Ugly people need not apply

There has been some discussion lately about the coming of clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch to Orchard Road. Most of the talk has centered not on the merits of having their clothes available, nor on their giant billboard of a nearly naked young man clearly in need of clothes (A&F or any others), but on their practice of hiring only very attractive young people to work as salespeople. There always follows a deafening silence – the sound of no one mentioning SIA’s long standing practice of hiring (and retaining) only very attractive young stewardesses.

I might be more likely to buy clothing from an attractive person than an ugly one, but I would definitely be more likely to buy from a knowledgeable and helpful person who took an interest in me than from a clueless person, no matter how good looking. And being served by a gorgeous stewardess does not make the food taste any better.

Today’s “Home” section in the Straits Times had an above the fold story of A&F’s no ugly people policy, as well as mention of a few small local companies that also seemed to have only good looking counter help. Again, no mention of our sacred cow airline. But below the fold was a half page ad featuring a beautiful Singapore Girl hovering over a passenger. Talk about irony!

This family is begging for trouble

In the wake of some recent lip service about whether to mandate time off for maids comes a report about a Swiss family who give their maid not just one day off a month but every Sunday off. Not only that, they give her public holidays off. They also gave her a camera for Christmas and pay her fees for a photography class.

What’s the matter with these people? They’re spoiling the market for everyone else. Pretty soon other maids will want to have time off and be treated like human beings. Where will it all end?

Not to worry, these people will get what’s coming to them. It’s just a matter of time before she turns her employers’ home into a brothel, invites over boyfriends who steal from the home, gets pregnant, and maybe makes a few bucks from selling some pictures. God knows what else she might do. She’s been working here for fourteen years and so far she hasn't been caught doing anything illegal, but that’s probably just luck. Those naïve Swiss are going to learn the hard way that you just can’t trust a maid!