Sorting the Servants

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

For those who have been holding off on employing a large domestic staff to help manage their lives and homes simply because they don't know what types of servants they should hire or what duties those servants should be prepared to perform, I am developing a practical guide to address those very issues.

My project began a couple of weeks ago when I was reading a piece on the late British author, P.G. Wodehouse.  Wodehouse was a comedic author and two of his most memorable characters were the rich playboy, Bertie Wooster, and his valet (and sidekick) Jeeves, a man whose main function in life was cleaning up Bertie's messes.  Not having too much experience with the British aristocracy, I had always thought of Jeeves as some sort of traveling butler, and the term "valet" just washed right over me.  While reading the article on the internet, however, I learned the actual distinction between a butler and a valet.  A butler serves the house and concentrates on ensuring that things function properly - and a valet meets the needs of the individual - shoes shined, clothes pressed, and the like.

I began thinking about the other servants that I've come across on British television mysteries and in Agatha Christie novels.

Many of the rich Brits, for instance, employ governesses to care for their children.  My assumption was that a governess was an in-house babysitter who kept the kids busy and out of the parents' way.  I was surprised to learn that a governess is usually a professionally trained educator whose primary responsibility is teaching the children at home.  That person often resides in the house as well.  (I was careful not to assign a gender to the role of governess because, even though the title sounds like it would refer to a female, men could also be trained educators who are hired to teach and take care of children.  ChatGPT says that the term "governrness" is gender neutral and could be used with regard to females and males.)

An "au pair" also takes care of children within the home.  Au pairs are often young people who serve in homes in foreign lands on an exchange basis, and they are usually young people.  An au pair may be employed for their language abilities - to teach and use their language with the children in the home - to supervise homework, and to do light housework.  While au pairs may functtion to a certain extent in teaching children and they may be actively pursuing their own education, they are not established, trained educators like governesses.

The degree of training and professionalism is also what distinguishes a chauffeur from just an ordinary driver.  A driver is a person who operates a vehicle.  A person may hire a driver to take them someplace or to drive their vehicle for a specific period of time.  A chauffeur is a professional who is trained in customer service.  Chauffeurs tend to be more formal in their service, drive for the same individual or family for an extended period of time, and they are often operate luxury vehicles.

And finally, for this session at least, every well-heeled household should have a housekeeper.  Some think of a housekeeper as a person who keeps a house tidy, but a true housekeeper is a person who manages a household and keeps in running.  The housekeeper makes sure that cleaning and maintenance are scheduled and performed, and he or she oversees lesser staff like maids,  housemen or houseboys, pool boys, and gardeners.  Sometimes the primary butler will function as the house manager.

Those are most of the positions that the filthy rich should address.  For those planning on winning the lottery when it is well past a billion dollars and becoming extra-filthy rich, you would also benefit from being knowledgable about groundskeepers, gamekeepers, and polo grooms.

Living well does not come cheaply!