This post is basically, a good old grumble about Pizza Hut's cost cutting measures :)
The EU bought in regulations regarding the shape, size and colouring of vegetables.
Most of the vegetables you'll buy in supermarkets will be Class 1, consistent shape vegetables and fruit. (No more LOL at the shape of that carrot, potato etc!). So all the vegetables that don't make the grade are then called Class 2 and are significantly cheaper. Aldi and other discounters will sell this stuff routinely.
Pizza Hut uses Class 2 vegetables, as they are cheaper. But it causes problems with how our products look. While we are badgered about the thickness of a slice of cucumber, "supply chain" are happy for us to use one cucumber which has virtually black skin, and others which are almost yellow.
While for the majority of the products it makes very little difference, it just shows that their commitment to quality goes as far as "only if it's cheap enough!".
Anyway enough moaning for this post. If I still have any readers left (I must start posting more regularly again and get my name back out there!!!!) Please leave a comment if you're still reading because it'd be great to hear from you!
Monday, 4 May 2009
Table for...
There are a few things which really annoy me about restaurant-goers.
Pair of mothers with 2 children in buggies...
"Table for two please"
It is quite obviously a table for 4. I can't sit you down on a table for two with two massive buses/buggies can I?!
I have taken to correcting parents on this and saying it's a table for 4. I don't understand why they don't count their children as real human beings, because most of the time the kids are nicer than the parents anyway. A lot of my colleagues are shocked when I correct the parents because they never do, but I think it stems from previously working a different format store. There you were still expected to be polite don't get me wrong, but it wasn't all lovey dovey.
That's not to say I'm rude, well not all the time. I have had a couple of notes written on the back of bills thanking me and when I do very occasionally serve tables, I get reasonable tips. I'm probably too honest with customers sometimes. There are a couple of items on the menu which are pretty dire and always disappoint customers and most of the time I tell them about it. They're normally very grateful for that, but some don't listen to my advice and low and behold cry back at me when they receive it.
The small salmon pasta bake for instance, looks like somebodys scrapped the remains of another portion and put it on the plate. Then an attempt to make it look better with some salad.
The tomato and mozzeralla salad is just the same. The mozzerela is ok but the tomatoes are normally floppy and totally unripe. I have a particular gripe about the vegetables but I will post that in a minute in a new post.
Pair of mothers with 2 children in buggies...
"Table for two please"
It is quite obviously a table for 4. I can't sit you down on a table for two with two massive buses/buggies can I?!
I have taken to correcting parents on this and saying it's a table for 4. I don't understand why they don't count their children as real human beings, because most of the time the kids are nicer than the parents anyway. A lot of my colleagues are shocked when I correct the parents because they never do, but I think it stems from previously working a different format store. There you were still expected to be polite don't get me wrong, but it wasn't all lovey dovey.
That's not to say I'm rude, well not all the time. I have had a couple of notes written on the back of bills thanking me and when I do very occasionally serve tables, I get reasonable tips. I'm probably too honest with customers sometimes. There are a couple of items on the menu which are pretty dire and always disappoint customers and most of the time I tell them about it. They're normally very grateful for that, but some don't listen to my advice and low and behold cry back at me when they receive it.
The small salmon pasta bake for instance, looks like somebodys scrapped the remains of another portion and put it on the plate. Then an attempt to make it look better with some salad.
The tomato and mozzeralla salad is just the same. The mozzerela is ok but the tomatoes are normally floppy and totally unripe. I have a particular gripe about the vegetables but I will post that in a minute in a new post.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Toilets
The restaurant has toilets, it's got ladies, gents and disabled/baby change. These are for customer use only, not anyone who walks off the street and needs the loo.
Occasionally we let people use them, if they're nice, but when they walk in and just assume they have the right to - we don't, well, I don't. Luckily they are tucked away at the back and it means a long walk to them, so they can't be sneaky and slither in.
Based on what I saw my manager say to these kids who wanted to use the toilet, I took that as being the "standard" way to say no. To be honest I think she has had some kind of army training because she is so firm and pretty scary to the average person, she takes no prisoners.
So, do you think I was right, wrong, or just very mean in this situation:
-There are public toilets available about 200 yards away
-The restaurant was full at lunchtime
"Where are the toilets?"
"Do you want a table?"
"No she [younger sister I think] needs to go toilet"
"Oh, they're for customers only, sorry - the public ones are over there near.." (pointing)
"Shes going to wee herself"
"Right"
"Well can she not use yours"
"Sorry I'm not allowed to let you. There are some literally a minute away over there"
"WELL SHES GOING TO WEE HERSELF - DISGRACEFUL"
And she walked out. Now afterwards, two waitresses said I was mean. I think I was reasonable, helpful and considerate of our proper customers. Ok, I do feel quite guilty now, to the extent where it's mentioned in my Facebook status!!
So thats the subject of toilets covered, I don't think the discussions regarding them will ever really change. I've already seen a couple of people trying to "go it alone" with finding the toilets, and they end up in the potwash area, which is quite funny.
Occasionally we let people use them, if they're nice, but when they walk in and just assume they have the right to - we don't, well, I don't. Luckily they are tucked away at the back and it means a long walk to them, so they can't be sneaky and slither in.
Based on what I saw my manager say to these kids who wanted to use the toilet, I took that as being the "standard" way to say no. To be honest I think she has had some kind of army training because she is so firm and pretty scary to the average person, she takes no prisoners.
So, do you think I was right, wrong, or just very mean in this situation:
-There are public toilets available about 200 yards away
-The restaurant was full at lunchtime
"Where are the toilets?"
"Do you want a table?"
"No she [younger sister I think] needs to go toilet"
"Oh, they're for customers only, sorry - the public ones are over there near.." (pointing)
"Shes going to wee herself"
"Right"
"Well can she not use yours"
"Sorry I'm not allowed to let you. There are some literally a minute away over there"
"WELL SHES GOING TO WEE HERSELF - DISGRACEFUL"
And she walked out. Now afterwards, two waitresses said I was mean. I think I was reasonable, helpful and considerate of our proper customers. Ok, I do feel quite guilty now, to the extent where it's mentioned in my Facebook status!!
So thats the subject of toilets covered, I don't think the discussions regarding them will ever really change. I've already seen a couple of people trying to "go it alone" with finding the toilets, and they end up in the potwash area, which is quite funny.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Online orders
Now all Pizza Hut's are using the fantastic Micros system, online ordering is available for collection and delivery from nearly every hut.
The problem is although it works most of the time, the time it doesn't is the time when you get a silly customer.
If a customer wants to collect in an hour - we won't even know about that order until about 20-30 minutes before the collection is due. Which I suppose can cut down on confusion, but I'm not too sure. The real problems come when the customer inputs their own order. Basically they use our system but in a more 'user friendly' way. So you get orders like this:
M Pan Supreme
NO PEPPERONI
DBL PEPPERONI
NO MUSH
DBL MUSH
and so on.
You get orders which end up cancelling each other out, why the system even allows the customer to do this is baffling.
You'd think they would fix this problem. No - they call it costly. A new menu has just been introduced, with a few price increases. So they spend thousands on these new menus, and changing the website price should just be a quick thing which the internal IT team can do. Not this time though, we got a memo which basically said - because the price increases aren't very big, it isn't economically viable to change the website, so when we receive online orders could you please honour the old price.
Anyway, that'll do for now on the rant. Now I work in a new place I will post more regularly, because the customers are a hell of a lot more ratty.
The problem is although it works most of the time, the time it doesn't is the time when you get a silly customer.
If a customer wants to collect in an hour - we won't even know about that order until about 20-30 minutes before the collection is due. Which I suppose can cut down on confusion, but I'm not too sure. The real problems come when the customer inputs their own order. Basically they use our system but in a more 'user friendly' way. So you get orders like this:
M Pan Supreme
NO PEPPERONI
DBL PEPPERONI
NO MUSH
DBL MUSH
and so on.
You get orders which end up cancelling each other out, why the system even allows the customer to do this is baffling.
You'd think they would fix this problem. No - they call it costly. A new menu has just been introduced, with a few price increases. So they spend thousands on these new menus, and changing the website price should just be a quick thing which the internal IT team can do. Not this time though, we got a memo which basically said - because the price increases aren't very big, it isn't economically viable to change the website, so when we receive online orders could you please honour the old price.
Anyway, that'll do for now on the rant. Now I work in a new place I will post more regularly, because the customers are a hell of a lot more ratty.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Change......
Hi (special hi to James :))
Just to say...I have moved store and now work in a full restaurant. I therefore have quite a few bits I'll be blogging about...so stay tuned if you haven't gone already!
Just to say...I have moved store and now work in a full restaurant. I therefore have quite a few bits I'll be blogging about...so stay tuned if you haven't gone already!
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