In the States, it would essentially be humiliating if any of your utilities were to be turned off.
Here, it's just the way business is done.
In terms of electricity, here is how I understand it:
- The customer is billed every two months.
- A physical bill is sometimes, not always, dropped off at the home/condo/apt. (I don't know how the bill gets to the home.)
- The bill will be dropped off wherever: in a door, on a car, on a meter. Who knows. It's like a scavenger hunt.
- The physical bill, when you get it - is usually on average 2-3 days late. So, if you wait for your bill, it's too late. No A/C for you.
- If you just move into a house, you don't know what your meter # is, therefore you can't get online to check your bill. Instead, you have to wait for the first bill before you can know where you stand. (I.e. you have to have your electricity turned off at least once.)
- If you're late, (which everyone is) - they come to your house, red tag your meter, and turn off your electricity.
- In order to get the electricity back on, you must go down to the electric company to pay your bill. Or in my case, beg someone else (thank you so much D!) to do it for you.
- After you pay, your electricity may or may not be on that day. Depends on if someone can get to your house to turn it back on.
My thoughts:
- If there was an actual MAILING system in Cabo, life would be easier.
- Thank goodness from here on out I can go directly to the website to pay my bill.
- This country is not very proactive. Instead, they're re-active. Instead of getting bills out on time, in a central location, so that they could get paid on time, they get them out late, send workers out to turn of electricity, then send workers out to turn back on electricity. Huh? Wouldn't work better for the company to just get the bills out and paid? No turnign on and off all the time?
- Utility billing here is odd. I got my water bill yesterday. On the hood of my car. I actually got two. For the same meter. With two different totals. Again, huh?
- They don't put bills in envelopes here. Nope, just a bill. Open.
- No utilities are in the renters' names. They're only in the name of the owner. Interesting.
Moral of the story: don't take your envelopes for granted, the U.S. postal system for granted, or the fact that you speak the language for granted.
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That would be this cute little guy. A teeny, tiny gecko. Maybe an inch long.
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