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 Area Manager…
Butlers in the Media
by Steven Ferry
It’s ironic that I keep going on about robots and robot butlers, and the name of what was probably one of the first “robot butlers”—dating back to 1986, the same time I was beginning my career as a butler—was called Steven. Some new apartments in San Francisco offer what they call butler service…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I thought the screenplay for Gosford Park was exceptional: It had almost non-stop dialogue that was all very good including a few almost hidden gems and jokes that I didn’t hear until my 8th time through it. The first time I saw it was on its last day in the theaters and I admired it despite not understanding much…
Professional Standards of Performance: Applications #4: There Is a Limit
by Prof. Richard Ratliff
Scenario: seeing to an overnight guest at bedtime, the butler outlined the following day’s buffet breakfast menu for a member of a party visiting for a weekend. The breakfast menu would include a selection of hardboiled eggs, hot cereal (oatmeal or wheat cereal), a selection of cold cereals, toast, whole fruit, and a tropical fruit salad. Served at 7:30 a.m. in the family dining room…
The Wisdom of Butlers Past
by Steven Ferry
After cleaning shoes, the next most important duty, apparently, of the butler two centuries ago, was cleaning knives and forks. The first page of 6.5 pages of instruction is on the need for the proper equipment and the waste that occurs without it. In this case, to clean knives, one should have a smooth wooden board (without knots), preferably covered in leather. One then melts mutton…
The Butlers Speak: Dealing with Day and Overnight Guests
by Steven Ferry
All butlers surveyed stated that they look after day and overnight guests, although 25% said they rarely were required to do so. For day guests, duties include answering the call from the main gate, alerting the principals via text message of the imminent arrival, meeting the visitors at the front door, escorting them to the room where the principals wish to meet them…
Staff Training
by Steven Ferry
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…
Creative Corner: Easter Bunny Napkin Fold
by Kobi Gutman
In this month’s Creative Corner section, Head Butler and Modern Butlers Journal contributor Kobi Gutman guides us on how to make an the Easter Bunny Napkin Fold. For this Easter weekend, start with a square napkin and…
Let’s Talk Mixology, Part 31: Flaming Lamborghini
by Amer A. Vargas
Put your seatbelt on and let’s drive into a different sort of mix in this month’s cocktail section: Experiencing the kick of a high-alcohol drink and the spectacular and beautiful looking presentation of the Flaming Lamborghini. As the name suggests, it’s a flambé cocktail that comes with the eye-catching look of a vehicle than can accelerate from 0-to-60 mph/96 kmh in 3 seconds or less…
Consulting the Silver Expert: Cleaning and Polishing Silver, Part 11
by Steven Ferry
This is the second article in a row that is not from Mr. Herman himself, but examples of the magic his proprietary silver polish works on some silver we own. In this case, it was a box of silverware, a tea set manufactured in England exactly 100 years ago—and it looked like it had not been cleaned in as long, because it…
In Their Words: How Those Trained by the Institute’s Trainers Feel about Their Experience
“Mr. Vargas proved to be a knowledgeable, patient, and passionate trainer and the feedback from the students couldn’t be better: In fact, they have all been united in their view that both the theory and practice classes were very interesting and exceeded everyone’s expectations. They have a renewed confidence in their skills and now know which areas they…
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. Contact us for all your training needs via email at enquiries@modernbutlers.com or via telephone: USA 1-813- 354-2734. We invite you to also visit our website www.modernbutlers.com for more information.
Please email the editor of The Modern Butler’s Journal at newsletter@modernbutlers.com with any article ideas, concerns, comments, or suggestions.