SINGAPORE: An employer took to social media on Thursday (Mar 19) to warn others not to be misled by domestic helpers who claim to have decades of experience, after her own disappointing encounters.
In a post on the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group, she shared that she had previously trusted such claims and hired two helpers who both said they had around 20 years of experience.
She offered one a monthly salary of S$900 and the other S$1,000. Both were given Sundays off, as well as public holidays, and were allowed to rest by 9 PM each day.
However, things did not turn out as expected. When the helpers started work, the employer said she was surprised by the quality of their performance.
“Both of their works were total rubbish and not organised,” she wrote. According to her, the tasks were completed hastily, with little attention to detail, and she felt that the standard of work did not match the level of experience they had claimed.
Frustrated, the employer said she feels that it has become increasingly difficult to find reliable and capable help.
“Long gone are the days when simple and good helpers exist,” she wrote. “Now all do work like instant noodles… 2 minutes done and all, and even common sense is no longer common. If a professional helper cannot even do a proper job at this salary rate, then what can they really do? All apologies for ranting, but I really feel like I’ve had enough of the BS in the market.”
“We’ve seen good helpers. We’ve seen bad ones.”
In the comments, many other employers said they could relate to her experience. One wrote, “Totally agree with this post! They want everything but can’t do a proper job.”
Another shared a similar view, saying they had also encountered helpers who claimed to be very experienced but did not meet expectations in reality. “Yeah, I agree. We also have those kinds of overexperienced helpers, but the quality of work did not match our household’s needs. Just because someone worked 10 to 20 years doesn’t mean they will fit into the household.”
A third person said that some helpers even tend to say yes to everything during interviews, but struggle once they actually start working. “During the interview, it’s all ‘Yes Ma’am, can do Ma’am, okay Ma’am,’ but once they come to work, they don’t know anything. Just want to use the phone, as if coming here for a holiday.”
Still, not everyone agreed with the negative experiences. Some commenters pointed out that there are also many good helpers out there.
One said, “There are many families who are fully happy and appreciate their helpers. There are many good helpers and also bad helpers. We very often attract who we are. Maybe you need to start asking yourself why you are attracting all the bad ones.”
Another wrote, “We’ve seen good helpers. We’ve seen bad ones. I set a simple condition: I pay you 100% of your salary, and you do 100% of the work. That means proper work. If not proper, redo. Cut corners. Redo.”
In other news, a Singaporean man said he was left completely baffled after a woman he matched with on a dating app decided to turn their conversation into what he described as an “audition.”
Posting the story on the r/sgdatingscene and r/dating forums on Thursday (Mar 12), the man shared that after matching with the woman on Hinge, their chat took an unexpected turn almost immediately.
