Butler
A Butler is a servant in a large wealthy household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlor floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance. A butler is usually male, and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were better paid and therefore rarer and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status.
In modern usage, the butler is in charge of food service, wine, spirits, and the household silver, supervises other servants, and may perform a wide array of household management duties. Butlers may also be titled majordomo, butler administrator, staff manager, or head of household staff, and in the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler.
Background
In modern houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as majordomo, butler administrator, house manager, manservant, staff manager, chief of staff, staff captain, estate manager and head of household staff are sometimes given. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given, but perhaps more importantly in line with the requirements of the individual employer.
Training
Butlers traditionally learned their position while progressing their way up the service ladder. For example, in the documentary The Authenticity of Gosford Park, retired butler Arthur Inch (born 1915) describes starting as a hall boy. Whilst this is still often the case, numerous private butlering schools exist today, such as the International Institute of Modern Butlers, the Guild of Professional English Butlers, and The International Guild of Butlers & Household Managers; top graduates can start at USD 50,000 - 60,000 (GBP 25,350 - 30,400). Additionally, major up-market hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton offer traditional butler training, while some hotels have trained a sort of pseudo-butler for service in defined areas such as "technology butlers", who fix guests' computers and other electronic devices, and "bath butlers" who draw custom baths.
Starkey International Institute for Household Management distinguishes between the "British butler" prototype and its American counterpart, often dubbed the "household manager". Starkey states that they train and promote the latter, believing that Americans do not have the "servant mentality" that is part of the British Butler tradition. They stress that their American-style butlers and valets are educated and certified, Starkey does lay claim to understanding the British butler tradition; however, her general approach seems to be that American domestic staff are better suited to American families. although some students, numerous former Starkey employees, and several wealthy clients have criticized the program and its owner. Magnums Butlers, a school-based in Australia, conducts training after the British model at sites in Asia and the Pacific, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. The International Institute of Modern Butlers provides on-site training in various places around the world as well as via correspondence. In 2007, City & Guilds, the U.K.'s largest awarder of vocational credentials, introduced a diploma program for butlers.
In addition to formal training, a few books have been published recently to assist butlers in their duties, including Arthur Inch's Dinner is Served and Arlene Hirst's 2003. Moreover, websites, as well as a news publication, Modern Butlers' Journal, help butlers to network and keep abreast of developments within their field.
Ferry argues that what he calls a "butler mindset" is beneficial to all people within all professions. He states that an attitude of devoted service to others, deference, and the keeping of confidences can help all people succeed.
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