Anonymous - 10-24-2005 at 03:44 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20051023-9...
Dollar Boys strike it rich exchanging currency at Otay crossing
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
October 23, 2005
TIJUANA ? Local resident Ernesto Rodr?guez used to have two options when he went shopping in San Diego: either buy dollars at a money exchange store
near his house or stop at one in San Ysidro.
"Parking, getting out of the car and waiting in line if there were other customers," said the employee of a law firm, "would only take 10 or 15
minutes, but you still don't want to be bothered with it."
Today, it's easier for Rodr?guez: While he waits in his car to cross the border at Otay Mesa, the money exchange store comes to him.
"How much do you want to exchange today, boss?" asks Jorge Baltazar, one of the Dollar Boys, who works for a company of the same name and goes car to
car to sell or buy dollars.
Rodr?guez buys $200, and Baltazar rapidly counts the 10 $20 bills.
"I have to be very careful and give the right amount to clients," says Baltazar, 23.
It's not difficult to spot the Dollar Boys at the border crossing: Their uniform is a fluorescent green vest, hat and pants, and on their chests they
display the exchange rate for the day.
In their pockets are the tools of their trade: a small calculator, a pen and a notebook where they record each transaction. And, of course, money.
The concept of a mobile money exchange business was created five years ago by a company called Divimol S. de R.L., in Ciudad Juarez, in the Mexican
border state of Chihuahua.
Since the firm began operating in Tijuana last November, the Dollar Boys have become a fixture at the Otay border crossing.
"One year later, the response from people has been surprising," says Jos? Angel Garc?a, its manager.
The mobile business ? which offers rates competitive with traditional exchange houses ? has been so successful that the company is planning to set up
shop at other border cities, Garc?a says. A branch in Mexicali could open as soon as December.
Volume business
The Dollar Boys are ready to exchange dollars seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are two shifts: morning employees work from 6 a.m. to 2
p.m. and afternoon ones from noon to 8 p.m.
From Monday to Friday, the majority of people using the service are Tijuana residents who work in San Diego, while on weekends, it's used more by
tourists or people going shopping in San Diego, Garc?a says.
On average, each Dollar Boy serves about 60 vehicles daily, and each transaction lasts about one minute, says Adri?n Hern?ndez, a 26-year-old Dollar
Boy. The figure goes up to 100 transactions per day on weekends.
"If we take a bit longer, the customers are always hurrying us up. If we do it too fast, we could end up short of money," says Hern?ndez. "It's a lot
of pressure."
Garc?a says that none of his employees has been robbed because there is a strong police and customs presence at the border crossing. However, the
manager says there have been Dollar Boys who have stolen from the company.
The firm's policy is clear: If they're missing money, it will be deducted from the employee's paycheck. If they are short 1,000 pesos (about $100) or
more, they are automatically fired.
The average salary for the Dollar Boys is 1,000 pesos per week, which could go up by a bonus of 100 pesos (about $10), if they meet their goals for
the week, says Garc?a.
Once in a while, a customer will tip a Dollar Boy.
"That's when you make more," says a smiling Hern?ndez.
Manuel Valenzuela, who's been working as a Dollar Boy for five months, says that the most difficult part of his job is dealing with demanding
customers.
"Even though the majority is really nice, there's a few that if you take a while to count the money, they hurry you up," says Valenzuela, 25. "I
understand them because it's tiring to wait in line."
The service is only available at Otay Mesa. The company has tried to expand to the far busier San Ysidro border crossing but could not get the needed
permits from the municipal authorities.
According to Garc?a, the vendors who work the lanes at San Ysidro argue that they would lose money if American tourists opted to exchange their
leftover pesos for dollars instead of buying ceramics, blankets or other trinkets.
Fidel Carmona, a supervisor of the Dollar Boys at Otay Mesa, says some of his employees have even been threatened by the street vendors.
The company serves customers at the San Ysidro border at a traditional money exchange store that's been open since July near the pedestrian crossing
on the Mexican side of the border.
Octavio, a street vendor who sells ceramics at the San Ysidro crossing and who did not want to give his last name, says he would not allow the Dollar
Boys to come there if his sales would be affected.
"If people want to buy dollars, that's why there are money exchange stores on the other side of the border. Those 10, 20 pesos they tip me help me to
support my family," says Octavio.
Carloo Mauricio P?rez, a spokesman for the municipal department that issues permits to sell at the San Ysidro crossing, said none has been granted
since November 2002 because the city is trying to improve the area's image.
P?rez says about 2,500 street vendors work in the area, creating traffic problems and garbage. He said far fewer vendors work at the Otay Mesa
crossing, hence they don't face the same restriction as in San Ysidro.
The spokesman stresses that city priorities, and not pressure from the vendors, prompted officials to deny a permit to the Dollar Boys at San Ysidro.
Great outdoors
Baltazar says that before he decided to wear the Dollar Boys uniform, he worked at a traditional money exchange store.
"You just sat there and waited for customers to come exchange their money," he says. "Here, you're running back and forth between the cars, breathing
in the smog, the sun beating on your face."
On the other hand, it was the freedom of running from car to car that attracted Hern?ndez to the job.
"What I like the most is working outside and not having to be inside a small office."
Spyderman - 10-26-2005 at 02:01 PM
interesting
Bob and Susan - 10-26-2005 at 05:51 PM
I bought pesos for a future trip from these guys and got the bank rate...
no commision...
I wish they were at the TJ Crossing too....since we have to wait hours to cross...
Packoderm - 10-26-2005 at 10:39 PM
I remember when we went to Belize, and when we crossed the border from Mexico to Belize, we were swamped by little boys who wanted to exchange pesos
for Belize dollars. I didn't think it was a good idea; they were virtually dressed in rags. I passed. Later, I found out that that was my only
opportunity to exchange currency until we got to Belize City. I like the idea of currency changers in the TJ border lanes.