Day 125 - 12 May 95 - Page 42
1 We have it somewhere.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The easiest thing, because these are not
4 always easy to remember, if you can just put one of the
5 index, for instance, of those suppliers who have given
6 Civil Evidence Act notices, or the earlier one to which the
7 letter was written about rainforest matters. If we can put
8 a list or two in front of Mr. Beavers, it may help him say
9 who they are.
10 A. The ones I recall would be Otto and Sons or OSI
11 Industries, Normac Foods, Golden State Foods, and one
12 escapes me.
13
14 MR. RAMPTON: May I suggest -----
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Is it Pabst?
17 A. Yes Pabst out of Minneapolis.
18
19 Q. Previous to getting down to those five, there was a
20 reduction from 175 down to five over a two or three year
21 period or so? When McDonald's checked these suppliers,
22 when they were many of them, you said that you had to sort
23 of basically institute your own policing system to make
24 sure they were complying, or whatever, and some did not.
25 You had I cannot remember what you called them Field
26 Personnel Officers?
27 A. Field Consultants, our Field Service Department.
28
29 Q. That was their sole job, was it, to visit those suppliers
30 to ensure the quality was being reached that you were
31 seeking.
32 A. No, that was not their sole responsibility.
33
34 Q. What was it?
35 A. I think I indicated earlier that was part of, only part
36 of their responsibility. They had a broader responsibility
37 in those days of checking out dairy suppliers, bun plants
38 and meat suppliers, in addition to servicing our
39 restaurants. They are the principal link, as I outlined in
40 previous testimony, principal link to our franchised
41 restaurants. So, today, a field consultant will devote
42 little or no time at all to the quality assurance of
43 suppliers. It is not necessary that we have a coterie of
44 folks in our Quality Assurance Department or Purchasing
45 Department to do that, because of fewer suppliers it does
46 not require quite the awesome task of, you know, getting
47 around to hundred plus plants. It is not a part of the job
48 description of a field consultant today. It was then.
49 That was a pretty daunting task, to be honest with you. If
50 you had a field consultant that covered, you know, a pretty
51 good-sized geography. We will some consultants that were
52 responsible for two or three state in those days. That
53 meant an awful lot of travel.
54
55 Q. It would have been difficult for them to visit the
56 individual suppliers more than once in a while; it was
57 difficult for them to monitor, effectively, whereas now it
58 is easy because you have an ongoing relationship, well
59 easier anyway?
60 A. Yes, it was. It was very difficult, and I would say in
