All About Full-Time Maids
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Were there such a low agent fee "$38, $88 , $117 , $123"? I wasn’t aware of that?! Ours is $888. The salary is $470. Are we overcharged? She is a fresh maid.
I didn’t expect her to speak fluent English. A basic understanding on word related English words is good enough. However, she doesn’t.
The thoughts of trying to explain things to her and expecting her to follow instruction is daunting enough. We can spend 20 mins trying to "talk" to each other and leaving the conversation with lots of question marks?! Did she get what I’m trying to say? What is she trying to say? Can she do it? Does she really understand? Are we on the same page?
So, it has been 2 weeks, we just let her do whatever cleaning she wants to do at her own standard, let her sleep, eat whatever time she wants to. Sometimes, I feel that her presence has inconvenient us rather than lending a helping hand. I think she doesn’t feel much at ease too.
Anyone experiences this too?Our burmese maid…
She was all docile and meek on her first day greeting everyone with a smile.
On day 2, she responds enthusiastically and positively with a yes to everything we ask her to do. We left her unsupervised assuming she knows what to do which later we realized she doesn’t understand a single word at all.
She doesn’t even understand simple English like "Cannot", "wash", "no", "wait".
She doesn’t know how to use the home appliances.We have to rely on body and sign language to communicate. Oh boy, that is tiring and time consuming.
On day 6 onward, she doesn’t smile or greet us. …
Our family members work different timing and came home at different time of the day. She stays in the living room and when we reach home …She just turn her body … Don’t even bother to look.
She sleeps at 9pm and we have to vacant the living room for her to sleep…
It gets very tiring. I just spent 10 mins trying to get her to bring the basket over. She doesn’t understand "Bring", "take", "come", "here", "there", "kitchen" and most importantly "basket". She doesn’t understand english words of shapes, colors, materials… IT IS VERY EXHAUSTING TO GET HER TO HELP.
We wanted a FDW to help us with the chores and baby, and now it seems we have to take care of and teach another baby.
Hi
If I am not wrong, your Burmese (Actually should be correctly called Myanmar maid because the country has already been renamed from Burma to Myanmar for political reasons) should be a "Fresh maid",
If I am correct, you must have employed her from one of those unethical maid agencies which previously agressively advertised for agency fees of $38, $88 , $117 , $123 only with very big debts ( Loan) for their maids . These fresh maids guarantee cannot speak a single word of English and know "Nothing" about cooking even their own Myanmar foods , hence not to mention our Singaporean cooking ingredients like " Oyster sauce", "Soy souce", "fermented bean curd"… They have received "Zero training" in any aspect from their "Overseas Training Centre" in Yangon . They only go to these so called "Overseas Training Centres" to take photograph, produce biodata and get some English materials back to their villages to study and wait for news.
The so called "Overseas Training Centre" sell these "Fresh maids"’ biodata with English marked "4 " (Good) out of the proficiency scale from "1" ( Poor) to "5" (Excellent) on the MOM standard biodata to Singapore maid agents who can not even understand what the maids are talking about.
So when you have selected them, there will be no interview because the agency fee is so cheap. That is how we suffer from picking cheap maids at unbelievably "Low agency fees" and salary of $420 .These maid agencies offer you to change maids any time with "Free replacement on agency fee" again to bring in another "blurr maid" for you and you will then realise that in the end you have wasted a lot of money and times.
For Myanmar maids, never employ "Fresh maids" unless you are prepared not to change within 1 year , be extremely patient to training them personally dish by dish, item by item …If you have no time and patience, you have to employ ex-SG Myanmar maid who have already been trained by a few SG employers before you take over them . These ex -SG Myanmar maid surely have "Bad Employment History" but it is natural & logical to be so because most of the busy working Singapore employers would not have time to train the "Fresh maid" but to return to agency to change again and again… the last employer actually benefit from a "Trainned Myanmar maid with bad employment History" like my own Myanmar maid who can cook both Chinese food learnt from 4 previous Chinese employers and also Korean food I have taught her.
KimJeow. -
It will be an adjustment period for both employer and maid. If you want the maid to work out for you, cannot leave her to do what she wants. Do up a list of daily chores including her rest and meal times and all the stuff that needs to be completed before she goes off to bed and get the agent’s help to make sure that she understands.
When she greets all the family members, do all of you respond and greet back? If you do not, she may feel that it is not something that she needs to do. As for sitting and not getting up when you get home, that one gotta get the agent to tell her that is not acceptable.
You may have to learn some Myanmese words in order to communicate with her. Praise her when she gets her chores right, explain to her if she does not. Ignoring her is not going to solve your problem. Give her and yourself another 2-3weeks. If really cannot make it, consider a change of maid and this time go for one with at least 1 year experience or better still, one who has completed her contract with a family dynamic similar to yours. -
Why does number of off day got to do with the communication problem we are facing with the maid? What has it got to do with the standard of employee? Similarly, I don’t think we can equate the amount of agent fee to the standard of the employee. I may be wrong but I don’t see the direct relation.
Yes, there were such "extremely & unbelievably low agency fees" and maid salary even $400 for fresh Myanmar maids with 8 to 8.5 months’ loan.
These were before one Arab newspaper reported & critacised that Singapore maid agents dispalying foreign maids for sales under insensible advertisment banners @ promotional rates in Singapore . Then MOM immediately responded by sending "Warning letters" to maid agents to stop the malpractices . This was reported in the Straits Times around July ? Aug. Before MOM reacted, you could really get agency fees for very low.
I think you had really overpaid for your agency fee of $888 for a "Fresh maid " from Myanmar knowing "zero". You could actually get cheaper agency fees for ex-SG Myanmar and yet can definately speak simple English if you have done extensive surveys and home works…
But did you get into employing your "Fresh maid" with big "Maid loan" due to your reluctance to give your maid off-day whcih is your main concerns. It is common practice for "Fresh maid" who initailly "Agreed" to not to have off-day" when they do not know anything and English, but then subsequently ask for off days after starting working for months when they have picked up some English etc… (This is the secret my Myanmar maid has told me) .If you terminate them half way and send them home , you may lose and forfiet the "Unpaid loan" ( if any).If you continue keeping them, you would feel very stressful every day when they can not understand and communicate with you and your familiy. If you wait until her 8.5 months loan finished, you have actually by then "trainned her up" for another employer who it more "Agency Fee" and "Conveniently Poached" your "Trainned maid" and that new employer give you "Trainned Myanmar maid" one or two off days … Sighhh…
Young, inexperienced and ignorant mummies have to make their decisions wisely and carefully in choosing between "fresh Myanmar maid with Zero Employment History and can not communicate in English but deep in their heart actually want to have off days" and ex-SG Myanmar maid who can communicate in English and definately want off days ut with Bad Employment History" .
KimJeow. -
Even if you do the completely opposite, High agent fee, good english, with off days, that does not mean you won’t face problems with maid.
[quote="ashana"]Why does number of off day got to do with the communication problem we are facing with the maid? What has it got to do with the standard of employee? Similarly, I don’t think we can equate the amount of agent fee to the standard of the employee. I may be wrong but I don’t see the direct relation.
Hi,
before I employed my ex-Singapore Myanmar maid, I had actually considered "Fresh Myanmar maid" as I thought that they should be "Green Horns" who are more obedient & receptable to training as thier minds come "Empty" from Myanmar without having been influenced by "Friends" here. I was completely wrong after seeing many failures of my neighbours living in the same condo here employing "Fresh maids" coming in direct from Myanmar.
I , just like all my neighbours, initially looked up for agents which specialise in "fresh maids" without off days. All the agents my husband & I visited unanimously offered unbelievably low agency fee , No off day to lure us to employ "Fresh maid" becuase they have plenty waiting in Myanmar.
Every one told us that "Fresh maids" have loan must finish… they have learn English but not so good la because no practiise… if they go out, they don’t know where to go and if they get lost, then how? " …sometings like that…
Three agents told us honestly that they don’t earn money from us but from the maid only. So "Agency fee" is low and there was one agent located at International Plaza even offering $0 "Agency Fee" and Guranteed "No Off Day" for Myanmar Fresh maids but told us honestly that " Their English is very poor, that’s why your agency fee is cheap… but you must train them for sometimes… may be 6 months at least…" .
So there are definetely strong correlations between "Cheap agency fee", "Poor English and "No off day first"… -
Thanks for the input. Hopefully we can create a good work relationship. The communication problem is the biggest hurdle to overcome. We have to find a time to sit and "act out" our expectation.
It will be an adjustment period for both employer and maid. If you want the maid to work out for you, cannot leave her to do what she wants. Do up a list of daily chores including her rest and meal times and all
the stuff that needs to be completed before she goes off to bed and get the agent’s help to make sure that she understands.
When she greets all the family members, do all of you respond and greet back? If you do not, she may feel that it is not something that she needs to do. As for sitting and not getting up when you get home, that one gotta get the agent to tell her that is not acceptable.
You may have to learn some Myanmese words in order to communicate with her. Praise her when she gets her chores right, explain to her if she does not. Ignoring her is not going to solve your problem. Give her and yourself another 2-3weeks. If really cannot make it, consider a change of maid and this time go for one with at least 1 year experience or better still, one who has completed her contract with a family dynamic similar to yours. -
On the topic of low agency fee:
I got my current maid from an agent that charged $0 or $1 ( I can't remember exactly :)).
She's been with me for more than 10 years.
Someone I know has been paying quite high agency fees, but most of the maids do not last the full 2 years. Fortunately for her, one of them is good and has been in her employ for 6 or 8 years so far.
A lot of it amounts to your luck. And also how you handle the helper (eg if you can shut one eye). -
Lucky you! I think the maid in the past is very different from the maid now.
On the topic of low agency fee:
I got my current maid from an agent that charged $0 or $1 ( I can't remember exactly :)).
She's been with me for more than 10 years.
Someone I know has been paying quite high agency fees, but most of the maids do not last the full 2 years. Fortunately for her, one of them is good and has been in her employ for 6 or 8 years so far.
A lot of it amounts to your luck. And also how you handle the helper (eg if you can shut one eye). -
The Myn maid mentioned in the last few post is not acceptable at all. You should bring her back to the agency and ask them to keep her for a few days to train her… they are responsible. Fresh maid usually mean never worked in Singapore before.
You must ask the agency during selection, has this maid worked in Myn as a housemaid, doing house work like mopping floor, wash dishes…etc…etc. or ask her during Skype.
You have to ask specifically each and every task you expect her to do in your house. A lot of the Myn agents and our local agency tell lies… a lot of these girls have never worked as house maids before… some of them have never even worked before or do these chores at home.
If you bring these types…you will have a lot of problems. -
ashana:
just return her to the agent and get an Indo or Filipino maidOur burmese maid................
She was all docile and meek on her first day greeting everyone with a smile.
On day 2, she responds enthusiastically and positively with a yes to everything we ask her to do. We left her unsupervised assuming she knows what to do which later we realized she doesn't understand a single word at all.
She doesn't even understand simple English like \"Cannot\", \"wash\", \"no\", \"wait\".
She doesn't know how to use the home appliances.
We have to rely on body and sign language to communicate. Oh boy, that is tiring and time consuming.
On day 6 onward, she doesn't smile or greet us. I'm not expecting her to bow to everyone to say good morning, afternoon and evening or greet us with a mega watt smile with each eye contact. We are simply transparent to her. She doesn't even bother to look at us when we talk to her.
Our family members work different timing and came home at different time of the day. She stays in the living room and when we reach home at the door, she doesn't even bother to look or help with our stuff. She just turn her body facing the opposite direction reading her book. Don't even bother to look.
She sleeps at 9pm and we have to vacant the living room for her to sleep. We have to switch off the lights, do all the dish washing, prepare next day meals and throw rubbish ourselves while she sleeps.
She eats at specific time on the dot and we have to adapt our schedule to fit her timing. She is very aggressive to show us she knows what to do when we want to teach her our way of doing.
It gets very tiring. I just spent 10 mins trying to get her to bring the basket over. She doesn't understand \"Bring\", \"take\", \"come\", \"here\", \"there\", \"kitchen\" and most importantly \"basket\". She doesn't understand english words of shapes, colors, materials... IT IS VERY EXHAUSTING TO GET HER TO HELP.
We wanted a FDW to help us with the chores and baby, and now it seems we have to take care of and teach another baby.
don't waste your time and emotion -
ehh....... although we work different timing, we don't reach home at irregular hours. It is just that we don't arrive home at the same time to sit together for a meal and we leave home at different timing.
We don't have a formal partition but I think she has enough privacy because she sleeps behind a big sofa where we can't see her lying or sitting up when we walk past.
In addition to that, we made an effort to do our chores in the dark without disturbing her and it won't last longer than half an hour. She rests at 9pm and by 10pm latest we all vacant the living room for her. We don't walk up and down the living room for fun leh.
I don't think we are so clumsy with a lack of motor skill to open close the door that loud lah.wahjinsong:
ashana:
Our burmese maid................
She was all docile and meek on her first day greeting everyone with a smile.
On day 2, she responds enthusiastically and positively with a yes to everything we ask her to do. ............later we realized she doesn't understand a single word at all. She doesn't even understand simple English like \"Cannot\", \"wash\"... doesn't know how to use the home appliances.
On day 6 onward, she doesn't smile or greet us. ..... We are simply transparent to her. She doesn't even bother to look at us when we talk to her.
Our family members work different timing and came home at different time of the day. ...She sleeps at 9pm and we have to vacant the living room for her to sleep. We have to switch off the lights, do all the dish washing, prepare next day meals and throw rubbish ourselves while she sleeps.
It gets very tiring. I just spent 10 mins trying to get her to bring the basket over. ...... IT IS VERY EXHAUSTING TO GET HER TO HELP.
Hi
You mention that your Myanmar maid sleeps in the sitting hall and your family members working different timing .
Does your maid sleep in an open space without any partition for her in the sitting hall to provide privacy? If there isn't any partition and she is a female, she will surely feel uneasy and it might be the reason for her unhappiness?
Futhermore, your family members work different timing,so I guess they also come home at night at different times .One can immagine that the noices from unlocking & locking the metal gates and locks, the main wooden door, the bedrooms' doors ..the sounds of the footsteps walking through the sitting hall where your maid sleep will understanderbly disturb the peaceful sleep of your maid every night isn't it? If this is the case, this might be the cause of your maid's unhappiness and hostality towards you and your family members?
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