A word of warning on the maid front

As you have probably gathered, I still haven't got a handle on the maid situation, and I'm still forced to clean my own house and iron my own clothes - oh, the suffering I must go through. Boo Hoo. Hoo.

(Warning. I will now attempt to use this medium to rant about the horrors of my experience with a company that truly blows.)

The reason, however, to the halted situation is not me, but the, by now infamous agency: A1 Domestics. After sending a flurry of emails and calling them for a whole week, I still don't have my money back, nor do I have a new maid. 

The first one, as you may recall, did not speak any (or at least enough) English, and I had to let her go. The second one, who was extremely distraught to hear that we didn't have any children and Thor forbid she would actually have to clean instead of being a nanny, quit. Still, this is not a rant about them. This is a rant about an extremely unprofessional company and all that is heinous about it. 

First of all, this the dubious tactic they used to ensnare me:

Someone had told me about a company someone they knew had used and liked. This person thought the name of the company was something like 'Maid in Heaven'. Being the internet addict that I am, I promptly googled this. The first site that showed up links back to A1 Domestics site. There was also information on a company called Maid - in - Heaven, but they didn't have a website, leaving me feeling a little iffy (gut feeling gone wrong). In the end I decided to email both companies. A1 Domestics called me back right away. Of course (eye roll), they wanted to rid me of my money. On the phone too, they sounded very professional, asked me about my requirements - my only ones were that the person had prior experience and that she spoke fluent English - and the woman assured me that all of her "ladies have prior professional experience and references." Well, I guess that wasn't true either since neither of the maids had any sort of references, when I inquired about them, and the second one had only a copy of 'her' ID book, and couldn't produce the original for me. For this reason, I'm glad she quit, since I would like to abide by the law, and not hire anyone who is in the country illegally.

Since becoming more than disillusioned with A1 Domestics and their bad business practices, I have done some more research on the internet. I heard about another agency, called Marvellous Maids, that is supposedly a little more expensive, but very good. Again, I googled, and guess what pops up? A header 'Marvelous Maids' links back to A1 Domestics. Bad business practices - need I say more?

So, to summarize, no one that I know has said anything positive about A1 Domestics, and this company is simply leaching on the good service of the other two companies. There might actually be steam coming out of my ears as I write this, since my blood is for sure boiling. It is now evident to me, that my money is gone, and even if they ever do get back to me, apart from giving my money back for services not rendered, I would hate to get another maid through them. Who knows what kind of a person would show up at my doorstep, perhaps someone who only speaks Portuguese, thinks she is here to take care of my ailing mother, and to feed my bunnies. Would not surprise me in the least.

The battle for clean floors wages on. Oh Thor, give me strength.

Cocoon life

As I've previously mentioned nothing bad has happened to us here in South Africa. That is, apart from being ripped off by a devious hotel (do not stay at the Protea Waterfront in Centurion, I tell you) where they make you pay for a suite, but put you in an ordinary room and then as a goodwill gesture, because the internet is not working, 'upgrade' you to a better room (this also taught the hubby to read all documents properly...). Some of the staff was nice though, but truly gave us oodles of insight into the various meanings of the phrase we have already come somewhat too used to: 'I'll call you right back madam/sir'. Kind of like the meanings of 'ahorita' (in a little while, meaning anything from 2 seconds to in a couple of years) in Mexico. 

Anyhow, nothing bad has happened was and is  the starting point of my post (I just enjoy random rants). We are hitting the half year mark in a short time, our stuff still isn't here (another day, another rant), but we have been very fortunate and really have never come closer to violence or any such thing than hearing about it from our friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. There was that police operation gone awry near where our friends run  their business, and some people got killed (we think the bad guys), another friends' house has now been burgled quite a few times in the past year, my husband's colleague's sister in law was shot and killed in a carjacking turned nasty, and literally every single person we have met so far has at some point had some sort of unwanted visitor in their house, had their cellphone stolen at gunpoint, or endured an attempt at some sort of check fraud. Unfortunate but true. 

We have listened to all of the stories and the warnings (even Lonely Planet says to talk to the locals about security) and really tried to take from them what we can, so that we could avoid something similar happening to us: we live in a secure neighborhood, lock the car doors while driving, do the infamous 360º at every stop light, keep walking outside to a minimum, don't blindly follow the GPS, and definitely don't flaunt what we have. I mean, I drive a tiny Daihatsu, and regularly look like a hobo. So far, we are good, but we are also beginning to feel like our caution might just be getting the better of us. I wonder if this caution isn't keeping us from properly experiencing South Africa? Are we living the kind of cocoon life, I used to make fun of in Mexico? 

I have been to Soweto, which was truly an awesome experience (also because I was there with someone who actually lives there), and that is more than a lot of the locals round our way can say. I have been to downtown Jo'burg - granted because of the GPS (which seems to be on crack sometimes) and completely by accident - which again is not something people from the security estates normally include in their day. I really hope the inner city facelift succeeds, since it is the kind of environment I would frequent, if it was safer. But, I still can't help feeling I'm missing out on some of the sides of the rainbow nation. 

We have a great bunch of friends, who love showing us the good sides of South Africa and telling us about the not so good, but I am also realizing that this group we love seems awfully pale. I can't help but wonder how our experience would change if we actually made some friends with other kinds of backgrounds. 

Argh, to hell with being politically correct. I think we should make some black friends.

Anyone?

Staying safe in SA

The son of my friend is apparently such an awesome athlete that my scarcely populated nation has decided to send this 17 year old promise all the way to South Africa to train along with a team of other promises and a coach. I come in the picture in the receiving end of a rather anxious e-mail. My friend has asked for my assistance.

It seems that the news of the current safety situation in South Africa are yet to reach the media in my country, or they just haven't really sunk in with the general public, i.e. the coach, who is looking to rent a house for the team through the internet with little regard to where the house is, or how the house is. The seeming unawareness of the dangers here might, yet again, be the unfortunate case of 'there is so much evil and bad stuff happening in Africa that it flows off my back without ever registering into my consciousness'. Unfortunately, many of us Europeans are often attacked by this syndrome. I seem to suffer from it off and on when it comes to parts of Africa, other than my immediate surroundings. How easy it is to close our eyes, and stay behind these, often electric walls of ours. 

Don't get me wrong, I love this country, I love living here, I adore the people, I adore the customs, and love being privy to the mix of the different cultures unlike anywhere else in the world. But, unfortunately SA, and especially the area of Gauteng, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located, is amongst the most dangerous areas in the world currently not at war. According to Nation Master, per capita SA has the most assaults, rapes and murders with firearms.  Heartbreaking, especially since many of the victims are children. It seems that when it comes to rape, the myth is that engaging in intercourse with a virgin will cure AIDS. Sometimes the world just kicks you in the gut, making it almost impossible to breathe. 

Why am I writing this most negative of posts? Because my friend informed me that the coach of the team was looking to rent a house with the requirements being limited to the number of bedrooms, and a location near the needed sports facilities, so they wouldn't need transportation. As you might have guessed, walking around in my hood might not always be a smart idea. My friend had gotten scared for her son's safety and wanted the local scoop on the different areas. Granted, I'm no local, but I tried my best. 

I quizzed my friends regarding different neighborhoods around here, and proceeded to write one of the most difficult mails ever. I love this country, but understand its shortcomings as well (or at least try to), and as much as possible attempt to see the humor in them. Still, there are aspects of this country where humor is simply out of the question, and only horror prevails. I cannot imagine how it must be sending your child (and he is still one at 17) far from home to a foreign country. Not to mention a foreign country, such as South Africa with its often very frightening reputation, and trusting your child with someone who perhaps has not clearly understood the precautions required by that same reputation.

I'm sure the team will have a great time here, achieve a lot, and most likely their stay will be entirely problem free, as our life here so far has been. Still, as many of my friends often remind me: "It never hurts to be a little paranoid."