A Helping Hand In Budapest: Solutions Everyday

  • 28 Sep 2013 9:00 AM
A Helping Hand In Budapest: Solutions Everyday
We've all heard about companies and guides that provide services to expats in different cities around the world. To the great delight of a growing group of foreigners in Budapest, a group of young Hungarian professionals decided to create a unique service called Solutions Everyday to help out with everyday expat issues, without an upfront fee!

The creative team of three locals started their mission at the end of August 2013, with the ultimate goal of bringing locals and expats closer together by offering help with all sorts of problems - without asking anything in return.  However they do say, "Satisfied with our solution? Why not donate us 9 EUR to help maintaining and developing this handsome initiative!"

Be an administrative matter of a lost address card, a headache with your current medical care, or troubles when setting up your own guesthouse, these enthusiastic young adults will find a solution. No wonder they got our attention, so we asked a few key qustions about their service:

When and how did you get the idea to start running this type of service?

Nowadays, regarding our professional lives in Budapest, we are more and more surrounded by expats. We see the problems they have to face every day and have realised how difficult it is to manage things in the city without any knowledge of Hungarian, so our team decided to give them a helping hand and bring our activity onto a brand new level. We had been thinking about launching our initiative for about 6 months then finally decided to start at the end of August 2013. Our goal is to move Hungarians and expats closer to each other.

How many are you in your team?

Currently, there are three people in the Team Solutions Everyday.

What are the most common problems you have to solve?

The problems vary: there are rather complex ones, but sometimes we meet some simple ones as well. Mostly they relate to administrative matters (lost address cards, registration cards), but there are often questions about different services (English-speaking handyman, moth-killing), or questions about finding uncommon goods (special types of crisps or ingredients). Sometimes, we get quite extraordinary inquiries such as: how to set up a guesthouse in Budapest; or which BKV pass is the best option for a family. These last ones are probably our favourite ones as we get to learn something new in the helping process.

Is it worth running this service for free?

The short answer, if we look at it from the financial perspective, is an absolute no.

However, we profit from the initiative in many other ways: we build relationships and extend our knowledge while delivering solutions, and of course, we are working hard in order to grow. On the other hand, donations are welcome from which we cover our phone and internet costs and develop our service.

To get in touch with the Team at Solutions Everyday click here.

Views of satisfied users:

-    “I was talking to a friend about what a pain it would be to replace all my Hungarian ID – and then that same week, I lost my wallet with my address card and my registration card. I’d heard about Solutions Everyday so emailed them for help and within 24 hours had a detailed email with complete instructions about what I needed to do. Fast, efficient, friendly, and every-so helpful … and all for a donation Brilliant idea, lads!” Mary Murphy who also runs a blog about her life in Budapest

-   “Excellent, speedy and friendly” Matt.

-   “The Team replied very quickly to my questions and put me on the right track regarding what to do next. I strongly advice them for anything Hungarian-related you may need, this service is just a great convenient invention!” Antonio.

More info: SolutionsEveryday.com

By Tímea Klincsek for XpatLoop.com

  • How does this content make you feel?