BUTLER'S

ETIQUETTE
 Personal Etiquette and
Professionalism
◦ Butlers should always consult and use experts where they
lack know-how skills.
◦ Expected to be highly professional when at work.
◦ Keep working pace according to the guest’s movement.
◦ Doesn’t slouch.
◦ Doesn’t sit around smoking.
◦ Doesn’t carry on conversations as if negotiating at a fish
market.
◦ Smooth and well-placed motions.
◦ Always perfectly dressed according to situations.
◦ Keep up personal hygiene.
Driving and cars
◦ Generally, hotel butlers will not drive
guests for insurance and other reasons.
◦ If the butler is called upon to drive or
care for dream cars, whether Bentleys
and Rolls Royce's or Ferraris and
Lamborghini's, he should resist the
temptation.
◦ If you want to keep your job, then a
better operating basis would be to treat
that car as you would your own.
◦ Not as an object of extreme veneration,
but an object to be driven responsibly.
Driving and cars
◦ An advanced driving course, including
skid control, as well as a basic book on
how cars work, will do wonders to
improve competence behind the wheel.
◦ The essence of good chauffeuring is a
smooth and safe ride.
◦ Looking after cars usually means
supervising the chauffeurs or checking
for obvious points oneself (such as tire
pressure, fluid levels etc.).
◦ Make sure the cars are really kept is
cleaned, regular and visual are
inspection serviced of on the schedule.
 Driving and cars
◦ Chauffeuring often requires picking up unknown
guests and visitors from an airport, railway station
faxed or other public the place.
◦ Have a picture e-mailed or faxed to you by the
person’s secretary so you can recognize them.
◦ Ask for a description of their luggage and the
number of any cell phone they may be carrying.
◦ If you cannot obtain a picture, then you may resort
to holding up a neatly printed card showing the
person’s name, or some keyword they will
recognize.
◦ Have a porter to hand if luggage is more than you
can comfortably manage.
◦ As soon as you have made contact, arrange for the
luggage to be secured and escort the person, plus
luggage to the vehicle which should be at the
closest possible location to the meeting point.
 Answering the door
◦ In answering the door for a guest, appearing at a door a guest is
opening, or entering a guest suite, it is advisable to check your
appearance in the mirror first.
◦ For security purposes, when opening a door for a guest whose
doorbell has just beep rung while the butler happens to be in the
guest's suite, it is better to verify who the caller is before opening
the door.
◦ If the person outside is expected according to the guest, then
they are let in with a smile that says "Welcome" as the butler
gestures into the suite.
Answering the door
◦ The butler takes the person's coat, if
necessary, offers them the bathroom
facilities to freshen up if they have just
completed a long trip, and then escorts
them into the room where the guest is,
gesturing the way and preceding them so as
to open any doors and standing aside while
the visitor walks through the portals.
◦ The butler would then announce, "Mr./Mrs.
__" giving the name of the arriving visitor.
◦ The butler then stands discretely by to see if
the guest and his visitor would like a drink or
any service. If not, he withdraws discretely.
 Answering the door
◦ If the person is not expected, but is a friend or family and usually
welcome to the suite, then they are also let in.
◦ If the guest has not stated whether he or she wants to see whoever
is at the door, your task becomes trickier, especially if family or
friends are outside. You could say something along the lines of,
"Just" a moment, Sir/Madam, let me see if Mr./ Mrs. __ is in." If the
guest does want to see the visitor, you only have a guest possibly
miffed at being left outside while you checked.
◦ If the guest does not wish to see that person, you have to
persuade the visitor to leave without upsetting him or her. Try
something like, "I am afraid Mr./ Mrs. __ is not available, but I will
certainly tell him you called; may I relay a message to him,
Sir/Madam?" If the person still insists, you would have to be firm,
perhaps saying, "I am unable to allow anyone in, I am very sorry
indeed. Might I suggest that an appointment be made?"
 Answering the telephone
◦ Depending upon the guest’s position in society, he may want
caution used for security purposes.
◦ Answer to the phone, repeated politely if required, allows you to
know who is calling without confirming that a celebrity or dignitary
is indeed staying at the suite.
◦ In a more open situation, a cheery and forthright, "Good morning,
this is Suite 123, Jeeves the butler speaking, may I help you?" can
be followed up with, "Let me see if __ is available." And if not,
"May I take a message? I will certainly tell him you called."
◦ Record the caller's phone number and any message.
◦ Never give out information on the guest's whereabouts or plans,
or any phone numbers or addresses over the phone, unless you
are certain that the person at the other end is who he says he is
and should know that information.