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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Tipping the maid

41 replies

Maidsrus · 13/06/2018 08:11

I’m so annoyed. Had a fab holiday in Greece. I was leaving a decent €20 tip for the maid ( decent for me anyway, I don’t usually leave that much!)

Anyway, at a time when we’re packed and nearly ready to leave the room, two blokes knock on the door, much earlier than we’ve ever seen them before, to fill the minibar. As one bloke was filling it, he saw the money on the side ( I could see him looking for it) and said - CF- is this for us? My dp said yes I think so and I said no it’s mine!

I knew exactly what they were up to!

So now I’m searching for the real maids but will they even be allowed to keep it!

Dp thinks I’m imagining things

I feel there’s something really not right about them getting away with this. Why are they even allowed to do this? Maybe they are even told by the hotel to do this?

Maybe not one for feminist chat but just anothe example of women getting a raw deal ...

OP posts:

SenecaFalls · 27/07/2018 19:37

Why? If they were a genuine cleaner?

I would not want to be walked in on by anyone, but I would be much less comfortable with a man walking in on me than a woman.

I've also never seen a male room cleaner in a hotel, but my staying in hotels is pretty much limited to the US and the UK. Maybe in other countries they are common, but I have never encountered one, and I have stayed in a lot of hotels in my lifetime.

Being American, I do tip, and I agree with you OP about your concerns. I also think that it's better that you posted in Feminism, because I think many of the responses in AIBU would not have been pretty.

LassWiADelicateAir · 27/07/2018 19:44

And why were the minibar stockists re-stocking just before the OP was due to check out but when she was still using the room?

If check out time is 11 or 12 and it suits me to have the use of the room until then I would tell them , male or female , or a cleaner to come back after I had left.

LassWiADelicateAir · 27/07/2018 19:49

More than one occasion when the maid has walked in on you naked and on the loo? That's bad luck.
Don't you ever lock it?

Why would I lock the loo when I'm there on my own? I am talking about the situation of the cleaner knocking on the room door and then coming straight into the room. Whether I was in the loo was irrelevant. I don't want a man walking into my bedroom if I'm likely to be only partially dressed.

Seneca no in my considerable experience of staying in hotels in Europe you do not get men cleaning the bedrooms.

Original poster

Maidsrus · 27/07/2018 19:53

Both were very nice hotels - if it makes a difference they were tourist hotels not business

Didn’t see any male maids at either hotel. Male receptionists, gardeners, bar tenders, waiting on staff - but not maids.

IME the maid role is almost exclusively undertaken by women, often Middle Aged women, and is often the lowest paid role, and I find I want to thank them for a good job.

Yes I did give the maid a tip personally mid week in the second hotel, but I hadn’t thought to do that at the first hotel.

If I had a male maid and they did a good job I would have tipped them too, but I’ve never come across one.

This is not an issue of stealing. I would normally leave a tip in good faith, thinking that the genuine maid would get it. I left the money in the room not knowing who would pick it up, so can’t say it would be stolen.

But these two experiences have opened my eyes to the cheek of some people. Some men in this case.

The feminist issue is that these women who work hard and don’t get paid as much as similar male role are even being ripped off further by men who think it’s ok to take from them.

OP posts:

LassWiADelicateAir · 27/07/2018 20:00

OP I get your points and they were worth making.

AngryAttackKittens · 27/07/2018 20:02

I've never run across a male room cleaner in a hotel either, and I've stayed in hotels on 4 different continents. It's not the OP whose experience is unusual there.

In terms of tips I'd say that the best solution is to just hand the tip to the person you want to have it if you can.

Thedutchwife · 27/07/2018 20:33

The first time we was in Cuba we left lots of things for our lovely maid and a decent tip, when we was about to leave the bagged man came to collect our suitcase and took the lot

On this years trip I found her before we left and gave her what I would of left and £20 which added to the £10 I’d give her half way through .

Maids get paid peanuts

Thedutchwife · 27/07/2018 20:36

In Dubai they had Male cleaners. We had a really fucking creepy one and I was reluctant to let him in the room

—was sure he was going in my underwear draw—

(Shudder)

Original poster

Maidsrus · 27/07/2018 20:45

I have found it a little difficult to put into words what i’m getting at so thanks to Lass and others for understanding!

And yes, to those of you who say “give it direct to the maid” - I will definitely try to do that in the future - sometimes easier said than done though.

I want to highlight to others who think they’re tipping the maid, that things don’t always go the way you plan them. I would never have realised - my eyes have now been opened.

The same was done by the media about tips given on credit cards for waiters so I never do that either.

OP posts:

thebewilderness · 27/07/2018 20:45

Tip maids directly and early in your stay.

MrsTerryPratchett · 27/07/2018 20:45

I cannot recall a single occasion when the person coming into the room to clean it was a man.

Nor me. Male cleaners in France, oddly. But exclusively female chambermaids everywhere and I travel a lot for work and fun. All women, a lot of immigrants and WoC.

rainbowsandsmiles · 27/07/2018 20:47

—was sure he was going in my underwear draw—

what makes you come out with that statement? Just because he was male or because he did something to make you think he was actually going through your underwear drawer

Aridane · 27/07/2018 22:05

Male cleaners exclusively in resorts in Egypt

Aridane · 27/07/2018 22:06

In Mexico we were advised to leave tips for maids under the pillow to avoid the tips being pilfered by other staff

AJPTaylor · 27/07/2018 22:16

i get you. i tend to tip the maid a few days before the end of the holiday. and yes they are always female. i will leave any left over coins or small notes in the room as we check out so thats first come first serve i suppose.

Thedutchwife · 27/07/2018 22:17

rainbow he looked at me a little to long and if I glanced at him would catch him already looking at me most times there was another man that worked with him. I just felt he has a really shifty creepy vibe. Whilst searching for a dummy under the couch dh found a used durex, we was moved instantly when we complained and never seen him again and felt fine with the new one. He seemed more professional.

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