siman,
aiyoh...your maid can dare to complain to your hubby ah?? better watch out leh, cause it's not a good sign. cause if she sees that there is even the SLIMMEST chance that your hubby will try to talk to you to convince you to see things her way, she will know that she can "persuade" your hubby, and she will find means and ways to make both of you quarrel and have disputes over her. i've seen this happen to some ppl before...
for my maid ah, my hubby is totally hands-off when it comes to managing her. everything is left to me, and the maid knows it. so she knows that all maid-related decisions will be made by me, and not hubby. the only time hubby gets involved is when my maid does something serious, and i tell my hubby and my hubby will immed have a talk wit my maid or lecture her. when he does this then my maid knows that what she did is very serious liao, and she will never repeat the same mistake again. so far, hubby has had to lecture her for the following incidents:
1) she was looking after my dd while my dd was playing on the swing, then her eyes was on tv watching it instead of watching my ddr, then my dd fell forward and hit her head/face on the floor. my dd cried sooo loud! i was in the kitchen and saw the whole thing! got very angry at maid and scolded her. then when hubby came home he scolded her too. we told her when it comes to dd's safety, we won't compromise. any more misatkes and she goes home, period.
2) her obsession with dieting and skipping meals
3) her carelessness with dd's hygiene a few times. every night when i bathe my dd i use a face towel to wipe her down, and it is also used to wipe her bum area, etc. so after finish she is required to hang it in the kitchen then next day wash it, and every day i use a different face towel. sometimes i am busy so i ask her to go get the face towel for me. then one day i spot-checked and found that she did not wash the towel after each use, and everyday she kept giving me the SAME piece of face towel to use, for 5 days in a row! wow, i really blew my top. told her how can you let me use the towel over and over again, esp after i wipe my dd's bum with it one day then next day i wipe her face?? then she kena scolding from hubby also lor.
4) caught her once wiping my dd's toys with the same towel she use to wipe dining table after our meals! had to tell her cannot use the same towel, it is very unhygienic. then when hubby came home he also lectured her on hygiene, esp when it comes to dd.
5) then few days ago was also over hygiene with dd's food. my dd likes to eat cornflakes, and we store it in an airtight container. whenever my dd wants to eat, i will pour out some into the bowl for her. sometimes when i am not ard my maid will pour out for my dd. then i noticed that she doesn't pour it out (like the way hubby and i do it), she will instead use her hands to scoop out the cornflakes, and she didn't even wash her hands before that!
my maid is actually very good leh, is hardworking, got initiative, has good attitude and is a very fast learner. but as you can see no maid is perfect, even she has her shortcomings. but the good thing about her is once we highlight her mistake to her and tell her not to repeat it, she won't and she doesn't bear a grudge against us for reprimanding her.
my maid has been working for us for almost a yr, and i also notice one thing about her attitude. i notice that if over a period of time i become too lax/relaxed with her, and if i become too friendly towards her, she does tend to get a bit rude towards me, ie. if i ask her to do something she inadvertently answer me back in a rude tone. this happened a few times liao, so now i got no choice but to maintain my distance from her, ie. i am nice. respectful and cordial towards her but cannot be too friendly and too relaxed, cause i think she end up thinking i am her friend then her tone towards me can become rude at times. when i am more fierce and no-nonsense towards her she seems to listen to me more and takes my instructions more seriously. so funny right??