Job Discussion Forums

[7969]

i've been able to make phone calls throughout china on the phone in my apartment (tho not to mobile phones), yet i'm not sure if, when, or where i'm supposed to pay for these calls. my contract stipulates that i receive RMB50 per month for phone calls, but i've been able to use my phone here to call anywhere in the country for three months now and up to this point, the school has never asked me for any money.

should i start banking for that massive phone bill at contract's end?

[Roger]

Who knows - your 50 kuai bonus per month might be part of your airfare bonus you get at the end of your stint? If so, they are sitting on the longer side of the beam.

In other schools, you have to pay on your own and get a monthly telephone stipend. It really is variable. My employer stipulated something similar in my contract, and at my stint's end I got all my bonuses, and no deduction was made for long-distance phone calls.

Some private employers won't pay for a fixed-line in your home and expect you to get a cellphone; some refund you for it, some won't. Go with the flow, enjoy what privilege you temporarily have, and don't be surprised if they suddenly collect dues.

[kev7161]

Why not just ask your school for clarification? My last contract had free phone line and free 30rmb usage per month. They gave this to me in the form of a phone card. This year I still have the free line, but have to buy my own phone card. They giveth and taketh away.

[7969]

i would ask my school for clarification, but the only guy who can usually clarify anything for me is now gone for three months. most of the people i work with seem either incapable of, or unwilling to answer a question directly. thanks for the replies nonetheless.....

[tofuman]

The school I'm at asked me to put up a 5,000 (!) renminbi advance for long distance service. I refused and instead got a phone that I can use calling cards on. I pay 90 kwai for two 100 kwai cards that each give about 38 minutes of call time to the USA.

I would definitely get clarification on that matter. You may be in for quite a shock!

[randyj]

You can bet that sometime someone will present to you a charge for the long distance. Picture the bill even now filtering down through the bureaucracy. Some schools block long distance, as did mine. Can you purchase prepaid phone cards as an alternative?

[Talkdoc]

[tofuman]

Thanks Doc. I used to pay more than that.

The way I figure it, what "local friends" help me save, they will try to extract from me later. I generally try to take care of these things myself, but without some understanding of values, it's difficult to get a good deal.

I know this is a terrible attitude, but time and time again, when I "trust" someone, they burn me. My colleagues that were so friendly were reporting the substance of our conversations back to the FAO who would then drop little tidbits to let me know that he is aware of what I do and say.

One of the few "friends" I have here is such because when I first arrived, I gave her hours of free English lessons to prepare for an exam. She gave me a dagger as a gift and said I might need it sometime. When she saw the puzzled look on my face she said ,"You know, for cooking or something." Sadly, I understand her meaning now.

Anyway, I'll try my local guy and see if he'll lower the price of the cards.

Thanks again

[smalldog]

Phone bills can take some time to arrive. I pay about 3 months in arrears.

The price of IP cards does vary between cities. In Beijing at the moment the cheapest I've found are 29 for a 100 card.

A cheaper way to call abroad is a callback service such as www.call2.com at 3p (about 5 cents) per minute to US and Europe.

[ContemporaryDog]

[quote="tofuman"]The school I'm at asked me to put up a 5,000 (!) renminbi advance for long distance service. I refused and instead got a phone that I can use calling cards on. I pay 90 kwai for two 100 kwai cards that each give about 38 minutes of call time to the USA.

I would definitely get clarification on that matter. You may be in for quite a shock![/quote]

You're getting a much better deal with those calling cards than I get! I usually pay 100 for 2 100 kwai cards but each one lasts around 27 minutes to the UK.

As to my school, we get free calls around China, but have to use the IP cards to call outside. Having said that the line is currently broken and they're taking their time to fix the bloody thing.

Interestingly my school said in the bumpf that there was a 50 yuan a month fee for the internet connection, which we have never been asked for. Although having said that, I reckon that is bceause the connection is so useless, is down half the time, etc. I would actually be prepared to pay 50 yuan per month for a guaranteed, 24 hour a day, 7 day a week connection. It can be infuriating. We are connected to the school's main server. So when there is a powercut, which typically ends at around 6pm, there is usually nobody about to come to the computer room and switch the server back on. I am at the mercy of China's Energy Board

It always seems to happen when I'm about to send an important email, too.

[tofuman]

CD,

Regarding your internet connection: For months, I thought the internet in China was junk. I noticed, however, that just a few blocks from my school, in the internet cafes, people were playing cs online without difficulty.

Basically, it turned out that the FAO had been lying to me about the internet being bad, or my computer having problems, or my connection being messed up. I finally said, "I don't care what the problem is. If you can not provide me with a working connection, I'm leaving. I can't manage my business affairs without a working internet." They seemed to understand that. I gave them ten days to get it going.They did it!

They installed an ethernet ADSL modem in our flats and all FTs have a good connection. Our connection is independent of the school. That's the way to go.

I was definitely planning to leave if they did not do it. I emphasized my anger by telling them that they had been swindling me and putting the money for the connection in their own pocket.

I have heard that a connection costs about 60 yuan/monthly. I would have been willing to pay it myself also, but my contract does say it will be provided. I also asked them to pay the penalty fee of 8200 yuan (LOL).

So there are options for getting one. If you don't mind paying, make the offer. Otherwise tell them you will leave and be prepared to do it, if they don't provide one. I had a backup plan.

Their favorite lie was that the problem was my computer. I unplugged it and took it to another location and accessed the internet without difficulty. I had to be sure. I answered every lie they told.

If you have internet cafes in your town that play online games, there is no reason that you should not have a working connection.

You are being cheated! These people only understand hardball. Play it!!!

[ContemporaryDog]

We used to have a phoneline in the teachers' house that was independent of the school. This was better in some ways, as when there was a powercut, it would work fine afterwards, no need to switch the server back on etc, and nobody switching it off at night like they sometimes do here.

But it was crap in one way, because sometimes it would go down completely and then take a few days to reconnect.

I will follow your advice though - although first my friend and I plan to request a key to the computer room of our own, so we can switch the bloody thing back on when it goes down.

The connection itself, when it is working, is pretty fast - no complaints in that way really.