Prepping the Your Househelper from No-Good Doers

We hear stories everyday of households who fall prey to felons, whether it's here in the Philippines or somewhere else.  Even children and wives fall victims to these kinds of people.  So it should be the habit of every employer to inform every household member to be wary of answering strangers.

Thank God, our household hasn't been victimized by any kind of burglary or theft.  I would like to think that part of that success is due to the fact that we have always taught all of our household members  - including my kid  -  to be careful of talking to strangers.  We always tell them that nefarious people would usually hit  when the master is out to work.  How many groups are there?  A LOT OF THEM, but let me just describe some of these more popular gangs.

1.)  Salisi Gang  -  a member poses as your boss (or any family member) and calls you at the phone, telling you that you've been involved in an accident and need money to pay for the hospital or something else.  He instructs you to bring a stash of money or anything valuable that you can bring to "monetize" it and tells you to meet at a place designated. 

WHAT TO DO:  We always tell our maids/yaya that if anything happens, we will call them using our own cell phones.  We tell them to stay put inside the home.  If anything happens, we will call a family member to call or fetch them.  

2.)  Budol-Budol Gang  -  a person pretends to have a wad of money and asks you to accompany him to some place or promises big bucks if you help him over some favor.  He will exchange his bagful of money for whatever you can give in return.  Sounds enticing, isn't it?  Almost always, people fall for this trap notwithstanding news reports that expose their activities.  Why?  It's the money that's in the bag.  If you can exchange your cell phone for a bag of money, you would probably fall for it.

WHAT TO DO:  Never fall for it!  We tell our maids never to be blinded by offers that are too good to be true.  If the offer's too good, then it's probably false.       

3.)  Akyat Bahay Gang  -  this is probably the worst nightmare of any household.  These groups usually strike when the master of the house is not home, or when the family goes on vacation.  This gang carefully studies the house where it will strike.  In some cases, they enter the house even when there are people inside.  Some groups just take what they need; in most cases, they hurt or even rape family members.

WHAT TO DO: Prevention.  Some ill doers fish out details of the family's activities.  They ask casual questions like what time the master leaves the house, what it normally does for a living, where do they usually go on weekends, and the like.  They study the occupants and the timing, then hit when the time is right.  Although we do not prohibit household members to socialize, we tell them to act smart. 

Finally, we explain to them the realities of these kinds of groups, not to scare them but to prepare them in the event that they face any of these groups.  It's important that you keep your household members trained and alert than to keep them clueless on what to do if disaster strikes. 
       

THE NANNY - ONE FAB NANNY

In my not too distant youth (am I hearing snickers here?), I loved watching the tv sitcom The Nanny starring Fran Drescher.  I remember my whole family and I glued to the seat everytime we watched it, musing over the nanny's teeny-tiny dresses and her hilarious tirades with her boss (Mr. Sheffield), the butler (Niles), and Mr. Sheffield's business partner (C. C. Babcock).  She is hardly the kind of househelp you'd find in real life and the kind of employee you'd actually want in your household.  But hey, this is tv, anything can happen!




The whole cast of the "The Nanny"

The lead character (Fran Fine)  in this show was one fab nanny, but not entirely ditzy as she would give doses of streetsmart advice to the 3 Sheffield children.  Actually, she made a lot of common sense to the children who were like their prim and proper English father.  Mr. Sheffield's business partner, C. C. Babcock, was always vying for her partner's affections, who in turn was secretly smitten with Ms. Fine.  If that wasn't enough, Niles and Fran would gang up on C.C. in a word war that often had  the latter on the losing end and everybody else in stitches. 

C. C. Babcock making advances to an oblivious Mr. Sheffield

And that big, BIG HAIR!  Fran's mother and grandma had it!  Fran had it, though not as flamboyant and her kinswomen.  All upswept and styled in a sort of beehive ("ensaymada" is what actually comes to mind), they are a funny lot as they give sound advice to Fran on matters of love, sex and what not.  Proudly of Jewish-Yiddish race, it gives you a glimpse how clannish they are, almost to a fault.


On a lighter note, Fran's colorful and figure-hugging dresses are something to drool about, even for an old soul like me who hardly wears anything above the knee. It's a sharp contrast to the Sheffield household who even at home wears slacks and loafers!  In a tropical climate country like the Philippines where shorts and sando are the norm, it's unthinkable to see Pinoys wearing this kind of get up at home.  This is casual wear!


I've had a househelper who reminded me of her.  Not as glam as the tv nanny, but just as flashy and flirty as well.  She wore form-fitting shorts and teeny-weeny blouses that screamed "I'm here world!" She also had a manicure and pedicure which never chipped even as she did the laundy at home. She also wore make up everytime hubby and I were off to work.  Surprising her one day with an early break from the office (I do surprise checks on all my househelpers), I caught her sweeping the lawn all made up.  Seeing me a little surpised of her appearance, she explained that it was her daily habit which was just fine by me.  Fast forward, I got a stern warning from my mother-in-law to be careful of the maid, who was out to snatch my husband.  In the end, we let her go - but for an entirely different reason altogether.  

Going back to the sitcom.... I'm sure The Nanny still has reruns in some places and I'll be glad to watch it anytime it's available on cable.  It'll be nostalgic to for me.  But do I want this kind of nanny for my kid?  Yes and no.  Yes, for her streetsmart sense and wit; no, because she could put a risk in any marital relationship.  Still, Fran Fine was worth watching and I'd still recommend it anytime.


Good day to all!