Domestic help (Maid, Driver & Cook) related discussions

major · Post by **major** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:31 am

Guys need your help to figure this out...

Area of work; South Mumbai

1. Monthly pay for a Housemaid (pl. specify whether cooking is included, how many hours etc)

2. Monthly pay for Driver (How many hours, only driving or some household chores also)

3. Cook (Generally I thought that house maid does cooking but if not, pl. specify how many hours, 3 meals or less in a day etc)

4. Do you provide accomodation also.

Thanks for your help !!

realentity · Post by **realentity** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:59 am

South mumbai is expensive to live in. You can check out apartments for rent on http://www.magicbricks.com/property/faces/jsp/search/propertySearch.jsp?SEARCH_PAGE=PROPERTY_SEARCH

Housemaid + cook (2 hours per day) ~ Rs 3000 per month

Its faster to take the train to work. So you would'nt need a driver. Try to look for accomodation anywhere along the Western train line.

Train stops - South Mumbai Churchgate (most expensive to live), Marine Lines, Charni Road, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Dadar, Matunga Road, Mahim, Bandra, Khar Road, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali, North Mumbai Dahisar (least expensive to live).

http://www.mumbainet.com/template1.php?CID=15&SCID=9

major · Post by **major** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:22 am

Thanks for your reply. You are right that South Bombay is expensive but than convenience wise i think its still better to be there. Its kind of scary to take train...its so crowded !!

realentity · Post by **realentity** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:30 am

First class isnt that bad. Get a monthly first class pass. rental rates for 2 bedroom apartments in south mumbai would start at Rs 1 lakh per month and upwards.

hatasawankighata · Post by **hatasawankighata** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:11 am

nowadays first class is very crowded too. a good driver wud cost u around rs. 5k-6k.

Jijo · Post by **Jijo** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:29 am

maid -- 1000 to 3000/month
driver-- 5 to 6k/ month
cook - to cook once a day full meal, may charge bet -- 800 to 1500/ month.

ksheer3 · Post by **ksheer3** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:20 pm

"for e.g., our attitude toward servants might be totally different after America" (#2 -- Mkka)

One of the concerns that those RETIRING2I have is regarding servants.
Live-in or daily help? How should we treat them--- like we do in the US or like most people do here? How will they respond?
Does anyone have any thoughts in this regard?

(won't mind if you move this to another thread)

ksheer3

manukarnika · Post by **manukarnika** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:38 pm

ksheer3;17727One of the concerns that those RETIRING2I have is regarding servants.
Live-in or daily help? How should we treat them--- like we do in the US or like most people do here? How will they respond?
Does anyone have any thoughts in this regard?

(won't mind if you move this to another thread)

ksheer3[/quote]

Treat them like you would like to be treated if roles were reversed. i.e., as a humanbeing

Live-in would "live in" your house 24 hours, can you deal with that? I personally cannot deal with a stranger in my house 24/7 :)

ksheer3 · Post by **ksheer3** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 7:44 pm

manukarnika;18234Treat them like you would like to be treated if roles were reversed. i.e., as a humanbeing

Ask a silly question and ........!!!

We have had daily help with washing/cleaning in our house for ages and we have been trained from the earliest of times to treat people with kindness --- not condescension. The helps we had, were like members of the family -- but were not patronized. In return we got the best service, honesty and reliability.

So, the answer above was not very helpful.

It is my understanding that the scene has changed considerably lately. A help is a contracted individual with rights and enforces those rights. Honesty and integrity are not standard traits but exceptions. Due to the increased demand for domestic help, job-hopping is common and loyalty is a virtue to be practiced by the saintly.

Is the above portrait an extreme? Or do they really come in all shades of blue? Would a person with past experience of domestic help in India be naive to treat the cook and driver as they were treated, say, 50 years ago?

May be someone with real experience will respond.

ksheer3

MadMax · Post by **MadMax** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:16 pm

It's a free market. Just like IT folks jumping to next better paying job. You have to give the house help extra perks for them to be loyal. Maybe something like paying for their children's schooling etc. would work.