Bad experience with Home Breeze (updated)

With Home Breeze, housework is not a breeze anymore.

Updated

@ 2.30pm

Kelly : Do you want me to wash the fan covers (showing 2 to me).

Me : Yes please.

After she has already left, I discovered the 2 pieces of dirty fan cover are hanging over the (open) washing machine! *faint* I do not know about you but I find it disgusting.

@ 5pm, I noticed she has already kept the ironing board but there are still some clothes not ironed.

Me : Kelly, those need to be ironed too. They are my work clothes.

Kelly : Is it dry yet?

Me : Yes definitely, I washed them 3 days ago. You can just touch and feel if they are already dried right?

Is she acting blur or she just lacks initiative?

@ 6pm, I noticed that the bathroom is not washed.

Me : Kelly, did you wash the bathroom? (I just wanted to clarify)

Kelly : Erm no. I will do it now.

Me : It is okay if you don't have time. You only have 10 mins left. (She left exactly on the dot during the last 2 times)

Kelly : It is okay. I will use the last 10 minutes to wash the bathroom.

Me : Okay then.

Later, after she was gone. I saw the bathroom was rather dry, the rag is still the same and there are hairs on the floor. You call this washing?

I feedback to Darren again. He did not apologise at all and merely tell me that this is teething problem. I disagree. I think the problem is due to her work attitude and lack of experience. The conversation ended with "I have to wait 2 weeks for a replacement".

One of the sloppy works left by Home Breeze, Kelly

Bad experience with Home Breeze

We have a really bad experience with the cleaner from Home Breeze.

Extracted from Home Breeze's website,

HomeBreeze is a personalized service for all your housekeeping needs. If your looking for a part time maid or housekeeper, look no further. At HomeBreeze, you can browse our selection of screened part time maid or housekeepers to suit your preferences and availability.

At HomeBreeze we believe that each home is different and thats why our trained team will work together with you to give you that personal touch. So sit back, relax and rest assured that with HomeBreeze, all your home needs will be taken care of.

On the first day, Kelly did so many things that made us doubt if she is really trained. Examples

1) She wanted to mop the floor before she even changed the bedsheets or dusted the tables.

It is common sense to clean from up-to-bottom. No training is even needed to understand this.

2) She used the same piece of Magic Clean wipe that she has wiped the kitchen to wipe the living room.

Kitchen is supposedly the most oily place in the house. The correct way is to clean from the bedrooms, living room and finally the kitchen. Please tell me this is also a common sense thing.

3) Then she spent exactly 1.5hours to iron 11 pieces of clothes and of which more than 50% are not well-ironed. 

My defination - at most we should only see one line on each sleeves of the shirt/jacket. But she managed to have numerous lines on each sleeves. "Well-done".

All the shirts' collars are flattened because she cleverly buttoned the second button instead of the first.

Hello Home Breeze! You call this trained team??

On the same day, we immediately feedback to Darren of Home Breeze.

Darren : You should teach Kelly and tells her how you want things to be done.

Me : You are supposed to provide a trained staff. There are some things which we merely have to apply common sense. I have provided orientation and if she still have doubts, she can just ask me or my mum. 

Me : And I also need someone who can iron well.

Darren : I am surprised. We heard good feedback that she irons well.

Me : Then come and see it for yourself. By the way, who uses more than 8 minutes to iron one piece of clothing? She is supposed to be trained isn't it? 

Darren : This may be teething problems. It is her first day.

Me : I can monitor her progress but please understand we hire external help to lessen my mum's burden. If I have to train YOUR staff for you. I might as well hire a maid now.

Let's just put it plainly. If I can do the housework, I will not need to go to a professional agency and pay S$188/- to him.

On her second time, I worked till very late and was too tired to check with my mum. But I do notice that she folded the tee shirts into tiny pieces hence easily causing the pile to topple. So this time I see her (personally), I told her this and she asked me to fold one for her. *Mega roll eye*

Me : I do not have to fold one for you now. As you can see, I have already redo the whole stack of folding.

Kelly : Then you must have space if you want your tees to be folded in a bigger size.

Me : Yes I do have space. (I really cannot be bothered to say anymore. Please use your brains. If we have been folding our clothes this way, it means we do have space. Or alternatively you can use your eyes and see it for yourself. And we did not fold it in big pieces, you are the one that folded the tees in tiny pieces)

Today is her third time and I was working from home in the afternoon. It was a hot and sunny afternoon. She appeared at 2.10PM, looking all hot and sweaty (she had cycled to our house). As soon as she set foot in the house, she immediately proceeded to change the bedsheets!! I am so disgusted. We all know what is personal hygiene. The first thing we reached home, we will proceed to wash our hands first. I requested her to wash her hands and she retorted, "IF YOU want me to..............." I saw her proceeded to wash her hands with water. No hand soap. I guess it is my fault? Because I did not tell her clearly enough that she has to wash her hands with hand soap as well. We keep a big bottle of Kirei Kirei foaming hand soap in each bathrooms.

We had hired extra help to clean the house but instead of that, we have invited more germs into the house. And of course, the list goes on.

Jun 2012 Hong Kong and Macau

It is already July and I haven't got time to get down to pen my HK/Macau trip. Since I am unable to access the Company's portal from home (for don't-know-whatever-reasons), I decided to continue with my backdated post.

No trip to HK is complete without HK Dim Sum. I am still feeling bewildered because I have not been to any "Chai(2) Can(1) Ting(1)" ie HK eateries for local food nor did I have any dim sum during this 5D4N trip. And no tram rides either.

This is a family trip. We chose HK because the parents were transiting in HK on their way back from USA so we thought we can meet them there. HK is also not a child friendly place nor is it suitable for elderly. It is mostly stairways and few places have lifts. Our group consisted of 2 adults, 2 elders and 1 15-month toddler. So, we had to use the lift because we have a stroller. (We try not to use the stroller so often though).

On a side note, here is a list of things that I will like to do and eat in HK.

- eat Bo(1) Lo(2) Bao(1)

- eat HK Dim Sum

- have breakfast at a Cha(2) Can(1) Ting(1)

- Shopping for work clothes

- a leisurely tram ride

- buy Qi(3) Hua(2) egg rolls of my favourite favors

Unfortunately I did not manage to accomplish any of them. I can't help feeling alittle disappointed. Was I in HK? I think I need to make a trip to HK again.

This is yums! It is toasted bread with butter and condensed milk. *contented*

 

12.6.12

“Come to the edge, he said.

They said: We are afraid.

Come to the edge, he said.

They came.

He pushed them

And they flew.” ----- Guillaume Apollinaire

Adisucipto International Airport

We spent our last piece of IDR100,000 to buy magnets at the airport and later realised that we still have to pay IDR100,000 for airport tax before we are allowed to enter the waiting area. Luckily we still have US dollars with us so we paid USD15 per pax instead. Please remember to keep your last piece of IDR100,000 when you are visiting Yogyakarta!!

Another interesting sight that I noticed about this airport (besides that it is a very small airport and it is not airconditioned). There is only one baggage claim area and the conveyor belt is overcrowded with passengers waiting to collect their luggage. Before I can bring my luggage out of the airport, I have to show my receipt to the airport officers to prove that I am not running off with another person's baggage. So, please do not lose the receipt!

A fruit named Salak

IMG_0427, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Have you heard of this fruit called Salak and whose skin resembles that of a snake? I have not.

So when Chin asked the tour driver to bring us to buy Salak, I was surprised to see such a fruit. They say it tasted like jackfruit. Anyway, as I am personally not a fan of jackfruit, I gave it a miss.

Salak pondoh is an important fruit in Yogyakarta province. In the five years to 1999, the annual production in Yogyakarta doubled to 28,666 tons. Its popularity among local Indonesian consumers is mainly due to the intensity of its aroma, which can be overripe and sweaty even before full maturation.

Salak is a species of palm tree. The fruit grow in clusters at the base of the palm, and are also known as snake fruit due to the reddish-brown scaly skin. They are about the size and shape of a ripe fig, with a distinct tip. The pulp is edible. The fruit can be peeled by pinching the tip, which should cause the skin to slough off so it can be pulled away. The fruit inside consists of three lobes, each containing a large inedible seed. The lobes resemble, and have the consistency of, large peeled garlic cloves. The taste is usually sweet and acidic, but its apple-like texture can vary from very dry and crumbly (salak pondoh from Yogyakarta) to moist and crunchy (salak Bali).

Prambanan

IMG_8457, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Prambanan is a collection of massive Hindu temples (candi) built by the Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty.

Prambanan was designated at a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 and its global profile as a tourist attraction rose markedly in the 1990s. In the wake of the May 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, some parts of Prambanan sustained significant damage.

There is a legend that Javanese people always tell about this temple. This folk legend tells about a story of a prince called Bandung Bondowoso who wanted to marry the daughter of King Boko, Roro Jonggrang . Bandung Bondowoso insisted on the union, and finally Roro Jonggrang was forced to agree but she posed one impossible condition: Bandung must build her a thousand temples in only one night. With the assistance of sprints, Bundung Bondowoso succeeded in building 999 buildings. When he almost completed the last temple, Roro Jonggrang ordered the palace maids to begin pounding rice and set a fire in the east of the temple. This is an attempt to make the Prince and the spirits believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light and the sounds of morning time, the supernatural helpers fled back into the ground. The prince was furious about the trick and in revenge he cursed Roro Jonggrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues. According to the traditions, the unfinished thousandth temple created by the demons become the Sewu Temple and the Princess is the image of Durga in the north cell of the Shiva temple at Prambanan, which is still known as Rara Jonggrang or Slender Virgin.

Borobudur Temple

IMG_7993, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Central Java, Indonesia.

The word Borobudur is believed to mean monastery on a hill. It was abandoned following the 14th century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.

It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m². Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s and has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Borobudur is also Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.