Day 202 - 11 Jan 96 - Page 30
1 dropped. Therefore, I was less concerned about the numbers
2 being beneath what we were set.
3
4 Q. So, sales volume in Ipswich was dropping at that time, was
5 it, then?
6 A. I am simply reading what is there. It says: "When the
7 above targets were set, neither of us foresaw such a
8 drastic drop in volume than 203 or so."
9
10 Q. Why did you not take the same action against Ipswich that
11 you say concerned you with Colchester?
12 A. What action are you talking about?
13
14 Q. Did you have sales dropping at Ipswich, turnover
15 increasing?
16 A. What action are you talking about here, sorry?
17
18 Q. Pardon?
19 A. What action are you talking about here? You said why
20 did I not take the same action. I do not know what you
21 mean.
22
23 Q. Did you have special meetings with the management at
24 Ipswich?
25 A. Over what?
26
27 Q. Over some of their poor figures?
28 A. Which poor figures are they?
29
30 Q. Increasing turnover, when you are meant to be cutting 25
31 per cent according to targets set by Andrew Taylor?
32 A. As I said before, all this is -- with respect, this is
33 perspective (sic). If you look at the 141 turnover at 272,
34 245 and 288, and look at Ipswich at 173, 206 over 194, a
35 responsible Manager looking at those figures, to assess
36 which store had the greater problem, it would be pretty
37 stupid to think you had a major problem in Ipswich when it
38 is staring you right there in the face that Colchester is
39 operating a turnover at a much higher level; thereby, there
40 are problems that we need to address.
41
42 Q. Right. Can I ask you one question, something that has come
43 up that I was not aware of before. On page 3, it says at
44 the bottom of page 3, it says that unconfirmed employees
45 were, in Ipswich, 43, Colchester 42, Bury 29.
46 A. Indeed.
47
48 Q. What are unconfirmed employees?
49 A. My recollection of that -- I cannot be 100 per cent
50 sure -- is that when you hire a crew member, there is
51 documentation that is filled in, application forms,
52 et cetera, which are then sent to the personnel department
53 and they confirm them. An unconfirmed employee thereby is
54 an employee that has been hired and yet the documentation
55 has not yet been received in Head Office for them.
56
57 Q. Right. I am just thinking about where to go. We have not
58 got that much more.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Sit down, if you wish, Mr. Atherton.
