Day 204 - 15 Jan 96 - Page 47


     
     1   MS. STEEL:   If you turn to page 24 -- this is still on your
     2        performance review.
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:  This is October 1986, this one.
     6
     7   MS. STEEL:   Which covers 1985 to 1986, September to September.
     8        On page 24: "Food costs has erred on the extravagant side."
     9        So, again, they are putting pressure on you to lower your
    10        food costs?
    11        A.  Maybe in that particular instance it was running out on
    12        the top end of the range, or out of the top end of the
    13        range.  So the pressure was not to reduce it as much as
    14        possible; the pressure would be to reduce it in line with
    15        that range, which maybe the fry yield was running over the
    16        range so, you know, we were wasting a lot of fries; maybe
    17        the waste was not being recorded sufficiently well.
    18
    19   Q.   You were getting pressure over the fries, were you?
    20        A.  That was just an example.
    21
    22   Q.   You recall that, though?
    23        A.  No, I do not, no.
    24
    25   Q.   You do not?
    26        A.  That was just an example of what may have been -- I was
    27        trying to give you a sort of broader knowledge, so you
    28        could understand.  It is not that you want to reduce your
    29        food costs as low as possible.  That is certainly not the
    30        case.
    31
    32   Q.   The Company did not want it to be within a range; they
    33        wanted it to be less than the given percentage, did they
    34        not?
    35        A.  No.
    36
    37   Q.   If you look -----
    38        A.  Why would they publish things like fry yields which are
    39        given a range within which the fry yields should be
    40        attained, or drinks, beverage yield should be a yield
    41        within which your beverage yield should be?  They did not
    42        want it to be as low as possible, certainly not.
    43
    44   Q.   On page 25, under the "additional comments" section in the
    45        middle of the page, it says: "Colchester profitability
    46        could be increased by diligent cost controls and budgeting,
    47        stead results with no fluctuations, food less than
    48        30 per cent, paper less than 4 per cent, labour less than
    49        13 and a half per cent", et cetera.
    50        A.  Yes. 
    51 
    52   Q.   There is nothing about a variation there, is there?  They 
    53        are saying they want you to get the costs lower than those
    54        given percentages?
    55        A.  In that particular instance, yes, although the Company
    56        guideline would still be a range.
    57
    58   Q.   Like the thing about cleanliness being a consistent problem
    59        throughout store, being able to keep it as the Company was
    60        saying they wanted it, food control costs are a problem in

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