siman... actually i say 'pls' & 'thank u' to my maid too. i find tat it makes her feel appreciated, & anyways, i mean it also. i dun think it will make them think can bully u. bt its when u give her things, or ask her to do things. if not right, means not right, NEVER say 'nevermind, like tat also can' or 'i'll do it myself'. then die liao, i tell u. my 1st maid was like tat lor. my mum dun like her style, do herself, so she happily shake leg. then when i qn her, she say 'ah po dun like i do'. win liao. actaully no need to show face when u talk to her also lah, it'll be so hard on u. oni need to show face if something not right. if not, juz pass on instructions in normal tone can liao. wat we r trying to say is no need to be 'extra' nice, no need to 'chit chat', no need to be overly concerned abt her. but still muz treat her nice, cos she is aft all an employee mah. like wat lani do.
can i ask why u need an experienced maid? cos i feel they r pretty easy to train. i actually dare not use ex-sgp cos they already know sgp, so not scared of anything. i used to tell my 1st maid tat if she steal, she will be sent to jail 4 v long so she scared. in the end, she go out w all her frens, also not scared liao, tats why stole. maybe ur maid was really trying to tell her family she reached safely u noe. i hv a list of qn i ask when i call for interviews. see if its useful for u. i find tat these qn can actaully reveal a lot more of the maid than juz the bio. anyways, always dun tally w bio one, so even birthday muz ask. cos sometimes they lie or make false claims, if u 'spot chk' them off-guard, they might slip & tell the truth. so when i chose maid, i prefer those who've worked in phili as maid b4, cos at least they noe their place in the family & wats requried of them. since i hv my own style of doing housework, i can train myself. even tho' my DD needs medical attention, i also dun take 'nursing b/grd' ones. all bluff one anyways. i make-do w my requirements for #3 cos she had nursing exp. turns out she oni took a 3wk course, then work in nursing hm is to help measure BP & do chores like changing diapers, bathing the patients. *faint*
anyways, tis is my list. <center><table border=1><tr><td>
qns to ask.doc (22.5 k)</td></tr></table></center>
jo... agree w u. no pt keeping someone to make us angry when she is getting our hard-earned $$!!! when we decided to send maid #2 bac, also same reason. we dun feel justified tat we hv to put up w someone who is happily making us angry & still collecting our $$!!! i also dun mind taking care of my DD & household myself, wun get a maid if not need to work for $$.
actually if the maids come fr the city, they r quite dressy i realise. their dress sense like geylang those! real terrible. i confiscated my maid's revealing clothes too, say she cant wear in sgp. bt she v smart. she had 1 2-pc top which is a spag below, so she will remove the outer pc when she goes out. bt too bad, i smarter. found a pic she took w juz the spag, so told her cant wear tat anymore.
anyways, when she is busi or not at hm (sometimes at inlaws), i will look thru her things once in a while, juz to make sure she not hiding anything like hp, guy's numbrs or even condoms! *horror* i nearly fainted when i dug out my maid's stolen stash of $$ & contraceptive pills! aft tis, i feel its justifed tat i look thru their things, cos its my $$ & family's safety at stake here!!!
joy... err, pardon me, but ur maid sounds abit scary u noe. when my maid #2 came for a wk, she would stare at me fiercely when i scold her, & still insist on doing things her way even when i lose my patience. so hubby & i think she abit psycho, so quickly send her bac. *shudders*