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    All About Full-Time Maids

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Domestic Help
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    • J Offline
      jtoh
      last edited by

      bigsnoopy:
      jtoh:

      [quote=\"bigsnoopy\"]One day I caught her switching on the fan while ironing.... Told her to off straight away and she say it is the first time she did it...


      What's wrong with having the fan on while ironing? Ironing is sweaty work. I iron with the fan or aircon on. Cannot tahan. 🙂

      My place is quite windy and if u on the fan with the fan facing the iron the iron will not be hot then u waste more electricity raising the iron temperature... That is wat she did... The fan is facing the iron.... And that day is a windy day...[/quote]I see. My home not as windy as yours. 🙂 I had a maid who used to iron sitting down.

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      • O Offline
        omgmum
        last edited by

        hquek,


        Yeah, I think their mentality is that the male is the boss of the house. I was the one who talked to the maid all along so I assume that she knows that I’m her boss. Her work permit is also under my name. But maybe she doesn’t know that. So for the next one, I think I have to tell her very clearly that I’m her boss and will pay her the money and not my husband!

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        • bigsnoopyB Offline
          bigsnoopy
          last edited by

          jtoh:

          I see. My home not as windy as yours. 🙂 I had a maid who used to iron sitting down.
          Wont it be difficult to iron while sitting down? :scratchhead: Just curious how long does ur maid use to iron the clothes... Mine use 3hrs for 3 days to iron a week of laundry which include DH and my clothes.. Is it too long?

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          • bigsnoopyB Offline
            bigsnoopy
            last edited by

            omgmum:
            hquek,


            Yeah, I think their mentality is that the male is the boss of the house. I was the one who talked to the maid all along so I assume that she knows that I'm her boss. Her work permit is also under my name. But maybe she doesn't know that. So for the next one, I think I have to tell her very clearly that I'm her boss and will pay her the money and not my husband!
            I dont think so... More like the opposite attracts literally... 😄

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            • N Offline
              nms1
              last edited by

              bigsnoopy:
              jtoh:


              I see. My home not as windy as yours. 🙂 I had a maid who used to iron sitting down.

              Wont it be difficult to iron while sitting down? :scratchhead: Just curious how long does ur maid use to iron the clothes... Mine use 3hrs for 3 days to iron a week of laundry which include DH and my clothes.. Is it too long?

              All of my maids seem to have been very slow at ironing but as long as they are getting everything else done on time I haven't said anything. For me, I hate ironing so I will do it as fast as possible; I think they use it as a time to have a bit of a daydream 😉

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              • O Offline
                omgmum
                last edited by

                jtoh:


                I see. My home not as windy as yours. 🙂 I had a maid who used to iron sitting down.
                My maid irons sitting down too, with the fan on full blast. I told her to do that because her room is quite crammed and stuffy, and there's really no space for her to stand and iron. 😛

                For the first week, she took hours to iron 5 pcs or less, but I close one eye as long as other things get done, and she doesn't cut corners too obviously.

                But one forummer said that her standard is about 1 hour for 10 to 12 pieces, cos that's how long her part-time helper used to take. I think that's quite reasonable.

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                • AdmummyA Offline
                  Admummy
                  last edited by

                  :thankyou: all who responded to my post...here's some update:


                  Had a heart to heart talk with her tog with hubby....told her that i am not satisfied with her performance since she is not fulfilling her duty as stated in the contract. Told her that she cannot cook, take care of my children (esp no. 3) and I don't feel her presence is helping me in anyway.

                  She was quite \"shocked\" (sort of like wake-up-call) and kancheong, requested us to give her another chance. Told us that she is happy working for us, will try her best to learn cooking and bond with the kids...I told her if she is not happy with me, i can always let her go since I am the BOSS here (thks to pointers from mummies, got to let her know I am the boss NOT my hubby...so here it goes, establishing my status here)...she immediately said no, m'am nice and said she want to continue with us since she need the money...She appeared quite sincere and geneuine...maybe she is too insensitive to feel that her performance is not \"up-to-standard\" until this meeting...

                  I am tired of the agony of reselecting maid and numerous trip to the maid agency...besides, i am not confident that the next one who comes along will be better...actually to be fair to hubby, he is not really \"siding\" her...in fact, he said if the maid is causing alot of unhappiness to me, he respect my decision to let go of her...However, he highlighted to me that I should not compare her with the earlier maid who has worked for us for 4yrs. This one is relatively young (although biodata stated 23 yrs old, she could be under 20)...Being young, she may not be as thoughtful, considerate and sensible than the previous one (married with kid and 27)...She is like any youngster out there, carefree, straight-thinking, impulsive, etc, hence she needs more \"pushing\" and must give clear, direct instruction... Should not expect her to take initiative or take for granted that she will consider safety of kids (e.g. like the toilet incident where she left my kid alone). well, i think what my hubby said make sense. so fine, my conclusion is to give her another chance..

                  After the meeting, i can see a lot of initiative from her, she will try to play with no. 3, try to take over no. 3 when i'm busy, etc. He seems to be a little receptive of her...of course, \"warnings\" from mummies about bb's \"gut\" feeling about not so nice people do make sense...so i will pay extra attention and make sure no harm is done to my kids...

                  i hope my decision is right :xedfingers: 🙏 ...in any case, i have another 4.5mths to decide whether to change her i.e. free replacement within 6 mths....

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                  • FunzF Offline
                    Funz
                    last edited by

                    I allow my helper to turn on the aircon when she is ironing but so far she doesn't do that. When I iron, I will bring the board to the living room or the study and turn on the aircon there. She will do it in the yard which I find too stuffy.


                    I have no complains cos she does the ironing much better then me and much for efficiently as well. :razz: I hate ironing, especially men's shirt.

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                    • AdmummyA Offline
                      Admummy
                      last edited by

                      oh yeah, forget to add on, when we confronted her about her "vanity" (i.e. changing clothes frequently)…she explained to us that the previous family she worked for is very concerned about appearances and will want her to look "presentable" wherever she is…so we put of message across that in Singapore it is different, T-shirt bermudas will do (unless going to special places) and only change once when bathe or dirty…from what i gathered the jakarta family that she work for could be someone reputable? no wonder she so good at table manner and can eat so elegantly…

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                      • H Offline
                        hquek
                        last edited by

                        hi admummy,


                        Glad the meeting went well and that benchmarks are set.

                        Sometimes, it could be due to their previous experiences or their culture, that's why they do the things they do. Eg my current maid used to hum to herself and we thought it a bit scary becos we're not used to it.

                        Continue to monitor her, I'm sure she'll do better. Just keep at back of your mind that there may be times she may slack. A gentle talking to should help. My ex-maid used to show me black face after some years on a few occasions - after I talked to her, everything is fine again.

                        Yes, it is a chore and scary experience for me to choose new maids. i rather live with flaws of existing one (unless she doesn't want to work for me) than have to brave a new one. 😞

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