Day 181 - 01 Nov 95 - Page 46


     
     1        cafe in Brighton and Brighton pier, so I am afraid it is
     2        pretty limited as an employee.
     3
     4   Q.   You can see sometimes, at any rate, in many of the
     5        McDonald's restaurants -- I do not know about Narrow Way --
     6        what is going on the kitchen when you are standing waiting
     7        at the till?
     8        A.  No, you cannot.
     9
    10   Q.   You cannot.  Right, so how is it that you have any comment
    11        to offer apart from what you saw last year?
    12        A.  Well, precisely.  I mean, as an expert witness, I asked
    13        to go back of house because that was the area I was
    14        interested in.  You know, I did observe what is in my
    15        report, I observed the operation back of house and front,
    16        and I went further back into the office.  I looked at the
    17        Accident Book.  I saw the food production schedules which
    18        are up behind.  I am sure you are familiar with those.  The
    19        expected sales of the various types of products spread over
    20        the opening hours, and then the way in which the staffing
    21        is geared to that.  I met the managers, had lengthy,
    22        courteous, useful conversations with them.  You know, they
    23        were familiarization meetings.
    24
    25        I mean, the catering industry generally is pretty familiar
    26        to me.  I have been back of house in kitchens over many
    27        years.  I have been in kitchens far worse than McDonald's
    28        and far better, and you just get an idea.  I am an expert
    29        witness.  I can probably, you know, pick up fairly quickly
    30        a reasonable impression of the organisation.
    31
    32   Q.   The operation in the kitchen is a relatively static one, is
    33        it not, in the sense that people are at particular stations
    34        and they stay there, doing whatever they are doing.  That
    35        is right, is it not?
    36        A.  It did not look it to me.
    37
    38   Q.   It did not; what were they doing then?
    39        A.  Moving about.
    40
    41   Q.   Moving about.  Give us an example.  Tell us what you mean?
    42        A.  Well, by preparing food at one station or another,
    43        collecting things, delivering things, packing, going to the
    44        back, getting stuff forward.  I mean, it is not static,
    45        although I understand there is a division.  But I was
    46        disadvantaged because I did not see the units going at full
    47        steam, and maybe I would have preferred to have been able
    48        to sit there at full steam, look at them more closely,
    49        write notes, but I am afraid it was fairly obvious to me
    50        that I had my time at back of house and then would I please 
    51        go forward and we could have a cup of coffee.  So that is 
    52        how it was. 
    53
    54        I am not saying I was denied access.  I just simply
    55        reported what access I had and what I saw.  I am not trying
    56        to make anything up.  Equally, I was a bit disappointed as
    57        to the amount of information I got afterwards.
    58
    59   Q.   Yes, so I understand.  Thank you, Mr. Pearson.  Sorry, one
    60        final question, I meant to ask it earlier and I had

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