Originally Posted by Cheetah_SA
After all, I am in the corporate world and the bigwigs get to fly F (I have to do it on awards
) while their minions fly Y - or J if they're lucky. And nobody gives it a second thought. ... Yet many of us feel uneasy when the reference is to "my driver" or "my maid".
I still can't explain it except perhaps to think that maybe those of us who do not employ full-time personal staff are inherently sqeamish about an employer-employee relationship that is so intimate...
Yes, I agree with you
Cheetah_SA.
In the western world personal domestic staff are not very common, whereas they are very common in Asia.
What is common in the western world are bosses in nice mahogany offices with secretaries in stations lining the corridors. Is that to be frowned upon? To be castigated?
What if the air-con breaks down in buildings such as the Empire State Building or the Pru and Mr. Big says "My secretary/assistant found it even hotter where she was stationed"?
On the plane, are passengers (in all classes F J and Y) expected to cringe and go red with embarrassment when the Flight Attendants sit on their little jump seats? How come flight staff should not avail themselves of empty passengers seats to rest, especially on long hauls, during their rest time? Again, in the name of equality (or whatever), why should passengers not berate themselves for not sharing the same food and beverage with flight staff?
In the western world, hotels are usually the closest when one comes to having domestic staff. As I understand it, most of the better hotels have rules such that staff do not use the same front doors, the same restrooms, do not eat in restaurants etc. Is that acceptable or not?
Conversely, if members of this board stay at a hotel and find the limousine drivers lounging on the lobby sofas in their spare time, would they applaud the management?