It’s that time of the year again. No, not the most wonderful time of the year but that time of the year when domestic staff go to their homes for the holidays, never to return again.
Sometimes, I think our parents were the last generation to luck out with the right domestic helps who stuck around for decades, be it cleaners, cooks and/or drivers. Is it cause in their own case it was mostly relatives from the village helping out? Because what’s different now? How come in our own time, we’re running through domestic staff like seasonal collections? And it’s not just the frequency with which we have to change staff or how they leave, it’s also the quality too.
I’ve sat through rant sessions of my peers complaining that their cook did this or the cleaner did that or this one absconded after saying s/he was just going home for the holidays. It’s almost like instead of actually helping you out in your home, they are adding to your stress. Did our parents go through the same dilemma we’re facing as young adults maintaining a home? Were we too young and distracted to notice?
Some months back I had my first baptism on domestic staff woes. When I returned from my summer travels, I came back to a dirty home despite having someone on my payroll to clean it three times a week. And that for me was the final straw. Before that, there had been inconsistent appearances to do the job with half-baked excuses or none in some cases. There was also a time when I was home while she was cleaning and she brought her child to work, which I didn’t have a problem with. But said lady went ahead to make cereal for her daughter without asking and even when I walked into the kitchen and saw it, she didn’t say anything. I remember calling my husband to ask him if I was wrong to feel some type of way, not that I would have denied her the cereal but it felt disrespectful that she would go ahead to help herself to food without taking permission or apologising even when I walked in on scene. What’s to say that worse wasn’t happening in my absence. Anyways, when I let her go weeks after that for the shoddy job she was doing, I then began to take stock of my many items that were missing. It’s December, months later and I’m still realizing things that are “missing” from a wig to dresses to jewellery and I just can’t. Sigh.
Does anyone have a cheat code to getting domestic help that won’t have you run to the middle of the street and start pulling out your hair? I see that Yaba Left recorded a 100% increase in admission *side eye*. And for those of you who have lucked out with good domestic helps, how does it feel to be God’s favourite? No but really, what’s the secret? Are you willing to host a masterclass? I know people willing to pay good money for the class and good help.