Maids and excess baggage | ExpatWoman.com
 

Maids and excess baggage

562
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EW GURU
Latest post on 21 May 2015 - 11:52

Do all maids do this: take ridiculous amounts home for their vacations so that they have masses of excess baggage??
Our maid does but says Sri Lankan airlines never charges her. This time she needs to fly Emirates and it is AED75 per extra kilo and she has a lot! Shipping wont work as it needs to get there while she's still there on vacation.
Oh well, its her problem and shes created it. Ive told her its silly to plan to take so much when it exceeds the baggage allowance so much, but she doesnt get it! Everyone needs a present regardless it seems!

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EW GURU
Latest post on 04 June 2015 - 15:14
You know you're right - we do spend absolutely crazy amounts on food, it's true. And I wouldn't be surprised it they comment on it amongst themselves. But we have the money to do that. I don't want our maid frittering her relatively little money away, but at the end of the day it's her money to do what she wants with. And yes it does seem to be a cultural thing and a totally expected thing to do. Apparently everyone expects a present from the country you're working in. Brie, she doesn't have a cat now, hurray! Her family will be looking after it. It's a stray she just started feeding and it became her cat. She adopts anything that miaows - 3 so far. Hope she is clear no more as it's taken so much money and effort to rehome them.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 June 2015 - 10:03
I'm a little shocked that your maid has... A CAT!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 June 2015 - 09:00
Just wanted to barge in here on this thread and say - it's cultural, ladies :) Helpers working here spend their whole year cleaning up after us so that they can go home and make their families happy with some silly gifts. Remember their world/horizon is different than yours - hence the fact that they work for you! I wonder what maids go home and say about their employers. For me it would probably be "She spend 100 dirhams on two organic chicken breasts, you could buy 10 chickens for that, insane!" So true! And probably in her perspective it is sillier than paying for excess baggage!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 04 June 2015 - 07:19
Just wanted to barge in here on this thread and say - it's cultural, ladies :) Helpers working here spend their whole year cleaning up after us so that they can go home and make their families happy with some silly gifts. Remember their world/horizon is different than yours - hence the fact that they work for you! I wonder what maids go home and say about their employers. For me it would probably be "She spend 100 dirhams on two organic chicken breasts, you could buy 10 chickens for that, insane!"
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 03 June 2015 - 22:04
Just wanted to barge in here on this thread and say - it's cultural, ladies :) Helpers working here spend their whole year cleaning up after us so that they can go home and make their families happy with some silly gifts. Remember their world/horizon is different than yours - hence the fact that they work for you!
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 20:15
Yep! She called on arrival to say everything ok, and has since texted me her Sri Lankan mobile number.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 19:45
Ah yes, the cat :cat: have you heard from her since she left? <popcorn>
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 19:38
In total, her excess baggage cost more than her plane ticket (some of it being for her cat).
562
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 19:33
About AED1,100
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 19:14
How much did it cost her VM? :confused:
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EW GURU
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 18:35
Visnakova, turns out she had 2 cases, so neither was over the individual weight limit. When we went to check in, Emirates didn't give her even a kilo extra for free - they charged her for Every single gram! So we would actually have been better off buying the excess on line, but never mind. She seemed quite resigned to paying it all, even though I told her she was crazy. I mean honestly, she took dog and cat food with her. I said "so they don't have pet food in Sri Lanka" and got some story about it being a present from Dubai for the dog!! As if the dog knows the difference. Absolutely insane, but its her money and her decision. She is 42, not a child, so should be able to make her own choices.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 June 2015 - 17:45
No single suitcase can be heavier that 32KGS on any airline, this is health and safety IATA regulation, she might get away with not paying 1-2kgs over the 30 on EK but I would not bet on it. Let her check the weight of the packed stuff & see if she can take some (not liquids) in her carry on (go for small& heavy there, it should not weigh more then 8kgs but I have seen some 20kg suitcases as a crew..., 10kgs should be safe... if over, let her pre-pay through Emirates.com,it will be way cheaper but still watch the 32kgs/bag rule
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 21:27
Yes I agree it does sound rather suspicious if you don't know the details! It's a long story - basically she WAS leaving for good, hence taking her cat and worldly belongings. A month or so ago she changed her mind and decided she wanted to work for another year or two. She didn't mind if the cat went to her family now or stayed with her. It was actually me that decided we might just as well go ahead and move the cat now we'd started the process (with related costs). I want shot of it for various reasons tbh. Yes I'd be suspicious too if she was insisting on taking the cat! The huge amount of luggage is pretty much all presents apparently. I'm not hugely bothered about her coming back or not, apart from the timing (just befire we leave for summer so very inconvenient as I need a pet sitter), especially as it's nearly the end of her contract. She has big pluses but also some negatives like being unbelievably changeable which causes a lot of stress!! I think she probably will come back as she has a conscience, but as she changes her mind from one day to the next ther is certainly a decent chance she won't. We will see...
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 16:36
VictoriaM, maid taking huge amounts of luggage, salary advances to pay for the luggage & not bothered about how much it is going to cost her, and her cat????!!!!!!! I'd be smelling a huge rat if I were you, of the maid-not-returning variety!! Haven't you already had problems with this maid? Be watchful from now until leave-time. That part of the story has bothered me from the beginning. If this cat is so important to her, why is she bringing it home when she is only going on holiday?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 15:40
I read this and just feel so very sad,,,, where oh where is your compassion ladies??? A few quid or dollars to help a young lass ,,,,put yourself in her shoes,,,she sees her family ONCE a year, no surprise she is excited and wants to bring them nice things from Dubai,,,,I'll bet a few of you take a bit extra home at Christmas etc to surprise your loved ones,,,, just saying,,,,,count your lucky stars. She's not a charity case Doodle2, she's a grown women earning a good salary who should be capable of managing her own affairs. Since moving overseas I have seen my family a lot less than once a year and when I do see them I take them gifts that I can afford to buy and transport. I certainly have never over stretched myself then asked my employer for a salary advance.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 15:39
I read this and just feel so very sad,,,, where oh where is your compassion ladies??? A few quid or dollars to help a young lass ,,,,put yourself in her shoes,,,she sees her family ONCE a year, no surprise she is excited and wants to bring them nice things from Dubai,,,,I'll bet a few of you take a bit extra home at Christmas etc to surprise your loved ones,,,, just saying,,,,,count your lucky stars. She's not a charity case Doodle2, she's a grown women earning a good salary who should be capable of managing her own affairs. Since moving overseas I have seen my family a lot less than once a year and when I do see them I take them gifts that I can afford to buy and transport. I certainly have never over stretched myself then asked my employer for a salary advance.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 15:12
VictoriaM, maid taking huge amounts of luggage, salary advances to pay for the luggage & not bothered about how much it is going to cost her, and her cat????!!!!!!! I'd be smelling a huge rat if I were you, of the maid-not-returning variety!! Haven't you already had problems with this maid? Be watchful from now until leave-time.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 14:14
Yes hopefully they may turn a blind eye Gladys, thats encouraging to hear. That's why I'd don't want to buy it online, even though it's cheaper, as it is possible they will waive some or all of it. Wicked angel her visa expires early July so she is coming back to Dubai (if she comes!) about a week before expiry. That doesn't sound like too much of a problem If she doesn't show then, visa wise at least.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 13:25
She might be okay with Emirates because my maid flew with them last year and her suitcase was so heavy that it took the two of us to lift into the car. I told her to prepare to buy another suitcase at the airport because I didn't think Emirates would allow all that weight for one suitcase. anyway she had no problems, so maybe Emirates does give them extra allowance or they turn a blind eye. Which is good of them if they do.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 12:53
That seems to be right Frazzled. I didn't realise though because the allowances on the websites of Sri Lankan air and Emirates are the same, 30kg. Our maid says she is always allowed 40 kg regardless. I presumed she was just lucky but maybe it is actually an unwritten rule. I tried to book her on Sr LAnkan air, as normal, but was unable to this time as we have the added complication of her taking her cat back to Sti Lanka and SL air wouldn't let her take it excess baggage, only cargo, which is much more expensive. That's why she had to fly Emirates this time, and is therefore unprepared for the difference in baggage limits. But normally she does fly SL airlines and does not have this problem, so shouldn't have it in the future either. We don't mind helping her out either - she is a trustworthy hardworking maid. But we have already shelled out quite a lot to get her adopted cat ready to go to SL (about aed2,500 before we've paid the excess baggage for him to go on the plane) which I think is really enough to be honest.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 12:08
The travel agent told me that Sri Lanka airlines has an allowance of 40Kg out and 30Kg back, which is more than it says on their website, presumably because they know that most of the Sri Lankans here in low paid jobs save their money all year to take back as much back as possible to their extended family who depend on them. The Emirates flight was cheaper for us this year but we went for the Air Lanka flight instead so that our maid got the bigger baggage allowance. She lives in a rural area a long way from the airport and it's a lot more inconvenient (and costly) for her to ship stuff back. We're lucky that she's a good maid and we don't mind paying a slightly more expensive fare for her to do this. Our previous maid sent cargo back every year and filled it with rice and basic foodstuffs because they were so much more expensive to buy in Sri Lanka than to buy and send back from here. I have always let my maids have salary advances before they travel because they have always needed them and there's never been any problems with them repaying it from their monthly salary over several months when they came back. If they're on my sponsorship I want them to have enough money to get back here safely after their vacation. Generally speaking lots of maids don't save up money for themselves so they have something to fall back on because they are here living frugally in order to send money home every month to their families. If I've got a good, trustworthy maid who does that, then I don't mind helping her out a bit.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 11:24
Well Buddha I thought Skynet was a great option, but maid doesn't want to do that. She's worried about stuff getting stolen! She's made a half hearted attempt at speaking to them and discounted it immediately. She wants to take the stuff on the plane with her excess baggage. I give up! Sometimes it's not worth wasting your time trying to help people. Whoever said she has little common sense is right - we've had this sort of rubbish quite a few times. I have asked her how she's going to pay for the excess baggage, which of course is when the request for salary advance came!! Starting to wonder if it's such a disaster if she doesn't come back after her vacation...but doesn't it cause problems for visa cancellation and getting a new maid? When will her visa expire? If her visa is new you will have to report her as absconded and then wait 6 month before cancelling her visa then process a visa for new maid. If her visa will expire soon , you also report her but it is not really needed as you can cancel her visa on the day of expiry. Just make sure to keep a copy of her passport. Cancelation is straight forward and on spot. It happened to us last year. Our maid travelled on vacation & didn't come back, she went end of March , she didn't come back in April, her visa expired on 12th May and we cancelled it on the same day & we got our deposit the next day. As long as she doesn't enter the country during this period cancelling her visa is straight forward.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 11:17
I read this and just feel so very sad,,,, where oh where is your compassion ladies??? A few quid or dollars to help a young lass ,,,,put yourself in her shoes,,,she sees her family ONCE a year, no surprise she is excited and wants to bring them nice things from Dubai,,,,I'll bet a few of you take a bit extra home at Christmas etc to surprise your loved ones,,,, just saying,,,,,count your lucky stars. She's not a charity case Doodle2, she's a grown women earning a good salary who should be capable of managing her own affairs. Since moving overseas I have seen my family a lot less than once a year and when I do see them I take them gifts that I can afford to buy and transport. I certainly have never over stretched myself then asked my employer for a salary advance.
904
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 11:17
I read this and just feel so very sad,,,, where oh where is your compassion ladies??? A few quid or dollars to help a young lass ,,,,put yourself in her shoes,,,she sees her family ONCE a year, no surprise she is excited and wants to bring them nice things from Dubai,,,,I'll bet a few of you take a bit extra home at Christmas etc to surprise your loved ones,,,, just saying,,,,,count your lucky stars. When I travel I make sure I don't go beyond the weight limit, I expect our maid to do the same, paying AED 75 for 1 kg does not worth it. When our maid went to the Philippines we didn't have an issue to pay for extra 20 kg but it only cost us around 150-200 for the 20 kgs as an additional package on Cebo airlines but paying per kg is way too much. It is bad planning from the maid's side, it is not the sponsor's responsibility.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 10:32
I read this and just feel so very sad,,,, where oh where is your compassion ladies??? A few quid or dollars to help a young lass ,,,,put yourself in her shoes,,,she sees her family ONCE a year, no surprise she is excited and wants to bring them nice things from Dubai,,,,I'll bet a few of you take a bit extra home at Christmas etc to surprise your loved ones,,,, just saying,,,,,count your lucky stars.
562
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 May 2015 - 10:28
Well Buddha I thought Skynet was a great option, but maid doesn't want to do that. She's worried about stuff getting stolen! She's made a half hearted attempt at speaking to them and discounted it immediately. She wants to take the stuff on the plane with her excess baggage. I give up! Sometimes it's not worth wasting your time trying to help people. Whoever said she has little common sense is right - we've had this sort of rubbish quite a few times. I have asked her how she's going to pay for the excess baggage, which of course is when the request for salary advance came!! Starting to wonder if it's such a disaster if she doesn't come back after her vacation...but doesn't it cause problems for visa cancellation and getting a new maid?
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EW GURU
Latest post on 22 May 2015 - 21:52
Thanks for the tip Buddha. Skynet looks good, cheap and fast, and does go to Sri Lanka. Will get her on to them tomorrow. Have you used them personally?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 22 May 2015 - 20:05
You must be over paying her.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 22 May 2015 - 17:06
Try Skynet....you can courier 80kg to uk for about AED1000 Takes 5 to 7 days and door to door. Not sure if they do Philippines but worth asking
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 22 May 2015 - 10:02
Our cleaner travels with minimum baggage then buys sacks of rice,boxes of soaps, etc in the philippes and distribute that to family. At least that's what she said... But then she also keeps used cloths and stuff that we want to discard, saying her family needs just like that....
 
 

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