ADVICE NEEDED - How to Handle my MAID

Hsee

Really depend on your luck...Hardly employer wanna talk bad about their own maid...still pay levy for them if do not get an employer for them...

You will need to access carefully...maid body language etc.....

As for the reason why the employer does not want them...you do not need to read too much into it....

At times, I was thinking, if I were to get a new maid, probably I will come out many questions to find out more about that person...not general, but all different type of scenario...probably things liks is the word FORGET in their dictionary....and if employer not happy with the cleanliness, how would they react etc.....
 


hello hsee,

did you ask your new maid why she is asking for transfer? better tell her all the important stuff she is expected to handle (esp. those out of the ordinary, eg. got to wash car 3 times a week) and any special house rule (eg. strictly no mobile phone), then leave it to her whether to accept your offer. i always think it is better to paint a not-so-nice picture initially so that the maid will not get a rude shock when she comes in. Oso she cannot complaint in future cos you have already told her your expectations right from the start. Good luck! Hope you get a good good maid for bb.
 
yes, agree totally with Joy747!! no employer will say bad things abt their maid if the latter is for transfer. i am also very careful abt the maid's boby language. It's very telling!!

my colleague's mother spent 1 hour interviewing their maid and bombarded her with all kinds of questions. haha...I don't have that kind of stamina to do likewise. But I heard they got a really good and patient maid in the end!
 
hey ladies,

just a reminder and a useful tip: try to get your maids to agree to you depositing salary into an account for them. Alternatively, get them to do forced saving with you, i.e. keep part/all of their salary with you. That way, if they are up to no good and you have to send them back, you can deduct whatever air-ticket, transfer fee and other expenses from there.
 
Agreed with virgokid (virgokid) with regards to mobile phone and co saving rules...very impt...I do not allow my maid to touch my house phone too.
If they wanted to call mother or mother called here etc, asked them to go to agency there and called....For letters, its good for them to ask the who ever send to the agency too...not being mean, but too much hassle if really never set the rules right from the start.....
 
Hi
I am also due in Nov and if I get the maid in earlier, she will alone in the house which I dont like it.

I plan to have her one month before I deliver.
 
Hi pringle, pantone and och,

Thanks! Oh didnt know that there will be less maid in oct due to Hari Raya. Think can start looking around these few wks liao.
 
hi mummies, just to share, it's better not to let your maids have the freedom to go downstairs when u are not around. I often see maids sitting at the void deck chitchatting. Will get easily influenced by others and also they will compare their workload.
 
hi ladies,
i picked a filipino maid who decided she doesn't want to come to singapore afterall. the thing is, her ticket has been booked, visa issued n my application to recruit her already approved by mom. if she has never stepped into sg, is this considered 1 maid change? the maid agency said no, but i've lost all trust in the maid agency. i dun think they ever tell the truth, either that or their definition of truth is v. different fr mine.

hi curry,
how do u restrict ur maid fr going downstairs when u r out at work? i told my previous maid she is not to leave the house unnecessarily, and i don't think she does, but honestly, if she goes out, i wouldn't know too.

hi zenn,
agency fees can range fr $88 to $388. this fee usually includes their flight here, 1st medical checkup, n 1 or 2 foc replacement within 6 months to a yr. besides agency fees, there r also exam fees, hospitalisation insurance (optional) n runaway insurance (optional).

loans range fr $1900 to $2300, depending on where the maid is recruited fr. some agencies require upfront payment fr the owner, then u deduct fr the maid's salary. as for how long the loan lasts, it really depends on how much is deducted fr the maid's pay each month. filipinos get much higher pay, so their loan ends much faster. my previous maid was an indon, received $10 a month for 7 months, the rest went towards paying off her loan. she finished paying off the loan in abt 7.5 mths. the upfront amt u pay for loans is usually transferable, so if u switch maid b4 the loan ends, u pay less for the upfront payment for the new maid. however, u might be required to continue subsidising the loan while ur previous maid is waiting for a transfer.
 
hi och, I usually do not allow my maid to use keys to open or close the door. Even if she is bringing out trash, I will open and close the door for her. That's to tell her she cannot anyhow touch the keys.

I read before tat a mummy will keep the keys in a sealed envelope for emergency use. So if the maid has used the keys, the envelope will be opened. Try to use a more unique envelope.
 
Hi everyone,

Went maid shopping today. Shortlisted a few and like to hear your opinion :

1) Age 24, single - Worked in saudi for 2 yrs and have experience taking care of 1 and 2 yrs old kid.

2) Age 22, single - worked in spore for 2 yrs and have experience taking care of 20mth and new born baby

3) Age 24, married - worked in indonesia for 2 yrs and have experience taking care of 3 yr old kid

4) Age 24, single - no working experience except own hse and experience taking care of niece from new born till 1 yr old

My priority is to take care of new born baby. The x spore is ideal however I am worried she would have become 'too smart'. My sis comments x saudi is good as its very strict there. Any comments?
 
hi zenn,

if i were you i might go for options 1 or 2. i feel it's better to get a maid who has worked as a domestic helper before, cos then they will understand what is expected of them as a maid (assuming they have been trained by their previous employer re manners and all). i think attitude is very important...
another thing is, if they have worked outside of their own country before, they are less likely to get homesick this time. that, will give you one less problem to deal with...

as for handling a maid who might be too smart or knows the place too well, i suggest you do not give off days. that way she has no chance to go out on her own, get to know and be influenced by other maids, or try anything funny.

jus my personal opinion, hope it helps
happy.gif
 
btw my new maid (been with me for about 2 mths) is x-singapore and she is quite 'jing'. she is not allowed any off days and so far has not given me any major problems. except for being a big eater and perhaps being slightly 'possessive' about my boy (sometimes making me a little bit comfortable), she's quite ok.

but i think i still need more time to observe her...
 
My maid not only on diet but a choosy eater. Yesterday, hubby dabao jumbo restaurant fried rice and mee gorang....Maid has already eaten her so much rice she claimed, which is 5 tablespoon....and she always say cannot eat anymore....Yesterday, hubby scoop big plate of food we bought, she had them all without complaining....So, the bottom line is that she is choosy...From today on wards, whether she diet or not,its non of my concern...pissed off
 
Thanks gummie! How old is ur x spore maid? Btw issit true to find someone shorter than us? Cos the x spore is 1.6m and I am abt 1.62/3m.
 
hi curry,
oh... i guess this solution wun work for me. for half a yr, the sun shines on the corridor n not into my flat, so my maid hv to dry things along the corridor. think i wun get my things done if i hv to take her keys fr her.

hi zenn,
i personally think taking care of newborn is much tougher than taking care of, say, a 10 mth old bb. newborns usually require more attention throughout the nite, n that's where mummies usually need help with, but not every maid (regardless of nationality) is able to endure. also, since we cannot interpret newborn's cries yet, we really need a maid that we can trust. different agencies hv different policies, so best to ask the agents if 1 yr old is the age of children at the beginning of her experience or at the end. if i hv to shortlist, i will shortlist based on that first.
 
hi zenn,
my maid is 35 yrs old, but i think she looks slightly younger as she's quite petite. she's abt my height (less than 1.6m) hehe...
anyway i understand some pple have concerns about having a maid this age (considered a bit old) for fear they may not have the energy to handle baby n household chores, also worried they may be stubborn and difficult to train. i think it depends on individual, like i suggested, attitude v important... anyway my maid is definitely much stronger than me hahaha...

huh, but why must find someone shorter?
 
hi everyone,

would like to join this thread as i'm looking for a maid to help me out in the housework and help out on weekday nights and weekends!

has anyone used the following agencies? any comments?
1) Quality at hougang green shopping mall
2) Best Helper opp. chomp chomp
3) Citizen at hougang green shopping mall

What are the things that we should look out for when finding out from the agent to protect ourselves? Heard from someone in other threads that they sent the maid back after 2 weeks and ask for a free replacement. agent say cannot why becoz maid got to be with the employer for at least 1 mth before can get free replacement. the employer was pissed off why the agent never tell them and know what the agent say? coz you never ask. alamak!!

It would be also good if anyone can share what are the do's and don'ts.

thanks!
 
Hihi,

Just to let everyone know that you may wish to refer to the maid library on the internet. Just search for "maid library" and register for free. You can get to see all the photos and bio-data of maids from various agencies in s'pore.

One of my friends who ran a maid agency "taught" me to look at 2 things when selecting maids. The first is not to choose one with plucked eyebrows--tend to be vain. Second is to cover up the rest of the maid's face and only look at the eyes. If eyes look fierce, likely to climb over your head. I thought the tips were quite funny but have been using them since...hahaha
 
Hi Mummies

Do your maids close door when they r sleeping?
Mine is starting to do that recently and i am wondering if i should let her continue the habit.
 
At first my maid didnt close the door. But we told her to as we feel she deserves her own privacy, given the fact she is ok with her work thus far and has no day off.
 
my previous maid closes the door when she sleeps. i think it's better lah, i wouldn't want to sleep without a closed door in another person's family too, especially if there are men in that family.
 
I let my maid close the door when she sleeps too. I am not sure if any of you has this experience. When my filipino maid first came to work for us, she has the habit of coming out of the common bathroom wrapped in her towel only! She wld then dash to her room to get dressed. I was so shocked when I saw that and of course told her not to do that again. I understand from my colleagues tt it is quite common...
 
Hi och and gummie, ok noted. I shopped for maid till very tired. Anyway tml I going to do a tel interview. What are the things I should ask or take note?

Hi virgokid, whats the website? My sis also told me not to choose those wif pluck eyebrown hee
 
Hi All,

I recently got a maid - being the first timer employer thou in my mum's house there is a maid as my sister has employed one to look after my niece.

I am given some tips :-

1. First you must ask if she understand or can she read or write English as you dont want your kid to learn English the wrong way.

2. If you are not sure if she understand you get her to reply and explain to you what you have instructed her to do.

3. I have drawn up a schedule / weekly / monthly shedule for my maid on things that she should take note of on daily to weekly household chores,etc. I even give her a calender to note it down on what she should do example change bedsheet on a fortnightly Sunday, etc. .

4. I never leave my maid alone at house - she is either in my MIL's house. This is told to her before she start work that she has go to my MIL when I am hubby has gone to work. After my baby is born it will be look after by my MIL.

I hired the maid one month before I give birth to give her time to cope with housework.

So far so good. . . Anyway this maid agency I went to is rather good as well thou it is a small agency.
 
Hi Zenn,

I prefer to get maid that is new meaning it is their first time coming out from their country - Philippines to work/ At least their mind are that "polluted" but of coz during the interview I ask and check her out on some basic experience in doing household chores and looking after baby.

Before going to the agency I have given them my prority what is my expectation from the maid. I have listed down to agency on what I expect from the maid :-

1. Understanding of English. Must be good.
2. No off day.
3. Married or not married - it is up to individaul. I prefer not married and not that young as well - as they are here to earn a living and not find a husband.
4. Fresh to Singapore.
5. Her background of experience no exposure to - Sales or office work. Reason being Salesgirl in Philippines tends to talk more to people "Social". Office worker = can't take up hardship - personal opinion.

I went to Eversmile Agency - it is a very small set-up but they are so far so good.
 
hi zenn,
r u getting an indon or a filipino? if getting an indon, i think it's quite necessary to ask her some basic questions in english or whatever language u expect to converse to her in. if her understanding of english is pathetic, then i think the interview can terminate early liao.

i will usually start by verifying her employment history, just to check if the biodata is accurate. it also helps me understand more abt the working conditions she used to be under, e.g. how many maids in the house, how big is the house, did she sleep with baby at night, does she cook, is her employer working or are they sahm?

then i will move on to ask her some basic questions to see how well she knows the work i'm abt to hire her to do e.g.
1) how to sterilise bottles
2) how often to change diapers
3) what to do when baby cries
4) how to steam fish / cook soup / use washing machine etc

b4 i end, i will list down a broad overview of the jobs i expect her to do, e.g. take care of bb (including sleeping with bb at night n waking up when bb cries), do housework, cook for how many pple, wash car. remind her of the basic rules: "no visitors unless authorised", "no day off" etc. i will ask her if she is willing. this is just to prepare her n set expectations straight. if she says she is, then i will ask her to repeat the tasks n rules. this last part is to test if she is paying attention to what i'm saying n how readily she picks up instructions. she might miss a few points here n there, n that's ok, but if she cannot even remember most of what i said, then i would be seriously doubtful if i can work with her.

my personal opinion is that for filipinos, u need to be pretty clear abt what u need her to do, cos they usually hv expectations. like the filipino who wrote into forum page today said quite clearly that she didn't think she should be washing cars. indonesians r usually more chin chye, but then, they might not know exactly what some tasks entail.
 
Hi
I went to 2 agency namely, asset employment and amazing agency. Saw some of their myanmar maid data and they charge so different agency fee, one charges $588 and the other only $88. I saw the one of the maid biodata appeared in both agencies. wonder how come. is it true myanmar maid demand higher agency fee according to one of the agencies?
 
Hi Zenn,

Hows your tele interview?

My choice for your Sunday posting will be no 1 and 4. For me, I will not employ someone who is married because I'm afraid that she will be thinking of her baby/husband most of the time. For those singles ones, their aim is to earn money for their family/themselves will be more focus in their work. Of course not all married ones are no good. Its just that I feel that married ones they have a burden back home.

The second no-no is ex singapore or transfer maid. They are too smart and demanding. Just my personal opinion.
 
Hi Pantone,

Me too. Will not get ex S'pore or transfer maid. I had a ex Taiwan (also ex Saudi) filipino maid before. Very good @ bargaining and comparing. Always tell us former employer gives this and that.

Zenn, just curious...who pays for the phone bills when you make tele interviews? Is it part of the agency fees?

Emma, better check out the agency packages. I know some agencies will ask employer to separately pay for maid's air ticket back home if maid unsatisfactory whereas some will cover this in their package. Also some do not provide free maid replacement so fees are a lot cheaper.
 
Hi everyone,

So angry wif the agency. I called yest afternoon to cfm the interview n they told me the other side internet not ON. Will check n call me back but didnt. So I called back after 45mins n they told me no problem. 5mins later call me back again saying the maid not in the training centre. Don't feel very comfortable wif this agency but will give them another chance. If still the same dan might drop them liao but so far the maid is the most ideal -_-

Hi och, thanks for sharing. Will take down. Btw did I chat wif you in US thread?

Hi Emma, ya agency fees really varies and some agencies actually shared the datas. I saw same face at diff agency too. I also been told that myanmar maid not x.

Hi pantone and virgokid, ya I decided to drop the x spore too. She is v present looking and nice smile. Too nice smile till I scare she will be seducive haha

Virgokid, the agency pays for the phone bill. Anyway I looked thro maidlibrary, not much choices
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zenn,
yup, i'm quite active in the us thread.
lame.gif
which maid were u going to interview? the ex-sin one?
 
Hi Zenn,

From my understanding Filipino is better with baby and kids.

Indo maid is better just with house work and communicating to them would a be challenge too lor.

One of my coleg has a indo maid and she called her maid almost every two to three hour to ensure that she check on the childrens, did the right thing e.g. dinner, household chores. . etc. . .

Wish you luck in getting the right fit.
 
Hi everyone,

Back fm the tel interview. The x saudi eng really cannot make it. Anyway managed to interview another one who has bb exp in indo and can understand simple eng. The only draw back is the agency charges $288 for agency fee and only 1 free replacement within 8 mth.

Usually how many relacements are given? Can we neg for that?
 
Hi Zenn,

Wow that is alot for agency fee . . When I got my maid I only paid S$88 for agency fee and the replacement is one - FOC within one year . . I think.

I cant really remember so far so good lor my maid my hubby insist on getting Filipino, he feels they should be better you only paid abit more and get less headache as well. . my hubby's colge got many problem with his indo maid and he has so far change about 2 to 3 maid and today going to change again. . . from my understanding the indo maid try to do voodoo to them. . . so scary right.
 
Hi all,
My INDON maid has been with us for slightly two months. Her sleeping hours are from 9.45/10pm - 6am. She only needs to take care of my bb, breakfast for hb, dinner for myself n hb, as well as the usual housework. During the first counselling, her feedback was that working here is comfortable and "senang".

Yesterday night, I discovered that she din wipe the kitchen floor after dinner. We asked her y and she refused to tell us. Just stayed quiet.

I expressed my anger after my hb left for work as I am really concerned that she could get away without a good accountability. Assured her that if she has a reason not to clean, that's fine and will close the case. She then said that I gave her "Chilli" yesterday and the chilli is hot, so she has stomach upset and hence couldn't clean. And I realized that the "Chilli" she referred to was capsicum (I cooked sweet n sour pork with only pork and green capsicum). I was so shock by this answer. I told her that e capsicum is not spicy at all as they are just vege, not chilli. I suspect that she did not eat the capsicum at all, hence do not know the taste and was just trying to bluff her way through. She probably saw that internal of capsicum and tot that was a big chilli.

I got my hb to confront her just now abt her claim. She still insist that the capsicum is hot. Asked her if her stomach still hurt and she said a little still. Told her that I'm going to bring her see doc tomorrow, she refused repeatedly till my hb put on a stern look and insist. We even told her that we'll buy the capsicum and let her eat in our presence then tell us if its hot. She said dun want n still said its hot. I could not tolerate this lie of hers as its such a stupid and obvious one. She still lie to her teeth despite of the confrontation.

She once broke the bb's slow cooker LED light. Then, quietly use tape to stick back without letting us know. Only admit when we confronted her. And other stuff that she did wrong and did not tell us till we found out ourselves.

What would you do with the capsicum case? I really can't stomach this lie of hers. Btw, she's a rather smart and vain maid.

Really need yr advice as this is my first maid. No prior experience in managing any. Thanks.
 
sarah,
why would ur maid hv eaten capsicum when it's cooked with pork? u mean she picked it up and ate it during preparations?
 
sha, yalor thats y dilemma now. the maid meets my requirement - can speak simple eng and exp handling new born bb but cos most agencies charging oni $88/$188 and some even 2 free replacements.

How abt the rest of exp employers? Any comments?

Sarah, is ur maid fresh or with exp b4 coming to spore?
 



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