My Butler Julius
by Julius Smith
Job Specification versus Reality
While enjoying a coffee with a butler colleague, he told me what is becoming a very familiar tale these days about starting a new job and being expected to work 80-plus hours a week.
I asked what his contract specified, to which he laughed and said, “You know that doesn’t mean a thing.”
Consequently, he is now searching for a new position, which explains in part the large turnover of staff in private residences. On the flipside, I know a number of people who work for demanding families but who are compensated and treated very well and as a result have stayed for a long period of time.
Our employers tell us at the outset that they are looking for loyalty, continuity, and a high level of service. The way to bring this about is very simple: Invest in, and look after, your staff and the results may well be pleasantly surprising.
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.