Every time I talk to someone, I don’t know how but the conversation turns around and we end up talking about housemaids.

I talk to my colleagues at work, and they start complaining about their housemaids. I talk to my sister, and she starts telling me stories about her colleagues at work and how good or terrible their maids are.

I talk to my mother-in-law or my mother, and they also start complaining about their housemaids and that they don’t get proper food or service, or that the maid is not clean. This I believe is the hot topic discussed by national and non-national housewives.

I will share a funny, but irritating story with you. One of my Indian colleagues at work had an Indian housemaid from her city in India. The day she went to pick her up from airport, she was excited and said now she will enjoy having 'chapati' every morning and she will be relieved from cooking.

When her 35-year-old maid arrived, she said she doesn’t know how to make 'chapati' and my colleague ended up making 'chapati' for her husband, son, and the housemaid.

Another colleague said her housemaid never wakes up on time, which is around 6.30am to prepare breakfast for the family before they go to work. She sleeps till 9am and it is very difficult to wake her up. She will have to call her more than 20 times in order for her to wake up.

One of my friends who is married for the past four years has changed her maid three times so far. She is unhappy with the new maid also.

Of course, I don’t want to generalise. There are good and hard-working housemaids, too. But unfortunately, only a few of them, it seems.

The cost one has to pay to get a housemaid is high. For nationals, I believe its Dh6,000 to the agent, Dh1,500 to the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department, and Dh400 for the fitness checkup, plus the food and lodging costs.

Here I don’t talk about the big families. I talk about small families of young couples with one or two children only, and majority of them living in a small villa or apartment. When the housemaids arrive, they are friendly and hard working.  

They will always answer with a smile and offer to do things on their own. Once the guarantee period of about three months from the agent is over, the majority of them start showing their true colors.

No one really knows the secret of how to keep their maids happy, and at the same time make them do their jobs in the best or - at least the expected way.

Some advise you and say don’t be too lenient with them. Be tough so they will fear you and do the required job. Others say don’t be too tough. The maid will hate you and then she may harm your children and you. There are others who say deduct from their salaries if they make any mistake or damage the stuff, or keep their salaries with you for the first few months as a guarantee.

No matter what one does, I don’t think that they will ever come up with the secret ingredients of making a housemaid happy and hard working – or for that matter, a satisfied housewife.