That is a good question. The butlers don’t do everything in sight, and some people get disappointed if that’s what they expect, but I find the larger your household is the better a bargain their services are.
Some helpful things butlers do in Sims 4:
- You’ll have someone who autonomously assists with cleaning, repairs, clearing dishes, & making food; they can play instruments, mix drinks, will water your garden, provide companionship (social), & they do a certain amount of tending of minors.
- Butlers will pick up animal toys and poo, and give pets attention if you have the Cats & Dogs Expansion Pack.
- If you have the Discover University Expansion Pack and get roommates they will help clean up after them (plus having prepared food and repairs done helps keep roommates happy); If you make a Servo the butler will autonomously repair it (& Servos need a lot of repairs!).
- If you have the Laundry Day Stuff Pack butlers will do your laundry.
- You can also direct them to do specific tasks, including playing an instrument, go to bed (they are not always on top of that one), make food, etc. Plus you can tell them to not do certain tasks if you don't want them to butt in for certain things. For example child care, gardening, etc... if you want to do it yourself.
Another fun feature with the Vintage Glamour stuff pack is the Globe Bar. It’s cheap compared to other bars, and all Sims love it. I think this pack is a great bargain! (It also has some of my fave formal outfits and my fave updo for women.)
Bartenders are not perfect, and their code could use some love, but I use them all the time. I either give them a room or even just throw a bunk bed in the corner of someone's bedroom. All those options seem to work fine for them.
However, to be honest I do 'vet' my hired sims in my game, and most especially my butlers (since they live with you). I open them in CAS to make sure they don't have any traits that bother me. They don't need to have all of the 'ideal' traits you want, but you can tweak them if you need or want to with the cas.fulleditmode cheat. For instance, one time I had a butler who was a vampire, and I don't play vampires and I ban them at the door, so that was no good. I either removed that trait and replaced it or I fired him, I don't remember which.
Tip: If a butler is heading to help with something you don't want them to (ie- caring for an infant) or idling somewhere you don't want, with testing cheats on (I leave it on all the time in my game), right click the butler and choose 'reset'. Alternatively, sometimes I just choose their pie menu and tell them to go to bed. Lol!
I hate caters. The never worked out right to me. I just have one of my sims take care of making and serving food so I can control it or I use the serving tables. Those round clickable serving tables are awesome!