Where can we find workers for coffee shop here in Pattaya?

[stockholm1995]

My wife opened a coffee shop & bakery for couple of months ago.
We have had difficulties to find workers but it seems like people here in this city are too lazy and want to get paid without do anything.
We have been to a jobcentre and employed 2 girls but they quit after 2 days. It is not hard job and we need someone who can speak english a little bit.

Where can we find workers here in Pattaya?

Maybe we should steal someone from the competitors.

[Upnotover]

How much are you offering? My wife's nephew and his girlfriend both work in Outlet mall at 380/day + overtime, i guess if you offer similar you'd find someone.

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[breadbin]

Pay decent wage as said and get decent workers.

Pay crap and receive the same.

Ask in Starbucks. Pay someone more than they get and headhunter them. They'll be fully trained, be able to speak English, make coffee and do everything but make sure you pay them enough and treat them well. If so they'll stay. If you pay them a little more but work them like a dog they'll be back at Starbuck the next day.

[JohnC]

Some. More details would be helpful , location? , working hours?, starting salary then maybe someone could help you.

[marinediscoking]

I prefer to hire ladies 35+ years of age. Few employers seem to want them as they prefer young attractive staff which are a waste of time IMO. You will have to train them longer as they are a bit slower to catch on but they are much more professional and dependable.

Most important is knowing how to communicate with thai staff without yelling at them or you will lose them fast. Officially the unemployment rate here is under 1% so there are many options for them. Be a good boss and your staff will stay. Make sure your missis is not running them off by being a tyrant.

Post the job on all boards around town in thai not english.

[stockholm1995]

Some. More details would be helpful , location? , working hours?, starting salary then maybe someone could help you.

Location: Pattaya klang

Working hours: 16:00-00:00

Starting salary: 300 baht/day ( for rookies )

[bartender100]

If you want English speakers as opposed to rookies, you will have to pay more, your staff are the front line, without them your business is worthless, treat them like family not slaves, and you will get results

[nottocus]

Some. More details would be helpful , location? , working hours?, starting salary then maybe someone could help you.

Location: Pattaya klang

Working hours: 16:00-00:00

Starting salary: 300 baht/day ( for rookies )

8 hours per day....300 B per day = less than 40B per hour.....jeez....no wonder you can't get anyone.

[Mighty Mouse]

It's a very unattractive wage, even for an untrained worker. If you want to employ somebody who you can train to a professional standard, you need to offer incentives, and Thais regard money as the best incentive.

Give the new staff six months to prove themselves worthwhile before offering them permanent employment...with a pay increase following the trial period and perhaps bi-yearly bonuses.

Thai staff usually expect free meals whilst working, plus a clean, friendly environment. No demanding attitude from you or your wife.

You are at liberty to dismiss any worker during the trial period if they are not living up to expectations, but any dismissal must be made of reasonable grounds, otherwise you may never find replacement staff.

Apart from your employee issues, coffee shops need to offer superior, fresh bean coffee...and I mean quality, full strength coffee, with a comfortable area where you can sit and enjoy the beverage. Not too many around. The large chain coffee outlets, like Starbucks, Coffee World etc. serve coffee that is not worth drinking.

Good luck, I'd like to visit your shop and give your coffee a try.

[OMGImInPattaya]

It's a very unattractive wage, even for an untrained worker. If you want to employ somebody who you can train to a professional standard, you need to offer incentives, and Thais regard money as the best incentive.

Give the new staff six months to prove themselves worthwhile before offering them permanent employment...with a pay increase following the trial period and perhaps bi-yearly bonuses.

Thai staff usually expect free meals whilst working, plus a clean, friendly environment. No demanding attitude from you or your wife.

You are at liberty to dismiss any worker during the trial period if they are not living up to expectations, but any dismissal must be made of reasonable grounds, otherwise you may never find replacement staff.

Apart from your employee issues, coffee shops need to offer superior, fresh bean coffee...and I mean quality, full strength coffee, with a comfortable area where you can sit and enjoy the beverage. Not too many around. The large chain coffee outlets, like Starbucks, Coffee World etc. serve coffee that is not worth drinking.

Good luck, I'd like to visit your shop and give your coffee a try.

Well, that sort of depends on the target market. If its farang tourists and expats, that may be true (or not as many don't like their coffee too strong) but if it's local Thais, then all one needs to serve are sickly sweet coffee and tea based iced and slushy type beverages.

[Loptr]

With the work ethic of some Thais and the relative unemployment rate being so low in Thailand, you may consider bringing in some Filipinas to meet the need. More than enough pinays that would jump at the chance and you could likely pull college graduates that would jump at the chance. Just saying.

[Gsxrnz]

300 B per day is touted as the national minimum wage. However this really only applies to the rural provinces where the COL is considerably less than Pattaya.

You need to pay more and offer incentives to stay longer, with added bonuses for increased skills and longevity of service - and don't be thinking in terms of a bonus at six months. Six months is two eternities to a Thai.

Here's my suggestion:

300 B per day for the 1st month. A 2,000 B bonus if one month is completed, paid on the 15th of the following month, provided they stay. (incentive to stay 6 weeks, and if they leave when they get that bonus they forfeit 2 weeks pay for leaving mid-month). Average daily cost 366 B.

400 B per day for the 2nd month. A 2,000 B bonus for staying the two months, paid as above - gets the same retention incentive.

450 B per day fro the 3rd month. A 1,000 Bonus for staying the three months, paid as above.

500B per day from then on. And then for no particular reason, slip them the odd bonus, take them out for a BBQ, treat them well.....pays dividends!!

The chances are you will still have considerable staff rollover but a lot less than you would only paying 300 B per day. The incentives will possibly rarely be paid but at least you'll retain staff for longer periods. While the overall cost may look excessive I suggest you do yourself a little model that will show the average costs under various circumstances.

I'd suggest that your average cost will only be 400 B per day, plus you may get lucky and get one or two that may well stay the distance. If this happens you may need fewer overall staff because they are more efficient/productive....thus saving you money and having fewer staff headaches.

I have done something similar to the above and it worked very well.

Edited June 30, 2013 by Gsxrnz

[Tolley]

As others have stated 300baht a day wont cut it in Pattaya.

Pattaya is expensive so you need to pay more.

[bangkokstick]

Someone who think that paying more is enough to keep people working must really know nothing.

They won't leave Starbuxx even for 500 Thb/day to work in a place with less friends and a scary farang owner !

Incentive is good, but not enough also, and I agree that older ladies are a lot more reliable and I would never employ young attractive stupid retarded staff anymore.

[StefanBBK]

300 B per day is touted as the national minimum wage.  However this really only applies to the rural provinces where the COL is considerably less than Pattaya.

 

You need to pay more and offer incentives to stay longer, with added bonuses for increased skills and longevity of service - and don't be thinking in terms of a bonus at six months.  Six months is two eternities to a Thai.

 

Here's my suggestion:

 

300 B per day for the 1st month.  A 2,000 B bonus if one month is completed, paid on the 15th of the following month, provided they stay. (incentive to stay 6 weeks, and if they leave when they get that bonus they forfeit 2 weeks pay for leaving mid-month).  Average daily cost 366 B.

 

400 B per day for the 2nd month. A 2,000 B bonus for staying the two months, paid as above - gets the same retention incentive.

 

450 B per day fro the 3rd month. A 1,000 Bonus for staying the three months, paid as above.

 

500B per day from then on.  And then for no particular reason, slip them the odd bonus, take them out for a BBQ, treat them well.....pays dividends!!

 

The chances are you will still have considerable staff rollover but a lot less than you would only paying 300 B per day.  The incentives will possibly rarely be paid but at least you'll retain staff for longer periods.  While the overall cost may look excessive I suggest you do yourself a little model that will show the average costs under various circumstances. 

 

I'd suggest that your average cost will only be 400 B per day, plus you may get lucky and get one or two that may well stay the distance. If this happens you may need fewer overall staff because they are more efficient/productive....thus saving you money and having fewer staff headaches.

 

I have done something similar to the above and it worked very well.

Whilst for us the above stipulations are quite clear, I fear avarage Thais may find it a wee bit complicated.

I would go with 50 baht per hour and some perks after a month.

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[StefanBBK]

Swensens here in Bangkok pays 42-45 baht per hour, I believe.

I agree with other posters that a great workin environment is key, as well as competative salary. Include some meal, nice uniform etc. and go with mature women.

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[Gsxrnz]

300 B per day is touted as the national minimum wage. However this really only applies to the rural provinces where the COL is considerably less than Pattaya.

You need to pay more and offer incentives to stay longer, with added bonuses for increased skills and longevity of service - and don't be thinking in terms of a bonus at six months. Six months is two eternities to a Thai.

Here's my suggestion:

300 B per day for the 1st month. A 2,000 B bonus if one month is completed, paid on the 15th of the following month, provided they stay. (incentive to stay 6 weeks, and if they leave when they get that bonus they forfeit 2 weeks pay for leaving mid-month). Average daily cost 366 B.

400 B per day for the 2nd month. A 2,000 B bonus for staying the two months, paid as above - gets the same retention incentive.

450 B per day fro the 3rd month. A 1,000 Bonus for staying the three months, paid as above.

500B per day from then on. And then for no particular reason, slip them the odd bonus, take them out for a BBQ, treat them well.....pays dividends!!

The chances are you will still have considerable staff rollover but a lot less than you would only paying 300 B per day. The incentives will possibly rarely be paid but at least you'll retain staff for longer periods. While the overall cost may look excessive I suggest you do yourself a little model that will show the average costs under various circumstances.

I'd suggest that your average cost will only be 400 B per day, plus you may get lucky and get one or two that may well stay the distance. If this happens you may need fewer overall staff because they are more efficient/productive....thus saving you money and having fewer staff headaches.

I have done something similar to the above and it worked very well.

Whilst for us the above stipulations are quite clear, I fear avarage Thais may find it a wee bit complicated.

I would go with 50 baht per hour and some perks after a month.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You underestimate the "average Thai" I fear. If written in a Thai language employment contract it's perfectly understandable. Sometimes we foreigners are guilty of assuming that intelligence and ability to understand is race related - not so as proven in many studies.

I know a 24 year old waitress/cashier that explained to me how giving change is a science to maximise the tip potential. She judges the look of the customer, the dress, general demeanour, attitude, what they purchase, how they interact with the staff etc, whether they have a car or bike.... and that determines what format the change will be given in.

If the change is 100B, she will vary the denominations given to different customers to extract the highest possibility of increasing the tip potential. She explained the logic but some of the detail was way over my head. One example was that if she assumed the customer was a Baht Bus customer, she would not give any 10B coins if possible, only 20's. If she got good vibes from a customer she would make sure the change contained a 50 and a 10 - expecting a 30 or maybe a 50B tip. She had it all figured out and had her staff giving her feedback on the customer.

[i claudius]

Boy another coffee shop ,just what Pattaya needed.

[pattayadingo]

Some. More details would be helpful , location? , working hours?, starting salary then maybe someone could help you.

Location: Pattaya klang

Working hours: 16:00-00:00

Starting salary: 300 baht/day ( for rookies )

How many days a week?

Edited June 30, 2013 by pattayadingo

[Mighty Mouse]

It's a very unattractive wage, even for an untrained worker. If you want to employ somebody who you can train to a professional standard, you need to offer incentives, and Thais regard money as the best incentive.

Give the new staff six months to prove themselves worthwhile before offering them permanent employment...with a pay increase following the trial period and perhaps bi-yearly bonuses.

Thai staff usually expect free meals whilst working, plus a clean, friendly environment. No demanding attitude from you or your wife.

You are at liberty to dismiss any worker during the trial period if they are not living up to expectations, but any dismissal must be made of reasonable grounds, otherwise you may never find replacement staff.

Apart from your employee issues, coffee shops need to offer superior, fresh bean coffee...and I mean quality, full strength coffee, with a comfortable area where you can sit and enjoy the beverage. Not too many around. The large chain coffee outlets, like Starbucks, Coffee World etc. serve coffee that is not worth drinking.

Good luck, I'd like to visit your shop and give your coffee a try.

Well, that sort of depends on the target market. If its farang tourists and expats, that may be true (or not as many don't like their coffee too strong) but if it's local Thais, then all one needs to serve are sickly sweet coffee and tea based iced and slushy type beverages.

What you state is very true. The target market will depend on exactly where on Pattaya Klang the shop is located. It needs to be situated where tourists or expats frequent. If it's in a hidden location, you miss out on the passing farang trade and relying on Thai coffee drinkers is (in my opinion) a waste of time and money.

If it's really good coffee, then coffee lovers like myself will become regulars.

Currently, I take a long walk to Benjamit Coffee, next to the Soi Buakaow markets, for my daily caffeine fix. Their coffee is very nice, fresh and strong.

If it's too strong for your liking, you only need to add more milk. Easy.

[Gone]

Yes how many days per week? Also you can post ads at Pattaya City Hall on a board just inside the main front entrance. Walk inside then on the left just before the elevators there are a few boards.

If your staff is only staying 2 days etc. then there is something to be said about that. As many posters have already said, you are NOT paying enough for Pattaya. If it was Sakon Nowhere then you might get aways with the minimum wage.

Sounds like some great advice from people who know what they are talking about though.

[pattayadingo]

A friend's wife recently started at BigC. 8 hrs a day. 1 day off a week. 10,000 Baht a month. That would be about 2,000 Baht a month more and that - for a Thai - for example, is a lot of money.

On the other hand I know some who are on 4-6K per month. They get fed once a day and have accommodation thrown in.

In one particualr place I frequent, they keep their staff. Very little turnover on staff. Same 4-6K per month rising with experience, with accommodation and food. 4 or 5 staff morning. Same amount of staff evening. 16-00 to midnight.

The lady in charge of the staff does have some very strict rules about fratenisation with the customers too. I'm not sure that helps or not but the staff are loyal and each has a Farang b/f or husband. All a very tight knit group, can laugh and joke with each other and the customers. Basically a happy atmosphere.

So, your 300 a day wages is more than some but less than those I know of at BigC.

Is lack of staff / staff leaving down to atmosphere, work ethics, manager treating the staff in a way they do not like?

I've noticed in a few places that one staff member will work more than the others put together and that also causes resentment.

I am no expert at all, but simply pointing out a few things I've noticed over the years here in Thailand.

[Pattaya28]

Old saying

"If you pay peanuts you get monkeys".

But in your case you cannot even get monkeys.

[fakename]

The only thing that I know for sure, is that no one knows all the answers. Every situation is different, and what will work with one Thai, will not work with another. Just look at 7/11, would you accept your staff to sit around on the floor all day, or block customers from getting to the shelves?

[breadbin]

It's all been said and the op has gone quiet.

Pay more and treat them well.

Simple

[lemoncake]

Some. More details would be helpful , location? , working hours?, starting salary then maybe someone could help you.

Location: Pattaya klang

Working hours: 16:00-00:00

Starting salary: 300 baht/day ( for rookies )

8 hours per day....300 B per day = less than 40B per hour.....jeez....no wonder you can't get anyone.

Remind us all again how much 7-11, family marts, restaurants pay?

It sure helps to have some clue what you talking about before posting

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Remind us all again how much 7-11, family marts, restaurants pay?rolleyes.gif

It sure helps to have some clue what you talking about before posting

7-11 pay quite well, but you need to have graduated high school to work for them.

Family mart, is often minimum wage or less, but usually family run with no 'outsider employees'

restaurants, have huge turnovers in staff on minimum, apart from the chef, mainly totally unskilled.

Coffee shops are selling a 'luxury item', large mark up, staff have higher expectations.

Edited June 30, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[lemoncake]

OP, there is no secret place or plan and paying more will not get you any better staff. It will get you more people applying, HOWEVER same type of people who apply now.

DO NOT pay more to start with, because you will not get better people or work quality.

You can always put up salary for those who prove to be useful and reliable.

Ignore most of the people responding, because not only many do not live in Thailand, many never had a business in Thailand or anywhere for that matter.

Staff is a problem for everyone, Starbucks and everyone else has the same problems, however co's like starbucks employ 2-3 times of needed staff taking into account constant shortage.

Starbucks and alike also have a name and Thai's love the "image"

Its useless to advertise mid month, run advertising from about 30th of the month to 15th, this is when when they look for job.

In low seasons, you will mostly get "cashiers" ie bar girls and "sponsored", they do not want to work and can not be trained.

Just keep at it, it took me 3 years to find reliable maid and cook, reception usually changes every few weeks

You also will need to learn to put up with many things that you normally would not, such as playing on the phone, being half asleep, charging wrong prices etc .

My cook is an alcoholic who is drunk 6 days of the week, but he does come to work and is excellent cook.

Edited June 30, 2013 by lemoncake

[lemoncake]

Remind us all again how much 7-11, family marts, restaurants pay?rolleyes.gif

It sure helps to have some clue what you talking about before posting

7-11 pay quite well, but you need to have graduated high school to work for them.

Family mart, is often minimum wage or less, but usually family run with no 'outsider employees'

restaurants, have huge turnovers in staff on minimum, apart from the chef, mainly totally unskilled.

Coffee shops are selling a 'luxury item', large mark up, staff have higher expectations.

7-11 pays minimum wage of 9000 per month,

coffees shops pay minimum age

shops selling luxury items pay minimum wage.

ONLY those who work long and prove to be reliable and useful get higher salary and that usually happens after working for over 1 year.

[watcharacters]

300 B per day is touted as the national minimum wage. However this really only applies to the rural provinces where the COL is considerably less than Pattaya.

You need to pay more and offer incentives to stay longer, with added bonuses for increased skills and longevity of service - and don't be thinking in terms of a bonus at six months. Six months is two eternities to a Thai.

Here's my suggestion:

300 B per day for the 1st month. A 2,000 B bonus if one month is completed, paid on the 15th of the following month, provided they stay. (incentive to stay 6 weeks, and if they leave when they get that bonus they forfeit 2 weeks pay for leaving mid-month). Average daily cost 366 B.

400 B per day for the 2nd month. A 2,000 B bonus for staying the two months, paid as above - gets the same retention incentive.

450 B per day fro the 3rd month. A 1,000 Bonus for staying the three months, paid as above.

500B per day from then on. And then for no particular reason, slip them the odd bonus, take them out for a BBQ, treat them well.....pays dividends!!

The chances are you will still have considerable staff rollover but a lot less than you would only paying 300 B per day. The incentives will possibly rarely be paid but at least you'll retain staff for longer periods. While the overall cost may look excessive I suggest you do yourself a little model that will show the average costs under various circumstances.

I'd suggest that your average cost will only be 400 B per day, plus you may get lucky and get one or two that may well stay the distance. If this happens you may need fewer overall staff because they are more efficient/productive....thus saving you money and having fewer staff headaches.

I have done something similar to the above and it worked very well.

.

I commend you for a positive, rewards based approach to finding and retaining employees.