Maid replies,”Yes maam yes maam”, to instructions given by employer but does the opposite, gets even simple tasks wrong

SINGAPORE: An employer of a Filipino maid took to social media saying that her helper had a good attitude but could not follow instructions. This happened so frequently that the employer wondered if her maid had hearing problems.

In an anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the woman said her maid “has a good attitude, receptive to feedback and has a joyful and positive persona. The only issue (or thing that she doesn’t seem receptive to but at the same time I don’t think it’s deliberate) I have with her is that she always doesn’t listen to my instructions properly and end up doing her tasks wrongly. It is quite a significant problem as simple tasks can’t even be done right on a daily basis”.

She added that she would ask her maid questions, but the latter would just reply, “Yes maam yes ma’am”.

The employer wrote: “Many a times, the tasks I have asked her to do are also safety related (which one should also exercise own judgement and common sense) so I am very puzzled as to why she can’t get it right. I have tried to dig it out of her many times i.e. ask if she has a legit hearing medical condition and if she would like to see a doc (I offered to pay too), is it that I’m speaking too fast, don’t understand my accent or what”, the employer wrote. The woman also said that she told her maid repeatedly that it would be absolutely no problem for her to explain her instructions again or repeat herself.

In her post, the woman asked others why her helper behaved like that and how she could resolve it. She even wondered if it was a cultural issue.

Here’s what netizens who commented on the post said:

Earlier this year, a foreign domestic worker took to social media asking netizens if she needed to inform her employer about her activities on her day off.

In an anonymous post to Facebook group, the maid wrote: “To all fellow FDW or employer rather,are we obliged to tell to our employer where we go on our day off,what we do and whose with us?”

She added that her employer’s husband would always question her about her day off the next day. She wrote that he would “keep asking where I go and what we do”. The maid added that her employer would ask her for details, such as who was with her.

She asked other helpers if their employers also asked them for this information.

Read the full story here:

Maid asks if she’s obliged to inform her employer where she goes on her days off, says they keep questioning her about it