Annika: i agree with doblue in that a brand new one might have less monkey business up their sleeves. and i feel that off day is really the one thing that's a slippery slope. esp when they go and mix ard with their friends and share tips and tricks.
mine indon helper is a transfer but its from a family friend. she came recommended in that she's good with kids. i have to agree with that but some of the things she did is really quite lazy and bodoh. some examples include:
1. washing my pump parts in a basin which my mum use to prepare raw meat and fish. then rinsing and placing them in the kitchen sink. cos of this, i had to throw away 3 days supply of BM when i found out.
2. i finished my individual packs of Khong Guan cream crackers and she replenished it. guess what? she took out 4 big packets of it to put on the kitchen counter. when i asked her. she said my mum told her to replenish. ok... but 4 big packets??!!!
3. she keeps drying my nursing pillow cover in the dryer using 30mins cycle first and add another 10mins cycle. after a while, i really buay tahan and told her that if you have been doing this for so many times already... why havent you learnt that you can put a 40mins cycle right from the start.
4. because of my leaky breasts, sometimes, there are milk stains on my parquet floor. there was this particular stain which has been around for a while but i noticed that it was never cleaned up. one day, i told her to clean and she told me that she tried but it cannot be removed when she mopped the floor. so i told her to wipe with a piece of cloth. later that evening, i noticed it was still there so i told her to come. i asked her if she tried and she said she did but cannot be removed. i then took a piece of wet tissue and wiped the stain off right before her eyes. and told her that if she didnt try, she shld not tell me that she tried and couldnt.
like what doblue said, if she's new, must really train her to do things your way. must be firm also.. otherwise, i think some of them tend to take advantage of their employers. but i also learnt that at the end of the day, if we dont close one eye also, we'll vomit blood and die
hope this prepares you a little... i'm also learning to handle a helper. in fact, i'm a most reluctant employer of a domestic helper but boh pian [IMG=http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/clipart/sad.gif] really need an extra pair of hands to handle the gals.