Day 153 - 12 Jul 95 - Page 27


     
     1
     2   Q.   We have had that previously in the case; something like
     3        15.01 or something it was.  If you were worse than the
     4        national average, over 15 per cent, what would the area
     5        supervisor or -- what would they do?
     6        A.  They would ask you why it was a certain level, and it
     7        could be -- like, for instance, in Colchester it might be
     8        higher because we have got two dining areas, so therefore
     9        you would need to staff two dining areas.  That would
    10        increase the levels.
    11
    12        It was dependent upon your volume: the higher your volume,
    13        the easier it is to control your labour costs.  You may
    14        want an extra till person on.
    15
    16        It is not as cut and dried as that.  Generally, we would
    17        schedule the need; and the labour percentage, as long as it
    18        was not outrageous, was secondary to the needs of the
    19        store, within limits.
    20
    21        Obviously, you know, there comes a point where if you put
    22        three people on a dining area to look after the customers,
    23        then that is fine, you can look after your customers with
    24        three.  But if you 12 on the dining area, then really half
    25        of them would be doing virtually nothing and not increasing
    26        the satisfaction to your customers.
    27
    28        So the idea was to keep a balance, that you keep it within
    29        range.  So it was an optimum labour rather than a base
    30        minimum labour.
    31
    32   Q.   So when you say it was desirable to have a low labour cost,
    33        you would say it was not desirable to have a too low labour
    34        cost?
    35        A.  Certainly; not too low.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You see, you have taken one sentence, but one
    38        may as well read the whole lot, because is that not what
    39        Mr. Davis, rightly or wrongly, goes on to say:  "Of course,
    40        it was desirable to a have a low labour cost and we
    41        attempted to do this by forecasting when the store would be
    42        busy or quiet.  However, managers are taught that the
    43        labour in the store should always be sufficient to provide
    44        an excellent service to customers.  There is no point in
    45        having a very low labour cost and a very poor service."
    46
    47   MR. MORRIS:   Right.  So if it became a very low labour
    48        cost -----
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Which is just another way of stating 
    51        McDonald's case as I have summarised it earlier this 
    52        morning. 
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS:   But the aim is not to have a very low labour cost
    55        and a very poor service?
    56        A.  That is right.
    57
    58   Q.   Do you remember how much profit the Colchester store made
    59        in Store of the Year?
    60        A.  Not at all, no.

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