Q: I bought your book, Butlers and Household Managers, 21st Century Professionals. I have two interviews in the next five days, and could use a checklist to ask the existing manager questions. You have all the info in your big book, but it won't look too good if I peruse it during the interview!

A: The simple thing to do is create your own checklist of questions...things you want to know of the employer in order to satisfy yourself that the job being offered is one that you can and want to do, that reveals the character of the principals, the duties required, pay, hours etc. I recommend referring to the checklist if you can't remember what is on it during the interview, and translating the basic, raw question you have (such as "Are the principals mean and nasty, or kind?") into more diplomatic variations (such as "Could you tell me how long your/your employer's last butler was with them?").

Q: I am 39, in a stage of career change and I would like to move into the butler profession, as I believe I can provide a very valuable set of skills. I come from an international business career and have a very good knowledge of travel arrangements, cooking, ironing, dress codes, menswear, etiquette and so on. Obviously I need a formal training and I definitely want to join a world-class school (and have noticed that you are part of The International Butler Academy faculty).

I need your feedback in the sense that it is important for me to know whether there is a demand for butlers worldwide. Some recruitment agencies strongly point out the low market demand for butlers nowadays and they do not recommend moving into this profession at all. Some others are more optimistic but they say the market is not as before. So I would like to know what is your feeling about this profession today, if there are good opportunities to move into the profession after having completed the training and, secondly, what school you would recommend to me.

A: The market, it is as you find it...meaning, if you believe it to be stunted, so will it be. But if you intend to find a position, you will. The challenge is to break in, because few employers want to train someone on the job. The best route, then, is to complete butler training and then find a butler under whom you can apprentice for room, board and some money. This gives you experience and builds resume. After a year or two, you will not have any difficulty presenting yourself. Good butlers are sought after.

Also, there is a new market opening up for butlers in hotels, as well as for higher end condominiums/flats that are attached to higher end hotels. Or butlers for businesses. So do not fall for those who see nothing but barriers, instead of opportunities. And consider working in other countries.

As for which school is the best, they all have their strengths. I suggest you refer to the list of schools (on this Web site) and make up your own mind as to which best suits your needs.

Q: I am a college senior who has recently read your book about butling and has the following career questions:
1. What type of work experience is needed not only to enter a butler school, but to get a job afterwards?
2. What are some motivations that people have for entering the profession?

A: Butler school does not require any relevant experience, just the intention to learn and ability to pay about US$12,000.

The best strategy is to find a butler to intern under after completing the course in order to gain the experience and credentials to then find a butler position. Other options include working as a butler in a hotel. Without this kind of experience, few employers are interested, as they feel you will be learning on the job at their expense.

The only really workable motivation is to serve. Added to that, the desire to work with high-end possessions and providing superior service.

Now, what motivations do some people entertain when they enter the profession? Money, personal gain. Generally speaking, these do not lead to good service or building relationships, so these people generally do not succeed as butlers.

Q: I am a 36-year old divorced white female, no children. I am college educated and am a non-drinker and non-smoker. I am reliable and serious, but consider myself to be someone who truly enjoys life. I am an avid reader (primarily self-help books nowadays) and have an unquenchable thirst for learning. I enclose my resume for the butler position you are advertising.

A: Thank you for the resume. In truth, I would recommend that you engage in some training and apprenticeship as a butler/household manager in order to bend your resume more in the direction you want to go. The likelihood of landing a position without any on-target training or experience is negligible.

Response to A: Thanks for your candor. I have looked over the link you suggested and am developing an action plan.

Q: I am researching my family history and have found my Great Great Uncle was butler to Earl and Countess Annesley in 1881. Can you suggest what training Alfred would have received in order to rise to butler? What type of educational background he would have had to attain?

A: Your Gt. Gt. Uncle probably worked his way up from third footman to second footman to first footman, under-butler and then butler. He may well have started at the very bottom as hall boy, serving the other male servants. As such, his education would have been minimal, other than what he learned on the job-which would have been quite considerable by the time he became the butler.

If you look at the TV series, Upstairs Downstairs, you will see how his London counterparts fared around the time your relative passed away. If you find a copy of ‘Agar's Way to Elegance’, it would make an informative read by a butler who worked during the first half of the 20th Century.

Q: What is butler's polish and where would I find it?

A: If you are referring to furniture polish, they used to make theirs out of beeswax and turpentine, but this would have been done by the maids, rather than the butlers.

Which means this question probably refers to silver polish. They just used silversmith's rouge and mixed it with water into a creamy consistency. They then added half as much again of plate powder to then make the polish that they would rub into the silver, the rubbing creating a heat in the silver that helped fill in scratches.

Where to find these items now? Hmm.... Try any silversmith for starters. If not, then living in London would help, as I suspect the next best places to be Burlington Arcade, and perhaps Harrods. But I am guessing. Otherwise, why not use modern non-abrasive liquid cream polishes on the market? They produce an excellent shine, but will not fill in the scratches.

Q: Where can I find the book, Agar's Way?

A: The full title is: Agar's Way to Easy Elegance, and the ISBN number is 0-672-52665-4. I believe it is out of print and hard to find, so I recommend looking in second-hand bookstores, especially in London.

Q: ... Sometimes I think that there are always better opportunities out there and I need to keep in touch if they do come up. I hope you can understand my concerns and would like your opinion, since you are in the industry.

A: As you have not asked a question, I am going to go out on a limb and assume that you are fretting generally over the viability of your current positions, and are therefore putting out feelers.

Obviously, you are right. If the job were ideal and you felt assured you could last through to retirement, you would not be having these thoughts.

So, you want my opinion? Either confront and address these issues with the employer(s), or if this is not possible because they are not the type to be concerned about their employees, then start looking actively early next year. The market in general is soft at the moment, although couples are having a better time of it as still in demand.

There is also the possibility that it is your own view that has become jaundiced, and the employers are not that bad. It takes quite some level of confront and honesty to say, "The boss really isn't that bad, and maybe my own occasionally poor performance and his or her dissatisfaction with it is resulting in me looking for greener pastures." The fact is that we all hate to goof up, so if we find ourselves goofing up too much, we tend to want to protect the person we are fouling up, by leaving.

I can't say which of these two it is, because I have not the faintest idea of the circumstances in your positions, but these are the two usual culprits-often a mix of both-and the solution is either find a more appreciative boss, or straighten out your own performance, or both.

Q: With regards to page 86 of your book, last paragraph, the art of serving, the guest of honor is seated to the right of the host and is the first to be served, from the left, and then guests in a counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise) order, finishing with the host. When putting this in to practice, as you suggest, it works really well. Is this form of serving traditional in the UK? Having pooled so much knowledge with other British Butlers and having founded the Guild of Traditional Butlers, please advise me why your way of serving (it's brilliant) is considered totally unprofessional by my employers and they say that this is not traditional British Butling.

A: You have hit upon a point of contention. Obviously, whatever your boss prefers, you provide without so much as a note of disagreement. And he (or she) is correct, in that the way I espouse is not the traditional way of serving in England.

However, as I point out in the book, both ways are done and there is much disagreement about it. However, as both ways work, it comes down to the preferences of the employer.

For your employer to say it is not professional to serve the way you tried is not completely correct. It is merely not the way that they used to do it in England, and which many there still do. That would be the exact truth of the matter.

Q: When it comes to Butler service and Personal Concierge service in a hotel or resort setting, what is the difference between the two? The reason why I am asking is, there is a resort here in Utah that caters to the very high end. The resort rents out exclusive homes in the area for those guests who want to come for a vacation. The cost of each home varies in price from $2,000 to $5,500 a night. The resort is putting together a Butler Service department to enhance and build their resort and clientele. I have been asked to join this resort as their Head Butler. However, the resort has not yet decided whether to offer Personal Butler service or Personal Concierge Service to their guests. I get the impression that the resort does not want to pay Butler salary, but would pay a Concierge salary. The Butler or Concierge would be doing the identical job, except the title of the job is different. Is there a difference in salary, etc., when it comes to this type of job?

I am trying to obtain as much information as I can before I go into negotiations with this resort's hiring team. I want to be prepared to know exactly what they are asking and what is expected, so I can come back with some valid and concrete numbers.

Can you shed any light on this matter that may help me? I so appreciate your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you.

A: The problem I have with the concepts expressed in your query, is that "the Concierge staff would be doing exactly the same as the butler staff." Whoever is saying this has not the first idea of the duties of one, or both.

If the individual is providing information to guests about activities and resources in the area, and assisting them with reservations, then they are a concierge. They are front-of-the-house personnel.

If they are doing that, PLUS looking after the individual and their needs in the room, whether in relation to their clothing, their person, their ensuite dining, then they are a butler.

Wages of course vary from area to area. A butler might make $15-$18 an hour, the head butler a bit more. But most of the income comes from sizable tips for the butler.

I recommend you read Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators to better understand the duties and potential of the butler. It is available from the Institute's Bookstore on the web at www.modernbutlers.com. ( Ed. i.e. on this site)

Not to make less of concierges, who do a fine job, but it is considerably more limited than what a butler can bring to the table. There is a need and place for both positions in any high-end facility.