Fascinating...have to go to medical school?................Strong Economy Leads to Butler Boom
Associated Press Online - March 14, 1999 14:32
By AMY GEIER
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Eleven bathrooms, five bedrooms, four fireplaces, an elevator, and a pool.
Deborah Eaton takes care of it all. But don't call her a butler. Ms. Eaton is among the growing ranks of household managers, as
they prefer to be known.
The 47-year-old mother of three had been working in sales and customer service for nine years, and was unhappy sitting in a
cubicle all day. When she saw a want ad for a house manager, something clicked, she said.
"It's a good outlet for all the things I love to do," Ms. Eaton said. "I love organization; I like working on my own, and I like
caring for a house."
Today she works in a 15,000-square-foot home owned by a suburban Columbus CEO whose name she discreetly withholds.
She buys groceries, cleans, cares for animals and supervises a nanny and gardener.
With a booming economy, more people are buying sprawling homes and hiring others to take care of them, according to those
who make a business of meeting that need. They say a household manager can earn $25,000 to $100,000, depending on their
duties, which can range from running a household alone to supervising a household staff.
Many people are buying large homes for the first time and filling them with expensive rugs and china that they don't know how
to properly care for, said Gay Metz, placement consultant for the Professional Domestic Services in Columbus.
The placement service is part of the Professional Domestic Institute, where Ms. Eaton trained.
In five-week sessions that cost $4,500, students learn all aspects of running an expensive household, including caring for
antiques and art work, shopping for food and home accessories, planning and serving meals and parties, managing a financial
budget and supervising other staff.
Students also can participate in workshops to learn formal dining skills - such as which fork goes where - and how to plan
creative parties. There's a three-hour session on improving ironing techniques.
The Institute was founded in 1995 by Carol Scudere, who has worked as a professional household manager and consultant.
Students use Ms. Scudere's own home as a classroom.
She said it's important for students to learn to handle fine furnishings similar to what they'll encounter in employers' homes.
A former self-employed interior designer, Ms. Scudere, 52, gets to spend company money scouring antique shops and estate
sales for $3,000 Irish linens, African candlesticks and silver tea sets. Then she takes them home and lets trainees handle them.
She also has about 500 cookbooks and three freezers to teach students gourmet cooking and serving techniques.
The Institute is the country's second such school, after Denver-based Starkey International.
Founded in 1981, Starkey trains about 60 people a year; the average student is 45 years old and college-educated, embarking
on a second career. Their employers make about $200,000 a year and are usually top-level executives and CEOs.
Ms. Starkey said the household managers are a sign of changing times. She said people recognize that they can't hire illegal
immigrants to serve as household staff anymore. They need people familiar with the culture, Ms. Starkey said, who are
technologically trained to deal with "smart" houses and able to adhere to creating low-fat diets.
Students who receive training to deal with expectations of the wealthy often get along better with employers, Ms. Scudere said.
Ms. Eaton has established a trusting relationship with her employer. And she's glad to be out of that cubicle.
"It's a beautiful environment to work in. Just walking into that home every day is a perk."
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