Excerpt from “The Art of Service” by Paola Bettinelli of The Work Style Magazine

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Mary Louise Starkey defines a butler as “a professional who is trained in the overall management of a private home”. There have always been excellent career prospects for one who chooses this profession, and this trend continues to the present. The number of professional butlers worldwide has increased steadily over the past 25 years. You can find butlers in multi-million dollar homes in every country in the world. Newton Cross stresses that “with the modern day butler the emphasis is moving to total lifestyle management, instead of the traditional role…multitasking is the keyword”. Usually, continues Mr. Cross, “the younger, recently qualified butlers often find work in hotels, guest houses and game lodges where there is still an element of supervision and guidance. They are also in huge demand on luxury yachts, cruise liners and trains. The older more experienced is better suited for the domestic household where the responsibilities and pressure can be huge“. Therefore, a butler has many options in his or her career path. Due to today’s economy, Johnson specifies that “we are seeing an increase in activity in the field and our inclination is the demand will continue to expand. Luxury resorts are perhaps the most likely to be hiring at present though we are seeing an increase in private estate owners seeking staff for their homes”. Regarding the salary, it varies between countries depending on a butler’s education background and flexibility. Mr. Cross from South Africa says that “entry level is 750 to 1100 euros per month”. For Europe, Mr. Wennekes says that “a butler can earn anywhere from 40.000 to 120.000 euros a year, plus benefits”. While in Australia, Mark Johnson states that ”an entry level butler, in a private home, can expect to begin around 31.000 euros… with experience and working for an employer with multiple homes, it is not uncommon for a butler to earn in excess of 80.000 euros and much much more”. In the USA, Ms. Starkey says that for a Certifed Household Manager “salaries are currently between 42.000 and 105.000 euros per year with benefits, plus housing”.

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The Wall Street Journal tells us that 60% of the people on our planet today are of the Baby Boomer generation.  We Baby Boomers, yes I am one of them, are well traveled, expect a good work ethic and superior skills, and appreciate mutual respect in all relationships, especially in service!  Furthermore, our service expectations are much higher than our parents.  We care about the style of environment we are in, where our food is grown, work to keep our mind and body healthy, like our privacy, and yes, we scrutinize our health care.  We consider it our right; we have worked hard to get where we are.

I have spent 30 years in the world of Private Service, educating and placing our Starkey Certified Household Managers, Personal Assistants, and Butlers in private homes on a world stage. I have learned over and over again that “Service is the Art of Meeting a Specific Expectation”.  However, a perspective not often considered is if service is to be successful, it requires both a giver and a receiver.  I can work diligently to provide a service to you, but if what I am giving is not what you want, service will not take place.   

Here are my tips on how to get what you want in service:

·         First on the list is Learn to ask for help. Sometimes we believe we are super human. Maybe it’s because we are self made and have created the most powerful nation in the world. However, we are not super human, and frankly, our quality of life will greatly improve when learn to ask for help!  

·         Know exactly what you need and don’t be afraid to ask for it. Today’s service providers know they must think outside of the box to customize service to meet unique needs.

·         What if you do not know what you want?  The number of choices available today has quadrupled from what our parents had to work with. Don’t pass up the opportunity to say to a service provider, “Be my person of possibilities. Let’s talk about what is achievable here!” 

·         Say thank you, and say it often.  Service providers serve people, not companies.  The most appreciated response to a deed well done is a simple but heart-felt, thank you!  You can also add the occasional $10 spot while you are at it. Service providers are generally not yet appropriately compensated. Remember, Service is first and foremost, a relationship! 

Should you have other questions about Service as an Expertise, don’t hesitate to contact me, www.starkeyintl.com

Mary Louise Starkey

Starkey International Institute

First Lady of Service

See the BellaCura Newsletter Here    

Starkey International has taken years to fine tune our approach to Housekeeping and Housekeeping Standards.  One of the basic requirements of setting up a  housekeeping system is that it must be successful in every environment and it must be to your standard!  The Secret is it must also be time oriented.  To accomplish this, we have developed baselines for each of our ten Standard Categories. Our housekeeping baseline is:

 It takes 4 hours to clean 2,000 square feet to average standards.  A higher rate of Housekeeping Standards requires more time.

FOR EXAMPLE:  a 10,000 square foot home will require 20 hours per week to clean. (10,000 divided by 2,000 equals five, times 4 equals 20 hours) and then add in the variables below to the calculation and your number may be higher or lower.  You do the math!

Variables that will require a change in this standard may be many issues like:

                Family lifestyle, Location (rural, city, beachfront, etc), Climate, Home activities, Number of children and pets, Number of house guests, Allergies and physical health of the family, members, or guests, Age and style of residence, Type and style of furnishings and floors, Style of culinary expectations and amount of cooking required, Amount and style of entertaining, Style and Number of collectibles, Smoking or non-smoking, Organization and clutter of the home, Current construction projects anywhere on property, Cleaning standard of the Principal.

*Excerpts from “The Original Guide to Private Service Management” by Mrs. Mary Louise Starkey

Classy Class

Starkey International teaches

service with style

By Doug McPherson

The Costco Connection

Published August 2009

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Thank you to all of our Veterans! Many of you shared the Military Stars Event at the Embassy Suites Hotel on July 30^th, 2009 with Starkey International Institute. Ms. Stimson, Mr. Althoff, and myself hope you enjoyed the Employer Panel and stopping by the Starkey booth. Good luck on your civilian workforce transition! If I can be of any assistance, please contact me at your convenience on my cell phone 303-994-7407. I look forward to the opportunity to be of service.

Mr. Donald Jardine
Chief Operating Officer
Starkey International Institute
djardine@starkeyintl.com

Our Restoring the Art Conference was a huge success!  Here is some feedback we’ve gotten so far:

Good morning Ms. Starkey and Mr. Smith!   

Thank you for an absolutely wonderful conference!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I think you all did an amazing job putting together the agenda, the speakers, the information, the food, etc.  I absolutely loved it and look forward to my next opportunity to attend more training at Starkey International!  

Warm regards, 

Jill Wilferth Smirl

President

Mom’s Best Friend/Vail Sitters and Nannies

www.momsbestfriend.com 

Gary    

I can’t begin to express how great it was to meet all of you at RTA 

2009. I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and getting 

to know you each on a more personal level. If and when you’re in San 

Francisco, please get in touch with me, I’d love to have you to our 

house for dinner or out for a drink. (Of course, no need to wait until 

you’re coming to SF to contact me!). If there is ever anything that I 

can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Warm regards,

Jared Miles, Butler