This morning, I was in a bit of a rush when I headed out the door for work. A cursory glance at the content of my wallet indicated a problem: the smallest bill I had was a 100 (roughly $1.25). This was going to create problems.
I walked down the street to the place where we usually catch a rickshaw. At least half the time, we get one of the three rickshaw-wallahs that are regulars and know our route and rate (R&R). But they only stick around until 8:30AM. After that, I have to go with whoever is there.
This morning, it's one of the guys I know. I hop into the rickshaw. As he pulls after I ask, "Do you have change for 100?" He laughs. No!
Most rickshaw drivers start the day with just a few taka in their pocket. Some mornings they don't even have tk 5 change. By the end of the day, most go home with tk 200-300 ($2.50-4.00). Many sleep on top of the rickshaw garages to avoid paying rent, allowing them to save more money to send home to their families in the village.
In fact, most of the time it's actually really difficult to get change. One time I went into a small store to buy a bottle of water (tk 20) to break a tk 1000 note ($13), and the owner told me to take the water and come pay him later; he didn't have that kind of change. When I have a tk 100 or tk 50 note that a rickshaw driver can't break, usually I appeal to the tea stall owners. Usually they'll help me out in those cases, but not for a bigger note.
Is there more money at the end of the day? Is it easier to repay loans or make bill payments if office hours are in the evening? Are there disadvantages to having so little cash at a business, or is it just me? How do distributors time their deliveries?
As it turns out, upon inspecting my wallet more thoroughly, I actually had the tk 25 change ($0.32) needed to pay the driver.
I asked him if he had 5tk change, to see if I could give him tk 30 and get a valuable tk5 note as change, but he pulled out his money to show me that he only had two twenty-taka notes.
Guess today I can't be the change I want to see.....
I walked down the street to the place where we usually catch a rickshaw. At least half the time, we get one of the three rickshaw-wallahs that are regulars and know our route and rate (R&R). But they only stick around until 8:30AM. After that, I have to go with whoever is there.
This morning, it's one of the guys I know. I hop into the rickshaw. As he pulls after I ask, "Do you have change for 100?" He laughs. No!
Most rickshaw drivers start the day with just a few taka in their pocket. Some mornings they don't even have tk 5 change. By the end of the day, most go home with tk 200-300 ($2.50-4.00). Many sleep on top of the rickshaw garages to avoid paying rent, allowing them to save more money to send home to their families in the village.
In fact, most of the time it's actually really difficult to get change. One time I went into a small store to buy a bottle of water (tk 20) to break a tk 1000 note ($13), and the owner told me to take the water and come pay him later; he didn't have that kind of change. When I have a tk 100 or tk 50 note that a rickshaw driver can't break, usually I appeal to the tea stall owners. Usually they'll help me out in those cases, but not for a bigger note.
Is there more money at the end of the day? Is it easier to repay loans or make bill payments if office hours are in the evening? Are there disadvantages to having so little cash at a business, or is it just me? How do distributors time their deliveries?
As it turns out, upon inspecting my wallet more thoroughly, I actually had the tk 25 change ($0.32) needed to pay the driver.
I asked him if he had 5tk change, to see if I could give him tk 30 and get a valuable tk5 note as change, but he pulled out his money to show me that he only had two twenty-taka notes.
Guess today I can't be the change I want to see.....
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