Where Butlers Work

Full-time residence is not the only arrangement. Families often manage everyday life themselves, calling upon me only for guests or special occasions.

This approach lets clients enjoy a butler's support without altering their usual way of living, and such requests have grown in recent years.

—The timetable before the floor plan

The longer I serve a household, the better I understand personal tastes and habits, so I can anticipate needs and have everything ready before it is asked for.

Visiting a home, what we learn in the first few visits is not the floor plan but the household's timetable. When breakfast is, who leaves first, which room visitors are shown into. A plan can be memorised in one look; a timetable takes several days of watching the household live.

In business, the quality of reception shapes the company's image. Greeting, guiding, serving refreshments and seeing guests off, all performed with uniform precision, help create a composed atmosphere for every visitor.

I may be based on site or attend only on days when important guests are expected.

—The position is settled first

In a corporate setting, the first thing settled is where the butler stands: inside the reception desk, outside the door, or in the corner of the meeting room. Because the position does not shift through the day, neither staff nor visitors have to wonder whom to ask. Position does the work before deportment does.

Event days are prone to the unexpected: late arrivals, last-minute seating changes or sudden shifts in weather. By setting procedures in advance and deciding what must be preserved when plans falter, I keep matters under control.

My role is to shoulder the operational burden so the hosts may remain the centre of attention.

—How often the host must rise

On the day of an occasion, what we watch most closely is how often the host has to leave their seat. If they rise each time the plan slips, the host of the day becomes the stage manager. Keeping the slip unnoticed, and the host in their chair, is what decides whether the day succeeds.

Journeys require more forethought than daily life: belongings, routes and arrangements upon arrival. By taking these in hand I allow clients to focus on the purpose of the trip.

I do not undertake bookings for transport or accommodation. My work is confined to guidance, accompaniment and service at the destination.

—Settled before arrival

On a journey, there is remarkably little for a butler to do once he arrives, because everything was settled before setting out. A butler seen hesitating at the destination has simply neglected the work of the days before.

Whether in a home, an office or at an event, the work is identical. I foresee what may arise, complete the necessary arrangements and, on the day, concentrate on the people present.

Details of engagement and procedures appear on THE BUTLER's official site.

—The memory we hope remains

What is visible differs from one setting to another, but what we hope the client is left with is single: the memory that nothing went wrong that day. The less able they are to recall what exactly was good, the better the day was on our side of it.

A butler rides along not in order to drive. Before you step in, the temperature of the seat and the rug across the knees are settled; which bag stays to hand and which is stowed is decided; and which door you will enter by on arrival, and where the bow will be made, is settled in advance. He rides along to turn travelling time into arranged time rather than waiting time.

—What is carried in the car

There are rules for what is carried in the car. Papers are not laid sealed across the knees but taken with the case. If you fall asleep no one speaks; the temperature is raised three minutes before arrival so that waking comes of itself. It sounds like small talk, but whether a journey felt comfortable is settled by exactly such things.

—The arrangements for rain

Rain adds more to arrange: when the umbrella opens, which shoulder is left clear beneath it, where it is furled the instant the building is entered. The aim is less to keep you dry than to spare you the worry of getting wet.

For an occasion or a visit alike, the day begins the previous evening. The vessels are counted and shortfalls made up; the table is measured and the spacing of places decided. In the morning the shoes are checked, the gloves changed, the candle wicks trimmed, and the route walked through so that anything in the way can be moved.

—Clearing away takes the longest

The longest part of the preparation is, in fact, the plan for clearing away. Anyone thinks through how a thing begins, but unless the order of putting everything back is settled too, the last hour turns into a scramble — and a butler seen scrambling does more damage to the memory of the day than anything else.

—Only a small part is visible

Only a small part of this is ever visible. If the movements seen in public look unhurried, it is because the evening before and the early morning are already done.

Not every occasion needs a butler. At a gathering of only the closest friends, or on a day when the family wishes to host in its own person, having a butler standing there can stiffen the air. On such days he may prepare and then withdraw — or the engagement may not be accepted at all.

—Where someone else is leading

The same holds where someone else is leading. If a ceremony already has a compere or an organiser, the butler acts as one person working under them and does not try to direct the whole. Two people deciding will split a room every time.

—Saying that we will not take it

We say plainly at the enquiry stage whether we think we should take it on. Accepting is better for trade, but if a butler is sent where he does not belong, it is we who spoil the memory of the day.

—Closing the door last

At an occasion or in a home alike, the butler is the last to leave. He sees the clearing away through to its end, returns what was borrowed, notes down what carries over to the next day, and only then goes. In a house where the butler closes the door last, half the preparation for the next visit is already done.