Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Banking Crisis & Pure Kindness



Every time I feel like I am not adapting to this country and I am on the verge of giving up the locals kills me with kindness.

Backstory:

Tuesday, October 6

A month or so had passed and I still had not received my debit card. I went to my bank at approximately 9:00am. I tried to explain my conundrum to the bank clerk with broken Japanese and my iphone translator.  The clerk had no idea what I was talking about.

It's 9:00am, I need my bank card so I'm trying to work out a way to tackle this problem. I have only 1 true friend in the area that speaks Japanese a fellow teacher. The problem is I know she sleeps in and, moreover, I didn't want to constantly call her with my problems. Then I remembered that my company has a branch called Native Tanto. This department hosts bi-lingual staff members who are here to help assist us with day to day problems.

I dial Native Tanto but I get no answer. So, I call another department Schedule Control to find out what time Native Tanto will arrive. I find out Native Tanto does not open until 9:30am. The operator asked if I needed help. I give her a quick explanation. She then offers to take my number and have a Japanese staff member call me back to help with translation.  So a take a seat in the bank and wait.

Twenty-five minutes later. Schedule Control calls me back. I explain my problem to the bilingual speaker and then I hand my phone to the clerk, explaining I have a Japanese speaker on the line.  So the bi-lingual speaker acts as the middle man as the clerk and I speak to her back and forth via the phone.

Ten minutes later, I find out that the debit card was mailed to me but got returned because I was not home to sign for it. Now, I had to fill out a new form in Kanji (yikes!) and sign it with my inkan. (An inkan is a stamp that I had made that acts as my signature). In Japan an inkan is required on official documents, to open bank accounts, etc.

I thank both the clerk and the bi-lingual speaker. I run home-luckily I live about 5 minutes away. When I arrive home I grab my inkan from the safe, passport, Alien Registration Card, and my personal information that is translated into Japanese.

I walk back to the bank and struggle to fill out the form. This is  the first time I have attempted to write Kanji. Some minutes later I fill out the for and take seat. My wait time is about 5 minutes.  When approach the counter, the clerk reviews the paper work, tells me everything is ok, I breathe a sigh of relief and go home.

I'm so happy that I took the initiative to follow up about my debit card. And I was grateful, that the people in my company were willing to help me with my personal problems.


Friday

http://www.lloydstsb.co.jp/

Several days later, I  received the details for my Go Lloyds account.( Go Llyods is a service that allows you to transfer money from a Japanese account to foreign accounts. )  I subscribed to this service in order to pay my US bills, student loans, etc.

Here's the problem. I had yet to receive my debit card. I had my passbook, which although quite high tech is limiting.  However, the letter I received from Lloyds stated that I could make transfers from any Japanese bank. I could make the transfer myself from the ATM or I could have a bank clerk assist me as long as I handed them the  letter that was in the welcome pack. One side of the letter is in English and on the other side is Japanese.  The letter was very comprehensive it had all the information I needed to complete the transfer.

1:30pm Friday, October 9
So I head to my bank with my passbook and Lloyds letter in hand. I figured it was easier for me to just complete the transfer myself. I put my passbook in the machine to start the transaction. However, the machine keeps spitting out my passbook. This is a first because I have never had problems with the passbook.  So, I try a different machine but the new machine still does not accept my passbook. Now, I'm worried.

I go inside the bank and try to explain that my passbook isn't working. The clerk does not completely  understand what I am trying to say. I think she picked up on two words : ATM & PASSBOOK. So she just follows me to the ATM machine.  I put in my passbook to show her the problem. She now gets it. She tries to do it herself but to no avail.

So, we both head back into the bank. She explains the problem to her colleage. (Her colleague is the same woman that helped me on Tuesday). They motion for me to hand them my passbook and to have a seat. Apparently, there is a problem with the chip.  So they do some fancy things on their internal computer. They replace the chip on my passbook and tell me "Diajobu" which basically means its ok.

I go to the ATM and test it out. It works! YAY. Next, I needed to do the transfer. I'm reading the information in the welcome pack and I'm looking at the machine but the info is not matching up. Then I notice in there is an exception in fine print: Transfers can be made at any Japanese ATM EXCEPT for Post Office bank accounts. Which surprise, surprise,  is the type of account I have.

Across the street from my bank is another local bank's ATM. I go to the ATM but I can't read anything. It's all in Japanese-naturally. The reason I have a post office account in the first place is because the Post Office ATMs are one of the handful of Japanese ATMS that are bilingual.  So I just start pressing random buttons. Finally on the screen it signals that I can put in my passbook. I put in my passbook but it gets rejected probably because it's not my bank.

So, I ponder again...Then I remember that the letter says that I can make transfers from any bank. I'm too embarrassed to go to back to my bank. So I go to a bank that is about 10 minutes away by foot.

2:00pm

I arrive at the bank. It's empty. Great-no line. I hand the clerk my letter and he says OK. The clerk at this bank speaks a bit of English. He starts the transaction, but a few minutes later, he walks and explains something to me  in Japanese and broken English. I must have looked like a deer in headlights because the clerk then tries to use  his Japanese to English dictionary. I still don't understand so I told him I will try to get a Japanese speaker on the the phone.

I call Native Tanto to get help. I explain my problem to the representative. But he tells me that based on his experience with Lloyds I won't be able to complete the transfer without a debit card. I told him that the letter stated it is possible for me to complete the transfer at any bank even without the debit card. He tells me that's unlikely. I feel like I'm getting nowhere so I thank him for his time.

I'm pretty resilient so I don't want to give up. I have very few choices. So,  I call up my friend. I ask her if this is a good time to talk. She says yes, I give her a quick summary and ask her if she could translate for me. She says YES. (Thank goodness-bless her). So my friend tells me that the bank doesn't feel comfortable completing the transfer without my debit card. Without the debit card the bank won't be able to track the transfer. Cash does not provide a paper trail. The bank advises that I go to my bank to  complete the transfer.

The last place I want to go back to is my bank. At this point, I'm frustrated so I give up.  I thank the staff and walk out of the bank. I plug my earphones in to listen to some calming music

2:25pm

I'm jamming to my music but I hear someone shouting  behind me. I turn around it is a one of the bank clerks. She explains to me in PERFECT English that I should go my bank and try. My bank is 10 minutes up the road. I explain to her I'm not sure if I have time because I have a train to catch at 3:00pm. She tells me I should try because if I do the transaction before 3:00pm I can have the money posted to my US account today-due to time difference.
(Side Note: I actually really need to make this transfer because I have due dates approaching. So you can see why I'm stressed).

I tell the clerk that maybe I'll just try on Monday. She explains to me that Monday is a National Holiday, which I wasn't aware of because I'm actually scheduled to teach on Monday.

I told the clerk that nobody at my bank speaks English and it is difficult for me to explain what I need done. She then offers to write me a note that I can take to my bank. (Bless her!) So we head bank into the branch. She writes me  a note. I thank her. She walks me to the door and points me in the right direction of my bank

I look at my watch it's 2:30. I have to get to my bank and I still need to go home because I left my lunch at home. I packed a lunch cause I'm on a tight, tight budget. So, I do what any desperate person would do I take off running in the direction of my bank

2:35ish

I arrive at my bank out of breath. I grab a number. I wait anxiously for my number to be called. I hand the same clerk I  have been dealing with all week the translated letter from Lloyds and the note from the other bank. She understands, we walk together to the ATM. She inputs the info. She asks me to check everything. I do a quick scan and say OK. It's 2:42. She hits a button and accidentally wipes out all the info. And has to start all over again.

At this point you know I'm about to have a heart attack. But I can't give up, I've come too far. It's 2:45 everything is completed. Yay! I walk out the bank as calmly as I can and sprint home.  I get to my apartment at 2:48, which is a record, grab my lunch box. And rush out the door. My train leaves at 3:07 and is a 10 minute walk way.

I have to stress that I cannot be late for work. I'm on probation until the end of the month. If I'm late I can be fired. So I HAVE to make the train. Lateness doesn't fly in Japan.  So, I put on Beyonce's Get Me Bodied-it always got me going on the treadmill and run as if I'm on fire. I make it to the train platform at 3:05. I sit on the train, sweaty out of breath, and say a silent prayer to God.

I completed my money transfer and I'll make it to work on time. Thank God for the kind locals and my friend. Without their help I would be lost.  So, this is an example of how kind and customer service oriented the Japanese are. Every time I feel like I want to give up Japan wins me over.

Next Posts: My hospital trip, The Japanese's Love Affair with All Things French & Roppongi

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Struggles




I am facing a few struggles this week.


  • I have no idea how and where to pay for my electricity bill.
  • I do not fully understand the garbage system.
  • I am terrified of the spiders here.
Firstly, I cannot read any of the info on my electricity bill. I am still waiting for my debit card, so paying online is not an option.  The garbage system here is very intricate. And if you do not adhere to the high standards there are fines.  It's a bit frustrating that I have to put so much thought into my garbage disposal. I have to separate my garbage into burnable and unburnable garbage. I also have to pay for special bags. In Japan you cannot toss your garbage in any plastic bag that's lying around. You have buy special bags that are marked burnable and unburnable.


Next, the spiders here are HUGE and fast. The other night I spent 1 hour trying to kill a superfast spider. Just now I went to check my mail box and there is a huge spider in the  hallway. When I started running, the spider started running and it kept up with me. So now, I'm quarantined. I want to go to the post office but I'm too scared.  --Before you judge: I live alone and I'm deathly afraid of spiders :(. Aww sad day.