Day 125 - 12 May 95 - Page 29
1 A. It has worked well. I know as an employee, when
2 I started as an employee, I participated in a number of
3 competitions like that and, as a Store Manager, I engage my
4 employees in competition. I had some of my peers that did
5 not and some that did. I found it to be very effective in
6 training and motivating my employees.
7
8 Q. And increasing productivity?
9 A. Productivity improved, the customer -- it also impacted
10 upon the customers' perception of service.
11
12 Q. Obviously, if productivity improved, your profits would
13 improve as well?
14 A. Hopefully.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Does the Company hope that the spirit of
17 competition, in a particular competition, would motivate
18 the employees for the rest of the time when the competition
19 is not really on, if you know what I mean, to be in
20 competition with each to try to increase the sales in their
21 particular till or whatever?
22 A. Usually, when competitions were held it was not during
23 the course of the whole day; it might be -----
24
25 Q. No, would you hope that this spirit -----
26 A. I misunderstood his question.
27
28 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is it hoped that, no doubt in a friendly
29 fashion, having taken part in the competitions for real, it
30 will encourage young people operating the tills to see if
31 they can do better than a workmate even when there is not
32 competition, so there will be informal competition between
33 them?
34 A. That has happened. I would say that -----
35
36 Q. Is that part of it as well?
37 A. The experience -- I would say, speaking personally and
38 from my own personal experience, having participated in
39 competitions and having engaged people that have worked for
40 me in competition, it had a far reaching impact on the
41 employee and on customers. I think it was helpful.
42
43 It created a perspective, a service perspective, a customer
44 satisfaction perspective, that served that employee that
45 served me well, and that is something that was
46 translatable, you know, not only at McDonald's but to other
47 things. I have had people come back to me over the years
48 and as recently as just a few weeks ago and talk about the
49 friendly competitions they had when they were, you know, a
50 17 year old kid in school, and talk about the loss, if you
51 will, of some of the values that we thought were important,
52 and still think are important, that today somehow or
53 another young people just do not see, see the value in
54 certain things.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: But -----
57 A. Courtesy and efficiency, things like that.
58
59 Q. But in terms of the speed of serving customers, then
60 competition is going to result in faster preparation and
