????艾倫?米勒25年前剛入行那陣子，完全不知道當管家應該做些什么。如今，當他在學生們面前暢談自己的職業生涯時，學生們甚至不知道，在當今時代，管家這個職業依然存在

????盡管如此，全世界依然有成千上萬的人在當管家。他們有的打理私人住宅，有的坐鎮度假酒店，其職責與電視劇《唐頓莊園》和古裝片《高斯福莊園》刻畫的管家大相徑庭。他們需要做的，可能是監督工人安裝新的供暖系統，或者負責所有的家庭開支，而不是擦拭銀器、接待客人這類傳統的活兒。

????如果是在酒店做管家，就得隨時滿足客人的需求，比如為客人訂購他們鐘意的某個品牌的啤酒、配一對鏈扣、收拾行李箱、懸掛喜宴橫幅。“無論客人需要什么，我們都能為他們弄到手，”喬治亞州海洋島The Lodge酒店的管家艾克?波德列斯內表示，“只要不是違法、違反道德的事情，我們都會盡力去辦。”

????波德列斯內和其他九名酒店管家平日里為客人張羅求婚儀式、打理高爾夫球場、服侍客人在客房用餐，營造高級餐廳的氛圍；待客時能叫出對方的名字，能為客人尋找丟失的行李，能像私人助理一樣貼心服務。

????還有的管家專為麗思卡爾頓酒店等眾多豪華酒店的富豪貴客服務。不過一說到管家，人們最容易想到的，還是為富豪打理私宅的人，就像《唐頓莊園》里的卡森一樣，掌管著眾多維護花園、泳池及各種供暖設施和安全系統的承包商，張羅大大小小的宴會活動。

????很多管家喜歡別人用“家政總管”或“地產總管”來稱呼他們，因為這樣聽著更體面，感覺像是在一個比普通民居大10到15倍的別墅或大戶人家里提供家政服務的人。

????“人們到現在還是認為管家是一個很枯燥的活，盡管事實根本不是這樣。有些人把男管家稱為‘婦男總管’。”家政獵頭公司Feigon Hamilton的創始人蘇珊?喬伊?費貢表示。Feigon Hamilton的業務是為職業家政人員安排工作。至于安排什么樣的工作，得看對方家庭的情況，比如戶主有多少房子，一家人的生活方式是什么樣的，家里有沒有雇傭仆役長、家政總管或者管理員——無論是仆役長、家政總管還是管理員，都得全權負責所有家政事務，管家也是一樣。

努力使存在感降到最低？

????51歲的艾倫?米勒開了一家小燒烤餐廳之后，在機緣巧合之下當上了管家。“亞特蘭大有名叫威爾的男士給我打了電話，”他回憶道。他未來的老板在大學期間患了脊髓灰質炎，頸部以下完全癱瘓，但此人在生意上非常成功。“他對我說，‘你會從你服侍的人身上學到很多東西，比如如何設定目標……如何管理時間，如何理財。’”米勒說。

????他很快意識到，要想做好這份工作，必須具備很強的多任務處理能力。他說：“這份工作強度很大，你需要同時處理很多任務，掌握智能家居技術。”米勒現在住在西雅圖附近，他依然認為自己是個傳統的管家。

????“在公司，你的奮斗目標是為了得到認可。而在家政服務界，你的目標是把存在感降到最低，”他說，“如果事情的進展非常、非常的順利，人們甚至沒有注意到你的存在，那么你就是成功的。”

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????When Allan Miller started as a butler 25 years ago he had no idea what he was getting into. Now, when he talks to students about his career as a butler or estate manager, they have no idea his job even exists.

??? Yet thousands of butlers work at private homes, resorts, and in consulting roles that look only a little like those portrayed in the television show Downton Abbey or period movies such as Gosford Park. Instead of polishing silver or greeting guests, the butler may oversee installation of a new heating system or pay all the household bills.

??? Or if a butler works in a hotel, he or she may fetch a favorite brand of beer or a pair of cufflinks, pack suitcases, and hang banners for guests. "Whatever it is, we can get it for them," says Ike Podlesny, a butler at The Lodge at Sea Island in Georgia. "As long as it's not illegal or immoral, we'll get it done."

??? Podlesny and the nine other butlers at the resort have helped with wedding proposals, on the golf greens and off, and serve room service food so that it seems like it's in a fine restaurant. They greet guests by name, track down lost luggage, and serve as a sort of personal assistant.

??? Butlers also cater to well-heeled guests at Ritz-Carlton and many other luxury hotels. But, like Mr. Carson on Downton Abbey, they're best known for their work overseeing private households of the very rich. There they may manage a raft of contractors keeping up gardens, pools and all kinds of heating and security systems, and orchestrate parties and events.

??? Many today favor a broader title -- household manager or estate manager -- that fits into a field called private service, working in mansions and homes that are 10 to 15 times the size of average American abodes.

??? "People still think of butler as a very stuffy position, even though it's not. We have some people calling it majordomo," a male domestic, says Susan Joy Feigon, a principal with Feigon Hamilton, which places professional household staff in positions. The job can vary quite a bit, depending on the family, how many homes they have, what their lifestyle is like, and whether they employ a chief of staff, family office manager, or director of residences -- all of whom tend to oversee everything, including the butler.

Striving for invisibility?

??? Alan Miller, 51, started as a butler by accident after owning a small barbecue restaurant. "I got a call from Atlanta, a gentleman named Will," he recalls. His future boss had contracted polio in college and was paralyzed from the neck down, but also very successful in business. "He said, 'you're going to learn from the people you work for, learn about goal setting ... time management, money management,' " Miller says.

??? Alan Miller, 51, started as a butler by accident after owning a small barbecue restaurant. "I got a call from Atlanta, a gentleman named Will," he recalls. His future boss had contracted polio in college and was paralyzed from the neck down, but also very successful in business. "He said, 'you're going to learn from the people you work for, learn about goal setting ... time management, money management,' " Miller says.

????He quickly learned that the job required the ability to handle many projects simultaneously. "The job is much more intense in terms of multitasking and smart technologies," says Miller, who lives near Seattle and still considers himself an old-school butler.

????"In the corporate world you strive for recognition. In the private service world, your goal is invisibility," he says. "When things are going very, very smoothly and they don't notice you, then you're successful."

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