Thanks to the people who pointed out that El Queso's post was from one year ago. Either I hadn't noticed, or I did notice but remembered that I was already paying about 80 pesos per hour 2 or 3 years ago - I think my estimate of $100/ hour at today’s rates was a bit low - and still thought 45 pesos/ hour in Jan 2015 paltry for one who talks such a big game. Either way, I stand by my comments. I'm not judging what anyone else apart from El Queso is paying their cleaners (though I wanted to point out that it is hard work, and they don't always get to work so many hours so their final pay is very low, please everyone take that into consideration if you have a good one. I’m aware of how hard it is to find good ones). I'm also aware that Argies and other Spanish speakers - I’d add Brazilians - will usually pay less (another aspect of this is that they tend leave my rentals in much worse state than those from other areas because they are used to being cleaned up after daily). It’s terrible, and I’m very glad my mom left, because that is probably the life I would have had otherwise. I’m sure I overcompensated and over-paid a bit because of my background and because I know from ongoing experience how hard it is to do the job well.
I am also aware that there are plenty of cleaners who are vivas y vagas. This is a huge part of the reason I do my own cleaning - lots of fruitless experience with trying to hire someone good and was available so sporadically! The original plan was to leave the apartments to be managed by others and travel the world on the proceeds. I would have been happy to put the right person en blanco at a good wage if it were regular - even if very few hours - as they are helping me to make money and I think it’s fair (also, to protect myself from any lawsuits, which do happen here…) I am totally aware that there are a lot of them who don’t want to be paid en blanco because they have planes and wonder if that will start to change with the new government.
Gringoboy, it sounds like Adri is fair and that you pay well! That sounds great, and the person who cleans your house is probably very thankful to have the job.
Citygirl - Very true about what you say about locals paying less but earning in pesos. Especially with the constant economic crises here and people who have made sacrifices in their own lives to keep their long-term cleaners on instead of leaving them in the lurch, there is so much gray area here. For every rich Argentine who pays poverty wages because they can, there is probably a middle class family (or several) for whom the situation is much more complicated. I agree that expats are another situation entirely.
El Nico Original - sorry I haven’t gotten back to your PM yet about being racist against white people, but I have mostly been busy working - cleaning - hard (or sleeping - haven't been this busy for a while). You are barking up the wrong tree there! My father is 100% white and British, and I grew up culturally British/ Californian, without speaking Spanish. I grew up in a white bastion of privilege in the US (summer holidays spent mostly in England) believing I was also 100% white - my mom was and is full of secrets - and I’d say that I present as mostly white depending on context because I’m tall and pale.
It’s bizarre to get the treatment I get here sometimes (here! In this land of dysfunction, and for the first time when I was 24 and grew up thinking I was white - I literally didn’t understand it the first few times. It’s admittedly usually when I am dressed to clean or exercise). In many other places - in Brazil, even - it would be assumed that I’d be nearer the opposite end of the socioeconomic spectrum, but living here has been one hell of an education! I’m kind of grateful for it, but will be glad when it’s over. When I tell expats here about the racism I deal with, they always say “But you don’t look…”, which leads me to wonder if being they think that being treated like that would be somehow more OK - or less surprising - if I were short and dark? It’s actually kind of fun to be able to fit in in so many different kinds of situations (some of which might actually be dangerous if people knew where I was from) without drawing attention to myself.
Anyway, sincere thanks for the tip about zolvers, how annoying! I thought these people were employees of zolvers - en blanco, of course - but what they are offering sounds practically useless for my needs from what you are saying. You have saved me some time!
