Message from the Chairman
by Steven Ferry
What a year 2018 has been on the economic, political and social fronts! Hopefully, 2019 will see some peace and prosperity engineered, as generally speaking, people do better with both! All Institute trainers have been hard at work, creating little miracles (see “In Their Own Words” for a sampling, and we have made progress increating partnerships with educational institutions to train butlers…
Butlers in the Media
by Steven Ferry
In the last Journal, I referred to a butler in the Bahamas who had apparently misbehaved sexually with a guest. The story was far-fetched, but as it was claimed the butler had confessed to the police, it seemed an open-and-shut case. However, it transpired the butler was coerced to confess and since has come forward with a more plausible account of what…
Letters to the Editor
“I wanted to also say your ongoing newsletters are not only most valuable but also that I anticipate their arrival.” SM
“I’m still loving the monthly newsletters.” RH
Ed: Thanks to both of you, and the many others who expressed similar sentiments toward the end of the year. For better or worse, we’ll keep producing the MBJs!…
Professional Standards of Performance, Applications #12: Commitment, or “Good Help is Hard to Find”
by Prof. Richard Ratliff
Scenario: Imagine a young person interviewing for a position, sitting slouched in a chair, looking down at his hands folded in his lap, appearing almost asleep. The employer asks, “Why do you want this position?” The dull bulb’s response: “I saw the ad and thought it sounded like an easy job, and I need the money. I need the money real bad. I saw a…
The Wisdom of Butlers Past, Part 20: Packing Suitcases
by Steven Ferry
For years, the Institute has been training butlers on how to pack a suitcase, and in some cases, we have created our own techniques in order to achieve a specific goal in packing.
These techniques have been at variance with the ways other trainers suggest one pack a suitcase, and our problem…
The Butlers Speak: Responsibility for Estate Maintenance
by Steven Ferry
The two responses received on this topic are probably more down to everyone being busy over the holiday season, than their not having anything to do with the maintaining of the estates they manage or work in. So the following is a snapshot, albeit a valuable and thorough one, rather than a survey of the industry, and our thanks go to the two butlers/HMs/EMs who answered the survey…
Staff Training: Instructional Design, part II
by Frank Mitchell
There are several popular design models used to develop effective training. I like to recommend a simplification of the Gerlach-Ely design model, since it is suited to designers who have good content knowledge, but less experience in designing training. This certainly described me when I was in private service. This model solves the difficulty of knowing where to start by reversing…
Let’s Talk Mixology, Part 40: the Bob Marley
by Amer A. Vargas
We open the new year rendering homage to another country I visited recently, yet another first-time visit for this writer. And on this occasion, we are talking about Jamaica, home to many, including the fastest athlete in the world, Usain Bolt, and to another one, who popularized Jamaica’s modern music, the reggae, across the rest of the world. An important milestone was achieved for this music…
Consulting the Silver Expert: Is Your Silver Damaged or Respected? Part I
by Jeff Herman
I will be sharing, in the following several issues of the MBJ, the results of tests I have run in my workshop on products designed to remove tarnish. There are currently no silver polishes on the market that are non-abrasive, even though many proclaim to be. The basic message of this series? It is best to spend more time polishing with a mild polish than less time…
In Their Words: How Those Trained by the Institute’s Trainers Feel about Their Experience
The following are just a few of the comments from trainees who participated in the different trainings performed in recent months by the International Institute of Modern Butlers, at the following properties: The Nautilus private island, and Milaidhoo in the Maldives, Raffles Maldives Meradhoo, Azul Sensatori Negril in Jamaica and Sheraton Maldives Full Moon & Spa…
Recent Hospitality Graduates
On this occasion, we welcome a number of groups of recently graduated butlers from different luxury hospitality venues in the Maldives and Jamaica, performed by different lead trainers: Mr, Steven Ferry, Chairman, Amer A. Vargas, President and Budi Prihardjanto, Vice President for Asia…
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.