько мероприятий, относящихся к сфере деятельности дворецкого: блестящий обед с нашими коллегами в Тампе; переговоры и дружеские встречи с коллегами на мероприятиях ассоциации Управляющих домашних хозяйством, которая состоялась в июне в Орландо и Палм Бич, штат Флорида; и не совсем относящаяся к профессии, 32 Ежегодная международная конференция инвесторов в сфере гостиничного хозяйства, которая состоялась в Университете Нью-Йорка в Таймз Сквер.

Наши поздравления DEMA за настойчивость в организации форума в сфере услуг для представителей нашей профессии – это наиболее востребовано. В октябре я планирую встречу и переговоры с коллегами на Второй Ежегодной ассоциации профессионалов в сфере частных услуг в Хьюстоне. Может быть, я увижусь там с кем-нибудь из вас.

Когда мы оглядываемся на прошлое нашей профессии, мы не можем реально выделить время, когда было приложено наибольшее количество сил, чтобы соединить вместе дворецкого и управляющего хозяйством, изолированных и занятых на своих местах, как это есть сегодня. Ни один человек не может выжить сам по себе, ему нужна группа поддержки, и на сегодняшний день, это DEMA и IAPSP.

В Италии существует ассоциация Associazione Italiana Maggiordomi, которая занимается тем же самым. В отличие от двух вышеназванных американских ассоциаций, эта ассоциация открыта как для частного сервиса, так и для дворецких, служащих в гостиницах. В связи с этим в голову приходят следующие мысли:

а) В действительности нет причин, почему бы дворецким – служащим гостиниц не вступить в IAPSP и DEMA, ведь однажды они могут оказаться дворецкими в частном сервисе; а до тех пор, они могут многое узнать из сети и научиться технологиям и решению вопросов.

б) Есть много причин для того, чтобы основать региональные ассоциации на разных континентах для дворецких – служащих в гостиницах и в частных домах. Довольно много дворецких на Ближнем Востоке, например, организовать Ассоциацию Дворецких на Ближнем Востоке.

То же самое касается и Индии и т.п. Может быть, однажды, в этой прекрасной мировой деревне, найдется комната для зонтика международной ассоциации и конвенции, которой хорошо организованные региональные ассоциации предоставят свою поддержку. Если вас это вдохновляет, могу я предположить, что вы поговорите со своими коллегами, организуетесь, сделаете шаг вперед  и весело проведете время?

Стивен Ферри

Председатель

Вы можете написать ему на адрес (stevenferry@modernbutlers.com) или зайдите на сайт IIMB Blog (http://bloggingbutlers.wordpress.com/)

ПИСЬМА К ИЗДАТЕЛЮ

Уважаемый г-н Ферри,

Мой вопрос касается того, удобно или нет просить рекомендации от наших потенциальных работодателей. Я видел объявление, где работодатель говорит, что он будет счастлив дать имена и контакты прошлых работников, но что вы думаете об этом, хороша ли идея просить их о подобных рекомендациях?

Соискатель

Уважаемый соискатель,

Хороший вопрос. На собеседовании, при поступлении на работу в США в двадцатые годы, любознательный персонал мог спросить полного надежды работодателя, и мог даже попросить рекомендации, потому что было гораздо больше работодателей, чем квалифицированных служащих. Сейчас ситуация другая. И существуют более тактичные способы получить ту же самую информацию.

Как работодателя, меня бы не слишком впечатлило такое вызывающее обращение. Я бы хотел, чтобы  дворецкий, или  соискатель сам нашел всю информацию, но  аккуратно и тактично. Имея Интернет, не может быть оправданий для неимения информации о работодателях.

Вспоминаю одного из персонажей Видхауза «Дживз», который  принадлежал к клубу джентльменов в Лондоне, где находилась база с информацией обо всех работодателях. Есть что рассказать об индустрии, имеющей в своей базе (строго конфиденциальной) информацию о работодателях. Таким образом, можно избежать многих осложнений и фальстартов.

Стивен Ферри

Председатель

УДАЛЯЯ  ВОСК С ПОДСВЕЧНИКОВ

Автор: Джефри Херман

Расстраивает ли вас удаление воска с ваших утяжеленных подсвечников?  Идете ли вы перебирать ваш ящик с приборами в поисках подходящего по размеру ножа для того, чтобы отчистить воск? Помещаете ли вы прибор под горячую воду только для того, чтобы еще больше развести грязь? Вот несколько простых, неинвазивных техник. Не очень массивные подсвечники можно положить в морозилку.

Для удаления воска пользуйтесь ногтями (а не ножом) для того, чтобы аккуратно очистить воск. Если остаются следы, удалите их полировкой для серебра, или ватным тампоном с нанесенным на него 91 % раствором   изопропилового спирта. (Изопропиловый спирт должен всегда использоваться в хорошо проветриваемом помещении). Следующая процедура может использоваться как для громоздких, так и для облегченных подсвечников.

Используйте свой фен  для того, чтобы нагреть чашку свечи, или другую поверхность, покрытую воском. Будьте аккуратны, чтобы не слишком сильно нагреть предмет. Есть три причины для этого предостережения: 1). Если предмет просмолен, то он будет плавиться. 2). Если предмет покрыт лаком, лак начнет пузыриться или расплавится (а может и то, и другое). 3). Вы можете обжечься!

Слегка дотроньтесь кончиком пальца до предмета, чтобы убедиться, что он не слишком горячий; Затем легко сотрите воск мягким бумажным полотенцем, или ватным тампоном. Когда вы очищаете чашку для свечи в канделябре, поддерживайте чашку рукой. Если отверстие слишком маленькое и палец туда не влезает, аккуратно протолкните бумажное полотенце в чашку и протрите ее.

Ватные тампоны также очень хорошо подходят, особенно для ламп Ханука с очень маленькими чашами для свечей. Используйте столько чистых бумажных полотенец и столько ватных тампонов, сколько требуется; в противном случае вы будете продолжать снова и снова наносить воск, который вы пытаетесь очистить. По возможности, используйте свечи, с которых не капает воск, и удаляйте воск с подсвечников после каждого использования. Применение этих простых техник сбережет вам много времени.

Г-н Герман является владельцем компании по восстановлению и хранению серебра. Вы можете связаться с ним по телефону  800-339-0417 или написать ему по адресу: jeff@hermansilver.com. Страница в Интернете: http://www.hermansilver.com

КЛАССИЧЕСКАЯ СКАЗКА О ДВОРЕЦКОМ

Следующая история взята из статьи г-на Питера Эльсона из газеты Ливерпуль Дейли Пост за 2009 г. Она представляет для нас интерес, поскольку в нашем стремлении модернизировать образ дворецкого и управляющего хозяйством, что-то будет теряться все время, если мы  не будем питать профессию из ее истоков.

Г-н Дэнни Манган работал для 18-го, а теперь для 19-го  графа Дерби в Англии более чем 41 год, с тех пор, как ему исполнилось 16 лет. Сейчас он главный дворецкий в Ноусли Холле, Новом доме Ноусли и Крэг Холле, фамильном поместье Дербишир; но в начале карьеры, это был мальчик из кладовой и третий лакей. Он поднялся вверх по служебной лестнице, в конце концов, стал дворецким, затем главным дворецким. Фактически, он был последним мальчиком, нанятым для службы в кладовой, в одном из великих домов Англии.

Поскольку не было никаких учебных заведений для подобной должности, главный дворецкий сыграл большую роль в наставничестве Мангана. Они находились на борту Королевской Яхты Британия, где присутствовал также и дворецкий Лорда Маунбаттена.

«Они оба показали мне канаты, и с тех пор я взбирался по ним. Мне пришлось узнать, как расставлять столовые приборы, и главный дворецкий заставлял меня накрывать на стол, убирать со стола, и снова накрывать до тех пор, пока я не научился делать это правильно».

Когда умер 18-й граф Дерби, Мангана спросили, желает ли он остаться служить 19-му графу, и тот был счастлив принять это предложение. Позже он так описывал перемены: «Жизнь очень изменилась, поскольку раньше я присматривал за Лордом и Леди Дерби, которые были пожилой парой. А 19-й Лорд Дерби был в то время молодой бакалавр; затем он женился и создал семью. Они были потрясающими, как свежий ветер, ворвавшийся в старое место и создавший новую эру. Они более неформальны, и в эти дни у них настоящий семейный дом.

Предыдущий Лорд Дерби, напротив, был военным человеком, и работать на него было все равно, что работать на солдата: наша рота жила по армейскому расписанию, и все было расписано по минутам. Он был прекрасный джентльмен, и относился к тем людям, которые скрепляют соглашение рукопожатием, и он был очень тактичным».

В этом новом стиле жизни, Манган  посещает разные величественные дома, такие как усадьба лорда Карнарвона, лорда Белпера, герцога Марльборо во дворце Бленгейм, с тем, чтобы последний лорд Дерби мог посещать охоту и другие мероприятия; Мангана размещают либо в доме, либо в местном отеле. Поскольку Ноусли является одной из нескольких частных усадеб, в которых останавливается Королева Англии, Манган обслуживал ее, а также и всю Королевскую семью, много раз.

Предлагая проверенные временем советы, Манган добавляет: «Когда вы живете и работаете в семье, между нами и ими существует граница. Вам придется поставить себя в рамки, как и на любой работе, но очень важным является хорошие отношения с другими сотрудниками. Думаю, это символично, что Ноусли является счастливым поместьем, так как люди работают вместе уже очень долгое время».

В случае с  Ноусли, это камердинер, водитель и шеф-повар, с которым Манган сотрудничает очень тесно. «У нас сотни лет совместной работы, – во всяком случае, мы так чувствуем. Вы должны доверять  и быть способным поддержать любого. Я провел много счастливых дней в Ноусли. Я приобрел друзей во всех сферах жизни, и я не променяю это ни на что».

Стивен Ферри,

Председатель

Институт – это единственная организация, которая проводит обучение профессии дворецкого, фокусируясь на мышлении и превосходных коммуникативных навыках традиционного дворецкого с учетом потребностей современного мира сервиса. Вы можете связаться с нами по поводу проведения тренингов по почте enquiries@modernbutlers.com или позвонив в США по телефону: 1-813- 354-2734. Мы также приглашаем вас посетить наш сайт http://www.modernbutlers.com для получения более подробной информации.  

ПРИМЕЧАНИЕ К НАШИМ ЧИТАТЕЛЯМ: Мы продолжаем добавлять к нашему списку рассылок имена тех людей, которые связывались с нами непосредственно, или тех, кто связывался с нашими членом правления. Если Вы не желаете получать Журнал, или другую информацию из Института, пожалуйста, напишите об этом нашему редактору по подписке. Пожалуйста, отправляйте редактору Журнала Современного Дворецкого на адрес newsletter@modernbutlers.com любые пожелания, комментарии по поводу статей, предположения относительно новостных писем.

While different in architecture, The Grove Park Inn in Asheville is on a par with and just a few miles from the Biltmore in Asheville.

The Grove Park Inn (showing the rear of the main building) was designed in 1913 following the English Arts and Crafts design movement that flourished from 1860 to 1910  

View from the rear of the hotel, overlooking the golf course.

The hotel had a forest of Christmas trees, each decorated differently with a wealth of colorful ornaments

The Blue Ridge mountains that surround Asheville offer many invigorating hikes and views

Trout fishing for the love of it, because there were few if any trout in evidence that cold day

And on a quirky note: with all that nature has to offer, it seems not to be able to compete with the lure of texting. Who knows, these three young ladies may have been texting each other.

 

The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 8, issue 1

 International Institute of Modern Butlers

Message from the Chairman

Welcome to 2012, a year that promises to be anything but boring with high economic, social, and political stakes. It is the year in which quite a few people are convinced none of us will see it through to the end, as they expect the world to end on 21 December. If you find this kind of talk disconcerting, then please rest assured that this prediction is one of  eleven different versions of how it will all end at various anticipated times over the next 30 years, and that it joins a long list of 465 predictions for the end of the world of which there is a written record over the last 4,800 years ago. What seems to escape each person making and buying into such predictions, is that not a single one has come true. Our view is that 2012 will go to those who keep their eye on the ball, remaining in the moment and creating and having fun along the way.

See you in 2013, flourishing and prospering in your line of work!

Butlers in the Media

Two interesting articles on butlers last month:

1)  Digital butlers  

2) English Butlers Wanted For Emerging Super-Rich

and one rather hopeless article from Huffington Post, which really needs to sharpen its reportage. Finally, a list of the world’s most expensive hotels for consideration by your employer for when he or she needs to travel. It is far from comprehensive, as three hotels I have trained at this year alone have suites that would rank them as #2, #3, and #4, yet they do not make the list at all. I would recommend Fischer Travel as the best source for the top suites around the world. (Note: this article is written in German).

Minimizing Use of Silver Polish  

by Jeffrey Herman of Herman Silver Restoration & Conservation