In Singapore, every morning you will see packed buses and packed commuter trains. You may wonder who else is left at home given such busy lives. It is the Singapore maid, a domestic helper that many Singapore families employ to help with household chores. It is almost a basic necessity of life here.

Singapore maid are also known by other expressions - amah, domestic helper, nanny or foreign domestic worker. Their countries of origin include Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. As at the point of writing, there are about 155,000 maids living and working in Singapore.

So how do you choose the right Singapore maid for your family through the various Singapore maid agencies? It is imperative to start off with shortlisting the maid agencies whom you feel can meet your needs. Do note that under the Singapore Ministry of Manpower regulations, the domestic helper is to work and live in your home.

Here are some points to watch for when shortlisting these maid agencies in Singapore:

A. Ask to see the documents of the Singapore maid agency showing that they are accredited by the Consumers Association of Singapore or the Association of Employment Agencies. In addition, ensure that the Singapore Ministry of Manpower has duly licensed them to operate.

B. Having done point A, here are the things to do to ensure that they are reputable:

- ask to see written testimonials from their customers. You see, if you are not satisfied with the service of the agency, you will not say good things about them, let alone giving them a written testimonial. To be doubly sure, ask to see the originals or scans of the original letters. After all, anyone can just type anything good about themselves;

- check with your friends and colleagues, and see which Singapore maid agency they recommend; and

- if your friends have maids, go talk to them to see which maid agency they recommend. If they like a particular maid agency, it usually means that the maid agency is kind and fair to them. If the maid agency is popular amongst the maids, you can be pretty sure that you will have a good choice of maids to choose from if you engage the maid agencys service.

C. So, the Singapore maid agency has been chosen. Now, give their staff a call and ask them some questions. See if they fit your bill of being friendly and able to answer your questions.

Finally, if you have followed the steps above, you should have found a matching Singapore maid agency for your needs. They should be able to find a well-matched maid for your family.