Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

Useless Butlers

124...Next

Comments

  • hrlyquin4hrlyquin4 Posts: 3 New Member
    I recently got this pack and did not have any issues with my butler. The only thing I have an issue with is that it states you have them FOREVER, yet my Sims went to the gym and when they came back, the butler was gone and a new guy was there. I do not have a notification that he quit and they talked to him all the time. He did what he was supposed to and I had them praise him a lot. I am not sure why he is listed as a friend now and I have a new butler. Do they go on vacation and come back, or is it old news that they are with you forever? I am very confused now since he was not with them for a long time. Does anyone have an insight to this? I cannot find a thread or anything online about it, they all say the only way they leave is they quit or get fired or die. Any info would be helpful! Thank you!
  • sunman502sunman502 Posts: 18,325 Member
    hrlyquin4 wrote: »
    I recently got this pack and did not have any issues with my butler. The only thing I have an issue with is that it states you have them FOREVER, yet my Sims went to the gym and when they came back, the butler was gone and a new guy was there. I do not have a notification that he quit and they talked to him all the time. He did what he was supposed to and I had them praise him a lot. I am not sure why he is listed as a friend now and I have a new butler. Do they go on vacation and come back, or is it old news that they are with you forever? I am very confused now since he was not with them for a long time. Does anyone have an insight to this? I cannot find a thread or anything online about it, they all say the only way they leave is they quit or get fired or die. Any info would be helpful! Thank you!
    That would be an issue because unless you have fired the old butler and hired a new one just prior to your sim hitting the gym. That butler should have returned to resume their duties as butler when your sim returned home. My butlers have always returned and resume their job as butler when ever my sims returned home. But once in a while, I'll get stuck with a lazy butler. But even those return when my sims get home. And I never get stuck with a butler that I didn't hire. Try clearing your localthumbcache, and then do a repair game. And see if that doesn't help clear up your new butler issue. You can find your localthumbcache under EA/Sims 4 document in your document file folder.
  • StormsviewStormsview Posts: 2,603 Member


    I believe that the Butlers may have time off work. B) For the most part, they do return... Soon :D

    I got revenge on my lazy Butler, (I am now the proud owner of 4 large dogs,) Love to see the Butler try to keep up with their poop. :p:D
    we'll give you a full refund. Just make sure you make your request within 24 hours after you first launch the game, within seven days from your date of purchase, or within seven days from the game's release date if you pre-ordered, whichever comes first.
    Who said EA doesn't have a sense of humor
  • MichelleeMichellee Posts: 35 Member
    For me the nannies and maid are useless as well. They just come and do nothing and charge my sims simoleons.
  • Scorpina2009Scorpina2009 Posts: 1,547 Member
    MrMonty96 wrote: »
    I'm not sure if everyone else is having this problem but my butler is plum. She does nothing I ask her to do. She will do the surface swipe animation, stand there and rarely clean up a plate and if she does it's a whole day after the plate was used. Number 2, the butler doesn't sleep. Yes I have assigned a bed to the butler, yes I have assigned butlers quarters but she won't sleep so time goes painfully slowly when the whole household is asleep. I eventually fired the butler because there was no use for her but anyway I needed the butlers quarters for another bedroom. Am I doing something wrong? I have assigned them the responsibilities I want but nothing. Please help.


    yessssss I agree with you. Most of mine are slackers. They just sit and read while my sim cleans up the mess. I don't know what to do. The butlers in TS2 did it all, even the gardening. I'm sick of these in TS4 just sitting on their butts.

  • Scorpina2009Scorpina2009 Posts: 1,547 Member
    Also, there are not enough options when you click on the butler.....why can't one say "go clean up the bathroom or do the dishes!" ??
  • Hello_Katie7Hello_Katie7 Posts: 34 Member
    > @Michellee said:
    > For me the nannies and maid are useless as well. They just come and do nothing and charge my sims simoleons.

    So true! The only service I find that's useful is the gardener!
  • LuvMySimzLuvMySimz Posts: 642 Member
    My butler is great. He does all he has to do. Cook, clean up, gardening, takes out trash, sleeps in his bed and he is in love with Mrs. Sim
    „ - Criticism may not be agreeable, but it's sometimes necessary - “

  • DianesimsDianesims Posts: 2,867 Member
    I don't know about butlers, but gardeners are useless. I hired one, she watered one plant (all where dry, had bugs etc), left and charged my sims 90 simoleons for this....
  • Scorpina2009Scorpina2009 Posts: 1,547 Member
    LuvMySimz wrote: »
    My butler is great. He does all he has to do. Cook, clean up, gardening, takes out trash, sleeps in his bed and he is in love with Mrs. Sim

    You're lucky

  • CreoleSimCreoleSim Posts: 334 Member
    Add them to your family, They'll have lots of Stupid Butler books, SELL EM, then KILL EM. Useless pieces of Plum.
    8zjsc9.png
    Origin@ Simday1
  • rudolpharudolpha Posts: 995 Member
    My butlers are really quite good. They will take breaks and when they sleep, which is not often, it's for a long time. They never put food away so you have to watch for this. But they garden, cook, make repairs and clean up messes. If the toddlers ask for stuff they give it to them, but they're not so great with babies. Every once in a while they send in a substitute for whatever reason, but they come back the next day. And the substitutes usually stay as alternates. You can only have one butler per save. If you get a bad one (check their traits in manage worlds), you can replace them.
  • StormsviewStormsview Posts: 2,603 Member

    This is about my sims 2 Butlers, I understand that it's not the butler's job, to keep your home clean, it's not the butler's job to do the repairs in the home. It's not the butler's job to cook your meals, it's not the butler's job to be your gardener.
    What is the Butlers job is to oversee your household and make sure everyone that is employed by you is doing their job correctly. perhaps stepping in only when necessary, and firing bad help. That relieves the owner of the property of the stress of running the household.
    So then why in Sims 2 do the Butler always take the liberty to fire all the help, :D and say he can do what they do and better, then your home is a smelly mess, little or no meals, plumbing broke, outdoor plants and trees dying. Then he leaves for the evening. I do not want Sims 2 butler to do all the work, That work can not be done by one person. I just want to stop him from firing all the real help. lol :)

    I like Sims 4 Butlers better, because even though they do little to nothing :D lol, and I think they really resent the owner and they seem to have a bit of jealousy of you and your nice home, the reason they take their bath in your tub, and rather be your friend? but not really, maybe your mate. ;) What's good about them is that they do allow you to hire all the help you want. Why? because they know they have no plans to do anything and could care less.
    So now you can get the lazy maid that will charge you 90$ for picking up two plates, Gardeners sometimes work out well, but they do miss a plant or two until the plant die lol. the repairman is ok, but the more you call them the more things break. Nannys are jokes, only trust them to older children that are capable of caring for themselves. Never a little toddler. :'( they are there I feel mostly for someone to be unfaithful. haha.

    Have you ever wondered on Sims 4 why you see all your helpers like Butler, and Nanny come back to your house when you do, Just where is it that they go? but it is obvious they were not at your home. so who was with your kids? I think they stay if your mate is still at home. but if not they leave when you leave or both you leave. And yes leave your toddlers. The reason why your toddlers are dirty and hungry when you return. I do not understand that, Why is sims 4 help so unhelpful?
    we'll give you a full refund. Just make sure you make your request within 24 hours after you first launch the game, within seven days from your date of purchase, or within seven days from the game's release date if you pre-ordered, whichever comes first.
    Who said EA doesn't have a sense of humor
  • LuvMySimzLuvMySimz Posts: 642 Member
    @Stormsview , I believe that when EA created all the „helpers“ giving them sort of bad traits, that they didn“t realize how REALLY LAZY they are. BUT you as a player have the ability to change their traits which is positve. Also EA has tweeked the butlers awhile back with a patch so that they are now putting cooked food away, and it works just fine in my game. As I have written in my obove post my butler is very nice and does everything he has to do with changed traits. Even when a gardener forget a few plants which is very seldom, he will go outside taking care of the forgotten plants. As a matter of fact he will mostly do the gardening all by his self, and when the gardener arrives, there isn‘t really much left to do. The nanny in my game is also very nice and doing what she has to do.

    So for everybody whom complain about their helpers“ should change their traits picking only positive ones. You‘ll see that they will change for the better. When I‘m back on my comp I will post some pictures of my helpers trait settings.
    „ - Criticism may not be agreeable, but it's sometimes necessary - “

  • StormsviewStormsview Posts: 2,603 Member

    tweaked; don't fix it sorry, all helpers in our game need re-programming they can not tweak a Butler to work if all he does is sit and read, yes tweaked can make him read faster or slower, but it will not fix the problem.

    I made my own nanny's with the best traits, I do believe it is the position or job as well. Because they still return when we return home. They did start off a little better I mean my nannies, but they all change back to their programming. It's just in the game to be that way. I do not have any Toddlers at the moment. When I do I just let one parent stay home until they are school age.
    Why are they programmed to never feed the pets, Why can't they fill a pet's bowl because they want to annoy, They are not real they are programmed to NOT do anything it's in their programming. Traits will not help very much, Why because it's in the Job what they do, They are not normal sims unless they leave the position.
    I think nannies are good for dog pooping they do that job well, and the Butlers are not bad at it. So I do keep them around for that. But these simmers and myself are telling the truth about the helpers in these games. They are programmed to get on our nerves by not helping, and that's why the butler has that book. lol. He reads, makes a drink, wipes his white glove to see if my counter is dirty and its a lot of dirty dishes around. perhaps they are programmed not to see them?

    I had a nanny that left my toddlers, I return home no nanny in the house, toddlers starving, dirty and sleepy all reds. now pop up time we will remove the child from neglect :/ after I quickly feed them both who comes across the yard the nanny speaking only a hi to me and then watched tv never looking at the toddlers. That's not a trait problem, it's programming.
    Also, we can not change traits. I use to think the same as you, then I found the problems are in the programming for the jobs.
    Listening to the players of the game is the best way to know whats going on. covering over it will not help us. We are not putting anyone down we are just speaking the truth. We pay for help and get little or none.
    we'll give you a full refund. Just make sure you make your request within 24 hours after you first launch the game, within seven days from your date of purchase, or within seven days from the game's release date if you pre-ordered, whichever comes first.
    Who said EA doesn't have a sense of humor
  • KittySimmerKittySimmer Posts: 11 New Member
    i had this Butler who only drank and watched tv one day my sim Nadia was whooing with her bf and the Butler watched when she showered he watched so I made him live in the basement suite and he got worse he’d watch her all day and this i still can’t explain he went and kissed her passionately and she rejected him I fired him and he now walks by the house comes over unannounced and is always inviting her places but I hav a new Butler who cleans cooks and sleeps so idk you’re problem plus he takes s care of the kids
  • KittySimmerKittySimmer Posts: 11 New Member
    And I also have another story my sim the daughter developed a relationship with that Butler and they whooed and she got pregnant now I he is nowhere to be found so she got a new bf and he the Butler bf is back like omg
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited July 2018
    I have had no issues with the butlers. I love the few I have in my game and they are a great help as long as you do not get the globe bar that is. That globe bar is a Butler curse - I swear - and if you have the globe bar - don't hire a butler. LOL.

    My Vamps would be lost without their faithful butlers - believe me - as the butler keep their homes and gardens in perfect order. They also never bite him/her and he/she takes great care of their children as well. My Vamps lives would be miserable with out their butlers - well in my last save anyway.

    No butlers yet in my newest save - but there will be eventually.

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • Charlotta11Charlotta11 Posts: 399 Member
    Fix this bug EA...
    11.3.2019_1.06.18.png
  • Writin_RegWritin_Reg Posts: 28,907 Member
    edited September 2018
    Stormsview wrote: »
    tweaked; don't fix it sorry, all helpers in our game need re-programming they can not tweak a Butler to work if all he does is sit and read, yes tweaked can make him read faster or slower, but it will not fix the problem.

    I made my own nanny's with the best traits, I do believe it is the position or job as well. Because they still return when we return home. They did start off a little better I mean my nannies, but they all change back to their programming. It's just in the game to be that way. I do not have any Toddlers at the moment. When I do I just let one parent stay home until they are school age.
    Why are they programmed to never feed the pets, Why can't they fill a pet's bowl because they want to annoy, They are not real they are programmed to NOT do anything it's in their programming. Traits will not help very much, Why because it's in the Job what they do, They are not normal sims unless they leave the position.
    I think nannies are good for dog pooping they do that job well, and the Butlers are not bad at it. So I do keep them around for that. But these simmers and myself are telling the truth about the helpers in these games. They are programmed to get on our nerves by not helping, and that's why the butler has that book. lol. He reads, makes a drink, wipes his white glove to see if my counter is dirty and its a lot of dirty dishes around. perhaps they are programmed not to see them?

    I had a nanny that left my toddlers, I return home no nanny in the house, toddlers starving, dirty and sleepy all reds. now pop up time we will remove the child from neglect :/ after I quickly feed them both who comes across the yard the nanny speaking only a hi to me and then watched tv never looking at the toddlers. That's not a trait problem, it's programming.
    Also, we can not change traits. I use to think the same as you, then I found the problems are in the programming for the jobs.
    Listening to the players of the game is the best way to know whats going on. covering over it will not help us. We are not putting anyone down we are just speaking the truth. We pay for help and get little or none.

    I really don't know what causes your issues with service people in the Sims 4 - but obviously not everyone has those issues. My butlers have been flawless - clean house, do some of the cooking if my sim did not do any, garden all the time they ren' busy else where, they always keep their selves bathed, and go to sleep - I actually never encountered having butlers not sleep - like some used to report before they had issues with and the devs did fix it in a patch for those who had problems with that. I did notice once that patch came out for butlers to sleep - the only difference it made for me is my Butler would go to sleep earlier - usually when my household slept - but before the patch my butler did go to bed - when rest of the house did - so he/she never slept as long as the family.

    I am no expert on Nannies as I have only had one as I prefer a stay at home mommy or grandparents in most homes- and my rich sims did have butlers that do great with the kids so was not needed - until I played a household I downloaded with Triplets once - to try it as I rarely get multiples - lol - so I hired a nanny to help and although they were not as thorough as Sims 2 and 3 nannies - the one I had helped out a lot - and I definitely never had her leave and leave the kids like that. I did not play that household long term as Cats and Dogs came out and I wanted to start a whole new folder - because of all the recoding in Cats and Dogs and did not want any issues in my game - so that game is on my former save - and my new neighborhood has not reached the size of my former saves I had yet (my rotation is about a third the number of households of what I had before Cats and Dogs) - so no service people yet in my game out side of a gardener and 2 maids.

    I don't use cheats or mods or CC so my sims have to work hard to earn the kind of money that gets them good houses, marriages, kids, and payrolls big enough to have hired help. LOL. My sims are busy doing that - learning, collecting, skilling, getting promotions etc -

    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

    In dreams - I LIVE!
    In REALITY, I simply exist.....

  • StephjalldayStephjallday Posts: 4 New Member
    I recently bought Sims 4 Glamours Life almost exclusively for the butlers. But I’m already over them! You can only control them by finding them somewhere on your lot (presume it’s a big lot, that’s why you got a butler) and then you have to click to ring the bell, then click again to assign a task, which they will do only somewhat well (my foodie Sim did NOT appreciate her butler’s cooking when the meal was finally prepared), and you can’t queue tasks so the timing is almost always off (as in - I could have cooked this meal/cleaned up myself faster and my sim had probably already started doing it anyway). What’s the point!? I fired two of my butlers that I was so excited about already and moved back in their live-in nannies who I created in CAS to take care of their households and who I can control completely, max out necessary skills, dress in an apron, and queue tasks. Any videos saying that butlers are helpful is pure propoganda/marketing. Not worth it. Keep your maid service/nannies and call it a day.
  • i_jessi_jess Posts: 5 New Member
    OmG. Where do I even begin????

    Nannies - I stopped hiring nannies very early on in sims 4.
    Why? Nannies do notthhiinnnggggg. My baby is crying its head off, but the nanny is either continuing to stand idly for like 3 hours, or cooking/taking out the trash/washing dishes....again. Completely ignoring the baby.
    You👏🏾are👏🏾not👏🏾a👏🏾maid👏🏾
    The toddler is dirty or wants to get out of the high chair, but the nanny is watching tv and couldn't care less.
    It was sooo hard to watch knowing I couldn't do anything because the parents are working. So FRUSTRATING!

    Gardeners - I've only had great gardeners. No complaints here.

    Maids - I've had great, good, ok, bad and terrible ones. How can you come to my home, pick up one dish like 70 times and charge me $160 without moving a foot?!?!?!
    Playing the legacy challenge and thankfully my current maid is a God send. He's amazing, does his job and charges me REGULAR fees.

    I had a pizza delivery not deliver once -.-

    Butlers - God 🤦🏿‍♀️. I've had VG for a while but only just trying out butlers for the first time for my challenge.
    It's my second generation now so I've only had the one butler. She's ok.
    She takes out the trash and cleans up messes regularly, repairs stuff occasionally, does the dishes occasionally and takes care of the new baby.
    When I ask her to make a meal, she does and when i ask her to repair stuff, she does.Thankfully when I assign her to sleep, she does as well.
    What she doesn't do at all even when my sims ask several times is gardening and seeing visitors in. Even if you cry blood, sweat and tears, this lady would rather lose sleep (and I'm not kidding) than answer the doorbell.
    She's had two kids and two butlers replace her when she went into labour.
    An elderly gentleman and and elderly lady. The elderly male butler NEVER SLEPT and the female was always sleeping.

    I suppose you can't Have It all.
  • PreCiiousPreCiious Posts: 353 Member
    edited August 2019
    Deleted
    Post edited by PreCiious on
  • Morgan_HerselfMorgan_Herself Posts: 1 New Member
    I'm pretty livid. I feel like the pack should have been advertised with warnings about it's functionality. IRL, mine wouldn't have been merely fired, she would have been fed to the lions. ;)

    She has her own assigned and well appointed quarters, with her own bathroom, her own desk and a separate chair for sitting / reading / television, clock, book shelf, TV, bed, dresser, full-length mirror, etc., with the door set so that only she has access - so she has her privacy as well.

    Here are a few of my complaints:

    * First action as the new butler - plop herself down on my couch and watch some TV.
    * She seemed intent to stay up all night, doing nothing, so I sent her to sleep.
    * In the morning, I asked her to make breakfast. She did. Then she went into the dining room, and ate it.
    * After that, I guess she fancied a good read, so she went to her mistress' bookshelf, got a book, went into her mistress' office, and plopped down in the easy chair to read it.
    * The toilet in the main bathroom was an abomination. When I asked her to clean it (which, without instructions, I did by asking her to clean something, then asking her to clean something while her mistress stood right next to the toilet.) I got a dialog saying she couldn't reach it (it was not blocked by anything visible, on the floor, on the wall, or on the ceiling - the commode is used all the time) or that she had yet to finish her current task, which was, evidently, standing in the kitchen, staring at the wall. For hours.
    * Evidently, she likes a good cocktail. She's fond of making them for herself, and sitting around drinking them.
    * Answering the door seems to be beneath her.
    * Later, her mistress needed to use the restroom. This was made difficult by the fact that the butler was in her bathroom enjoying a nice bath. She was fired, on the spot.

    From a programming point of view, it would seem trivial to be able to have the butler NOT become an otherwise unemployed house-bum who felt entitled to use the common areas in the main portion of the house. "Use This", "Do Not Use This", "Use Everything But Things Restricted From", or "Use Only Those Things Assigned To" commands could be added. Don't use the facilities in the main house for your own off time should be a default setting. Even setting certain tasks on a schedule should be easy - do the gardening and the main cleaning while the employer is off at work (if they do) or whatever. You should be able to click a dirty or broken thing and have a "Clean/Fix This" option come up. If there's an obstruction stopping them from getting to it, it should be highlighted in red.

    A "working relationship" selector could be added - if you want a bosom buddy who happens to wash a dish now and then, so be it - but if you want Downton Abby, where the butler bygod knows better than to address their employer by their first name, that should be easily available.

    Hours should be able to be set - where the butler will retire to their quarters at a given time and show up ready to work at a given time. You should be able to set rules as to whether they can be called during their off hours. They should be able to ask for time off, if they want to leave the grounds.

    Short version (I know, too late. I'm sorry, but I'm really annoyed.) is that this would all be pretty easy to fix, if they had any interest in fixing it.

    I know I'm late to the party, but my first Sim is just reaching the last quarter of her "adult" phase, and this and "dine out" were my first add-ons (because you can't go eat at a restaurant without spending an extra $20 - that's reasonable. 9_9). And the way these two "work" (or, rather, don't) make me feel like there's really no point in ever buying the other five or six add-ons I wanted.

    And, just to confirm - they don't ever answer here, do they? This is just a place to vent to make us _feel_ like we have support options, while crowdsourcing low-level support for free?
This discussion has been closed.
Return to top