Klotergeister

Disclaimer: I'm about to get political.

My first reaction to die Klofrauen was, I admit, that it's a pain having to keep change on hand for them. I've dealt with it before - they do it in France as well - but it always struck me as a little over the top that you have to pay someone just to deal with a biological necessity. What an excellent way to teach kids to 'go before they go.'

BUT.

Having read the article on die Klofrauen and their reputation in Germany, I'm leaning more on the side of sympathy. One healthy benefit of their strong presence is that it's much harder to say no to someone's face. In the US, custodians often remind me of poltergeists (he, ein deutsches Wort!) (ghostodians?) because they sort of float past with their yellow carts and dust mops and are far too easily overlooked.

Letting them pass unacknowledged is sad, because their jobs protect basic human health, and it's work that most people would avoid. I hope that in Europe, meeting eyes with the person who makes it safe for you to do your business levels the playing field a little bit. Extremely rich corporate officers in the US can get by without ever acknowledging a custodian's role in their success. Or, let's be honest, a wife's role (because they ARE chiefly male and conservatively expect women to fulfill more traditional roles - not all, but most).

I would be positively delighted to witness an American corporate bigwig having to plink a couple of quarters on the plate of a glaring Klofrau.

It's entirely possible that I'm doing more than my share of wishful thinking here - because die Klofrauen are indeed ridiculed in Germany, according to the article - but take my ideas with a whole salt lick if you must.