Day 118 - 01 May 95 - Page 55


     
     1        the box there is a paragraph which you can read to
     2        yourself.  (Pause) Have you read at that paragraph?
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   Q.   Why should somebody have to make the necessary adjustments
     6        at the end of a week by trying to cut a lot of hours in the
     7        last day?  Why would they want to do that?
     8        A.  I do not know.  I did not write this and I have never
     9        been on this particular course.  This is crew scheduling
    10        and I am not an expert crew scheduler.  In fact I know very
    11        little about it.  You need to ask someone from the
    12        Operations Department questions on crew scheduling.
    13
    14   Q.   Well I put it to you it is because the company puts
    15        pressure on managers to reach a labour percentage?
    16        A.  No.
    17
    18   Q.   Of sales?
    19        A.  No, they do not put pressure on to reach a labour
    20        percentage.  The store manager sets his budget and he tries
    21        to meet budget, but not just on crew labour on everything
    22        that is within his controllable expenses.
    23
    24   Q.   We are talking about labour percentages at the moment?
    25        A.  Of course he sets a labour percentage.  He sets a
    26        percentage on everything and he tries to meet it.
    27
    28   Q.   In the next sentence, Mr. Nicholson, it says here: "Your
    29        manager or owner/operator/supervisor..." -- so this applies
    30        also to licensees?
    31        A.  Yes, they get the same training.
    32
    33   Q.  "...can help determine acceptable labour costs for your
    34        restaurant"?
    35        A.  Yes.
    36
    37   Q.   "Anything above that is a problem and you need to identify
    38        the facts that are causing the problem".  So is it not the
    39        fact that the company sets acceptable labour costs and
    40        above that, which effectively you have to keep below as a
    41        manager?
    42        A.  No, no.  You try to reach your budgeted labour costs.
    43
    44   Q.   If you get something above that figure it is a problem,.
    45        That is what it says there, does it not?
    46        A.  I would accept that.  If you are way above your
    47        projected budget on labour costs you have a problem
    48        somewhere because are you not meeting your budget, but that
    49        is exactly the same thing with anything else on the P&L.
    50 
    51   Q.   On page 597 under "Managing Labour"? 
    52        A.  Yes. 
    53
    54   Q.   If you would like to read that paragraph.  The middle
    55        sentence there says "Regardless of sales when labour is
    56        running high many managers automatically begin to cut
    57        unit-producing hours."   That is labour costs effectively,
    58        yes?
    59        A.  Well, read on. "This in turn negatively impact QS and
    60        customer satisfaction", so it is not approved of.

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