I am worth my $3,500 fee

I am worth my $3,500 fee

SINGAPORE - In 10 years, Madam Doris Tay's fee has almost doubled, from $1,800 to about $3,500 now.

Her charges are $1,000 more than the market average. But Madam Tay, 66, says her track record and experience prove she is worth the money.

Over the years, she has cared for many babies and counselled suicidal mothers suffering from post-natal depression.

"I do not see being a confinement nanny as a job. I see myself as a mother and grandmother and I do not mind doing more," said Madam Tay, who has three children in their 30s, and a baby grandson.

She has just returned from the United States, where she spent two months tending to her daughter-in-law's confinement.

Madam Tay learnt the job through a week-long course at Thomson Medical Centre in 2002. Before that, she was a housewife, and also worked for six years at French hypermarket Carrefour altering clothes for customers.

Madam Tay says she has had many difficult customers over the years, including those who did not pay her full salary. But appreciative mothers make her job worthwhile.

Many of her customers keep in contact with her years after she worked for them.

"They send me cards and photos of their children. When I am overseas, I buy presents for the children. I feel happy that my customers are now my friends," she said.


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