New Maid

We signed the Agreement for the new maid yday. We were deciding if we should take a transferred INDO maid from another agency. She was sent back after 2 months and her agency (which my SIL used) recommended her. However, it would mean that we have to spend $388 in agency fees on top of the usual insurance, maid loan and stuff. It is OK to spend extras to get a good maid but who can guarantee? All the more we will pull hair if we paid extra but ended up with another block head.

Coincidentally, our current agent managed to secure new CVs and we found one that looked decent. She is 29 YO, married but no kids and small built. We seemed to be jinxed by normal size maids. The agent helped to interview the maid and we were told that she went back to INDO after her 2 years’ contract last year. During her stint in Sgp, she was looking after 4 YO girl under the charge of the grandfather. She told the agent that she likes children and can endure ah gong’s scolding.

I managed to speak to her when I was at the agency. Actually, I don’t have intention to conduct a phone interview. That pathetic 3 mins phone call does no real help. Moreover, most of the maids tend to go on “yes mdm”, “I can mdm” mode. Interestingly, I found out that there was a miscoummication. She was here for 2years 9 months. She was looking after a 4 YO girl in the 1st 9 months but was returned bcos her employer wanted somebody who could speak better English and swopped to a FIL maid. She was transferred to a new family and looked after ah gong for 2 years.

I hesitated cos NRT also spent her 4 years in Sgp looking after elderly and she turns out to be hopeless with the kids despite her insistent that she likes kids, can handle kids and have 2 kids of her own. Then again, this maid choosing game is really about luck and we really hope we have better luck this time. More importantly, we are desperate to replace NRT. At this rate that ah mah is scolding her, I fear for NRT’s sanity. So, I still ended up signing on the dotted line.

The MOM ruiling says that an employer can only engage 5 maids in 12 months. On the 5th maid, I will have to go to MOM to re-sit for that employer test. It is not a tough test, very common sensical but it is troublesome. If we need to go into the 6th maid, we have to go for an interview with MOM to explain the high rate of change and approval is not guaranteed. This will be my 3rd maid. NRT is my 1st and that one-day maid also sits on my account even when she was the one who insisted that we sent her back to the agency. I also have to pay for her lodging and levy while she was waiting to be transferred. The law protects the maid. Boohoo. I already pre-empted Popo and asked her to go easy on the new maid. Haiz, but a leopard never changes its spots. Despite the fact that I asked her to go easy on her 101 procedure after we scared away that one-day maid, Popo is still insistent on the way that she runs things. I don’t think Popo will now change bcos we have a new maid. *worry*

The new maid appears to be able to understand and converse in simple English when I spoke to her over the phone. I kept asking the agent to emphasis to the maid in Malay that her job is to look after the 2 kids and to play with them. I also made it clear that we stayed with Popo and Popo scolds people. The one-day maid claimed then that she was able to handle the kids but cannot take the way Popo spoke to her and that we didn’t tell her that we live with Popo. Win liao. So I wanted to set expectation right this time.

The new maid will be here in about 3 weeks’ time. I am really counting down and hope nothing goes wrong (pass medical, etc). I also asked Popo to stop scolding NRT. For some reasons, she seem to hate every maid that I had yet seldom find fault with my bro’s maid even when some of their maids were no better. I supposed this is part of the Popo package too. Arrggggghhhhhhhhhhh. She even thinks that MA is not good. In comparison, I think MA is the best maid that I had so far. She only changes her mind after NRT and that one-day maid and even asked me to check if MA wants to come back to work for us. -.o” Haiz, why like that?

If Lil Shauna and Isaac do get married and have kids of their own and needed my help to babysit, pls remind me not to interfere too much into the kids’ life in the future. Remind me not to be so silly to sell my own flat and have to stay with the kids. Even if I do, remind me that it is their home, that they are the parents and I am only the grandparent.

Mummy Lim