How to handle maid and cook?

padma01 · Mar 26, 2010

Hi friends,

I need your help in solving some problems with my maid and cook....A new cook joined us last month....My MIL was always in the kitchen watching them, so things were okay...Last week, MIL went to her native and will be back only after 2 months...Now problems have started with the cook and maid...

The coffee powder dabba was becoming empty faster than usual..For my hubby, me and baby, cook is using 1 litre of milk, for the mornig alone! So I went to the kitchen yest, and found that the cook and maid were drinking 2 glasses of coffee each!

Another problem is the vessels are not clean as they used to be...I checked the grinder when the cook was starting grinding idli maavu and found that it was in such a bad state, I had to tell her to stop grinding and throw it out...

Now I am worried whether I am dealing with them correctly...I am also angry with them..

I dont monitor them all the time, should I be doing it? How can I correct the cook without being rude? Should I keep the provisions in the cupboard and give her only what is needed or is free access to provisions and fridge okay? Can I leave this issue and let my MIL take care of it when she is back? What should I do when take frequent leaves or come late?

Please give me your tips and share your experience in dealing with such problems. Thanks a lot!

Best Regards
Padma

rena2010 · Apr 2, 2010

Don't leave them in their own way. They are working for you and you should keep them under your control(it doesn't mean that they are your slaves but have an eye on them). If your servant's family is struggling or something, then we can help them with money or clothes or whatever but don't ever give them chance to take over your home. You are paying money and they should work for the money they are earning and they should be true. If they are not behaving properly, then change the servant as it should not go out of your hand one day or the other. But if you don't have any other way other than keeping them, then call them and ask them not to touch anything without your permission and be true for the money they are earning otherwise severe action will be taken. Generally servants expect one time tea/coffee if they working for a long time. If that's the case then you provide them one time coffee so that they don't misuse anything in your home. Hope this helps :thumbsup

orion80 · Apr 5, 2010

Hi Padma,

From your post, the maid and cook were fine when they knew they were being supervised but they are having their own way when they reliazed that no one was monitoring them. So monitor them and let them know that you are monitoring them. For ex: milk usage, when they say 1 ltr milk is used up for 3 of you, ask her firmly that it was not a case earlier and why is it happening now. When you caught the cook and maid having 2 glasses of coffee each, you should ask them then and there why they are having extra coffee. Same with the wet grinder.

Please dont wait for your MIL to come back and solve this. Such things should be resolved at the earliest. If you leave them like this, by the time your MIL comes back, they will become used to such free loading and will be pissed off if your MIL starts questioning their behavior. So nip it in the bud and next time you catch them doing such things, tell them very clearly that such behavior will not be tolerated.

Some tips:
1. Spend sometime in the kitchen when the cook and maid are there. You dont need to spend your entire time there if you dont like to. Just pay a lot of surprise visits to the kitchen so that the cook and maid will never know when you might visit the kitchen. This will prevent them from trying smart things
2. Keep checking their work, see if the vessels are clean or the kitchen is organized properly. If the vessels are not clean, make the maid clean them again. This will send across the point.
3. Regarding access to provisions, follow what your MIL was doing when she was here. If she was giving free access to provisions but monitoring them, do the same.

As this is only temporary, try to continue your MIL's way as much as you can. So there will not be much changes and resistance when your MIL is back. Happy problem solving :thumbsup

-Lakshmi