Day 197 - 07 Dec 95 - Page 73
1 MR. RAMPTON: There were occasions, I think you accepted this,
2 when you actually took a crate or a bag of fresh shakes
3 mix, mixed it with water and put it into the machine. Is
4 that right?
5 A. Sorry?
6
7 Q. I think you have already accepted in answer to my
8 questions that there were occasions when you actually took
9 a bag of fresh shake mix, not re-run, and mixed it with
10 water?
11 A. Yes, that did take place. It was more the re-run than
12 that the mix as well. That might happen on a very busy
13 day.
14
15 Q. That was 11th May 1988. If you turn to page 39 you will
16 see a similar reference on, it is not the same but a
17 similar reference on 7. On the first page of the review
18 under "QSC - Shakes Quality?" Then if you turn to 24th
19 August 1989 which is page 44, the fifth paragraph -- I am
20 sorry, they are not numbered, that is to say the fourth
21 under QS and C. Do you see a paragraph beginning, "You
22 must redress"?
23 A. Yes.
24
25 Q. "You must redress management blindness to quality basics
26 such as pale fries, weak coffee and thick shakes on a
27 daily basis. You must train your assistants and floor
28 managers to notice these things. "
29
30 What is the effect, Mr. Coton, as you allege of double
31 brewing coffee?
32 A. Well, basically what would actually happen if you
33 double brew the coffee you would get twice as much coffee
34 because you brewed it twice. So there are would be twice
35 as much coffee there as there was in the first place.
36
37 Q. Do you mean you use the same lot of grounds twice?
38 A. Yes.
39
40 Q. That would make it very weak?
41 A. It made it weak, not very weak. One of the things
42 with McDonald's coffee if you ever drunk it, is it is
43 very, very strong and it was something that most people
44 would not even notice that it was very weak, or not very
45 weak but it was weaker than normal because it is so strong
46 normally.
47
48 Q. That is what this is a reference to, is it not, weak
49 coffee?
50 A. No. That actually is a reference to a problem we had
51 with the coffee machine, because such things as that would
52 never be done when other people were in the restaurant
53 anyway. As I said before, there was ongoing problem with
54 the shake machine which caused us lots of problems with
55 the refrigeration as opposed to the watering down. That
56 was an ongoing problem that run through these PRs as well.
57
58 Q. We will come to it in a moment, Mr. Coton, but I will ask
59 you a question now. I am not, I think, understanding what
60 you are saying. On the one hand you said that Mr. Davies
