Review of a CL we employed in 2024. Mdm Wong Suey Hw* (Hua Jie). We do not recommend her services to anyone.
She left on the last week of our confinement after I confronted her with the crockery she broke. She never owned up to her mistakes. She claimed I shouted at her (while my tone was firm, I did not raise my voice at her). Said the trust in the working relationship was broken and she cannot carry on. She claimed that she wanted to leave on day 2 but she never told us that (we still don't know the reason and believe she was stirring shit. She claimed she told my mother and my mother says this topic was never discussed). She also claimed that we picked on her and she did not provide specific examples - well as a FTM I struggled with sleep and breastfeeding, what benefits could I gain from picking on a short term hired help who was looking after my vulnerable child?
On day 1, she mentioned there may be a schedule clash for her next assignment since the mummy is due for early delivery. Coincidence? I honestly don't know. You decide.
Sure, it was gloom and doom when she left. Less than a day later, our families and us found ourselves to be much happier without her around. Turns out the entire family, including our parents, who do not stay with us, dislike her. Guests have also commented that she is extremely unfriendly.
The good:
1. Did not complain about doing the night shift
2. Does the tasks assigned to her (we did not assign her the full suite of her responsibilities. We did our own laundry, did not task her with sweeping and moping, and I only showered on alternate days. Also, she did not need to prepare breakfast for me and she NEVER offered even while I went into the kitchen as she was making her fancy French toast; she ate three slices for breakfast).
The bad (with notable examples):
1. Poor attitude
- Showed us a different attitude in my mil's presence on day 1. Was extremely courteous and helpful. This faded right on day 2 when mil did not visit.
- Aggressively dragged me out of the nursery while baby was fussing to count the quantity of chicken pieces she cooked. She cooked nine pieces for just two of us, along with other dishes. Poor attitude aside, how to finish? Plot twist - she did not finish the chicken. (surprise surprise!)
- Snapped at us and our parents on numerous occasions. We always addressed her Hwa Jie/Auntie when we spoke to her. Our parents are older than her.
- Refused to teach & poor display of PR skills to employer. Would constantly say "don't ask me, he is not my child".
- Made insensitive remarks about my breastfeeding journey as if it was not distressing enough. Loudly commented that my breastmilk is watery to our parents as a reason for poor satiety. Checked in with IBCLC - there is no such issue.
2. No respect of our personal items at home
- Broke 3 crockery items. When confronted, she blamed my mum and several stationary objects.
3. Extremely wasteful
- She finished a 5kg bag of rice in 2 weeks. For context, I eat a quarter bowl each meal and >50% of the meals were cooked for just the two of us; my husband rarely ate in. I frequently saw uneaten premium ingredients in the trash.
- Other consumables were consumed at an alarming rate.
- Insisted on buying certain ingredients when I repeatedly mentioned that I do not eat those foods.
4. Nosy
- Tried to gossip about us with my mum.
- Told us unsolicited information about our friend's family, who happened to employ her contact as their CL.
5. Greedy
- Took our generosity for granted. Never thanked us whenever we offered her a snack. Her response was always "orh" or "mmm".
- Made frequent snack requests to my mum.
6. Dishonest
- Got defensive when my mother asked about the rate of consumption of our fish. Claimed she did not eat them. She lied. She hid the fish under copious amounts of vegetables in her bowl. It's ok to eat. It is not OK to be defensive and lie.
