which maid to choose?
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Which maid to choose?
by Ming Lee Lim on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 6:16pmI need your urgent advice about employing a maid. As a busy mother, I need someone reliable to help out at home.
My maid is from Profits Agency Pte (PAP) and she has worked for me for a long time. Her mother worked for my parents and did an excellent job, so I had faith in her. For several years her performance has been very good, but recently she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making lots of mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked (she was supposed to clear it once a month but didn’t). Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year!
2) She didn’t close a window and my terrier dog escaped. I was so worried cos he is dangerous and could bite lots of people. After the incident, she didn’t apologise and just shrugged her shoulders saying “What to do, it has happened.” Fortunately my neighbor found the dog and we locked it up again.
3) Without consulting me, she has been bringing in strangers for my house's maintenance work. She says they charge low wages and keep costs down, but they eat my food, make a lot of noise and rest on my bed. I think they even tried to seduce my husband. It stopped feeling like my home, more like a cheap hotel, and I don’t always want to come back at the end of the day.
4) When she first came to work for me, I instructed her to clean the different parts of the house at least once a week. But for some time she has stopped taking care of the bedrooms of PP and H; they are now dirty and messy. I asked why and she told me that the kids had been disobedient, so she was neglecting their bedrooms as a punishment (she has forgotten that she is paid to clean all the rooms).
Even though my maid has worked for me for many years and I value what she has done in the past, I think she is now getting complacent. Her attitude is imperious and dismissive. She ignores my comments and basically treats my feedback as "noise". I wrote to the agency about her behavior; they assured me that they are the best agency around and all their maids are “Commited to Serve” – but I think it is just rhetoric and I don’t see that in her actions. Her salary is much higher than maids in other countries, but the agency say this is to keep her honest and stop her moving to another employer. They say there is a limited supply of maids, and Singapore isn’t big enough for more than one good maid agency, so I should not trust their competitors.
I have to decide whether to renew my maid’s 5-year employment contract. When we discussed this she said that she is now part of a team, and if I want her I must also accept her friends doing part-time work for me. One friend is very inexperienced, can't do basic tasks or explain what she intends to do. I suspect that she is actually underage. When interviewed, she only seemed interested in her days-off and visiting Universal Studios. When she couldn't answer my questions she stomped her foot and exclaimed, "I don't know what to say!" But I am still expected to pay her a high salary.
Now there happen to be a few other maid agencies - Workhard Pte (WP), New Solutions Pte (NSP), Super Personnel Pte (SPP) and Star Domestica Pte (SDP) - that offered me some helpers who seem sincere, genuine and intelligent. They are keen to work, willing to assist me and have a good attitude. I know that they may take a bit of time to learn how everything works, but frankly I am inclined to give them a chance.
People say that the devil you know is better than one you don’t. But I feel that I can’t tahan my current maid anymore. Do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? Appreciate your advice.
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ya fired.
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Why is it even necessary to antagonize over something like this ?
Simply change to another maid.
Simples.
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See which maid more chio
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Go to another house lah.
There get an ang moh maid, who will pay you.
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ask the maid whether she is willing to carry field-pack
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just do a Nike and then a Li Ning lor...
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Seem like you hire mostly a male maid.
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Which maid to choose? A response by TheQuant.
I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. My wife has already asked for help here, but we haven't come to a decision yet.
As you may know, my maid is from Profts Agency Pte (PAP) and has worked for my family for a long time. Her mother worked for my wife's parents and did an excellent job, so we had faith in her. But recently my wife thinks she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making some mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked. Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year! But last year, when I won 4D, my wife told me that it is very rare and won't happen again in the near future. Guess what? I won again within a year! So I feel like giving my maid the benefit of the doubt.
2) She didn’t close a window and one of my terrier dogs escaped. My wife and I were so worried because he is the one who likes to bite people most. Fortunately my maid made good friends with my neighbour's maid, since it was the latter who finally found the dog and gave him back to us. If not, maybe they would have kept my prize terrier. My wife is a dog lover and actually I am surprised that none of the other dogs have escaped before this.
But my maid has also done alot of good things for me. For example:
1) She introduced some of her friends to do my house's maintenance work. (I bought my super big bungalow with my 4D money.) I have to give them food and a bed while they are working for me, but they really help to keep costs down. With the savings, I went to G&S Jewellery and bought a diamond ring for my wife! I also bought two D24 durians, my wife's favourite food.
2) Most of the time, she cleans my house very well. I have won the "Cleanest Bungalow" award 10 years in a row and the "No Chewing Gum Litter" award since 1992. Just last year, I won the "Your Ornate Garden" competition, which was held for the very first time. The prize money may not have been big, in fact I spent lots of my 4D money on beautifying my garden, but at least I've made history!
The time with this maid has flown, and there've been both good and bad things. My wife insisted that we go to some of the other maid agencies to interview some of the maids there. Problem is, they don't seem to be much good.
1) Workhard Pte (WP). They showed me their star maid, who has degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford! But she has been working in another country for 30 years, I don't know if she even speaks my language, let alone know how to do a maid's work.
2) Super Personnel Pte (SPP). Again, I asked for their star maid, who has been working since 1984. So experienced right? But she suffered a stroke a few years back, and she talks really slowly. I'm not sure if she's too old to be a maid.
3) New Solutions Pte (NSP). Their maid looks so young, I really think she's underage. How much experience does she have? I don't really want to hire someone who has no idea what to do.
So, do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? My current maid may be expensive, but at least she knows what she's doing, and the other agencies look dubious to me. What should I do?
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Originally posted by A2213274:
Which maid to choose? A response by TheQuant.
I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. My wife has already asked for help here, but we haven't come to a decision yet.
As you may know, my maid is from Profts Agency Pte (PAP) and has worked for my family for a long time. Her mother worked for my wife's parents and did an excellent job, so we had faith in her. But recently my wife thinks she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making some mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked. Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year! But last year, when I won 4D, my wife told me that it is very rare and won't happen again in the near future. Guess what? I won again within a year! So I feel like giving my maid the benefit of the doubt.
2) She didn’t close a window and one of my terrier dogs escaped. My wife and I were so worried because he is the one who likes to bite people most. Fortunately my maid made good friends with my neighbour's maid, since it was the latter who finally found the dog and gave him back to us. If not, maybe they would have kept my prize terrier. My wife is a dog lover and actually I am surprised that none of the other dogs have escaped before this.
But my maid has also done alot of good things for me. For example:
1) She introduced some of her friends to do my house's maintenance work. (I bought my super big bungalow with my 4D money.) I have to give them food and a bed while they are working for me, but they really help to keep costs down. With the savings, I went to G&S Jewellery and bought a diamond ring for my wife! I also bought two D24 durians, my wife's favourite food.
2) Most of the time, she cleans my house very well. I have won the "Cleanest Bungalow" award 10 years in a row and the "No Chewing Gum Litter" award since 1992. Just last year, I won the "Your Ornate Garden" competition, which was held for the very first time. The prize money may not have been big, in fact I spent lots of my 4D money on beautifying my garden, but at least I've made history!
The time with this maid has flown, and there've been both good and bad things. My wife insisted that we go to some of the other maid agencies to interview some of the maids there. Problem is, they don't seem to be much good.
1) Workhard Pte (WP). They showed me their star maid, who has degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford! But she has been working in another country for 30 years, I don't know if she even speaks my language, let alone know how to do a maid's work.
2) Super Personnel Pte (SPP). Again, I asked for their star maid, who has been working since 1984. So experienced right? But she suffered a stroke a few years back, and she talks really slowly. I'm not sure if she's too old to be a maid.
3) New Solutions Pte (NSP). Their maid looks so young, I really think she's underage. How much experience does she have? I don't really want to hire someone who has no idea what to do.
So, do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? My current maid may be expensive, but at least she knows what she's doing, and the other agencies look dubious to me. What should I do?
Wow, they really getting their own people to check internet forums to post good stuff during the election period.
By the way, how much are you paid?
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alot will do it for free one lah...carry balls......
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You're so stupid that you insult the profession by calling yourself a "quant".
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I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. My wife has already asked for help here, but we haven't come to a decision yet.
As you may know, my maid is from Profts Agency Pte (PAP) and has worked for my family for a long time. Her mother worked for my wife's parents and did an excellent job, so we had faith in her. But recently my wife thinks she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making some mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked. Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year! But last year, when I won 4D, my wife told me that it is very rare and won't happen again in the near future. Guess what? I won again within a year! So I feel like giving my maid the benefit of the doubt.
However, just as I won the second 4D, upon returning home with my prized money, the drain pipe flooded again. To my horror, my maid opened the gates for two foreigners who claimed to be plumbers, which are actually burgulars in disguise and my home was ransacked, and I have lose more than what I had won in 4D. When I asked my maid why she opened the doors to these people without verifying their identities first, she says that as long as it is a foreigner, they are bound to do things better and cheaper, and simply shrugged off the responsibility. I was so angry but I can't reduce her pay, because that she threaten me that my house will be in danger if I cut her pay.
2) She didn’t close a window and one of my terrier dogs escaped. My wife and I were so worried because he is the one who likes to bite people most. Fortunately my maid made good friends with my neighbour's maid, since it was the latter who finally found the dog and gave him back to us. If not, maybe they would have kept my prize terrier. My wife is a dog lover and actually I am surprised that none of the other dogs have escaped before this.
However after this incident, I was so embarrssed that my bunglow is already so well known for such a careless yet irresponsible maid. I've became a laughing stock of the whole neighbourhood. Many of my neighbours advise me to sack the maid because she don't have the heart to look after the dog well and also says that I am stupid to hire such an expensive maid that doesn't do much and shrug responsibilities while they paid their maids more reasonably and yet have lesser frustrations while living in first class bunglows.
Other maids who claimed to be her good friends, actually complained to me quietly why is she paid so much, yet do so little, while they work so hard, yet the amount is equals to the market rate. They asked me whether I can hire all of them with the same pay as hers. I rebutted them: "No! I don't have that money to hire so many of you. But if you all are willingly to serve me, I can pay all of you the monthly pay which is equal to hers alone, one month salary." Why not? With the kind of pay she is getting, I can hire 10 or even 20 maids to do the same job efficiently.
But my maid has also done alot of good things for me. For example:
1) She introduced some of her friends to do my house's maintenance work. (I bought my super big bungalow with my 4D money.) I have to give them food and a bed while they are working for me, but they really help to keep costs down. With the savings, I went to G&S Jewellery and bought a diamond ring for my wife! I also bought two D24 durians, my wife's favourite food.
However after a few months of working in my house, some of them ran away with some of my belongings and one of them even had the audacity to stole the diamond ring I bought for my wife. In the end, I lost a lot of money paying these people food and loggings for the past years and they ran away just like that.
Some even went back to their homeland and complained that I treat them badly and Singaporeans are not honest people. The rest demanded a higher pay as the times go by, claiming they need more money because of higher GST, food prices and transport fares. My maid also take the chance to threaten me again to raise her pay else my home will be in danger. I wondered if she is the maid of the house or I am the maid instead.
I am extremely upset because not only she mislead two bogus plumbers to rob my house, now she wants to gang up with other foreign workers to "rob" my money. And I am still trying to recover the losses of the last burglary.
2) Most of the time, she cleans my house very well. I have won the "Cleanest Bungalow" award 10 years in a row and the "No Chewing Gum Litter" award since 1992. Just last year, I won the "Your Ornate Garden" competition, which was held for the very first time. The prize money may not have been big, in fact I spent lots of my 4D money on beautifying my garden, but at least I've made history!
Recently, the neighbourhood committee who awarded me the previous awards came to my house to access my garden to determine whether I should win the "Your Ornate Garden" prize again. I looked at my garden and was disheartened by it. Not only did the recent floods due to my maid's negligence, had destroyed the garden, it is also filled with litter thrown by the foreign workers introduced by my maid. Worst the grass patch was littered with food, beer bottles and newspapers, which were left by some of them who likes to rest on the grass patch and chit chat at night.
I told the committee to forget it. As he walked around my house, there is litter everywhere, and although my house banned chewing gum years back, the foreign talents like to spit around the house, not only it is dirty and ugly, but it is unhygenic as well. The committee guy joked with me: "So should I award you the most spitted house in this neighbourhood?" Trying to hide the shame behind me, I replied: "All thanks to my maid."
The time with this maid has flown, and there've been both good and bad things. My wife insisted that we go to some of the other maid agencies to interview some of the maids there. Problem is, they don't seem to be much good.
However looking back on how much embarressment and troubles that my maid had given to me and my family in just a few years, I think that probably trying someone new at least gives me a new hope from all these predicaments in future.
1) Workhard Pte (WP). They showed me their star maid, who has degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford! But she has been working in another country for 30 years, I don't know if she even speaks my language, let alone know how to do a maid's work.
However as I hear her speak after I told her about my maid problems, she seems to understand what I am going through and give me some suitable solutions to solve them. I have never seen such a proactive maid. My current maid just shrug the responsibility instead of coming up a suitable solution. I am amazed that although she worked for another country for a long time, but she clearly understands what Singapore employers want. And she is adaptable and flexible.
2) Super Personnel Pte (SPP). Again, I asked for their star maid, who has been working since 1984. So experienced right? But she suffered a stroke a few years back, and she talks really slowly. I'm not sure if she's too old to be a maid.
But from her past records, she seems to have a fighting spirit and is sincere about her job. Although that she is old, but she has never change another employer since 1984. And she will do her best in everything despite her age. Thinking back of the time I went to Profts Agency Pte (PAP) many months back, most of the old maids looked pretty arrogant because they claim to have more experience and boost how capable they are. But one of them spilled a cup of tea on me and say it is my fault to sit so far away.
But for this maid, slow but sincere, consistent and have the zeal to work. Respect.
3) New Solutions Pte (NSP). Their maid looks so young, I really think she's underage. How much experience does she have? I don't really want to hire someone who has no idea what to do.
However hearing from what she says about herself and what can she contribute to me as my maid in the house, she seems to be able to communicate to me clearly on what I am expected of her and what a maid should really do to give the best for her employer. I am amazed by her words she said from her heart.
This was so different to the young maid that I had talked to in Profts Agency Pte (PAP) yesterday. She looks very young and inexperienced. And I wondered how she get the LV purse she is holding if she is a maid. When I asked her what can she contibute as a maid, her face went blank, stomped her feet and says "I don't know what to say". I was shocked by her outburst. Am I hiring a maid or a schoolgirl? Am I in the wrong maid agency?
So, do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? My current maid may be expensive, but she claims she know what she's doing, however in the end, she only thinks that what she is doing is right herself. She never had a thought of what I am feeling and what actually I want.
Looking at the other agencies, they are sincere, not pretendious and lazy and also cheaper. What should I do?
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sadly there is no japanese foreign talents come here work as maid. i wonder why. japanese and taiwanese maids i sure will hire, even if more asspensive than singapore maids.
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Originally posted by A2213274:
Which maid to choose? A response by TheQuant.
I need your urgent advice about employing a maid. My wife has already asked for help here, but we haven't come to a decision yet.
As you may know, my maid is from Profts Agency Pte (PAP) and has worked for my family for a long time. Her mother worked for my wife's parents and did an excellent job, so we had faith in her. But recently my wife thinks she has become arrogant and insensitive, and is making some mistakes.
For example:
1) She flooded my kitchen – she told me that the drain pipe has blocked. Then she assured me that it is very rare and won’t happen again in the near future. Guess what? It flooded again within a year! But last year, when I won 4D, my wife told me that it is very rare and won't happen again in the near future. Guess what? I won again within a year! So I feel like giving my maid the benefit of the doubt.
2) She didn’t close a window and one of my terrier dogs escaped. My wife and I were so worried because he is the one who likes to bite people most. Fortunately my maid made good friends with my neighbour's maid, since it was the latter who finally found the dog and gave him back to us. If not, maybe they would have kept my prize terrier. My wife is a dog lover and actually I am surprised that none of the other dogs have escaped before this.
But my maid has also done alot of good things for me. For example:
1) She introduced some of her friends to do my house's maintenance work. (I bought my super big bungalow with my 4D money.) I have to give them food and a bed while they are working for me, but they really help to keep costs down. With the savings, I went to G&S Jewellery and bought a diamond ring for my wife! I also bought two D24 durians, my wife's favourite food.
2) Most of the time, she cleans my house very well. I have won the "Cleanest Bungalow" award 10 years in a row and the "No Chewing Gum Litter" award since 1992. Just last year, I won the "Your Ornate Garden" competition, which was held for the very first time. The prize money may not have been big, in fact I spent lots of my 4D money on beautifying my garden, but at least I've made history!
The time with this maid has flown, and there've been both good and bad things. My wife insisted that we go to some of the other maid agencies to interview some of the maids there. Problem is, they don't seem to be much good.
1) Workhard Pte (WP). They showed me their star maid, who has degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Stanford! But she has been working in another country for 30 years, I don't know if she even speaks my language, let alone know how to do a maid's work.
2) Super Personnel Pte (SPP). Again, I asked for their star maid, who has been working since 1984. So experienced right? But she suffered a stroke a few years back, and she talks really slowly. I'm not sure if she's too old to be a maid.
3) New Solutions Pte (NSP). Their maid looks so young, I really think she's underage. How much experience does she have? I don't really want to hire someone who has no idea what to do.
So, do you think I should sack my current maid and try out a new one? My current maid may be expensive, but at least she knows what she's doing, and the other agencies look dubious to me. What should I do?
Your reply is so epic I decided to save it here permanently. I also shared it on FB to expose your flawed reasoning (or indoctrination).