Day 166 - 28 Sep 95 - Page 49
1 restaurant?
2 A. Me, personally, not a great deal really.
3
4 MR. MORRIS: You are the store Manager but you do not spend --
5 what percentage of time would you spend as a Store Manager
6 looking at bits of paper?
7 A. In a store like that you also have various people to
8 help you which is -- I referred earlier to administration
9 assistants. In a smaller store, perhaps, you might do some
10 little reports yourself, but in a store like that I had
11 various people to help me do some of those chores. The
12 greatest extent of my time was looking after, if you like,
13 the business, the customers.
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can we just take stock a moment? We have
16 just a number of McDonald's witnesses (not very many) on
17 employment and, as I said towards the end of last term,
18 I really think the time has come to challenge and test the
19 bits of hard factual evidence, if you wish to, where you
20 have a witness who says something contrary to what, in this
21 case Mr. Atkinson has said in his statement. I think the
22 time is long past when the generalities are usefully
23 explored. If you are going to suggest that Mr. Atkinson
24 did not do this, that or the other because he was spending
25 all his time on paperwork or ----
26
27 MR. MORRIS: Or the other way round.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: -- he neglected the paperwork because he was
30 spending the whole time with customers, then put it to
31 him.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: I am just trying to think, really.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not think you have to take a long time.
36 There is no shame in cross-examination taking less time
37 than you thought. In fact, you get brownie points for it.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I am sure you do. I am sure I would. Dealing
40 with specific things raised by the evidence in this
41 particular ----
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, do. All I am trying to do is encourage
44 you to get straight to the point on it. Then, if you are
45 not happy with the answer, by all means test it. But I am
46 encouraging you to go straight to the point.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: Right. (To the witness) When you remembered
49 Nicholas Magill, you described him as hard working and
50 punctual, a nice lad, kept himself to himself and he never
51 made any complaints at times to you?
52 A. No.
53
54 Q. Is that how you remember him, as that kind of person who
55 did not make complaints just for the sake of stirring it
56 up, or anything like that, in the store?
57 A. I made that -- he did not complain to me or to anyone
58 that I know of. That is why I said that.
59
60 Q. Is that the kind of person he was, just quiet?
