smithsgj Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:06 AM Report Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:06 AM This thread was split from this topic about how to ask someone to be your cleaner wtf a bloody *cleaning service ad* has just popped up next to this! In Kulong's neck of the woods as well -- shame he's not the one looking! OP I think you need a native speaker to ask for you (does she work as a cleaner anyway, or is she just some random woman?) Quote
roddy Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:12 AM Report Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:12 AM Harry, are you sure she's actually looking for a cleaning job? Asking this of the prinicpal's wife may not be such a good idea? wtf a bloody *cleaning service ad* has just popped up next to this That's the power of modern techology. They're sitting down at the bottom for now until I figure out how well they work, then they'll move up to the top for guests. Registered users will be able to either keep them at the bottom, or maybe turn them off altogether. Roddy Quote
Tsunku Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:37 AM Report Posted October 16, 2003 at 06:37 AM ya, I was thinking the same thing. Make sure she's actually a cleaning lady! It would be a lot easier to get a native speaker to do the asking for you anyhow, as you'll probably want to do some bargaining and negotiating and it could get over your head easily. As much as I tried to practice my Chinese while living in China, I'd always get a native speaker to help me with important things, especially if it involved either vocabulary I wasn't certain about, or large amounts of money. This situation would qualify in my book. Quote
roddy Posted October 16, 2003 at 02:02 PM Report Posted October 16, 2003 at 02:02 PM A friend of mine hired a cleaner through an agency once, cost him 5Y an hour, but he didn't know how much of that she actually got. He wished he hadn't after a while though, he felt guilty as he sat with his feet up watching DVDs and she crawled around scrubbing the floor. He tried to buy her a mop, but she refused as mops don't clean well enough, apparently. Roddy Quote
smithsgj Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:10 AM Author Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:10 AM Does anyone know where to get hold of a decent mop in Taipei? Here it's all these crap floozie woozie pink things that have to be soaked for half an hour before you can use them, and you can't use hot water cos the glue comes off and the pink thing quickly follows. They're rubbish, honestly. And a MOP BUCKET? Does such a thing exist? Do I really have to fill the bath every time? Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:34 AM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:34 AM Does anyone know where to get hold of a decent mop in Taipei? Here it's all these crap floozie woozie pink things that have to be soaked for half an hour before you can use them' date=' and you can't use hot water cos the glue comes off and the pink thing quickly follows. They're rubbish, honestly.And a MOP BUCKET? Does such a thing exist? Do I really have to fill the bath every time?[/quote'] 聽過“超級市場”嗎？ Quote
smithsgj Posted October 17, 2003 at 02:51 AM Author Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 02:51 AM Kulong they don't have them! Or proper brooms. Not like the ones back home. Quote
Tsunku Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:22 AM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:22 AM Yeah the brooms in China are crap. Mine was about half the size it should be, forcing me to hunch over or get on my hands and knees to use it. Didn't have a mop bucket either, it was always the tub or the sink ... Do you have a wal-mart where you're at? We were able to find some proper cleaning supplies there eventually. Quote
Guest Harry_Mudd Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:34 AM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:34 AM OK, thanks all, I will pay attention. I'll try the conversation bit. Firstly, just to clarify, the girls I have in mind have nothing to do with my university. They wait in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant or two up the road from me, and look like they need extra money. Roddy, ain't no way on Buddha's green earth that i am paying 5,000. get your tongue out of your cheek, man. On my first contract here, I inherited a maid. she came twice a week and charged Y300 per month. Did a damn fine job, too. Other colleagues have paid Y150 per month and gotten a lazy bitch. So I will pay over the odds for a good cleaner/maid. Tahnbaks again. Quote
Guest Harry_Mudd Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:37 AM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 06:37 AM Oh, Roddy, the principles wife here? she's gorgeous but makes gravel look intelligent. Quote
smithsgj Posted October 17, 2003 at 07:01 AM Author Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 07:01 AM Wot there's a walmart in kunming? We've got RMT, Tesco, Costco, Carrefour, in Taipei - and even a place called Wank-along which apparently is American. But no proper mops and no proper brooms. I suppose we'll just have to get ourselves a Filipina or Indonesian servant (every Taipei household has one these days -- it costs sod all and I bet most of that goes to the agency). Out of interest, OP, why can't you clean your own flat? Is it very large, or do you have a very big family? Quote
Tsunku Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:41 PM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 01:41 PM Ya we have one, it's fairly new, just completed within the last year. I never appreciated Wal Marts at all until I came to China. It's surprisingly similar to Wal Marts in the US, and so convenient for buying household items. Wank-along takes the prize though, what a name! Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:10 PM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:10 PM Kulong they don't have them! Or proper brooms. Not like the ones back home. Strange. When I was growing up in Taiwan, we had a Filipina maid and I distinctly remember seeing her mop the floor with a big orange bucket and a regular mop. I even remember going to the 超級市場 to buy them with her. I suppose after I left Taipei 13 years ago, the mayor placed a ban on mops and buckets. Quote
roddy Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:16 PM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:16 PM I suppose after I left Taipei 13 years ago, the mayor placed a ban on mops and buckets This is possible, but seems unlikely. I can think of two explanations though. 1) You were an extremely messy child, thus causing the import of thousands of high-quality mops. When you left, this stopped, leading to the current mop shortage. 2) Although you claim to have seen a 'regular' mop, bear in mind that at this time you were 10 years old, and therefore a lot shorter. Perhaps what appeared to you to be a full-sized mop was in fact only a short-handled inferior mop. Roddy Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:42 PM Report Posted October 17, 2003 at 04:42 PM I suppose after I left Taipei 13 years ago, the mayor placed a ban on mops and buckets This is possible, but seems unlikely. I can think of two explanations though. 1) You were an extremely messy child, thus causing the import of thousands of high-quality mops. When you left, this stopped, leading to the current mop shortage. 哈哈哈！ Quote
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