The concept of a butler service has evolved over time, losing its essence as a respected profession and becoming a fragmented industry reliant on gig workers and low-cost labor. We must redefine the butler service. Not just because I have always wanted to employ a butler of course, but because I believe the Butler can once again be restored to his rightful place as the cornerstone of civilization. And since this is 1WT, we’re going to explore making it a subscription model! Anyway, the weird thought centers around why I think butlers are important, and what we need to do as a society to bring this noble institution back to its former glory.
The Qualities of an Ideal Butler
I believe that a butler must be a generalist, adept at navigating complex social situations and possessing technical expertise to learn and adapt. The most famous butler in Australia is a chef, web designer, security expert and highly trained driver. Moreover, butlers should have the confidence to challenge r hapless employers when necessary, providing valuable guidance and steering them towards better decisions. Think Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. Jeeves really needed to put his foot down sometimes to prevent Bertie from destroying British society as they knew it.
A strong track record of helping others highlight the butler's role as a guide, ensuring beneficial outcomes for everyone. Butler’s cannot simply be genies in a bottle, subservient to their master’s whims and desires. They serve a higher purpose, the institution of Butler-ing. They need to be clever enough to subvert their employer’s worst impulses while amplifying their positive effect on the world. I suppose I’m once again describing Jeeves. God I love me some PG Wodehouse.
Butlers-as-a-service
We are going through a global butler shortage. I’ll let that sink in a bit before continuing. All corner’s of the world, hopped up on Downton Abbey, want more. Butler’s could be the next great British export after Rolls Royces.
To make the butler service more accessible, cost considerations are essential. However, it is equally important to maintain a premium service that appeal to the people who actually want butlers. We also need to maintain a cost-structure that allows butlers to level up consistently throughout their whole career. Unlike cheap, traditional consumer SAAS, I think adopting a service model akin to enterprise-grade software might be a viable approach. This approach involves high upfront installation costs and a recurring service fee, creating a more capital-intensive form of providing butler services. Recognizing the need for customization in personalizing a butler's role, it becomes evident that leveraging AI could play a pivotal role in augmenting human butlers rather than replacing them.
Enter Butler Tech
We can’t just feed a bunch of P.G. Wodehouse books into an AI service an expect a butler to just pop out… actually, can we? Has someone tried that? Man, that would be pretty cool. I think we should try that and then maybe come back to this entire proposition. Anyway, I suppose the integration of AI will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of a butler. While there may be initial resistance from a generation less inclined to embrace new technology, the goal should be to augment butlers with AI tools, making them more efficient and capable of handling a broader range of services. Tasks such as selecting outfits for events or dictating and revising communications can be automated to an extent. However, it is crucial to strike a balance between automation and human intervention to ensure a personalized touch in the butler's services. I personally recommend never having clients interact directly with computer’s or AI. The AI is there only for the Butlers to save time and be more capable. A Butler’s butler so to speak.
Robotics can be utilized to augment a Butler’s physical capabilities. Keeping a house clean used to require elaborate staff. Now we’ve got 10 souped up Roombas to do the same job. Need to deliver a very discrete letter to a certain paramour across town? We’ve got drones for that. Again, the client never interfaces directly with the robot but we would be able to create magic-feeling experiences. To really make the experience sing, we will likely have our most experienced butlers be on-premises BUT augment their capabilities with an entirely remote consultancy service.
In reimagining the butler service, it is essential to redefine its qualities and reinstate its position as a respected profession. By incorporating aspects of the service model used in enterprise-grade software, we can strike a balance between accessibility and maintaining a defined career path for the noble Butlers. Technology, such as AI and robotics, can augment the modern butler, enabling greater efficiency and expanding their capabilities while preserving the essential human touch. Did we just recreate the modern Virtual Assistant industry? Perhaps, but maybe a rebrand is just what that industry needs.