My mum and I have just discovered one of the reasons why our Cambodian maid is super slow in her work. Can you beat it that she takes more than 2 hours to clean our bedrooms upstairs everyday? Well, my mum found out why yesterday. Yesterday, my mum read an exercise book that my maid keeps to write her English and Cambodian words. In the book were pages full of stories that she has copied from my kids’ story books and electronic story book. She must have spent a lot of time copying the entire story book into her exercise book when she is upstairs cleaning the room or when we leave her at home in the morning when I bring Sherilyn out for a walk.
Last week, we were all searching high and low for the Snow White story book that my mum had bought for the gals from Ipoh. We asked our maid if she had seen it but she said no and pretended to look for it under the bed and everywhere. The next day, she told us that she found the book behind a plastic cabinet in my mum’s room and we believed her. I am now wondering if she had the intention of keeping the story book coz there is no reason why the story book would be behind the plastic cabinet. Also, this is the story book that she had copied the entire story into her exercise book. She must have thought that we would not notice it as my gals have too many story books. I am also now believing that she also had the intention of keeping my bedroom slippers when I found it behind the sewing machine in the laundry room. This is where she puts her bag and belongings. When I asked her why she kept my slippers there, she just gave me her usual silly smile.
I hardly have the time to go upstairs to supervise her when she cleans the room. I guess I have to spot check her from today onwards.
This Cambodian maid sleeps at 12 – 12:30am almost everyday. My former maid could go to bed by 10:30pm -11pm. Just before going to bed, this Cambodian maid would go into the laundry room and close the door, thinking that I will not see it as I would be upstairs putting the gals to bed. I always wonder what she does inside the room and sleep so late at night. The agent has told her explicitly that she cannot close the room door when she works. When I asked her why she closed the door, she just gave me her silly smile again.
I was beginning to have pity on her and have told her not to help me prepare the kids for bed and I have also reduced some of the household chores. After this discovery this morning, I don’t think I will have pity on her anymore. With my previous maid, I need not have to do much work but with this maid whom I have to pay more than double for her salary, I even have to do more work myself and stress myself up. If I were not having a 3rd baby soon, I will really consider doing without a live-in maid but it looks like I now have to hire a live-in maid for at least another 4 more years.
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Maybe she wants to learn English. 😀 Maybe she hasn’t got a chance to study before??
My maid wakes up at 5.30a.m and goes to bed at 11p.m. Sounds a little abusive on the long hours hor?? but if we don’t do that, they will slack.
I really hope to do without a live in maid too. Her contract is going to expired next June, JL will be 18th months then…hopefully, I can cope without one by then…save up al the trouble
Elaine… maybe. I think she is severely deprived of a good childhood with toys and books, that’s why she always reads my gals’ books and plays with their toys. I know the long working hrs are very torturous but as you said, if we don’t do that, they will really slacken. I really think maids should be given 1 day off in a week or at least twice a month but our agents here strongly advised against this as these maids, esp Indon maids will stray.
i think i can write a book on maid stories…if i really want to….since i ve been having maids for more than ten yrs now….and since i cannot do any heavy housework myself becoz of my inflamed joints….i have to bear with all their antics and behaviours…which is far too many and my present maid had really given me much thought of not having a live- in maid anymore once her term ends this october….i’m more mentally stress …by her work….which i will blog about later….
My maid got nothing much to do except cleaning so she sleeps before 10pm and rises at 6am. But she can be so extremely lazy at times and always hides in the bathroom to take afternoon naps.
These maids need tight supervision……i realise that each time i close one eye to her small mistakes, it gets worse till I feel like screaming at her. Like what sweet jasmine said, i can also write a book on maid stories. They are lazy and cannot be trusted but yet we still need them…………….sigh
Btw I remembered I had a Filipino maid when I was in Std 3 to 6. She used to stop her work and listen whenever my mom coaches me and my bro with homework. And she read our story books too. I think they are deprived of a good education so they are very keen to learn.
for me its nothing wrong copying down the story books, maybe she wanna learn how to tell stories to her family when back home, or just by learning eng. u go spot check at the laundry room la see what she does. mayb learning eng, or something fishy.. i really pity u ler… my part time helper takes about 1 hr- 1hr 15 minutes ot finish upstairs including washing the bathroom vacuuming, mopping, etc. my previous maid spent at least 1.5 hrs upstairs, she oso very slow one..
OH..u mean ur maid can copy all the words from the story book? I wonder my maid know how to write in english? So far i havent seen her wrote anything, but i did saw her wrote a letter to her dad, but not in english but in their own languague.
I didn’t tell u my maid use 2 hours to wash the 2 bathroom lei!
oh no, you have to be careful with your personal belongings especially the precious ones…it might just end up in her bag =(
i wonder why she copy the story into the book :S…aiyo very strange behaviour
Really can’t fathom these maids hor.. 🙁
I also wonder why she wan to copy the story. I think she must be trying to pass her time buy copying the story. Wah a strange behaviour. Why dont you just get your agent to replace a new one since this blur sotong gives you so much problem.