Getting an Ayi (maid) is Easy!

You can get good help these days.

Newbies, you will quickly realize that most anyone with a little expendable income indulges in the accessibility of maid services in China. It’s really nice not having to do your dishes or coming home from a hard day at work to a clean apartment. Depending on responsibilities, a maid or AYI (loosely translated as “auntie”) will cost about 20 RMB an hour for regular cleaning work. Some families hire ayis on a full-time basis for cooking and help with raising children. It’s also a great way for your little ones to be exposed to Mandarin. There are essentially two ways to get an ayi: independently through reference OR via agency.

If you need further consulting, check out our forums or visit an agency.

Independently

My two roommates and I got our Ayi via reference from friends. She costs 100RMB a week and comes twice a week for about 3 hours each time. Before we settled on this Ayi, we went through two others that either charged too much or didn’t do a very good job. Since its all “under the table”, there is no pre-screening, so you may encounter a few disappointments before finding the right Ayi. Also, I have never met an Ayi that can speak more than 10 words of English, so if you can’t speak Mandarin, get a friend to help you, go through an agency, or get really good at using hand signals.

Another option is to search the ShanghaiExpat forums. A search for “Ayi” in our forums will yield a few references and resources.

Agency

Arriving in China, you will be very busy and may want to use the services of an agency to help you find and hire an ayi. They will help you through the application process, select a suitable ayi according to your requirements, ideally train the ayi and help solve conflicts or misunderstandings.

Look for established agencies with at least three years of business experience. The staff number should not be below 2 with the staff speaking the languages of the maids they hire. Offices need to be well set up and organized and inquiries need to be promptly dealt with in a friendly and efficient manner. I know of four: Fuxin Family, CCShanghai, Sarah Home Service, and AyiPro.

The agency should:

• Discuss and advise on your requirements before the selection process starts.
• Offer ayi personally selected overseas.
• Provide on-location (and not only overseas) training to the ayi.
• Offer consulting to you after the ayi is hired.
• Be interested in the welfare of the ayi and provide counseling to her.
• Offer sufficient information about the ayi.
• Professionally draw up a service agreement.
• Provide a guaranteed time of replacement of the ayi in case you don't get along well with her.

Assessing Your Needs

It all boils down to the usual question: what are your requirements? These arrangements are the ideal solution according to the experience of many expatriates. According to your budget and personal preferences, your arrangements will vary.

Singles/Partners who work full time:

• Have a part-time ayi (cooking optional)
• Have laundry picked up and delivered OR do them yourself

Partners, one not working:

• Get a part-time ayi for cleaning
• Cook for yourself
• Have laundry picked up and delivered OR do them yourself

Family with baby, partner not working:

• Get one full-time, stay-in ayi who cleans and cooks and babysits
• Take care of the baby primarily by yourself

Family with small children, Partner not working:

• Get at least one full-time stay-in ayi who cleans and cooks and babysits
• Take care of the kids primarily by yourself

Family with small children, Both partners working:

• Get a full-time ayi for cleaning and cooking
• Get a nanny who takes care of the kids and does laundry

Interview and Test

Your future Ayi may not speak English at all. Some will be better at understanding your questions, but may be not able to answer in English. If you get Ayi from agency, an agent should be able to help you .

Prepare your questions in advance after setting priorities.
Examples:

• A cook is on top of your requirements: you should not interview a ayi who has never cooked Western dishes before.
• You are pregnant or need a ayi to take care of a newborn baby: it is best to look for a trained nurse.
• You mainly need a dog sitter: you cannot employ an ayi who is scared of dogs!
• Drivers need to be asked for their driving licenses, cooks should be tested out in the kitchen and at the dinner table and there is nothing wrong with asking an ayi to show you how she irons a shirt.
• You have to rely on your own intuition when it comes to hiring, but if it does not work out you can always dismiss them.