| Nur Natasha Aida Ismail & Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani |
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – Finding good house help is hard these days. The high costs usually do not commensurate with the quality of services given.
Hiring foreign maids through agencies is the common practice in Malaysia, but the experience has been mostly negative among employers.
Azrul Rahim was one of those who had never-ending problems with foreign maids.
“There were those who ran away, acted peculiarly and stole, among others. The experience traumatised me.
“Their agencies might have trained them but often failed to vet their backgrounds,” he told Bernama. He was then determined to find a solution that would benefit not only himself but others.
Bringing in foreign workers is a tedious process plagued with bureaucracy and hidden costs.
Many are also uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger in their home at all hours of the day, impinging on their privacy. He then had the idea for a cleaning service that takes care of the common concerns by potential employers.
Today, Azrul is the owner and CEO of MaidEasy Sdn Bhd (MaidEasy), an online company that matches cleaning service providers with those looking to have their house cleaned.
He put to use the 15 years of experience he had in software development to create a platform for enabling the connection between individuals seeking to obtain cleaning services and individuals seeking to provide cleaning services.
MaidEasy has received 14,000 bookings since offering the service for the Klang Valley in January, this year. Cognisant of all the problems surrounding the hiring of maids, Azrul decided to address each concern through a vetting system.
A third party is appointed by MaidEasy to screen the background of maids. They would also be cross-referenced with the police for criminal records.
Approved applicants would then undergo interviews and practical tests before being accepted. They would then be given training, including in communication skills.
To date, MaidEasy has in its database over 300 maids, 80 per cent of whom are locals. The rest are Indonesians, Myanmarese and Sri Lankans from private companies providing maid services, following MaidEasy’s collaboration with the latter.
“Although this profession is usually associated with foreign workers, there has also been an interest among the locals as well, especially after learning of the pay offered. We are offering three to four times more than what is paid elsewhere,” he told Bernama
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