My colleague who arrived in December (she is Hungarian) has been rather busy taking care of some important matters in life. Everything is new to her and she doesn't speak much German yet. But fortunately she is receiving some really expert help with opening her bank account, finding a new place to stay, among other things - from none other than the German colleague who asked her to be a cleaning lady for everyone on her first day!
While the Hungarian colleague was today arranging the installation of a phone line and Internet connection to her new flat, the German colleague told her about this deal. 'I'm also using the same company, and if I refer you to the company, we can both get some goodies out of it.' The company will give 10 euros rebate to the new customer and 20 euros for the referrer. The Hungarian colleague of course agreed to let the German take charge of the matter.
But that was not the first time that the German colleague brought up similar deals. Last time the German referred the Hungarian to open an account at his bank which, unlike many others, does not charge an account-keeping fee. I said to the German chap, 'You've already got 50 euros already from the bank, and now you're getting more!' He wasn't shy about it and joked, 'I've helped her so much, and these are my fees!' But he said he would treat her to a drink at some appropriate time. He's certainly earning good money from all these commissions!
By then, another colleague in my office and I were only too tempted to make a switch and join the ranks of the others. That colleague is not happy with his bank which is deducting rather hefty fees from his account every month and he is getting fed up with it. We both currently use the same telephone company which, for the same service, charges 15 euros more per month than the company the Hungarian is subscribing to. The latter company also doesn't have a fixed term for its contracts, which is good news for young scientists like us constantly on the move. Our new Brazilian colleague joined in during our discussion/griping session having just arrived at work. He was waiting for installation works from the company that the Hungarian and German are both using. Once he found out about the customer referral deals and my intention to switch, he was persuading me hard to let him be my referrer. It was difficult to object, but I do know that my Hong Kong friend in the research institute is also using the same company. Who should be my beneficiary, I wonder?
十二月時新來的同事（她是匈牙利人），初到德國，語言不通，找房子、開銀行戶口等大小事就得靠人幫忙，在她第一天上班就跟她開了「清潔婦」玩笑的德國同事，可算辦事有方，甚麼都搞得妥。
今天匈牙利同事為新居安排安裝電話及上網線，那個德國同事得知後便說：「我也用同一家公司，讓我以客戶身份推介你加入，大家都可得些便宜！」那家公司會給新用戶10歐元回饋，推介人則有20歐元，一家便宜兩家着，匈牙利同事當然沒所謂。
這次推介其實已有前科，對上一次德國同事給匈牙利同事推介在某銀行開戶，手續費全免，比其他一般銀行好，我跟德國同事說：「你那次幫她開戶口，銀行也好像送了50歐元回贈給你吧。」他開玩笑地說：「幫了她這麼多，這也算是我的佣金啊！不過有機會請她喝喝東西吧。」好心有好報這句話，在他身上多了一重金錢上的含義。
說到那裡，我和辦公室內另一個同事都心動了，同事不滿其銀行每月扣他不少手續費，正想找機會轉換銀行；我倆現時的電話及上網計劃（專案），比匈牙利同事的，每月貴15歐元之餘，服務看來也沒甚分別，而且後者沒有限制合約時間，甚適合我們這些「逐水草而居」的年輕科研人員。這時來自巴西的新同事剛返到實驗室，說他上班前就是等候跟匈牙利同事同一家電話公司上門安裝，他得知那家公司有這樣的「用戶推介計劃」，便極力說讓他來推介我，但我想起，研究所的香港朋友也用同一公司，究竟我應該讓誰佔這個便宜好？
While the Hungarian colleague was today arranging the installation of a phone line and Internet connection to her new flat, the German colleague told her about this deal. 'I'm also using the same company, and if I refer you to the company, we can both get some goodies out of it.' The company will give 10 euros rebate to the new customer and 20 euros for the referrer. The Hungarian colleague of course agreed to let the German take charge of the matter.
But that was not the first time that the German colleague brought up similar deals. Last time the German referred the Hungarian to open an account at his bank which, unlike many others, does not charge an account-keeping fee. I said to the German chap, 'You've already got 50 euros already from the bank, and now you're getting more!' He wasn't shy about it and joked, 'I've helped her so much, and these are my fees!' But he said he would treat her to a drink at some appropriate time. He's certainly earning good money from all these commissions!
By then, another colleague in my office and I were only too tempted to make a switch and join the ranks of the others. That colleague is not happy with his bank which is deducting rather hefty fees from his account every month and he is getting fed up with it. We both currently use the same telephone company which, for the same service, charges 15 euros more per month than the company the Hungarian is subscribing to. The latter company also doesn't have a fixed term for its contracts, which is good news for young scientists like us constantly on the move. Our new Brazilian colleague joined in during our discussion/griping session having just arrived at work. He was waiting for installation works from the company that the Hungarian and German are both using. Once he found out about the customer referral deals and my intention to switch, he was persuading me hard to let him be my referrer. It was difficult to object, but I do know that my Hong Kong friend in the research institute is also using the same company. Who should be my beneficiary, I wonder?
十二月時新來的同事（她是匈牙利人），初到德國，語言不通，找房子、開銀行戶口等大小事就得靠人幫忙，在她第一天上班就跟她開了「清潔婦」玩笑的德國同事，可算辦事有方，甚麼都搞得妥。
今天匈牙利同事為新居安排安裝電話及上網線，那個德國同事得知後便說：「我也用同一家公司，讓我以客戶身份推介你加入，大家都可得些便宜！」那家公司會給新用戶10歐元回饋，推介人則有20歐元，一家便宜兩家着，匈牙利同事當然沒所謂。
這次推介其實已有前科，對上一次德國同事給匈牙利同事推介在某銀行開戶，手續費全免，比其他一般銀行好，我跟德國同事說：「你那次幫她開戶口，銀行也好像送了50歐元回贈給你吧。」他開玩笑地說：「幫了她這麼多，這也算是我的佣金啊！不過有機會請她喝喝東西吧。」好心有好報這句話，在他身上多了一重金錢上的含義。
說到那裡，我和辦公室內另一個同事都心動了，同事不滿其銀行每月扣他不少手續費，正想找機會轉換銀行；我倆現時的電話及上網計劃（專案），比匈牙利同事的，每月貴15歐元之餘，服務看來也沒甚分別，而且後者沒有限制合約時間，甚適合我們這些「逐水草而居」的年輕科研人員。這時來自巴西的新同事剛返到實驗室，說他上班前就是等候跟匈牙利同事同一家電話公司上門安裝，他得知那家公司有這樣的「用戶推介計劃」，便極力說讓他來推介我，但我想起，研究所的香港朋友也用同一公司，究竟我應該讓誰佔這個便宜好？
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