“The Formal Dinner”

Formal SettingHave you ever attended a real formal dinner?  I have learned that most of us have not, unless you have experienced evening at the Queen’s table.  The term “formal dinner,” Americanized by the historically prominent Lady of Etiquette, Ms. Emily Post, does not mean “stuffy” as most might think; it means structured!  She said in her 1923 book of Etiquette, “The higher the level of structure, the higher the level of service one will experience,” and this is where I entered the eloquent venue of Formal Dinners.

Starkey International began thirty years ago and I have hosted 12 formal dinners a year as part of our Household and Service Management curriculum.  It has become a tried and true art form for us.  I consistently have “Run the Table” over the years and have tried almost everything.  We finally emerged with our current educational guide on Entertaining including tableware and settings, flowers, service timing and styles, entertainment, culinary menus, wines, conversation, apparel, and yes, only at the queen’s table, our mirrored service.   (more…)

Starkey Offers On-Site Customized Service Training for Your Staff

Starkey Private TrainingCustomized Service Management Education and Training Offered in Your Home!

Starkey International® focuses on Service as an Expertise with Education, Placement, Publications, and for Service Management!

 

Starkey Identifies your Service Vision and provides On-site Customized Training for your Service Staff.

 

 

 

 

  • Our Graduates are all over the world
  • We provide HQ Service Management Software

Let Starkey International®…

  • Help Establish your Service Vision and Service Training Goals
  • Develop a Management Plan or Blueprint of your Vision of Service for your home and family with Staffing Needs
  • Customize, Zone & create Task Sheets for Daily and Seasonal Duties, both for the Residence and Outside Property
  • Customize our Recruitment and Placement to fit your Unique Needs
  • Educate your staff in Fine Housekeeping Techniques, Clothing and Linen Care, Entertaining, Nanny Management, and more! (more…)

Service Management Tools That Assess Your Service Needs and Customize Service for You

It has been Starkey International’s 39-year mission to develop a world-recognized service profession in which service is viewed as an art form with its own career path and is seen as an expertise. Starkey International has demonstrated its vision by positioning Starkey services and products to uniquely serve the growing luxury marketplace. Starkey International has made meeting the expectations of the luxury employer its first objective.

In response to employers’ requests for a Superior Household Management Service Plan in 1994, Starkey International developed a unique Service Management System for identifying and managing Private Service Expectations. The typical training for household service provided only basic technical skills. We go much deeper than that.

The Starkey System

•Identifies specific Service Expectations
•Introduces functional Service Management Terminology
•Provides 11 unique Service Management tools for managing Service expectations
•Organizes and upholds these Service Standards and expectations on a daily basis
•Customizes an overall Service Management plan

In 1997, Starkey registered a patent for the Starkey Service Management System. This system is an interactive communication model that is specifically designed to customize service delivery. No longer will you be stuck in crisis mode or doing guesswork on your Principal’s expectations. The Starkey System adapts to any family or Service environment and to all Service expectations.

 

The Starkey System presents to Employers:

•A Standards Matrix for identifying their Service Standards
•Technical Skills Qualifier for evaluating candidates
•Zoning and customization of Housekeeping Task Sheets and products
•Day in the Life for accountability and communication
•Service Matrix for presenting the entire Service Management plan.

The Starkey Service Management System was patented in 1997 (Patent No. US 6,745,200 B2).

 

 

On-Site Consulting and Site Visits for Private Homes and Estates

Customized Service to Fit Your Lifestyle

Starkey has learned that genuine service is obtained only when expectations are understood and met. To achieve this, Starkey comes to your home or service environment to customize service for you and your lifestyle. By participating in the on-site consultation and using Starkey’s Service Management System, you will be able to articulate your Lifestyle Service Vision, Service Priorities and Standards.

StarkeyCrestEach family has a unique Service Lifestyle. It may be formal, corporate, family friendly, casual or directed toward retirement and travel. Your priorities may include developing your entertainment style, providing an educational environment for your children, caring for overnight guests or making large-scale renovations. Your style of Service staffing must also be unique to you and must be positioned to effectively support your Service Vision.

Mrs. Starkey generally arrives in the late afternoon in time for an initial meeting to determine the principal’s Vision of Service.

It is often positioned as part of a dinner conversation so that there is time for all to consider and articulate expected outcomes. This dinner meeting also takes place to identify service priorities and your overall Service values and goals.

The next morning, Mrs. Starkey returns to your residence for an in-depth household tour to identify your:

  • Service Standards
  • Zoning and Housekeeping Task Sheet requirements
  • Staffing and Service Flow needs
  • Meet any current staff (more…)