Paying the bills
One of the tasks many expats (or upper-middle class Chinese) task their ayi/housemaid with is the duty of assuring the utility bills are paid. For some, this can be an all-day affair, traveling to each billing office or separate banks, standing in line, and paying cash for the utility. For most people, there are no online payments, no way to send a check, or any other method of payment most Americans might use. Many people send their helper to perform this for them.
We have been lucky with this process. The bills associated with our last apartment were taken care of by Randy's company's HR department directly. One of their people did all the standing in line for us. For the new apartment, we are charged with taking care of it ourselves. Fortunately, we can use a more "convenient" method that is growing in popularity here. All of the bills (TV, electric, building management, etc) are withdrawn from one specific bank account. The only thing I have to do is show up at the bank, deposit cash, and just make sure that there is enough money in the bank to cover these things.
The drawbacks are that no one, not even the landlord, can tell me when the bills hit that account, nor how much I can expect them to be, except the building management fee which is a set rate. The other day I went to the bank to put some money in. We don't get an ATM card, but rather a passbook. As I passed other banks on my way to this one, I saw the long lines of people withdrawing money before leaving for the long holiday. Already I was wishing I had done this earlier in the week. However, when I got to the bank I wanted, the lines were not long at all. My total wait was 10 minutes. I gave the teller the pass book and some cash, and I was on my way.
I hope it is this easy the next time.
We have been lucky with this process. The bills associated with our last apartment were taken care of by Randy's company's HR department directly. One of their people did all the standing in line for us. For the new apartment, we are charged with taking care of it ourselves. Fortunately, we can use a more "convenient" method that is growing in popularity here. All of the bills (TV, electric, building management, etc) are withdrawn from one specific bank account. The only thing I have to do is show up at the bank, deposit cash, and just make sure that there is enough money in the bank to cover these things.
The drawbacks are that no one, not even the landlord, can tell me when the bills hit that account, nor how much I can expect them to be, except the building management fee which is a set rate. The other day I went to the bank to put some money in. We don't get an ATM card, but rather a passbook. As I passed other banks on my way to this one, I saw the long lines of people withdrawing money before leaving for the long holiday. Already I was wishing I had done this earlier in the week. However, when I got to the bank I wanted, the lines were not long at all. My total wait was 10 minutes. I gave the teller the pass book and some cash, and I was on my way.
I hope it is this easy the next time.
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