# What is the best way to find professional staff



## Eldora (Dec 14, 2013)

Hi I will be opening a restaurant in Ensenada and am looking for professional staff both forint and back of the business staff must speak both spanish and English also what is the standard wage, I looked at the minimum wage structure for Ensenada but what is the true wage.

Mark


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## travelinhobo (Sep 17, 2010)

Here's an idea... pay them better than they expect, treat them with respect instead of as exploited labor, and you'll probably find they stay longer. The very idea that a foreigner from a rich country would even consider paying the "going rate" just sickens me.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

travelinhobo said:


> […]The very idea that a foreigner from a rich country would even consider paying the "going rate" just sickens me.


Your post raises an interesting question. Assuming someone has the resources to pay more than the "going rate", should one?

The pro side would argue:
- You can afford to. 
- The "going rate" may constitute a barely liveable wage or worse.

On the other side, there are some potential downsides:
- Locals may think you are ignorant of the value of the service. Respect between two sides of a transaction is important if it is a recurring relationship.
- If there are a lot of foreigners ignoring local values, they can distort the market and price locals out of the market.


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## The Largisimo (Mar 30, 2009)

TundraGreen said:


> Your post raises an interesting question. Assuming someone has the resources to pay more than the "going rate", should one?


And does this only apply to labor inputs? Should the ****** business owner insist on paying the food wholesalers above the going rate? Should rent on the shop be paid thusly? How will this affect the pricing and the long term viability of the business? When I make my Xalapa exploratory excursion and a hotelier quotes me their going rate am I under an obligation to insist on paying more because I am from a rich country? I don't want to sicken anyone.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

The Largisimo said:


> And does this only apply to labor inputs? Should the ****** business owner insist on paying the food wholesalers above the going rate? Should rent on the shop be paid thusly? How will this affect the pricing and the long term viability of the business? When I make my Xalapa exploratory excursion and a hotelier quotes me their going rate am I under an obligation to insist on paying more because I am from a rich country? I don't want to sicken anyone.


I feel if a company wants your business they will quote anyone the going rate. If you are talking about 20 or 30 years ago it might have been different. Now medium to large companies have standardized their pricing and have a reputation in local business circles to maintain. I get your rhetorical questions but answered anyway.


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## The Largisimo (Mar 30, 2009)

This is a restaurant question only slightly off topic but I have heard some restaurants that have ****** and Mexican clientele will have an English and Spanish menu and the pricing in the English menu is higher. Is this true or was it ever?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

The Largisimo said:


> This is a restaurant question only slightly off topic but I have heard some restaurants that have ****** and Mexican clientele will have an English and Spanish menu and the pricing in the English menu is higher. Is this true or was it ever?


Yes this is very true. English menús in TJ and Mexicali and DF are popular as well as most resorts I have been to in Mexico. The pricing is similar except they give you about 10 pesos to the US dollar so I presume they do not want to reprint menus everytime the pesos drops. Some Pemex stations on the border did the same thing many years ago but now no. I guess some small time restuarants and bars might jack up the price on the English menus but really haven´t been to one of those places, yet. Well established places don´t. All VIPS have both and I think Sanbourns also. VIPS sales reciepts have both peso totals and US dollar totals at their present exchange rate, not 10 pesos to the US dollar.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

The only restaurants I've been to in Mexico City that have separate English and Spanish menus is Sanborn's, but I've never checked to see if the prices vary.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Isla Verde said:


> The only restaurants I've been to in Mexico City that have separate English and Spanish menus is Sanborn's, but I've never checked to see if the prices vary.


The restaurants in Zona Rosa we went to had Spanish but English in brackets. Wings Army and El Lugar del Mariachi, a great place and really fun and large portions. Also the hotel where we changed microbuses for our tours in their cafateria, Fiesta Americana. Also the Chinese food restaurant in the new trendy plaza on Reforma called PF Changs.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Are you asking about cooks and waiters or corporate lawyers and tax accountants?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I have never been to a restaurant in Mexico where the menu has prices in dollars. I have been quoted prices in dollars in places like Huatulco i arbarotes and bars but they switch to pesos when I asked them if we were in Mexico or not. Yes the prices in dollars are higher because of the lousy exchange rate they quote you.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

AlanMexicali said:


> The restaurants in Zona Rosa we went to had Spanish but English in brackets. Wings Army and El Lugar del Mariachi, a great place and really fun and large portions.


I never eat in the Zona Rosa except in the pleasant restaurant in El Péndulo bookstore and at El Konditori, one of the few "nice places" left from the time before the invasion of the fast-food franchises and super-noisy bars changed the character of this formerly lovely area forever. I think the latter has menus available in English, but I've never seen it to compare prices. I tend to eat in local eateries where tourists are never seen, hence no need for bilingual menus.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Back on topic, please.......


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

chicois8 said:


> Back on topic, please.......


Most likely no one here knows what waiters, cashiers and short order cooks would make in Ensenada so why not talk about restaurants in general?


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Eldora said:


> Hi I will be opening a restaurant in Ensenada and am looking for professional staff both forint and back of the business staff must speak both spanish and English also what is the standard wage, I looked at the minimum wage structure for Ensenada but what is the true wage.
> 
> Mark


It seems the assumption of some responders to this post is that the OP wants to pay less than minimum wage. I interpreted his inquiry differently. Given how very low minimum wage is in Mexico, I thought the OP was trying to find out what restaurant workers would realistically expect to be paid - which I presume is above minimum. 

In Tepoztlan I have friends and family who work in local restaurants. While their pay is low compared to NOB, the "going rate" in restaurants in Tepoztlan is certainly way higher than minimum wage!


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

Eldora said:


> Hi I will be opening a restaurant in Ensenada and am looking for professional staff both forint and back of the business staff must speak both spanish and English also what is the standard wage, I looked at the minimum wage structure for Ensenada but what is the true wage.
> 
> Mark


Baja Nomad and Talkbaja.com are 2 forums like this but for the Baja area. One seems to have a lot more activity than the other- but I can't remember which 

So check them out, maybe ask the same question. I know a guy who owns a restaurant out by the Bufadora (very close to Esenada, touristy), not sure if he posts or not, but worth a try. Buena suerte


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## Eldora (Dec 14, 2013)

Just to be clear, I am opening a restaurant in Ensenada, I am looking for employees across the board waiters/ess, barman/women, cashier, host, chefs, managers. I have been in Ensenada for 2 months, I have researched the national wage in Ensenada to give me a starting point, I am fully aware that it is low, I have had conversation with people and there is a great deal difference which is why I am asking the question what is the true wage which is fair to employees and also to myself. The people who are insinuating that i am here exploit people, should read my original post again a bit more carefully, because I find their comments insulting.

I have worked in this industry all my life, mostly as an exploited employee in the uk, mainly for working way to many hours than I should be.

The success of any restaurant is the quality of its staff, my job is to train, give any support I can, to provide a good working environment that is positive, Not exploit anyone in any way, giving the chance to succeed and rewards for hard work, good time keeping, loyalty, and not letting the restaurant down respecting other employees and clients alike for this I will be give a good wage, all the fore mentioned will make the restaurant a success and this would be passed on to staff.

If anyone can help with this very simple question, I thank you


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

You are in a tough business and I do not think that Mexico is differnt from many other places if you wantto have good staff you have to train them and have meeting with them before each shift and expect a high turn over. 
I remember workig in Hawaii and attending such meeting when I was doing wine seminars.. The hotels opening would overhire for the openingbecause if the surf was up a god number would not even show up on the first day. There was a shortage of good staff, a lot of them werer young people who were i Hawaii to surf and have a good time,students on part time jobs etc and finding good staff and even just a body willing to learn and work was hel.
Good luck with the restaurant.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

I doubt you will have trouble finding a large selection of bilingual applicants to chose from these days in Ensenada.

Stuck in Tijuana hoping for a miracle: the deportees with nowhere to go | World news | theguardian.com


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## BirthAbroad (May 18, 2014)

As Citali said, you will always have a high turnover rate. I don't think I need to bash your goals without leaving constructive help, but adding bilinguality to the equation means that you will be drawing from a smaller pool of available workers, anywhere in Mexico. As I have seen with the company my wife works for, trying to keep strictly bilingual workers in a business that has a high turnover rate can be an utter nightmare. Even in a city 6 hours from the border with billboards and advertisements everywhere. I also mentioned bilinguality because it does tie into your question about pay. I don't mean to sound classist, but wages for bilingual workers will not be the same to other workers in other restaurants of the same city.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Eldora, I am not sure if you are aware of this school nicknamed CONALEP which stands for: 
Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica......
One of their courses is food and beverage to teach safe and sound practices in the food and beverage industries....
If I were to want to open a restaurant I would talk to the dean and and see if he had a list of recent graduates and start interviewing them, I presume you are fluent in Spanish,Si....
Google : "CONALEP ENSANADA" ....suerte


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