Maid Mania

I saw this poster in Bandra sometime in the first 2 weeks of arriving in India and took a pic of it in a "how interesting" sort of way, not knowing that in a few weeks time I would be using the Snabbit app to avail of maid services. But more on that in a bit.

The very day I arrived in the flat, within about 3 hours of being in my new home a woman knocked on the door asking if I needed a maid and offering her services of cleaning and cooking for 3 hours every day, 6 days a week, for 15000 rupees a month. At that exact moment, surrounded by my boxes, I wasn't really in the market for a maid so I took her number and thanked her for visiting and said I'd be in touch. She also randomly told me she was very good at making lasagna so it would be good if I could buy a couple of trays for the oven if I wanted lasagna. I obviously have the look of a lasagna lover!

I have subsequently spent the last month consumed by Maid Mania. This mania has two main causes and many symptoms include sleeplessness, anxiety, confusion, irritation and lethargy. The cure, I suspect, is the successful hiring of a maid.

Lets first address the causes of this mania. The first is me trying to pin down my requirement. I have accepted that I need some sort of cleaning help in the house because I have become a mam and have suddenly found it very difficult to do any cleaning for myself. In fairness the flat is quite big, and there is alot of marble going on and it gets dusty really quickly. When first-day lasagna maid turned up I honestly thought she was mad to suggest I needed 3 hours of cleaning every day and whilst I still think that's excessive, the 2 hours a week cleaning help I have in London is really not going to cut it here. I could also do with someone to do my ironing because with all the visitors I have lined up there's a lot of turning round of beds that has to happen. And my summer wardrobe also has fewer of the slightly stretchy clothing I can get away with in London that never really needs ironing but is instead all cotton which looks like you've slept in it when it comes out of the wash. I accept therefore that I need a maid for a few hours a few times a week, and therefore maybe I could commit to 6 days a week. I would also like someone to make some dishes of food to have in the fridge that I can then heat up for my dinner and also take as leftovers for my tiffin. Clarity forming on what I need but then I am struck down by symptoms again as I ponder when this maid can visit given I am out of the house between 08:30 and 20:00 5 day a week? My cleaner in London has a key but I have known her for 27 years and trust her with my life but here, I'm not ready to give a key to anyone. So I'm a bit stumped. I also have a different requirement re timing (evening) and duration (2 hours) for when I am alone in the flat to when my father comes to stay with me in April and could do with someone popping in during the middle of the day to make him some lunch, do some cleaning and leave some food in the fridge for dinner. This is also adding to the confusion because there are two different requirements.

The second cause of my maid mania is the maids themselves and their requirements. They all have existing engagements so each one comes to me with a specific time of day that they can visit, based on the free slot they wish to fill. I've had everything from an hour between 9:00 and 10:00 to 3 hours 16:30 to 19:30. And most maids want a commitment to 6 days a week with a monthly wage.

The other weirdness that is doing my head in is that they don't price according to the hours they work but rather by the number of different jobs they do. So. If you were to ask for 3 hours and 3 different job: dusting + floors + bathrooms you would be charged differently than if you asked for the same 3 hours but added ironing as well, as that's now a 4th task. Which you might think is reasonable given they have more things to do, but there are two reasons why this doesn't make any sense. Firstly if they are here 6 days a week they don't need to do all of them every day? And secondly they don't factor in any difference between a flat with 1 occupant and the next door flat with a family of 6! Ie its possible to do floors, bathrooms, dusting and ironing in 3 hours if there's only one person living in it. It's the most bizarre pricing arrangement I have come across!

So I haven't found a strategic solution to my domestic help needs but this is India, and digital revolution is on, so there must be an app with a tactical solution.

In order to ensure thay my house is kept clean whilst I solve my maid dilemma I have made use of the Snabbit app. You can book a maid online for any number of hours on a specific day at a specific time and when she arrives you can tell her what she needs to do in the time that she is with you and you need to provide her with all necessary materials and equipment. Which makes sense to me. So I have had someone come and iron for an hour (**** review coz a bit slow and dreamy) and I have had someone else come and clean floors and bathroom for 2 hours (***** review coz did a really good job and I have marked her as a favourite on the app). I have also had the next door neighbour's maid come in and do an hour for me because I have a lovely neighbour and she couldn't bear my suffering.

For a more strategic solution I have meanwhile registered on another app BookMyBai which is basically a maid matching service whereby you pay a 1000 rupee subscription charge to be given 30-day access to a database of maids which you can search and which provides their contact details so you can contact them directly and find out more. I am going to pay my subscription when I get back from my short trip to London and tackle this maid situation head-on before said head explodes. I will Snabbit for the few weeks until Dad arrives and then get someone in for when he arrives. And then by the time dad leaves I will know the maid well enough to have her in the house on her own. Assuming I have become accustomed to having a maid and am unable to live without. Otherwise I will revert back to Snabbit and making my own tiffin and dinner.

Honestly I dreamed of being in my own flat, but now I am dreaming of the room service of the hotel and my tiny, dust-free room!