Day 166 - 28 Sep 95 - Page 19
1
2 Q. Then paragraph (18): "It is correct that the restaurant
3 used to be visited by senior operations staff on a frequent
4 basis. As far as 'Mr. Big Mac (UK)' is concerned, I assume
5 Magill means Paul Preston. Paul lived round the corner
6 from the restaurant and consequently he visited it quite
7 frequently. In my opinion, Paul Preston was never
8 patronising, and nor was it ever his style to put his arm
9 round the managers. He was interested to talk to both
10 managers and crew to find out how things were going, to
11 encourage them and to boost morale. Both management and
12 crew were pleased by this interest and encouragement". Do
13 you stand by that?
14 A. Yes.
15
16 Q. Paragraph (19): "It is quite correct that employees are
17 expected to read and familiarise themselves with procedural
18 documents; this is the whole purpose of having training
19 manuals. As I have already said, I do not agree that
20 McDonald's brainwashes its employees. In my view, this is
21 and idiotic suggestion." Do you stand by those statements?
22 A. Yes.
23
24 Q. Paragraph (20): "As far as I am concerned, Trade Unions
25 have never been an issue at McDonald's. I have never heard
26 the subject raised and I have no idea whether any of my
27 crew members or managers are members of a union. It is
28 certainly not true that if anyone had joined a union they
29 would have been sacked. It is also not true that
30 management would try to force employees to leave by making
31 their lives a misery.
32
33 Magill's comments about Ray Kroc's and McDonald's
34 management's views on blacks and women are, in my
35 experience of McDonald's, utterly ridiculous and, as far as
36 I am personally concerned, offensive." Do you stand by
37 that?
38 A. Yes.
39
40 Q. Then: "Turning to the further allegations made by
41 Mr. Magill in his Continuation Statement I have the
42 following comments adopting his headings"; paragraph (22),
43 referring to the 24 hour shifts: "This is untrue. None of
44 my staff would ever have worked a 24 hour shift".
45
46 Paragraph (23), referring to more than five hours without a
47 break: "It is possible on occasions when the restaurant
48 was very busy that a crew member may go five hours without
49 a break. However, this was rare occurrence."
50
51 Paragraph (24), referring to pressure to follow prescribed
52 steps: "It is correct that all crew members were trained
53 to follow specific procedures."
54
55 Paragraph (25), referring to smiling: "Crew members are
56 certainly encouraged to smile; this is a rational part of
57 treating customers in a friendly, welcoming manner."
58
59 Then paragraph (26), referring to levels of takings: "It
60 is not correct to say that the takings of the Marble Arch
