Doorman

From ArticleWorld

A Doorman as a term may be used, interchangeably, to refer to a door guard, hall porter, porter, and a gatekeeper. He is sometimes even referred to as a commissionaire or usher. He is a man employed to attend the entrance of a hotel, apartment house, or other buildings and to stand guard outside apartment houses.

When a doorman is employed in a night club, bar or a pub his physical qualities also become important from the employers’ point of view. This is because more often than not doormen are called upon to use their physical strength to throw out disorderly clients of the night club or bar. Thus, doormen by and large are large muscular men who need, from time to time, to employ their superior muscle power to remove or ‘bounce’ unsavory customers from the premises of their employers.

The term bouncer when used to describe a doorman is supposed to have originated from the way the usually inebriated customer bounced on the pavement when thrown out on his rear.

An alert, properly attired and groomed doorman exhibiting professional posture does much to send a positive image of a place; that is the first impression that a prospective client gets. The post of a doorman is a very coveted one in a hotel because a competent doorman can collect a tidy amount by way of tips.

The insider

The position of a doorman is also important because they are believed to have more insider information about the clients of a hotel or the inmates of an apartment house than all other employees put together. They generally wear smart uniforms with peaked caps that go a long way in adding distinction to their occupation.