Extremely bad and disappointing experience with PEM Confinement Agency. This was the first agency I considered after reading raved online reviews.
If you want to be stressed out postpartum, have multiple nanny replacements, unexperienced nannies, dealing with pushy customer service representatives and being hounded for payments, PEM is definitely the confinement nanny agency you should engage.
#1 - Customer Service - major hard selling by the representatives at PEM. I expressed my interest in engaging a confinement nanny and they were following up very religiously for a confirmation. They were super pushy and persistent and would constantly follow up by calls and emails, claiming that their nannies were getting booked out and for us to secure the deposit asap.
#2 - Nanny Replacement - We had to change three nannies within a week of my hospital discharge - first nanny was asked to be replaced as we were dissatisfied with her services. Our second nanny was better but then she had to leave because she claimed she slipped and fell in the toilet in the middle of the night from not switching on the lights. We were then informed by PEM that they will provide a third nanny replacement. Whenever replacements were to be made, we'd ask how long it'd take and they're standard customer service response was "within 3 - 5 days and nanny will arrive between 2pm - 5pm". PEM is unable to commit to a date and time for nanny arrival. I'm supposed to be recuperating during this period of time, but how is that going to happen if there's such disruptions caused by PEM in arranging for a replacement? And this caused unnecessary stress because we had to juggle with caring for our newborn and constantly wondering when the next replacement will arrive and if she's any good.
#3 - First Nanny - Cooking standards were subpar compared to what other PEM customers have shared of their nannies and experience online. My Mom had to teach her how and what to cook. There was also lack of guidance for us - she does not openly share tips on how to care for baby especially when this is our first child. There was also no sense of urgency on her part to check on the baby when he is crying. There were many occasions when my baby is crying and she's still in bed sleeping. She also tends to overlook the feeding hours for my baby and I have to constantly remind her. There's also no feeding schedule shared by the nanny with us and I'm recording everything on my own for reference. What's the point of hiring a nanny if we're doing pretty much everything on our own?
#4 - Second Nanny - She was a great help and took good care of our baby. However, it was unfortunate that she had to leave as she had a fall in the toilet and shared that she was in pain. We offered to send her to the doctor when we first found out but she refused as she wanted to see PEM's doctor instead. During her 3 days with us, she was always sharing about her family and how she wanted to return back to Malaysia to look after them and then recently she found out her daughter, son-in-law and grand daughter were C+ and she was extremely worried. Not sure if the fall was just a convenient excuse to want to leave this job and go back to Malaysia or was it a genuine reason? PEM then contacted me saying that they'll arrange for a replacement BUT they're unsure how many days it'll take, and with the new nanny replacement was have to give her another welcome angbao. Like are you kidding me? It's not about the money but why do we have to do all of these when PEM is the one that's falling short.
#5 - Termination of Service - Because PEM has been absolute ridiculous with their services vs what was promoted and communicated, we decided to terminate the confinement service because what's the point of continuing if there are lapses in the services and getting in replacements for us? With the delays on PEM's part, I have to get my Mom to fill in the void for the time being to assist with my confinement. The annoying part was when they chased for payment and told us that we have to pay the prorated nanny fees for our second nanny when they're holding on to our initial deposit, which they could have easily used to pay the nanny and then refund us the balance.
PEM claims that they are committed to quality and providing comprehensive care for the Moms and newborns. I have unfortunately not felt this from the company as well as the nannies. The company feels very sales driven.
To be honest, PEM should be providing us with a full refund instead of making us pay for both nannies. Why should I be paying for services that you didn't even fully commit to?
