Treat them like your own sister

It is tough if you are a working mom and no helper at home. I have no maid since 2008 when my maid decided to return to her homeland in Sumatera after working for us for three years. She was good, and my kids still asked for her. We always treat her like our own family.

When she first came, she was only 18 years old, and we trained her. She was a good maid as she listened to what we said. She's also very smart. All her salaries, she kept herself and by the time she went home, she brought quite a big amount of money back to Sumatera.

After she left, we have few maids, but we found that they didn't meet our requirement. Not that we were picky, but there were reasons why we have to let them go.

The first maid had Hepatitis B. Her medical report from her homeland showed that she was clean, but when we sent her for another test, the doctor found her with Hepatitis B. It was a risk to keep her, so we sent her back.

The next one was quite an elderly lady, and she gave us a different problem. She loved to butt into my conversation with my husband. Instead of doing her work, she would join us in our conversation.

The last one that we had, she has an attitude problem. She thought that she had worked in Saudi Arabia that she can boss me around, but she forgot who's the boss in the house. She snapped at my husband, talked back to me, and rearranged the whole house. “Ahhhhh….troublemaker!” I told my hubby. So we sent her back to her agent.

Getting a good and reliable maid is not easy, and once you get them, treat them like your own family. I believe in that. You treat them well they will give their loyalty. If you treat them badly, they will retaliate.

If the maid has an attitude problem, send her back to the agent, don’t abuse her. They are human too.

Two days ago, I read in the newspaper that a maid was abused until she died. Isn’t she human? Isn’t she deserved to be treated like one? I really don’t understand how the couple could abuse their maid until she died.

Is it because of the maid attitude itself, or it’s the nature of the person, cruel and sadists? If it is due to the maid’s attitude, sent her back to the agent. Don’t treat her like animal because if you do, it shows something about you.

Appreciate your maid. Without them, there will be no one to take care of your kids or help you in your housework. No matter how angry you are with your maid, don’t hit her or abuse her. Pause, take a deep breath, and calm yourself. Once you are calm, then only you address the problem. It will help you and your maid.

Salam.