Learn to become a perfect butler from a butler-training school in London
Visit a butler-training school in London, England.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Ivor Spencer runs England's most renowned butler training school. Here, the devil really is in the detail.
IVOR SPENCER: "So I would say good morning and you would say 'Good morning, Sir Ivor' with a deep bow because I'm a VIP, very important person, OK? Watch it carefully. Good morning."
SPENCER: "So an ordinary person is from the neck, but a VIP and your employer, from the waist."
NARRATOR: To make sure that His Lordship doesn't get covered in printer's ink, his newspaper is ironed for him each day. Ivor Spencer knows his audience.
SPENCER: "Thank you, Chris. He had the Sun newspaper in front of him and he went like this. True story, he was a very witty guy."
NARRATOR: The most important lesson these butlers-to-be will learn is loyalty to one's master.
SPENCER: "Now, when I go in there I see this person there out of the corner of my eye but I ignore them. The butler ignores the person in the bed unless they speak to you. We are not judge and jury, we are working for them. Sir, what time would you like your bath?"
STUDENT: "Sir, what time would you like your bath?"
SPENCER: "And then as you go out, you pick up the clothes. Right, OK. Chris, try that please."
NARRATOR: Rumor has it England is the only country in which servants truly deserve to be called butlers - everywhere else, they're simply servants. Those students who pass Spencer's six-week course shouldn't have any difficulty finding a job.
SPENCER: "Alex, I didn't have any breakfast so I'm really hungry. Am I taking too much?"
STUDENT: "Not at all, sir."
SPENCER: "Oh, thank you. You've got enough to go around?"
STUDENT: "Of course, sir."
SPENCER: "OK, I wouldn't like to feel like I'm taking too much. I hate waste. What time is dinner, you say?"
STUDENT: "Seven o'clock, sir."
SPENCER: "And dessert, what are you serving for dessert?"
STUDENT: "Lemon sauce, sir."
SPENCER: "And these are edible flowers?
STUDENT: "Yes, it is, sir."
SPENCER: "You're sure? It is? Thank you, Alex. And bring some bread, please. Thank you very much. This is very nice and that was very good, Alex. You didn't laugh, you made me comfortable."
NARRATOR: A personal butler is the ultimate status symbol among the super rich. As Ivor Spencer himself says, your run-of-the-mill millionaire can seldom afford a butler. Those who are serious about working for England's wealthiest families have to adopt the correct posture. One of the ways to learn it is by balancing a glass on one's head. British-trained butlers are a cut above. Well, they will be once Ivor Spencer's finished with them.
IVOR SPENCER: "So I would say good morning and you would say 'Good morning, Sir Ivor' with a deep bow because I'm a VIP, very important person, OK? Watch it carefully. Good morning."
SPENCER: "So an ordinary person is from the neck, but a VIP and your employer, from the waist."
NARRATOR: To make sure that His Lordship doesn't get covered in printer's ink, his newspaper is ironed for him each day. Ivor Spencer knows his audience.
SPENCER: "Thank you, Chris. He had the Sun newspaper in front of him and he went like this. True story, he was a very witty guy."
NARRATOR: The most important lesson these butlers-to-be will learn is loyalty to one's master.
SPENCER: "Now, when I go in there I see this person there out of the corner of my eye but I ignore them. The butler ignores the person in the bed unless they speak to you. We are not judge and jury, we are working for them. Sir, what time would you like your bath?"
STUDENT: "Sir, what time would you like your bath?"
SPENCER: "And then as you go out, you pick up the clothes. Right, OK. Chris, try that please."
NARRATOR: Rumor has it England is the only country in which servants truly deserve to be called butlers - everywhere else, they're simply servants. Those students who pass Spencer's six-week course shouldn't have any difficulty finding a job.
SPENCER: "Alex, I didn't have any breakfast so I'm really hungry. Am I taking too much?"
STUDENT: "Not at all, sir."
SPENCER: "Oh, thank you. You've got enough to go around?"
STUDENT: "Of course, sir."
SPENCER: "OK, I wouldn't like to feel like I'm taking too much. I hate waste. What time is dinner, you say?"
STUDENT: "Seven o'clock, sir."
SPENCER: "And dessert, what are you serving for dessert?"
STUDENT: "Lemon sauce, sir."
SPENCER: "And these are edible flowers?
STUDENT: "Yes, it is, sir."
SPENCER: "You're sure? It is? Thank you, Alex. And bring some bread, please. Thank you very much. This is very nice and that was very good, Alex. You didn't laugh, you made me comfortable."
NARRATOR: A personal butler is the ultimate status symbol among the super rich. As Ivor Spencer himself says, your run-of-the-mill millionaire can seldom afford a butler. Those who are serious about working for England's wealthiest families have to adopt the correct posture. One of the ways to learn it is by balancing a glass on one's head. British-trained butlers are a cut above. Well, they will be once Ivor Spencer's finished with them.