Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What makes the profession of butler so difficult?
2. Where's Simpelvel?
3. Where do the students come from?
4. How long does the training course last?
5. What is the most important quality in a butler?
6. What three things do all employers want?
7. What does '17 years' refer to?
A professional butler is somebody who is loyal, flexible, discreet, hard-working, honest, but most important, it is a person who has the ability to put somebody else's wishes before your own. That is what makes this a profession so very, very difficult.
At the age of 21, I became a butler. Nowadays, I am chairman of the International Butler Academy. The International Butler Academy is located in the beautiful village of Simpelveld in the Netherlands. You have about 135 rooms, 80,000 square feet completely dedicated to the training of butlers.
Our students live here in our building. They come, literally, from every country in the world. Age from 18 to 68.
Okay, five minutes, guys.
Students learn about housekeeping, house management, estate management, regular things, like even suitcase packing, silver shining, shining shoes, the list is enormous. There's an incredible amount of training to be done in 10 weeks.
Discipline here at the International Butler Academy is very, very important. In order to get a job done, you need discipline. I think in order to be successful, you need discipline and discipline here at school is something we embrace and not something that we are afraid of.
Here at school we always joke about what employers want. They need a clean toilet. They want a warm bed and they want a hot meal and those three things are most important for everyone.
You go right, you go left.
My wife and I, we have our own butler. I'm very fortunate; I've had a private butler now for the past 17 years and this person is very, very important to me.
Being a butler can certainly be a wonderful career simply because if you are responsible for the well-being of the family, for their happiness, that is obviously very, very, very important.
Key:
1 The have to put someone else's wishes before their own
2 In the Netherlands
3 From anywhere in the world
4 Ten weeks
5 Discipline
6 a clean toilet, a warm bed and a hot meal
7 The time the director of the school and his wife have had a butler for
Key:
1 The have to put someone else's wishes before their own
2 In the Netherlands
3 From anywhere in the world
4 Ten weeks
5 Discipline
6 a clean toilet, a warm bed and a hot meal
7 The time the director of the school and his wife have had a butler for
