Day 151 - 10 Jul 95 - Page 70
1 regularly?
2 A. One of the best suggestions that came up about
3 conditions is I believe somebody suggested that we move to
4 bulk cola from the bag-in-the-box situation to save on
5 deliveries, which are some of their responsibilities. So
6 you are right, there have been a lot of improvements to our
7 system that have come about by people at the grass roots.
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest is you put ----
10
11 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- then we will call it a day.
14
15 MR. MORRIS: Your RAP sessions are, in reality, a total sham,
16 are they not?
17 A. No, they are not a total sham; otherwise I would have
18 crew walking out on me saying, "Why bother to have RAP
19 sessions because nobody listens to what we say", and, in
20 fact, we have done a lot of that; we have put Sunday
21 machines in restaurants; we have put regular menu staging;
22 we have improved and installed bulk cola and we encourage
23 people every single day of the week to look at their job
24 and see which way they can improve theirs and everybody
25 else's. To suggest that they are mindless idiots who come
26 to work and expect to do a RAP session and no one to take
27 any notice is quite out of left field.
28
29 Q. I am not suggesting anyone is a mindless idiot. I was
30 suggesting that your RAP sessions, if they are meant to
31 test the feelings, as you said -- I cannot remember the
32 exact quote -- "feedback on every conceivable issue" and
33 other people have said to act as a forum for crew members
34 to express their feelings over conditions in which they
35 work, they are a total failure?
36 A. No, they are not. If they were a total failure we
37 would look for another way to look at it. They are a very
38 good success and the system goes forward, the people like
39 it, and I do think you are suggesting they are mindless not
40 to see that in front of them. It does great harm to them
41 to suggest that they do not have the capabilities, mentally
42 and physically, to go and look for another job if that is
43 the way we would treat them. People enjoy working there;
44 they see their ideas put into practice, and they will
45 continue to see their ideas put into practice.
46
47 Q. I suggest to you that they are frightened to make any
48 criticisms that will identify them as having the wrong
49 attitude to the Company?
50 A. Absolutely not. People come to me and tell me if they
51 think ways could be improved. Strangely enough, people are
52 far more prepared to talk to me than maybe the Area
53 Manager, just in terms of, maybe that is the way I am more
54 experienced now to put people at their ease; so, therefore,
55 maybe I have got a better idea about what the grass roots
56 feeling is, but we have plenty of examples of people who
57 continue to tell us ways to improve the system, to take it
58 forward. Improving it is taking it from a very good
59 operating base to an even better operating base.
60 I positively encourage people to do that.
