Maid Issues Pls advise

[Ahgongwolve]

Hmmmm....i think as long as she take care my kids well, she can eat/drink whatever she wants in the house. Liqor of course cannot, me & wify dont drink at all. No even beers and low alcohol wines.

 

I think the washing part have to oversee a bit. I understand they miss-use the water tape quite often.

 

Dont let them drink cereal..got smell

[Hiphiphoray]

indo maid hard to find those that can understand english, much less speak english. may be ok for guys cos ns time sure got learn a bit but think about it properly... ur wife will have to communicate to her thru u and maid will not feel comfortable to talk "ladies" or openly with a guy should there be some problems or worries. ur kids cannot communicate with her.

 

why not consider filipino? look for those that at least studied high school. will be able to read to ur kids. salary should not be high. tink mine is only 340/mth with one day off /mth.

 

also, get a new maid ie those still at philippines. was told by my agency they dun have new maids standing around becos not allowed. they can only come in if there is work. those standing around available immediately are generally returns... and u would not want them!

 

u r rite to get a maid early. i took mine for my kid since he is going p1 but hired her 10 mths before so that she settled down before my kid start p1, plus my wife could not cope liao haha since maid will be home alone with kids during office hours, we installed cctv prior to getting the maid. so day one, she knows got 3 cctv already.

 

but getting a good or lousy maid also depends on luck. plus u and ur wife expectations must be moderated. no one is perfect. imagine ur boss pay u <400/mth, expect u to work >12 hours. is a give and take thingy. as long as mistakes are minor and not repeated, it is ok. even if major mistake but is an honest mistake (pun unintended), advise and move on. no point losing anger over matters cos that will put ur kids at risk. if u feel she is not good enuf and u have to scold, time to change maid.

 

my 2 cents. enjoy the experience! mine with me for 3 years liao. tink she going back after 4 years to get married and settle down in philippines.

 

Your advises are helpfull. Thank you very much.

[Vextan]

i used to have an indon maid, her name is Yati. i can say i treated her well and with very much respect, and i allowed her to eat anything at home, and share the same food as my family. i liked her because she is very thrifty and humble. but because her english is very poor, my wifey cannot communicate with her, and she had done a few wrong things. in the end my wifey insisted of sending her back. i kind of regret it had to come to this end, but no choice. Sorry Yati.

[Hiphiphoray]

We had a maid from the N company.

 

WE've had 4 or so Indonesian maids without including this one.

The N maid was always on the mobile no matter what we asked her to not use it in our time.

She used to take calls while we were speaking to her.

 

She had no idea of cooking or housework.

 

We kept her for 2 months trying to sort her out although she said she'd be happy to go back before the two months ended.

She used to get a day off a month.

When we sent her back because we knew she had taken some photos of our children we asked to check her mobile phone photos which she agreed to and she agreed that we could delete our children's photos.

OK, but while we were scrolling we also found many photos of her and foreign workers even though she was married with kids in Indon. She said she had met them on her day off but wouldn't say any more.

 

We will never ever use the N company again.

Never had trouble with maids from other companies.

 

Wahhhhhh......i think maybe have to scan thier personal HP from time to time.

 

Heard they can do gon-tou(aka black magic) with the photos. Duno possible or not ?

[Hiphiphoray]

Dont let them drink cereal..got smell

 

Hrrrr...why got smell har ?

[Hiphiphoray]

i used to have an indon maid, her name is Yati. i can say i treated her well and with very much respect, and i allowed her to eat anything at home, and share the same food as my family. i liked her because she is very thrifty and humble. but because her english is very poor, my wifey cannot communicate with her, and she had done a few wrong things. in the end my wifey insisted of sending her back. i kind of regret it had to come to this end, but no choice. Sorry Yati.

 

My sister's maid is call "Yati" too! But beri strange lei.....indo maid can eat pork one!

 

Hrrrr....btw, u still didnt get your choco bar ?

[Route88]

Transfer maids are MORE KENG... some even have a few Bangla Boyfriends!

 

Can be quite true

[Route88]

i used to have an indon maid, her name is Yati. i can say i treated her well and with very much respect, and i allowed her to eat anything at home, and share the same food as my family. i liked her because she is very thrifty and humble. but because her english is very poor, my wifey cannot communicate with her, and she had done a few wrong things. in the end my wifey insisted of sending her back. i kind of regret it had to come to this end, but no choice. Sorry Yati.

 

You sounded heart broken

[Dwoon]

If you can do without one..... then better to.

 

I gave up on them. Went thru 3 changes and all CMI.

 

The last one was the worst. Ask to wash kid's shoe, she throw into washing m/c. Ask to close window, she close door. Finished eating ask her to clean up, she wanted to throw the porcelain plates down the shute.

 

1st one was although could work well, had all sorts of family problems. Borrow $$$, then cught stealing.

 

In the end, gave up...... now do with a part time maid that only comes to clean. Better too, no headaches & frustration.....You don't need to house & feed them..... you also get privacy.

[Vextan]

My sister's maid is call "Yati" too! But beri strange lei.....indo maid can eat pork one!

 

Hrrrr....btw, u still didnt get your choco bar ?

 

dear hiphi, no leh, i scolded the moderator but still didnt get my choc-bar. anyway i have since sent her a pm with my personal greeting to her family. let's see the outcome. i want to claim the petrol voucher as death_mel said.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Vextan

[Mustank]

i think a grandparent to stay with you is the hedge to bad maid problems

 

having a RSM at home always ensure the troops are on their best behaviour

 

new recruits always blur one

 

so takes months to train

 

RSM must be patient to train

 

once recruit start getting used to the life and display good behaviour, RSM can relax more liao

 

 

[Hiphiphoray]

If you can do without one..... then better to.

 

I gave up on them. Went thru 3 changes and all CMI.

 

The last one was the worst. Ask to wash kid's shoe, she throw into washing m/c. Ask to close window, she close door. Finished eating ask her to clean up, she wanted to throw the porcelain plates down the shute.

 

1st one was although could work well, had all sorts of family problems. Borrow $$$, then cught stealing.

 

In the end, gave up...... now do with a part time maid that only comes to clean. Better too, no headaches & frustration.....You don't need to house & feed them..... you also get privacy.

 

Wahhhh...can get this bad har!

 

See how first, in worst case scenoir, will go back to nanny care for my kids.

[Yipsy1]

Wahhhhhh......i think maybe have to scan thier personal HP from time to time.

 

Heard they can do gon-tou(aka black magic) with the photos. Duno possible or not ?

 

If they can do black magic, why must fly all the way to Singapore, without pay for 1 year just to do this? All these claims are complete superstition. Anyone want my photo to do black magic?

[Scenic98]

personally had bad experience getting maids from Natxxx. First one look neat/decent on photo, cannot interview over the phone because no phone in Indon. in rel life, looked sinister. alway looking at herself in mirror. teach her something, smile at you. Chnaged her in 2 weeks. Got a transfer maid. face to face interview, speak english and big big size. Not fat, just big frame. We thought she won't be a blangla magnet. After a few months, say want handphone to call home. We heart soft, so said ok. Biggest mistake. started sms-ing some Blangla and my bro's maid non stop. Quietly took down all our personal particulars like handphone, birthdays. Wife not comfortable and changed her immediately. At maid agency, she threaten to complain to MoM about us, if we don't allow her to transfer. Natxxx sent her home immediately. She LL suck thumb.

We went to our friend's friend agent. Got the current Pinoy maid. best so far. can cook, on the ball, take intiative, and most impt, daughter likes her, and she's a natural with kids.

 

In our experience, insist on no off days. pay a bit more for that, make sure she agrees and sign on paper. but of course, don't threat her like prisoner lah. We take her out on weekends, she eats with us, even when we go to expensive restaurant. she gets bonus and we never stop her from all the 3-in-1, Milo, instant noodle at home. She gets enough rest, sleeps at about 10-11pm, wakes up 6+. She gets to call home at least once a month.

 

Always remind ourselves, we are employees oursleves when we are working (well, most of us, at least). How we don't want our employer to threat us, we should not do the same to our maids at home. Also remember they come from a place where lifestyle and culture is totally different from ours. We need to allow her time to adapt.

 

Her 2 year contract is up this Aug. hopefully she will renew. We intend to give her a few weeks off, all fully paid. Hopefully can convince her times are bad at home, maybe not easy to get a job or do business at home.

 

Anyone here with Myamnmar maid?

[Simpleman]

Had told all the housemaids I employed to eat whatever they could find in the fridge or food

cupboard - instant noodles, milo, milk, cereals, canned food.... Whatever we eat, could also be shared.

(We don't stock New Moon, though had quite a few Remy Martins) The only condition was: do not waste. We invariably have our housemaids dine at the same table, same time with the family. That's family time to update each other of the day's events. She decide the menu. (Surely some folks have

reported maids who add 'spices' to the family food. Since we partake from the same table, such

mischief does not happen in my household.)

 

Another instruction, often repeated: take a siesta when needed, especially when the kids have theirs. Housemaids work long hours. She's still up and about when I go to bed, anything between 11 and midnight. And she's already started when I awake the next morning. Even machines need downtime for maintenance. I never saw any hint of abuse of such freedom.

 

Our housemaid was even authorised to discipline our children. Conditions: no corporal punishment

and to report as soon as she could. We have simple rules for the children, who would report if and

when the housemaid was deemed to be unreasonable.

 

After some months, the housemaid would obtain ad hoc sundries from the nearby

provision shops, using her own money first. There were times we owe her a hundred bucks when

we consolidate household expenses.

 

We emphasise trust. Once broken, game over. Simple message. And everyone observed house

rules diligently. Employers must be consistent in the application of rules.

 

 

 

 

A maid is a human being, she is someone elses daughter. I am sure if your daughter went to work overseas, you would hope and pray that the employer treats her well. (and feeds her well if she is a stay-in employee)

 

How much food and drinks can a maid consume a day, even if she stays home the whole day - 10 cups of milo and 1 whole loaf of bread perhaps? how much will that cost - another few dollars?

 

As long as she is not eating your New Moon abalone and drinking your Henessey XO everyday, if you can afford the extra few dollars, let your maid have whatever food she needs.

 

excluding the maid levy, the maid earns about $10-$15 a day? Imagine your daughter washing peoples underwear and scrubbing the toilet bowl for 10 bucks a day. In this context, take a relook at that cup of Milo..

 

I think for everyone in this thread reading, do treat your maids the same way that you would want your children be treated when they work for someone else.

 

[Accuphase]

i used to have an indon maid, her name is Yati. i can say i treated her well and with very much respect, and i allowed her to eat anything at home, and share the same food as my family. i liked her because she is very thrifty and humble. but because her english is very poor, my wifey cannot communicate with her, and she had done a few wrong things. in the end my wifey insisted of sending her back. i kind of regret it had to come to this end, but no choice. Sorry Yati.

 

Having a thrifty and humble maid is much, much better than having a maid that can communicate well....trust me, I am speaking from experience. As long as she is good at her job I would have no complain. Maids that usually communicate well also communicate very "well" outside and these are the maids that you need to keep an eye.

[Yipsy1]

 

What a coincidence. My maid after working for over ten years has decided to go home for good. So we got a Myamnmar maid from NaXXXX a couple of days ago. Think all maid agencies are about the same. Depends on your luck and current environment if your maid can stay for so long. As with everything, there has to be a lot of give and take especially in the first few months. Really pity them, have to work for free for 1 year or so, not to mention receiving the biggest culture shock in Singapore.

 

[Vextan]

Having a thrifty and humble maid is much, much better than having a maid that can communicate well....trust me, I am speaking from experience. As long as she is good at her job I would have no complain. Maids that usually communicate well also communicate very "well" outside and these are the maids that you need to keep an eye.

i wished you had told me this earlier so that i can convinced mrs to let yati stay. she was good in most area and honest too. i remember when i sent her to airport myself, alone with her, her luggage weight exceeded and so had to pay $200. i then asked if she really needed those clothing or not. then we both went to macdonalds and took out everything and threw them away. in the end at the boarding gate, we held our hands tightly and didnt want to let go. i still remember she told me, 'sir, thank you sir, for being a nice sir'. but when i tell mrs that i regretted sending her home, wifey still insist she would, because she had mixed her dress with other colour and spoil it. haiz.