Day 084 - 07 Feb 95 - Page 41
1 A. The incident report forms are sent off to head office,
2 so we do have the figures about people who bring back a
3 product that they say is under-cooked.
4
5 Q. Roughly how often does that get reported then?
6 A. An under-cooked product?
7
8 Q. Yes.
9 A. In an individual restaurant?
10
11 Q. Yes, OK.
12 A. It would be pure speculation. I do not have a figure.
13 I would not know a figure on that.
14
15 Q. What about a figure then for the total number of incident
16 report forms that you see about that subject?
17 A. There are probably -- I do not personally see them;
18 they go into the customer services department. It is my
19 belief that we get queries maybe a handful a month of
20 product that was suspected of being under-cooked. I do not
21 have detailed figures in my head, I am afraid.
22
23 Q. Customer services, would that be ----
24 A. Marianne Page runs the customer services department.
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Over what area is that handful a month? Is
27 that per restaurant?
28 A. That is over the whole country, the incident report
29 forms that come through.
30
31 Q. That applies to franchised restaurants as well as managed
32 ones, does it?
33 A. That is right, yes.
34
35 MS. STEEL: But, as you say, that does not include incidents
36 where the customer says, "Oh, this is a bit cold" and gets
37 the burger exchanged?
38 A. No, it would not. We have a policy of just trying to
39 solve the customer's complaint at the counter, and if they
40 ask for a replacement sandwich we will give them a
41 replacement sandwich.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Looking at food safety, tell me if I am
44 wrong, when the customer complains of it not being warm
45 enough that does not mean under-cooked?
46 A. No, it does not.
47
48 Q. You are not treating that as meaning under-cooked?
49 A. I am not treating that as meaning under-cooked. They
50 may have bought a sandwich, sat down with their family and
51 then got round to eating it a few minutes after they
52 purchased it and it may not be as hot they required. So it
53 has been fully cooked, yet when they came to eat it the
54 actual sandwich was not hot, so they take it back and ask
55 for a replacement.
56
57 Q. You do not argue the toss about that or that it should not
58 be the practice; you just get on and exchange it?
59 A. Our practice is to exchange the product and to satisfy
60 the customer's request there and then.
