Monday, April 12, 2010
Maid Problem
Now, do you cringe when you see a title like that? Typical domineering, unable to do it yourself employer, you might think. Potential maid abuser. The list goes on. I felt that way too, when one day, in my fav shop, a customer walked in and announced that to the boutique owner. "Who don't have maid problem??" screeched the owner. Anyway, pls read on before making your judgment.
My Indon maid of 7 yrs left at the beginning of last yr. After getting rid of a Filipino maid who took over her (having her or not did not make a diff...the house was as dirty as not having one even when she came), I took the matter into hand and my grandparents chose this young Indon maid. Lets call her 'H'.
In the beginning, H was okay, to use Singlish slang. She did her job better than the Filipino one, altho not as well as my previous Indon one. We all presumed that it was cos she was not trained yet. I even gave her some of my old t-shirts and allowed her to eat some stuff I bought, because that was what I used to do with my previous Indon maid. H seemed to be settling in well.
Then, an incident changed my perception of her. I had been using a silk blanket, which my Mom bought for me on a trip to the Jiangnan region in China. Silk is a tricky material to wash. The makers in the silk factory told me that you can only wash it using shampoo and never soak it. You must also never hang it in direct sunlight to dry. It can only be dried in the morning sun and never more than 1 hr (between 9-10 am). So I warned my previous maid never to touch it unless told.
So imagine my shock to find my silk blanket gone one day. I asked H where is it. She told me she washed it. I screamed at her. In reply she said she handwashed it. I told her she was not supposed to do that too! In response, she looked nonchalant and walked away. I was flabbergasted. I did not use any harsh words, altho my voice was certainly raised. The silk blanket and its giver and the memories behind it mattered very much to me. I was furious at her response.
I got even more furious to see it when it came back. The silk was ruined, to say the least. The padding inside were bunched and did not fit the cover properly anymore. I scolded her. Same response. What the hell?? I treated you kindly and this is how you behaved?
From then on, I could no longer trust her. But things did not blow up until another 2 incidents.
In the 1st, I had asked her to help me throw away some spoilt shoes I had. A few weeks later, I saw that she was wearing my old Havaiaanas slippers! I told her, if she had wanted it, she must ask! No response.
The second incident made my blood boil. As a shopaholic, my closet regularly gets filled to the brim, so I tend to donate some clothes to the Salvation Army. To cut the long story short, in order to stop me from doing that, my grandma placed my old clothes in H's room to be given away. One day I discovered some clothes missing. In anger, I searched H's room. I found 2 of my clothes hiding nicely underneath some clothes of hers. She even took some of the underwear and perfume I threw away. That did it.
Besides these personal stories, recently we have been receiving anonymous calls telling us abt her misdeeds. I personally received one. The caller was obviously a Filipino familiar with her every action. She told me that H goes out every night when we are asleep, returning only in the daytime. That H has a Chinese bf who gives her many things. She told me that she doesn;t like H. H seems to have that impact on everyone. The caller says she never greet ppl and thinks herself beautiful just cos many men look for her.
Apparently, an Indian man also calls the house, telling my relatives that she brings men home all the time.
With all these alarm, you would think her employers would do something about it. NO! That is another rant, which I do not wish to go into at this point. I am only flabbergasted that some ppl can't live with a bit of dirt and inconvenience while waiting for new maid. And that some ppl are so frightened of changes that she goes along with it. And that when I, with well intention, tried to help, gets spoken to with a loud voice. Well, if H startes doing something even funnier than what she had already done, it's NOYB.
My Indon maid of 7 yrs left at the beginning of last yr. After getting rid of a Filipino maid who took over her (having her or not did not make a diff...the house was as dirty as not having one even when she came), I took the matter into hand and my grandparents chose this young Indon maid. Lets call her 'H'.
In the beginning, H was okay, to use Singlish slang. She did her job better than the Filipino one, altho not as well as my previous Indon one. We all presumed that it was cos she was not trained yet. I even gave her some of my old t-shirts and allowed her to eat some stuff I bought, because that was what I used to do with my previous Indon maid. H seemed to be settling in well.
Then, an incident changed my perception of her. I had been using a silk blanket, which my Mom bought for me on a trip to the Jiangnan region in China. Silk is a tricky material to wash. The makers in the silk factory told me that you can only wash it using shampoo and never soak it. You must also never hang it in direct sunlight to dry. It can only be dried in the morning sun and never more than 1 hr (between 9-10 am). So I warned my previous maid never to touch it unless told.
So imagine my shock to find my silk blanket gone one day. I asked H where is it. She told me she washed it. I screamed at her. In reply she said she handwashed it. I told her she was not supposed to do that too! In response, she looked nonchalant and walked away. I was flabbergasted. I did not use any harsh words, altho my voice was certainly raised. The silk blanket and its giver and the memories behind it mattered very much to me. I was furious at her response.
I got even more furious to see it when it came back. The silk was ruined, to say the least. The padding inside were bunched and did not fit the cover properly anymore. I scolded her. Same response. What the hell?? I treated you kindly and this is how you behaved?
From then on, I could no longer trust her. But things did not blow up until another 2 incidents.
In the 1st, I had asked her to help me throw away some spoilt shoes I had. A few weeks later, I saw that she was wearing my old Havaiaanas slippers! I told her, if she had wanted it, she must ask! No response.
The second incident made my blood boil. As a shopaholic, my closet regularly gets filled to the brim, so I tend to donate some clothes to the Salvation Army. To cut the long story short, in order to stop me from doing that, my grandma placed my old clothes in H's room to be given away. One day I discovered some clothes missing. In anger, I searched H's room. I found 2 of my clothes hiding nicely underneath some clothes of hers. She even took some of the underwear and perfume I threw away. That did it.
Besides these personal stories, recently we have been receiving anonymous calls telling us abt her misdeeds. I personally received one. The caller was obviously a Filipino familiar with her every action. She told me that H goes out every night when we are asleep, returning only in the daytime. That H has a Chinese bf who gives her many things. She told me that she doesn;t like H. H seems to have that impact on everyone. The caller says she never greet ppl and thinks herself beautiful just cos many men look for her.
Apparently, an Indian man also calls the house, telling my relatives that she brings men home all the time.
With all these alarm, you would think her employers would do something about it. NO! That is another rant, which I do not wish to go into at this point. I am only flabbergasted that some ppl can't live with a bit of dirt and inconvenience while waiting for new maid. And that some ppl are so frightened of changes that she goes along with it. And that when I, with well intention, tried to help, gets spoken to with a loud voice. Well, if H startes doing something even funnier than what she had already done, it's NOYB.
Labels: Se-lat-por Affairs
// posted by Jenn @ 1:17 PM 
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