Frank Mitchell – Page 3 – Modern Butlers

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, April 2018, Message from the Chairman

Message from the Chairman

by Steven Ferry

Before providing some humour for the month, I wanted to welcome Mr. Budi Prihardjanto back into the Institute, as the VP for Asian Operations. Mr. Prihardjanto trained and consulted with us until 2009, when he moved into hotel management, quickly being promoted to General Manager and then of larger properties, and then to Area Manager.

What brings him back to the world of butlers? Not a failure to make a go of it in hospitality management—his current employers are begging him to stay—no, it is the love of the butler world, where he first learned service, the love of training, and the opportunity to make a difference in a wider sphere in helping raise service standards in the industry.

Mr. Prihardjanto is known to, and loved by, many of our members and we look forward to working with him in the years ahead.

And while on the subject of welcoming back industry stalwarts, we would like to extend a welcome to Mr. Frank Mitchell, who after a series of successful and information-rich columns for the MBJ, joins us for another one, this one focused on another of his specialties: staff training.

And now, for a wee bit of humour, wherein someone finally applies some logic that Aristotle would be proud of, to the subject of diets. For Americans who watch what they eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth, after all those conflicting medical studies and diet regimens:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans;
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans;
3. Africans drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans;
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans;
5. Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

Conclusion: Eat and drink whatever you like. Speaking American English is apparently what kills you.

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

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, April 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

Introduction to Staff Training

Welcome to our new monthly column on training household staff.

Staff training is a crucial resource in improving service delivery. It is an investment both in the individual staff member, as well as an investment in the successful running of the household.

When hiring an external trainer, you can be sure the principal will want to see a return on investment. Even the best training, if poorly planned or inappropriately targeted, will have unsatisfactory outcomes. Having the knowledge to conduct good research and plan training properly is essential, even if you will not conduct the training yourself.

It is often assumed that smaller households lack the skills and resources to conduct their own training. This is incorrect. You should be able to train simple skills. Being an expert in your field is insufficient: training requires a different skills-set to serving and managing. Good planning, a structured approach, and sound training technique will not only improve service delivery and staff morale, but also reduce the costs and risks associated with running a household.

It is not unreasonable for an employer to expect you to raise service and safety standards through training. Doing so combines well with the butler ethos of constant improvement.

In next month’s newsletter, we will be looking at the argument for training household staff.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training staffs. He has written several columns for the MBJ over the years.

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