About seven years ago a neighbor introduced her to me; in hindsight, maybe they did it out of spite. My first ayi in Beijing was in her 40’s, I think. We actually never had a conversation about her age. She was the worst ayi I’ve ever had. I only used her a few times before having to have that awkward conversation of letting her go.
Now I’m pretty low-maintenance, especially when it comes to settling on how many hours ayi worked and her availability, but she was a whole different story. Maybe she sensed that I was new to Beijing and was still a bit timid about giving instructions. She pounced on my language insecurity like a hungry lioness.
Her rate was reasonable but she’d take her sweet time with every task, all while taking constant breaks to chit chat on the phone. Annoying, but OK. I get it. It’s not the first time I’ve seen an hourly worker procrastinate, milking every minute of their work. But to make things worse I got the sense that she was gossiping to her friend about me in her local dialect that I couldn’t understand while she’s still in my apartment. You know that feeling, where even though you can’t understand what they’re saying you know they’re talking about you because they look at you and the make these snarky facial expressions.
OK Mina, be the bigger person and just let it go…
My final straw came after a particularly tiring day at work, and ayi was cleaning/gossiping and left without saying good-bye. After she left I found out that she had completely forgotten to do the bathroom (but somehow still spent the same amount of time cleaning as every other time she’s been at my place). That’s when I decided that enough was enough. I needed a new ayi. My plan was simple, just never call her to make an appointment again.
She had other plans.
A week goes by and I get a call from her, in her heavy accent that I can’t really understand she asks me if she can come over to clean. I tell her no and make up some excuse about not being home. A few days later she calls again; this time accusing me of wasting her time because I haven’t made an appointment with her in weeks. Um, excuse me? We didn’t have a set schedule and I’m not obligated to use her!
When I met my husband who’s a local Beijinger and told him about her, he laughed. “You were being overcharged and taken advantage of.”
How much should you be paying your ayi? Where can you go to find a good ayi?
Take the annual ayi survey, and when we publish the results, you’ll never have to go through the hellish experience with a nightmare ayi that I did.
Introduction to the Survey
Now in its seventh year, the Beijing Ayi Survey was started by an expat called Tobal Loyola; he now works at True Run Media, beijingkids’ parent company. After asking around about ayi salaries and getting a variety of responses, he realized the need for a community resource to provide a basis for comparison.
We’re once again conducting the ayi survey to collect some much-needed information on an essential part of your life in Beijing. To take the survey, click here or scan the QR code below.
Photos: unsplash
