Bonus: I Used to Be a Corporate Butler

Summary

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Podcast Summary: How to Be Anything – Bonus: I Used to Be a Corporate Butler

Podcast: How to Be Anything
Host: Emily McCrary
Episode: Bonus: I Used to Be a Corporate Butler
Date: August 25, 2025

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Episode Overview

This bonus episode of How to Be Anything features Max Uffberg, who reflects on his unexpected stint as a “corporate butler” at a wealth management firm in Philadelphia. Through storytelling and candid anecdotes, Max details the surreal world of serving the ultra-wealthy, the odd tasks that came with his role, and what the job taught him about work, people, and himself. Host Emily McCrary frames the episode as part of a series spotlighting unusual former jobs not always visible in typical careers reporting.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

How Max Became a Corporate Butler

• Max, at 23, juggled catering, bartending, and freelance journalism in Philadelphia.
• He heard about the butler position through a fellow caterer, Jess, who also worked at the wealth management firm.
• The firm occupied several floors in a downtown skyscraper; one floor featured ornate dining rooms for client meetings and high-end meals.

“I used to be a butler at a wealth management firm in Philadelphia… I was 23 when I was working there.”
— Max Uffberg [01:16]

Job Duties and Experiences

• Core Tasks: Setting up rooms, serving meals prepared by a Michelin-star chef, and “being on call” for a range of tasks.
• Unusual Requests: Delivering dry cleaning, walking a client’s dog, and keeping clients company with casual conversation.
• Dress Code: Required to wear a tuxedo shirt, black vest, and bow tie. Max used a clip-on version because he couldn’t tie a real one, which mildly annoyed the chef.
• Infused Water Mishap: For six months, Max mistakenly used zucchini instead of cucumber for the daily water jug. The chef discovered it after a spit-take.

“Apparently... I was supposed to infuse it with cucumber. But I’d been infusing it with zucchini for the last like six months.”
— Max Uffberg [04:48]

Workplace Culture and Camaraderie

• Max and Jess shared an “office” that was actually a supply closet with desks. They worked together closely, using a bell to know when they were needed.
• They built playful routines, such as a makeshift basketball game with trash bins and paper, to make the days go faster.

“We made like a kind of hacked together basketball game using a trash bin and... crumpled up paper.”
— Max Uffberg [06:19]

Interactions with Wealthy Clients

• Many clients were friendly—some professional athletes—while others ignored him as “an invisible helper.”
• Max describes both the perks (Michelin-star meals, daily lunches) and the social dynamics, where butlers were often perceived as transient staff with “guests” assuming they had bigger ambitions.

“There was always sort of an assumption that I was doing something else, I think was vaguely insulting, but I would just grin and nod.”
— Max Uffberg [02:17]

Ethics, Perks, and the Infamous Parking Pass Incident

• The company validated parking for most staff, but not for lower-tier employees like Max.
• During a particularly icy winter, Max couldn’t bike to work (due to leg surgery). A receptionist friend secretly provided him with parking passes.
• This “unauthorized” benefit was discovered, leading to Max’s termination. He chose not to implicate his colleague.

“I was called into a meeting with HR, and they told me that the jig was up… I was promptly fired. The woman who fired me was really nice. She actually cried while she was firing me.”
— Max Uffberg [09:05]

Reflections on Identity and Class

• Max sometimes saw clients or staff reading publications he’d written for, but never revealed his double life.
• He reflects that while serving as a butler wasn’t his ambition, he resisted any implication that it was an “unworthy” job—acknowledging both the dignity of all work and the squeeze on low-wage workers.

“I didn’t want to give into this notion that it’s an unworthy job or something. That job reinforced… two kind of contradictory thoughts. On the one hand, people are people regardless of their station in life... And yet at the same time it did remind me just how much those that are sort of the lower end earners can be squeezed.”
— Max Uffberg [10:25]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Infused Water Mishap:
  “She was not happy. That was strike one, I think, was cucumber for zucchini switcheroo.”
  — Max Uffberg [05:19]

• Cheeky Office Games:
  “We would do all sorts of silly little kind of pranks to make the day go by.”
  — Max Uffberg [06:33]

• On Being Let Go:
  “I remember consoling her, telling her it would be all right, giving her a tissue.”
  — Max Uffberg [09:35]

• On Career Aspiration:
  “I didn’t want to… assure them that buttling was not my life’s calling. Because for some people, it is.”
  — Max Uffberg [10:06]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:16] — Max introduces his job history and route into buttling
• [02:17] — Describing duties, the dress code, and early impressions
• [04:48] — Infused water mistake and kitchen mishaps
• [06:19] — Office camaraderie and playful work hacks
• [08:08] — Parking pass dilemma and firing
• [09:05] — Being let go and reflections on leaving
• [10:06–10:25] — Reflections on work identity and class

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode balances humor and empathy. Max is self-deprecating, honest about his mistakes, and candid about the sometimes absurd realities and quiet indignities of service work. The storytelling feels intimate, often wry, but always sincere and respectful toward people in all sorts of jobs.

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Final Reflection

This bonus episode of How to Be Anything offers a rare, human window into the hidden labor supporting high finance, the strangeness of living between worlds, and the importance of finding meaning (and fun) wherever you work—even in a tuxedo shirt in a glorified supply closet.

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Transcript

[Acast Announcer]

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[Emily McCrary]

Acast.com hey listeners, it's Emily McCrary, creator and host of the show. So the people we usually feature on how to Be Anything are those currently making their living doing something unusual. But as I was reporting this season, I kept coming across folks who used to have really unusual jobs and I really didn't wanna leave them out because these are fun stories. So we've put together a few bonus episodes we'll drop throughout season one, but we're gonna release them randomly. So subscribe and you won't miss one. Okay, here's Max.

[Max Uffberg]

My name is Max Uffberg and I used to be a butler at a wealth management firm in Philadelphia. My buttling career kicked off in 2013. I I was 23 when I was working there. I got the job via a fellow caterer I was working with at a company in Philadelphia. She was also working at the wealth management firm in addition to her catering work. She suggested I might apply for the open position. At the time I was working as a caterer, I was working as a server bartender at another restaurant in Philadelphia and I was trying to earn some meager living as a freelance journalist. I was covering mostly politics and the local tech scene. The wealth management firm had a couple floors of a skyscraper in downtown Philly. One of those floors was basically a series of very ornate dining rooms and they would have their clientele come in and these are pretty high net worth individuals and they would meet with their wealth advisors and over the course of those meetings they would have these meals that were prepared by a Michelin star chef. My job was to get the rooms ready for the meals and then to basically be on call and at their service. So I would serve the meals but also perform various tasks as they came up. I delivered dry cleaning a few times. I walked someone's dog around the block a few times. Sometimes they kind of just like would want to hang out. They would just kind of call me in and like kind of just gab that's like, sure, we could talk. There was a guise of wanting something. So, like, they would say, hey, can I get some more coffee? But then when I would deliver the coffee, they'd be like, so where are you from? Are you in school? There was always sort of an assumption that was doing something else I think was vaguely insulting, but I would just grin and nod. I had to wear a uniform. I wore a tuxedo shirt with a black tie and black vest that actually, there's a point of contention. You were supposed to buy this black bow tie. But I couldn't figure out how to tie a bow tie. So I bought a clip on bow tie, which really irked the chef, who I loved her. I mean, we got along great, but she would often roll her eyes at me. I just. I couldn't. I wasn't going to learn how to tie a bow tie. Every morning, the chef would go over, like, the daily lineup of guests. Who's coming, Any particulars about the person or, like, quirks to be aware of, or certain clients you would just expect, like, for example, would be bringing in their dry cleaning. And so I knew that guy's going to come in at 11am and I'm going to have to run out to the dry cleaner. So, like, you know, adjust your day accordingly. Or this woman often brings in her poodle. So I'm going to have to take that dog for a walk as she goes into her meeting with her wealth advisors. I had an office, which was actually just a supply closet. They put a desk and a computer monitor for some reason in this supply closet where the woman who suggested I apply to the job, Jess, she and I shared the space. So we would both sit there and then they would ring a little bell. And that was our sign to spring to action. The Michelin star chef gave me a ton of meals. She would give us lunch every day, which was incredible. Also, I would pretty much always eat off of other people's plates whenever. I mean, I have scratched 20s. I was hungry. I was a glutton. One of my daily tasks was to put out this infused water jug and the hallway every morning, kind of right outside some of these conference suites that doubled as our dining rooms. I drank from it pretty much every day. And then one day, the chef took a sip of the water and I think she, like, spit it out. She was like, max, come here. What is this? And I took a sip. I was like, it looks fine to me. And apparently, you know, so it was like this infused water and I was supposed to Infuse it with cucumber. But I'd been infusing it with zucchini for the last like six months. And so, I mean, it tasted fine to me. It was kind of just like slightly funky water. I clearly was not cut out for this job. She was not happy. That was strike one, I think, was cucumber for zucchini switcheroo. The clients were kind of a mixed bag. Plenty of them were really nice. There were two or three professional athletes I remember who were very friendly and funny and there were some who just seemed to look past you and maybe not treat you with a whole lot of respect. I think in the service industry you get used to this too. Like you're sort of an invisible helper. You're not really acknowledged or addressed. Sometimes that's also fine. Like, I don't always want to talk to everybody when I'm at work. While I was working at this wealth management firm, I was trying to make it as a journalist and I was writing for Philadelphia Weekly and a bunch of local outlets at the time. So it made me even hungrier as a journalist because I, on one level didn't want to have to keep working every day from, I think it was like seven to four. As a butler at the same time showed me that I could have fun in any job. My colleague Jess and I, my office mate, my supply closet mate. I remember we made like a kind of hacked together basketball game using a trash bin and I don't know, crumpled up paper or something. We made like a whole point system and we would do all sorts of silly little kind of pranks to make the day go by. And that's the kind of stuff I think you can do in any workplace or many workplaces at the end of the day or collections of people. And if you can be goofy with each other, it's not going to be too bad.

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[Max Uffberg]

There is this issue at work where they would validate parking for most of the employees. And this is in downtown Philadelphia, where if you have to park in the street, it can be pretty expensive. So they would validate parking for most employees, except for, like, the bottom of the totem pole, which included me. So that was a particularly icy winter. I couldn't bike into work because I had a surgery on my leg. And basically, I couldn't really take the risk of falling, So I had to drive a few times. If I were to park for the day, it would have been like 80 bucks or something, which was a lot of money. But they had this book of validated parking passes, and my eyes caught the book. I thought maybe I could get some of those validated parking passes. And that ultimately led to my demise at the company. One of the receptionists, who was kind of a friend, quietly gave me some validated parking passes on the days when I would drive into work. And then in the summer of 2014, I was called into a meeting with HR, and they told me that the jig was up. Honestly, I don't even know how they figured it out, but they somehow realized that I'd been taken or really given validated parking when I was not a person worthy of such things. And I was promptly fired. The woman who fired me was really nice. She actually cried while she was firing me. And I remember consoling her, telling her it would be all right, giving her a tissue. And I think there was a moment where I maybe could have explained that, you know, in fact, someone had given me these passes, but I didn't want to take someone else down with me. So I just did what I thought was the noble thing and was canned. I work now as a senior editor at Fast Company magazine. When I was working at the firm, I used to see people reading my stories once in a while, which was kind of a trip. And I would not tell them that I was the same person. But, you know, I was writing for Philadelphia Weekly, which is a free alt weekly. So it's distributed all over the city. And at least at the time, you'd see people picking it up and reading it on the subway, on the bus, whatever. And, like, they would have an issue folded under their arm when they came into work. So I'd be talking to these analysts and such, or see on their desks, they had, like, a story flipped open. That was my byline. I don't know. For some reason, it just never crossed my mind to raise my hit. It felt sadder to raise my hand and say that's me. That seemed like a little desperate on my end. So I think I just never said anything. I didn't want to like give them the satisfaction of assuring them that buttling was not my life's calling. Because for some people it is. And I didn't want to give into this notion that it's an unworthy job or something. That job reinforced the idea that, I guess two kind of contradictory thoughts. On the one hand, people are people regardless of their station in life. These are super, super rich people. Some of them were really cool, some of them were not. It reinforced the kind of diversity of personalities you're going to encounter regardless of what rung of society you're on. And yet at the same time it did remind me just how much those that are sort of the lower end earners can be squeezed.

[Emily McCrary]

How To Be Anything is created and written by me, Emily McCrary Lily I. Johnson is our producer and Kaden Boffman is our editor. Visual design by Nika Semovic Fisher at labud. You can see pictures of Max and learn about our other guests and their unusual jobs on our substack howtobeanything.com and you can follow us on Instagram at How to Be Anything. If there's a job you think we should feature, please, please let us know at how to be anything podcastmail.com.

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[Capella University Advertiser]

Learning the right skills could make a difference. That's why our business programs teach you relevant skills you can take from the course room to the workplace. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella. Edu.

[Acast Announcer]

Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's the show that we recommend.

[Eden Scher]

I'm Eden Scher.

[Brock Ciarlelli]

And I'm Brock Ciarlelli.

[Eden Scher]

We played best friends on the Middle.

[Brock Ciarlelli]

And became best friends in real life.

[Eden Scher]

We're here to rewatch the Middle with all of you.

[Brock Ciarlelli]

Each week we'll recap an episode with behind the scenes stories guest interviews and what we think now, many years later.

[Eden Scher]

There'S a lot to dive into. So let's get to middling.

[Acast Announcer]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts. Everywh. Acast. Com.