When things don’t work around our apartment, I evaluate if I REALLY need to have it fixed. I can call someone at Yanlord to come and “look” at it. Look at it is about all they do because fixing is a whole different concept. My dishwasher broke…can NOT live without a dishwasher. Of course, it breaks just as Imelda is getting ready to leave for the Philippines due to visa issues.
I get the usual Chinese man that “looks” at it. This look usually means just that – look without touching anything. He declares he can’t fix it and will send someone else. No surprise there! Someone else comes and still not fixed. I was at school all day, therefore, Imelda managed the maintenance man. All this is just before Spring Break so I will deal with it when I get back from Phuket.
Upon returning, I called our real estate agent, Woody, to get someone over to fix it…I tell Woody to send someone to fix it and not just look at it. It is interesting here that the agent who places you in your home doesn’t just finish the service with you once you are moved in. When we have issues, we call Woody.
Due to the World Expo opening, the government had declared a holiday for Monday & Tuesday, May 3 & 4. This was helpful as Jim was home to speak Chinese with the worker. When the maintenance man came to look at the dishwasher, we discover the Yanlord maintenance man took the computer board. I had no idea as Imelda was the one here when he came (Imelda is now gone, also). Woody tracked down the board, had them repaired it (we think) and rescheduled the maintenance man to come back on Sunday.
Sunday was Mother’s day. I had planned to be home while Jim took the girls to soccer. Our Mother’s Day plans got changed when the rain came to Shanghai – we decided to go to brunch with our friends. Jim came to brunch late so he could deal with the maintenance man. The repaired computer board didn’t work and it was decided to take the dishwasher away to fix it. Two men carry it out of the apartment.
The next step would be to replace the computer board. Again, the way to fix things in China – if you don’t know, just replace it. The new computer board cost 1, 400rmb ($205). They brought back my dishwasher with the new installed computer board and left. Oh, but of course, it still didn’t work! Another call to Woody, another repair visit and they have taken the dishwasher away, again!
When I move back to America, I will probably be the only person that hands over a check to the repair man with a smile. The fact that someone can actually fix something is worth the cost. Still no dishwasher…four weeks since we began this process.