The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 11, issue 7

International Institute of Modern Butlers

 Message from the Chairman 

In the last Journal, I touched upon the subject of robots: “If I speak untruths, then roll on the great wave of “butler robots” that science is striving so hard to create for us—a mechanistic and ordered society where mankind is an impediment to be tolerated in part. For surely, these robots will win the day: their knowledge will be as firmly fixed as the software engineers who write their code; and they, indeed, unless we change our understandings and skill levels, will be superior to those annoying, fussy, and fickle hominid butlers who used to strut their stuff until the mid-21^st Century.”

That editorial was timely, in that five more articles on the same subject appeared in the last month; One predicting massive social unrest as the drive to increase efficiency and lower costs will see robots taking over “low-wage” jobs in multiple industries (presumably the next step after, and even better than, Chinese laborers); the claim is that only 10% of jobs that can be automated have been so far. An Australian study predicts 40% of jobs will be lost by humans and taken over by robots in the next 10-15 years. Robots are already taking the place of humans as waitresses and hoteliers in Asia.

Accountants and telemarketing roles are most at risk, while people who do more creative jobs are less likely to be put out of work by machines. An Oxford University study predicted  that Personal Care Aides, for instance, have a 73.6 chance of being automated. But if your position requires you to come up with clever solutions, to help others personally, and to negotiate, then there is less likelihood that your position can or will be automated. All of which aligns with earlier MBJ editorials: certain aspects of butler jobs can be done by robots, but the position of a live butler handling real people is safe in human hands for the simple reason that most humans like to communicate and deal with real people—there is only so much a robot can do to interact with feeling, intelligence, and compassion. As much as one programs emotions and feelings into a robot, the fact is that they are faked and about as satisfactory to a human as the basketball was to Tom Hanks in the movie, The Castaway.

Tesla founder, Elon Musk, and Stephen Hawking are warning about the unintended consequences stemming from the blind pursuit of AI technology by corporate and military interests. While this may pose a danger to the human race, the article entitled, Doctor, Butler & Bodyguard: Meet the Futuristic Robot that Does It All throws down the gauntlet or writes plainly on the wall in the Butler’s Pantry. ThePartner (photo on right) mimics human movements. Says the creator, “We printed ThePartner on my home 3-D printer, using open-source code. We used recycled parts, like an old curtain rod and toy tractor wheels for the ‘legs.’ Next, we started controlling the robot’s movement using microcontrollers.” In other words, if some hobbyists can do that, then imagine what Google’s and others’ billions being invested in Artificial Intelligence are going to create in the decades ahead.

All of which is to say that any butler manager who is alive and focused on service, rather than being a symbol, will have no trouble keeping his or her job.

Letters to the Editor

“I have been in the service industry for a little over nine years; I started as a busser with my company when I was sixteen years old and moved my way up to eventually becoming the Head Butler for the resort. When we first began the butler program back in February of 2014, Mr. Ferry came to our resort and taught me how to be a proper butler. During the course he showed me that there is a scale or gradation of emotions, which I had never seen before. I immediately became intrigued by it and saw the importance of learning and using this tool, how critical it is to the service industry, let alone the butler world.
“I began to use the scale on my family and team members. One example was a team member who clearly had a tone of anger; everyday he would come up to me to complain about something. One day, when he came up to me, I switched my tone to boredom towards his reason of complaining; he almost immediately came up the scale. Another example of using the scale was with a guest who is known to be angry and yell about any issue she encounters. During the orientation of her villa, she found an issue and went into a rage. Using the scale, I switched my tone to antagonism towards the issue, and she quickly became disinterested. The emotional scale is the one tool that I believe any member of the service industry should know and learn to use. Not a day goes by in my life that I don’t use it. It has helped me become the butler that I am.” JY.

Let’s Talk about Mixology, Part 2

by Amer Vargas 

The Manhattan

Today we will look at one of the most famous cocktails worldwide, considered by the International Bartenders Association to be a classic that all barmen (and butlers) worth their salt, should know.

The Manhattan cocktail seems to have its origins some time in the mid-nineteenth century in the New York region, where it became a very fashionable drink and the trend spread across the US to Hollywood stars, who made it even more popular in movies as the choice drink for handsome main characters.

It is also known that people from the island of Föhr, in the north-west of Germany, immigrated during the nineteenth century to New York and learned about the drink; they developed a real liking for it and took it back home—which explains why today, the mix is commonly available in most cafe’s and restaurants on the island.

The preparation of the Manhattan cocktail is really simple: it involves rye whiskey (the most common variation available in nineteenth century New York), red vermouth, bitters and maraschino cherry.

Pour the following over a lot of ice (cubes) in a shaker: 5cl/1.7oz of American rye whisky (although these days, it is common to see it prepared with Bourbon or Canadian whisky), 2cl/0.65oz of red vermouth and one or two dashes of bitters. In the old days, it was said it should only be stirred, but nowadays it is also acceptable to shake it. Strain in a chilled cocktail glass and finish with a maraschino cherry (which must be dried first, so as not to over-sweeten the mix).

As is always the case, the quality of the ingredients determine the quality of the final drink. This will not only be detectable on the palate, but may also be obvious to the eye: if you use poor quality ingredients and shake the mix, a little foam or froth will form that will spoil the look of the drink. Whether shaken or stirred, in all cases, the final Manhattan should be transparent with a caramel color.

And that is the straight Manhattan. Variations exist to please everybody: the Dry Manhattan replaces the red vermouth with a dry vermouth; the Perfect Manhattan replaces the red vermouth with equal parts of dry vermouth and red vermouth  (1cl/0,33oz of each); the Brandy Manhattan uses Brandy instead of whisky; the Cuban Manhattan is like a Perfect Manhattan—remember, with both red and dry vermouth—but uses a dark Cuban rum instead of whisky; and finally, the Tijuana Manhattan replaces the whisky with añejo (aged) Tequila.

Make your choice and sip along…Cheers!

Mr. Vargas is the Institute’s Vice President for Europe and can be contacted via AmerVargas at modernbutlers.com

Recent Training and Graduates

Cancun in Mexico has a fairly recent addition, Nizuc Resort and Spa, which has several world-class restaurants, one of the top Spas in the world, and a butler service that is serious about expanding into the full range of services. Mr. Ferry recently trained there and is pictured here with all the graduates.

Of Butlers and Roses, Part 15 of 20

by GJ dePillis

The Right Tool for the Job

Why do gardners need good clippers for roses when it is time to prune back branches or clip roses for a vase ?  Can’t they just use anything that cuts?  No. The reason is because a clean cut is needed. Any squashing or crimping of the stem damages it and shortens the life of the rose when it is placed in a vase.

When just starting out, you may want to use the cheaper, Chinese made Fiskar clippers.  But then, again, you may not! Felco is the better quality, Swiss-made brand, costing $50-60 USD and promoted on most Rose Society pages — in part because it also acts as a wire cutter (there is a notch in the blade for this purpose).  Felco invented the more ergonomic “rotating handle”that rolls in the hand when opening and closing the clippers, thereby easing tension in the hands when doing a lot of clipping.

The Felco offers a USA-made holster to keep the shears on a belt and comes with a key to take it apart, clean it, sharpen and reassemble it.

The pictures above show typical gardening tools, as seen at Sea World, San Diego. Remember that, unless you live in a very dry climate, blades do rust if left outside and should always be kept clean and stored in a shed.

Ms. dePillis is a freelance contributor to the Journal who is based on the West Coast of the United States. She can be reached via depillis at gmail.com

 Consulting the Silver Expert

 by Jeffrey Herman

Q: Does silica gel serve the same purpose as 3M Anti-Tarnish strips, or should I use both?

A: The strips absorb tarnish-producing pollutants; the gel controls the humidity that contributes to the acceleration of tarnish. I always advise using both.

Mr. Herman continues to offer his services to our readers for any questions you may have about the care of silver. Either call him at (800) 339-0417 (USA) or email jeff at hermansilver.com

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.