Upload
nicola-waldren
View
228
Download
6
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The November issue of the Restaurant Association of NZ's membership newsletter with news and information on the hospitality industry.
Citation preview
No Shortage Of Managers
The plan to remove Café, Bar and Restaurant Managers from Immigration New Zealand’s essential skills in demand list is a move that will hurt the hospitality sector. BY MARISA BIDOIS
R ecruiting and retaining high calibre staff able to work as café, bar and restaurant managers has always been a challenge for the industry. Many of our workers consider a hospitality job
as a short stop on the way to a job somewhere else, rather than the legitimate career that it is.
Evidence from the industry indicates there continues to be a severe shortage of skilled staff available to fill these management roles and this situation has worsened over the past two years. An informal survey of members we conducted just last month found that 90% of respondents reported an unacceptable level of difficulty in recruiting for these positions.
While business owners are committed to developing, training and promoting from within as well as incentivising staff to stay by providing additional benefits, it has not been enough to stem the rising tide of shortages. We have also played a role; since 2006, the Restaurant Association has run professional development programmes for the industry ranging from induction workshops for front -of-house staff through to emerging and first time manager workshops. However, despite these efforts there is strong evidence of continuing difficulties in recruiting for these positions.
The shortfall in suitable management staff is impacting the sector overall, but most importantly it is impacting business owners. Many report working significantly longer hours because they have been unable to recruit a manager. This adds stress not only to the owner, but other workers too, and impacts the work environment. It also has the potential to impact customer service levels and therefore customers’ dining experiences and perceptions of the industry.
We can be justifiably proud of our hospitality sector, but at the same time we should be doing all we can to make sure it is as strong and as vibrant as it can possibly be. Removing this manager position from the Essential Skills in Demand List will do our industry and our country no favours.
planning for christmas For employers planning rosters, or closedowns, over the Christmas/New Year period, or those wanting clarity on paying staff for public holidays. We outline some of the key information to help you get through these busy weeks.
09
you’re not the only responsible host Getting your staff match ready for the busy summer season should involve a refresh of your host responsibility policies.
18
effective staff incentives 20
In NZ… apparently
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 2
think your café is the best?
02
SID
AR
T R
ES
TA
UR
AN
T,
AU
CK
LA
ND
12
don’t neglect the detail...
SID
AR
T R
ES
TA
UR
AN
T,
AU
CK
LA
ND
S
IDA
RT
RE
STA
UR
AN
T,
AU
CK
LA
ND
Around 400 cafés are involved in the nationwide
competition and with more than 20,000 public votes, it is
Warkworth, Timaru, Te Kuiti, Napier, Greymouth and
Gore who host some of the country’s most popular small
eateries.
In its inaugural year, the NZ Café of the Year competition
pits cafés from the length and breadth of the country
against each other.
The top three café finalists in the five regions are:
Upper North Island: Chocolate Brown (Warkworth), Urban Soul (Botany, Auckland) and Paper Moon (Mairangi Bay, Auckland).
Central North Island: Bosco Café (Te Kuiti), Capers Café (Rotorua) and Corogate Café (Thames).
Lower North Island: Mega Café (Masterton), Café Ahuriri (Napier) and Macfarlanes Caffé (Inglewood)
Upper South Island: Maggies Kitchen (Greymouth), Artisan by Rangiora Bakery (Rangiora) and Luciano Espresso Bar (Christchurch).
Lower South Island: The Roost Cafe (Oamaru), Jagz of Village Green (Invercargill) and The Green Room Café (Gore).
Public voting determined the 15 regional finalists and now the cafés are being
judged on appearance, atmosphere, service, meals and overall experience by an
expert team of judges, organised by the Restaurant Association of NZ. The winning
café, announced on 12th November, claims the title of NZ Café of the Year 2012
and will feature on the popular primetime TV segment Food in a Minute.
Classic Kiwi Dishes Get Creative Spin For NZ Café of the Year
Home-grown hospitality and creative cuisine are the winners in the Cafe of the Year competition with the top 15 coming from regional New Zealand.
WHO IS INVOLVED? This competition is supported by iconic food brands KIWI BACON and WATTIE’S,
together with the RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION. For more information go to the
website www.nzcafeoftheyear.co.nz
Some rather creative bacon and bean dishes are among the finalists: Warkworth’s Chocolate Brown “Kiwi Special”.
It features Wattie’s Baked Beans, crispy Kiwi
Bacon, home-made potato rosti, soft poached
egg, fresh herb salsa verde and watercress.
Another clever creation comes from Café Ahuriri
in Napier with their classic dish with a twist.
A filo shell filled with Wattie’s Baked Beans with
an egg cracked over the top, finished with a
dusting of Grana Padano cheese. It is baked in
the oven until crisp and served on a bed of crispy
streaky Kiwi Bacon and topped with mascarpone
cheese and spring onion curls. The dish is
finished with a watercress pesto drizzle.
“We’re delighted with the calibre of the cuisine
we are seeing in this competition,” says Kristy
Blackman, Kiwi Bacon senior marketing manager.
“There are some truly classic dishes coming
through and one of them is set to be enshrined as
a Kiwi favourite.”
BELOW FROM LEFT: Chocolate Brown’s Kiwi Classic; Bosco
Café’s Bean to Bosco dish; and Mega Café in Masterton’s
Kiwi Breakfast
proudly brought to you by Outdoor Concepts
November 2011 09 ceo update
FROM THE CEO’s DESK
Immediate Skills Shortage List
One of the main concerns on my mind at the moment is
the possible removal of Café, Bar and Restaurant
Manager from the Immediate Skills Shortage List. Our
most recent survey addressing this matter turned up that
90% of you are struggling to fill these positions. This is an
increase from a similar survey that was sent out in 2010,
pre Rugby World Cup.
With this kind of information in its hands I fail to see how
a government department can make a decision to remove
these positions from the list. The government is on a
strategic mission to employ New Zealanders and I am all
for that, but the reality of the situation is that many of our
own are not interested in taking up these positions or they
are being enticed overseas by the prospect of higher
wages.
A letter from the department in response to our
submission read as follows:
“Before we finalise our advice we want to let you know
that our recommendations will be to remove Café/
Restaurant Manager from the Immediate Skill Shortage List
on the basis that this occupation has been on the list for
several years and industry has had time to train and
develop New Zealanders into these roles. As you might
remember we reviewed this occupation in 2010 and
retained the occupation on the Immediate Skill Shortage
List in order to meet the extra hospitality demands
associated with the Rugby World Cup.”
The Association will do all we can to ensure that these
positions remain on the Immediate Skills Shortage List and
will keep you posted on our activities. If you would like to
be involved please contact the Association or your local
branch president. Be sure to keep an eye on the website
and Facebook for updates and share your stories with us
about your recruitment troubles.
The last two months have been all go here at the Association. BY MARISA BIDOIS
THE THYMES November 2012 03
ceo’s update
Café of the Year
The Association is a supporter of NZ Café of the Year
(along with principal sponsors Watties and Kiwi Bacon)
and the fifteen finalists have been announced.
I would like to send special congratulations to our
members that have made the finalist list: Bosco Café in
Te Kuiti, Capers Café in Rotorua and Macfarlanes Caffe
in New Plymouth. Well done! The Association has been
involved in organising the judges for the final leg of the
competition. We have selected a panel of experienced
professionals to select the overall winner of the
competition. With some 20,000 public votes this has
been a very successful first year for the competition.
A few changes on the home base...
There have been a few changes to our team here at the
Association. We welcome back Kirsten Lethbridge who
has returned from parental leave to look after
membership and the employment helpline. We farewell
Blair Fergus who was covering Kirsten’s role while she
was away. Margaret Main has been providing
employment advice in Kirsten’s absence and will stay on,
on an ‘as and when needed’ basis.
Christmas madness
Over the Christmas New Year period the Association’s
offices will be closed on the public holidays and also
Christmas and New Year’s Eve. However, we are still
contactable on our after hours
helpline (027 559 7777), so we’re
never far away if you need advice.
I hope this time of year will be
profitable for you all. Thank you
for your continued support of the
Association and I look forward to
working with you more in the New
Year. We have a great year
planned for 2013.
Marisa Bidois
advertisement
Source: www.fohboh.com
international update 16 THE THYMES September 2012
DO: Make the customer feel special Greet the guests promptly. Some restaurants even
establish a time limit, usually fewer than 2 minutes, by
which a patron must be acknowledged. This is the first
impression guests get of your restaurant, and at this point
they are very much free to walk down the street to the
next place if it seems like you can't be bothered to notice
them. Be warm and friendly, but discreet. It's your job to
provide excellent service, not be their new friend.
Know the menu
You should know every part of the menu inside and out,
no exceptions. When you are knowledgeable about the
product you set the customer at ease—this is your time to
shine as a server. Not only is it part of great service, but
allergens are no joke—if a customer tells you they're
allergic, you'd better know the ingredients of everything
that will touch their plate, and what dishes are likely to be
prepared alongside theirs.
Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate
The hallmark of truly excellent service is taking care of
needs without the guest having to ask. Note this is very
different from hovering. Drink refills, child seats, knowing
where each dish is going before it gets to the
table. If one order is holding up the rest
significantly, address it – different
establishments will have different policies.
Combine tasks
Anywhere you are moving and whatever
your task, always be thinking, “What else
could I be doing?” From clearing
plates, going around the floor with
water refills, or helping another
server carry their order out, there
should rarely be any reason for
you to be empty-handed. There is
never downtime in a restaurant.
DON’T: Be pushy, interrupt It's true what your grandma told you— patience is a virtue.
Wait for pauses in conversation before checking in on a
table or reciting specials. While it's good to be attentive,
don't obsessively refill drinks or clear plates when other
guests are still eating. It's good to be available, but more
important to be discreetly helpful than annoyingly hovering.
Be hard to reach
The other side of this coin is to make yourself available to
your table at all times, even when you are completely
slammed. When you're moving, your eyes should be
constantly scanning. You can't be everywhere at once, but
simply making eye contact with a patron and
acknowledging that you will help them soon goes a long
way toward alleviating the tension a guest feels when they
need you and you're nowhere to be found— or worse still,
they can see you and you're ignoring them.
Get defensive
Dealing with criticism is part and parcel of the job, and it's
important to take complaints with grace, even (especially)
the outrageous ones. A well-run restaurant empowers staff
to take customer problems and make them right. You will
never make any situation better by blaming the customer.
RESTAURANT DO’S DON’TS &
ADVERTISEMENT
Photo Mania Your friends should know better than
to start eating before you've
Instagrammed it. And you've lost all
shame for setting off your flash at a
crowded restaurant.
Fancy Condiment Fanaticism Regular ketchup and mustard just don't cut it anymore as food
nerds reach for sriracha. Bingo - nerdiness confirmed as they
slather this spicy sweet Thai sauce on pretty much everything.
Proper Gear In their kitchen you have to look for tricked-out gear that you
think seems like it would rarely have the occasion for use.
The more expensive, the more devoted you are to geekery.
An at-home sous-vide machine is the perfect example - shiny,
not that functional and expensive.
You Have a Restaurant Bucket List Hitting every new restaurant that's worth going to is pretty
much impossible, but that doesn't mean you can't try. Food
nerds are passionate about going out, and they are always
looking for new place to hit. Once a new hole-in-the-wall
Thai joint or crazy-expensive fine-dining establishment is
found, it goes on the list.
The selection of potential restaurants is always getting
updated, and by its ever-expanding nature it's impossible
to hit every one. When looking for a
place to go on a random night, they
will consult the list (and new friends
with similar tastes will compare lists to
make plans).
You are a Food Truck
Follower Another piece of evidence that
your love of eating on the go
may bring you into the geek
category is your social
feeds. If you use Twitter to
stay on top of the trucks,
and will up and run from
wherever you are when you
find out one is close to you, you might as well hashtag
#FoodNerd when you at-reply them to say you're coming.
Cocktail Geekery Whether you're making basil gimlets at your home bar on a
Monday evening or debating Campari vs. Aperol at a
high-end lounge with a mustachioed bartender, a fine
appreciation of cocktail culture is pretty much a sure sign of
food nerd-ness.
Discretionary Income, and Then Some If you're still doubting your food-nerd status, look at your bank
account. If you've paid rent a few days late because you
wanted to splurge on that impossible-to-get reservation or if
you've racked up the bills paying for ingredients like starfruit
and saffron, chances are that you're laying out the dough to
satisfy your inner geek.
If you go to a restaurant and you think it's no big deal to
spend $4 extra for them to put fresh
ramps on your salad, chances are
your wallet will be bare, but your
cupboards anything but. Food
geekery is expensive - cha-ching!
PRESIDENT’S VIEWPOINT I ENJOYED AN ARTICLE BY JAMES MULCAHY WHICH FEATURED ON ZAGAT.COM RECENTLY AND I’VE HIGHLIGHTED THE BEST BITS BELOW... BY MIKE EGAN
YOU KNOW YOU’RE A FOOD NERD WHEN
proudly brought to you by S tar l ine
THE THYMES November 2012 05
president’s viewpoint
advertisement
Things to do … DINE AT THE...
WHAT’S ON! What’s On ...NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
November2
-11 Food and Wine Classic, Hawkes Bay
www.fawc.co.nz
08
-10 Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, Hong Kong
www.hktdc.com
10
-17 NZ Cup and Show Week, Christchurch
www.nzcupandshow.co.nz
12
Winner of NZ Café of the Year announced
www.nzcafeoftheyear.co.nz
13
Restaurant Association Front of House Induction Workshop @ taste, Mt
Eden. Auckland
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
15
-18 Taste of Auckland
www.tasteofauckland.co.nz
15
-18 Taste of Melbourne
www.tasteofmelbourne.com.au
16
Canterbury Anniversary Day
(regional public holiday)
18
Toast Martinborough, Martinborough
www.toastmartinborough.co.nz
20
Restaurant Association webinar series,
Employment Law FAQ’s, presented by Hesketh
Henry solicitors
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
24
Air New Zealand Wine Awards announced,
Wellington
www.airnzwineawards.com
30
Whitebait season closes
December3
Westland Anniversary Day (regional public
holiday)
15
Cherry and Raspberry
season begins!
14
School finishes (secondary schools)
20
School finishes (primary and intermediate schools)
25
Christmas Day (public holiday)
26
Boxing Day (public holiday)
31
New Years Eve
2013
January1
New Years Day (public holiday)
02
Day After New Years Day (public holiday)
07
-12 Heineken Open tennis tournament,
Auckland
www.heinekenopen.co.nz
14
Southland Anniversary Day (regional public
holiday)
21
Wellington Anniversary Day (regional public
holiday)
26
Auckland Seafood Festival, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
www.seafoodfestival.co.nz
28
-31 Pinot Noir NZ 2013, Wellington
www.pinotnz.co.nz
28
Auckland Anniversary Day (regional public
holiday)
events—national & international 06 THE THYMES November 2012
November 2011 14 managing your business
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO SELL?...
After meeting with you a broker will be able to give you an indication of the value of your business and can also recommend
what you might be required to do in order to achieve the maximum value for your business. The other thing to remember, if
you are looking at valuing, or selling, your business, is to choose a firm that is passionate about and has experience in the
sale of food and beverage businesses.
The best time is when there are keen buyers in the market to purchase a business—and that is the case now. But if
you are thinking of selling, a broker will need to understand your business in order to appraise it and give you an
honest opinion on the current market value. So you’ll need to get some affairs in order. BY GLORIANNE CAMPBELL
What do you need to do?
Meet with the broker so they can learn the nuts and bolts of your business, the history and further potential of the
business.
Provide a copy of the lease which will outline the duration of the lease, other factors pertaining to the business’
use and the landlord requirements relating to the lease.
Provide GST returns and/or financial statements relating to the business. Looking at these will assist in ascertaining
the cost of sales, gross profit of the business, wages, rent and other expenses and the likely profit achievable from
the business. In the absence of financials the broker will need to sit with you and learn what your usual costs of
running the business are and also what your weekly sales are.
Staff roster – this indicates the level of staffing that is required in the business and how the owners of the business
work in the business. This is a very important component of the business to understand when looking to marry
prospective buyers of a business into different staffing roles.
Details about any leased or hired items of the business that you will require the buyer to take responsibility for from
settlement date.
ADVERTISEMENT
PLANNING FOR CHRISTMAS
For employers planning their rosters, or their closedowns, over the Christmas/New Year period, or those wanting clarity on paying staff over the public holidays. We outline some of the key information to help you get through these busy weeks.
W ith the busy season upon us
many employers are considering
their rosters over the Christmas and
New Year period and with this comes
the usual confusion over payment for
workers on the public holidays.
Thankfully this year these days fall
during the week, making the process
a little simpler than last year...
The public holidays over the
Christmas/New Year period in
2012/2013 are
Christmas Day ~ Tuesday 25 December
2012
Boxing Day ~ Wednesday 26 December
2012
New Year's Day ~ Tuesday 01 January
2013
Day after New Year’s Day ~ Wednesday
02 January 2013
Payment for working on a
public holiday
Anyone who works on a public holiday
is entitled to be paid at a rate of time
and a half. If the public holiday is a
day that they would normally work (for
instance the public holiday is on a
Tuesday and the employee usually
works on a Tuesday), and they do work
it, then they are also entitled to one
days full paid leave – an alternative
holiday - to take sometime in the
future. If the public holiday falls on a
day that is not a normal day of work
for the employee, and they do work it,
then they are entitled to be paid at time
and a half but they do not earn an
alternative holiday.
Payment if not working on
a public holiday
The Restaurant Association individual
employment agreement sets out that
employees will be required to work on
public holidays if requested by the
employer. However, if an employee
would normally be working on the day
that the public holiday falls, but it has
been agreed that they have the day off,
christmas game plan 10 THE THYMES November 2012
they are entitled to be paid the amount
of pay that they would have received
had they worked on that day (their
relevant daily pay). If the employee
does not work on a public holiday
because it is their normal rostered day
off, there is no obligation to pay the
employee for that day.
Closedowns
During a closedown an employer may
require employees to take all or some
of their annual leave during the period
of the closedown, even where this
requires employees to take leave for
which they are not fully reimbursed. As
an example, for employees in their first
year of employment, the level of
annual holiday pay for the period of
the closedown can be established by:
the employer paying the employee
8% of gross earnings to date, or
the employer and employee
agreeing to the employee taking
annual holidays in advance and
being paid even though there is not
yet an entitlement to take the
accrued leave.
If you are planning a closedown you
need to give your staff 14 days notice
of a closedown period (so now is the
time to notify your employees). And
don’t forget that a public holiday that
occurs during an employee's annual
holidays must be treated as a public
holiday and not as part of the
employee's annual holidays. The
employee is still entitled to be paid for
a public holiday if the holiday would
have otherwise been a working day for
the employee.
If you have queries
about
paying your
staff for
public
holidays or
closedown
periods, call
our HELP DESK
on
0800 737 827.
WAYS TO STAY MERRY!
Here is some tried and true advice to help you and your staff get through the season.
Remember to train your staff well on
your businesses protocol for large bookings,
i.e limits, numbers, set menus etc so that you
secure those bookings right away. First point
of contact to the customer is crucial.
Put incentives in place for staff to up-sell
bubbly over the festive season, make a
competition out of it and get your reps to
provide some bubbly as the prize. Over the
festive season this can be a great way to
boost takings.
Make sure there is some bubbles on ice for
you to toast the end of the year. Most
important!
Hayley Scott, Zinc Café. Hamilton
The thing that my team like best is
TIME OFF! So over the years I’ve gotten into
the tradition of being closed on Christmas
Eve night (as everyone really wants to be
home wrapping those last minute presents)
and Christmas and Boxing Day. We also
don’t open on New Year’s Eve. I find it’s for
revellers, not quiet diners. Whilst it may not
be the most profitable move closing at those
times, it does make me very popular with my
staff and that’s not such a bad thing.
Barbara Olsen-Henderson,
Bach on Breakwater, New Plymouth
Look after your staff and have fun. If
it’s not fun and they do not enjoy their work,
will your customers enjoy their experience? It
all comes down to selection in the first place,
choose people who care about others…they
are the ones who care about the team, care
about the customer and care about your
business.
Shelly Witchalls, Shelly’s Food for Friends,
Blenheim
“
“ “
“
“
“
What is the best way of hiring temporary staff to help out over your busier times of year?
I f you are hiring seasonal staff for a few months over summer, it is advisable
that they are employed on a fixed term employment arrangement. Employing
someone for a fixed period of time to help out over a busy trading period is a
legitimate business arrangement but there are a few key points to remember:
Details of this arrangement should be clearly outlined in writing, in the
employee’s employment agreement, to avoid any confusion as to the nature
of the employment relationship.
With fixed term employment arrangements employment is not on-going and
comes to an end on a specific date or in response to the occurrence of a
particular event.
Once the employment comes to an end at the completion of the fixed term
this does not constitute a dismissal or a redundancy situation.
A fixed term agreement cannot be used in order to establish the suitability of
an employee for permanent employment. This is what trial period or
probationary period clauses are for.
Ensure you review fixed term arrangements as circumstances may change with
the possibility that the employee may become a permanent employee.
You may also find that you need to hire some casual employees to help you out
over particularly busy times. Casual employment can be defined as where an
employee is employed when and if needed, and where there is no particular
expectation of continuing employment. Some hospitality businesses do
legitimately have a selection of casual employees. They usually form part of a
group of employees upon whom the employer can call, when required, to help
out on a busy night, or to assist at a function, or to fill in for a sick employee.
As true casuals have no ordinary working days, and their employment is
not continuous, they typically have no entitlement to service-related
benefits such as sick leave, bereavement leave or parental leave, or to
any additional payment (day in lieu) for working on public holidays.
They will not become entitled to four weeks’ annual holiday, but the
employer is required to pay 8% of the employees gross earnings at the
completion of each work engagement in recognition of their
entitlement to annual leave. It is important that this amount is clearly
indicated as a separate payment on their pay slip.
Casual employment must be closely monitored. Where ‘casual’
employees are being used regularly each week, or on certain days
of the week, it is likely that their status has changed to permanent
part-time workers. This can cause payment and entitlement
problems, so we advise seeking advice.
new legislation update November 2011 08
EMPLOYING SEASONAL WORKERS
Employers have generally welcomed the
announcement of a new “starting-out
wage” which allows eligible 16 to 19-
year-olds to begin work at 80 per cent
of the minimum wage.
The Government’s focus, with the introduction
of this wage, is providing further opportunity to
help young people to get into work, earn
money and get the job experience they need.
The youth minimum wage was abolished in
2008 and replaced by a ‘new entrants wage’
which applies for the first three months or 200
cumulative hours (from all current and previous
jobs). Research indicates that the new entrants
wage is used by only 2 per cent of employers,
with businesses complaining that it’s too
complicated, impractical and fleeting to bother
with.
This new starting out wage will be available to
eligible employees for six months (doubling the
three months of the new entrants wage) and 16
& 17 year olds remain eligible for the starting
out wage with each new employer . The new
wage also extends the availability to 18 and 19
year olds coming off the benefit.
The three groups of employees eligible (unless
they are training or supervising others) are:
16 and 17-year-olds in their first six months
of work with a new employer;
18 and 19-year-olds entering the workforce
after more than six months on a benefit;
16 to 19-year-old workers in a recognised
industry training course involving at least 40
credits a year.
The changes are planned to come into effect
from 1 April 2013.
$tarting Out Wage Gains Support Of Employers
THE THYMES November 2012 11
DON’T NEGLECT DETAIL IN DISCIPLINARY PROCESS
Several determinations by the Employment Relations Authority recently which have found against the employer emphasize the importance of following correct process in employment matters. We look at two cases involving hospitality businesses...
Dismissed!
employment matters
EMPLOYER PAYS $10,000 FOR UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL Owners of Auckland cafe ordered to pay staff member $10,000 after firing him for allegedly stealing money.
I n this case, an employee began work at a café in
Auckland in October 2011. At the end of his shift on
14 January 2012 the owner of the café asked the em-
ployee to sit down with her at a table, in the middle of the
busy café, in full view of patrons and other staff. When
the employee joined her at the table the owner immedi-
ately alleged that two of his colleagues had seen him
take money out of the till and put it in his pocket during
his shift one week prior, on 07 January 2012.
When the employee could not readily offer an
explanation for what his colleagues had allegedly seen
(07 January was one of the café’s busiest days with
customers lined up outside the café’s door for most of the
day) he was dismissed with immediate effect. The meeting
took less than ten minutes.
The employee then spent the next few days going over
and over in his mind what incident the café’s owner could
have been referring to and wrote to her on 17 January
denying stealing from the café and expressing
embarrassment at the way he had been dealt with. The
employee asked his former employer to reconsider his
employment but she did not respond to his letter.
On 18 January the employee then recalled that on 07
January he had served a family who had been billed $85
which the father paid for with a $100 note. When he
processed the payment he forgot to give the customer
their $15 change so he apologised to the customer when
he returned to the table and said he would bring their
change over. He said the customer told him to ‘keep the
change’, so he returned to the till and removed $15 cash
which he put in his pocket as the tip he had been given.
He says he did not recall this earlier because when he
was questioned on 14 January he was blindsided and
therefore too shocked to be able to recall anything
specific about 07 January.
The employee said he believed he was entitled to keep
the tip because it was given to him personally and
because that had been the usual practice with other
hospitality jobs he had held.
In their determination the Authority assessed whether the
employer’s actions, and how the employer acted, were
what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in
all the circumstances at the time the dismissal occurred.
Because the café had not checked or retained till receipts
for 07 January, it could not corroborate or disprove the
employee’s explanation about the personal tip. The cafe
also failed to investigate the day's total takings against
the till receipts, and was actually $11 up on January 7.
Furthermore, the cafe failed to obtain written statements
from the witnesses or to consider that the employee made
no attempt to conceal his actions when he took the $15.
An employer also has statutory good faith obligations to
give an employee whose ongoing employment may be in
jeopardy access to information relevant to the
continuation of their employment and an opportunity to
comment on that before a final decision is made. The
Authority found that the café did not act fairly or properly
when it raised its concerns with the employee. He had no
advance notice of the meeting held on 14 January and
had no idea it was to be a disciplinary meeting. He had
no idea his ongoing employment was in jeopardy or why,
and, other than being accused of theft, he was not given
relevant information during the meeting.
The café’s actions deprived the employee of any
opportunity to:
a. Access or respond to the information upon which they
based the decision about his ongoing employment;
b. Take advice;
c. Arrange for a support person or representative to
accompany him at the disciplinary meeting;
d. Prepare his response to the theft allegation.
THE OUTCOME: As the Authority found that the employer’s actions were
not what a fair and reasonable
employer could have done in all the
circumstances at the time the
employee was dismissed, it was
therefore unable to justify his
dismissal. The café was ordered to
pay the employee $4,662.50 in lost
remuneration and $5,400.00 for
distress compensation.
THE THYMES November 2012 13
employment update
employment matters
A nother Authority case involved a prominent catering
company who dismissed an employee for being
intoxicated off duty, which was contrary to the business’
company policy. In this case, while it was found that there
was justification to dismiss the employee a slip up with
the process in conducting the dismissal procedure
resulted in the employee successfully arguing a claim for
unjustified dismissal.
The employee worked as an operations manager at the
Cloud, the Rugby World Cup venue in Auckland, where
the catering company had a contract. In October 2011
the employee turned up to the Cloud on her day off in an
intoxicated state and began to act inappropriately. As
there was concern that an incident may develop the
human resources manager for the catering company was
called and she arrived with the sales director to
investigate the incident. The employee had left at that
point but several employees were interviewed about the
events of the evening and on that basis it was decided
that further investigation would be required.
The following day four other employees were interviewed
and when the employee arrived for her scheduled shift
she was told that she was suspended on full pay until the
investigation was complete.
The employee indicated that while she had been
informed that the suspension was connected to an
investigation that she had been drunk whilst on duty and
to allegations of abuse, the suspension had not been
confirmed in writing despite her requesting this in three
emails, nor had she been given any indication of how
long the suspension was to last.
After a disciplinary meeting the following week the
employee was dismissed with immediate effect on the
grounds of serious misconduct. ‘Being intoxicated on site
whilst off duty’ constituted serious misconduct as set out
in the business’ house rules.
The Authority considered that the catering company had
fully investigated this allegation and that they had
reasonable grounds for concluding that the employee
had been intoxicated whilst off duty at the Cloud on the
evening in question. They had justification for dismissing
the employee on this basis. The Authority held however
that the dismissal was procedurally unfair.
The employee was suspended the day following the
incident and informed that the allegations against her
were that she had been drunk on duty and abusive. The
law is clear that the employee should have been provided
with access to pertinent information about the decision to
suspend her, and the opportunity to comment on this
information prior to the decision to suspend her being
made. However this did not occur despite requests for
this information.
These initial allegations were expanded on in a telephone
conversation with the employee’s lawyer, prior to the
disciplinary meeting, to include allegations of being
intoxicated on the premises; however two other
allegations (of opening an unauthorised bar account and
inappropriate use of a radio) were not mentioned. Again,
details of the allegations were not confirmed in writing
despite a request for them to be.
The Authority found that a fair and reasonable employer
would have provided the employee with full information
concerning the allegations against her, both at the time
of her suspension and prior to the disciplinary meeting
being held. As a result of the employers failure to do this
the Authority found that the employee was unjustifiably
dismissed.
The Authority awarded compensation of $3,000 to the
employee however this was reduced by 90% due to the
contributing actions of the employee, resulting in a
reduction to $300.
DISMISSAL OF INTOXICATED WORKER JUSTIFIED BUT PROCESS FLAWED
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE TWO CASES?
Don’t rush to any conclusions without fully investigating the
alleged incident.
Arrange a time to meet the employee privately, away from
customers and staff.
Ensure you inform the employee of their right to bring a support
person or representative to the meeting.
Ensure that the invitation to a disciplinary meeting is in writing
and outlines the reasons for the meeting.
Provide the employee with all the information that you have
concerning the allegations against them and any decisions you
make using this information.
14 THE THYMES November 2012 employment update
ON THE HORIZON regulations & legislation in review
One of the Restaurant Association’s aims is to ensure that our
members are kept abreast of possible regulatory changes that may
impact our businesses and so we’d like to let you know of some
recent developments…
Waitangi Day & ANZAC Day
The Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment
Bill seeks to “Monday-ise” Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day if they fall on the
weekend.
Much like the current status of the Christmas and New Year public holidays
when they fall on the weekend, this Bill, if passed, will mean that employees
who normally work on the weekend day that they fall will still observe the
public holiday on that day. But for everyone else the public holiday will be
observed on the Monday.
The Bill passed its first reading and is currently with Select Committee, which is
due to report back to Parliament in January 2013. It is a Private Member's Bill
and as such there is no certainty that it will become law.
Parental Leave
In the news of late due to some rather contentious comments by BusinessNZ
during the submission process is the Parental Leave and Employment
Protection (six months’ paid leave) Amendment Bill. This is a Private Member’s
Bill which proposes to extend paid parental leave from the current 14 weeks
to 26 weeks, over a three-year period.
The aim of the Bill is to support families and also create jobs across the
economy as employers engage staff to replace those on paid parental leave.
However, Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says extending paid parental
leave would cost the Government an extra $150 million a year. The
Government has stated it will exercise its right to veto the Bill (should it
progress any further) due to this financial impact.
The Bill passed its first reading in July and is currently with Select Committee,
which is due to report back to Parliament in January 2013.
Health and Safety
An independent taskforce has been appointed to undertake the first
wide-ranging strategic review of the workplace health and safety system in
20 years.
It will review whether the overall workplace health and safety system –
including legislation, regulation, incentives and enforcement – is working
effectively to reduce workplace injury and death. The taskforce will also
recommend a package of practical measures that could result in at least a 25
per cent reduction in the rate of workplace fatalities and serious injuries by
2020.
RESTAURANT FINED AFTER EMPLOYEE SERIOUSLY INJURED
A recent Court case in Tauranga is a
reminder that members need to
vigilant in managing the safety of their
staff.
A Tauranga restaurant has recently been
ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and
reparation of $6,000 after an employee
sustained serious injuries after trapping his
arm in a pasta maker.
The Tauranga District Court heard that on
10 January this year an employee of the
restaurant was preparing fresh pasta in an
industrial-sized pasta mixer where the raw
ingredients were combined and then
extruded into the required pasta shapes.
As he opened the lid to check the
consistency of the pasta dough the
employee’s arm became caught around the
mixing rod in the hopper. Before he could
stop the machine he had received multiple
fractures, soft tissue damage and tendon
and nerve damage to his left arm.
The Court heard that the interlock switch on
the pasta machine was broken, meaning
that the mixing arm inside the pasta
machine did not automatically stop when
the lid was open. The machine should have
been taken out of operation until the
interlock switch was fixed.
Members should be reminded that it is the
duty of the employer to ensure that all
hazards are identified and managed to
ensure the safety of staff. Businesses should
have a hazard register and written safe
operating procedures.
THE THYMES November 2012 15
employment update
If Only They Could Train
Themselves...
These (allegedly true) short stories provide
amusing examples of lateral thinking and
initiative, and staff training (or lack of) at the
workplace. It is better to train people properly
rather than assume that new starters have the
necessary initiative to work out for themselves
what they should be doing...
the new bus driver story
While transporting some
unfortunate mental patients
from one secure place to
another, the newly
appointed bus driver
stopped at a roadside
restaurant for a natural
break. On his return to the
bus, all twenty patients were gone. Being a resourceful
fellow and fearing the consequences of his negligence, he
drove to the next bus stop, where he claimed to be a
replacement for the usual service. Allowing twenty people
aboard, the driver made straight for his destination, where
he warned staff at the gates that the 'patients' were
deluded and extremely volatile. The angry 'patients' were
duly removed, sedated and incarcerated, and remained in
detention for three days, until staff were able to check the
records and confirm their true identities. The actual
patients were never found.
the new elevator cleaner story A new hotel employee was asked to
clean the elevators and report back to
the supervisor when the task was
completed. When the employee failed to
appear at the end of the day the
supervisor assumed that like many others
he had simply not liked the job and left.
However, after four days the supervisor
bumped into the new employee. He was
cleaning in one of the elevators. "You
surely haven't been cleaning these
elevators for four days, have you?"
asked the supervisor, accusingly. "Yes sir," said the
employee, "This is a big job and I've not finished yet - do
you realise there are over forty of them, two on each floor,
and sometimes they are not even there..."
NEW EMPLOYEE ...CHECK When an employee begins work at a new business there are a
myriad of documents, forms and procedures that need to be
sighted, signed, completed and actioned. And if you’ve got a
number of new staff all starting at the same time it’s easy to
loose track of what you have done, and what it still waiting to
be actioned.
To assist, the Restaurant Association has prepared the following
checklist—a document that can be used as a helpful prompt to ensure
that nothing is forgotten through this process. This template includes
key requirements with regards to the initial employment process but
can easily be added to as required.
If you would like to receive a word document version of
this checklist contact us on 0800 737 827 or email:
tick as action
completed
Date actioned:
DO YOU AS THE EMPLOYER HAVE THE FOLLOWING?
Application Form
Copy of employee’s CV
Signed Letter of Offer
Signed Employment Agreement
Signed House Rules
Separate signed Copy of the Computer and Internet Policy (if required)
IR330 Tax Form
Kiwi Saver Information (Opt In or Opt Out)
Personnel Form Completed (Bank account details etc)
Employee has read and signed the Health and Safety Manual
Copy of Food Safety Certificate (Kitchen Staff)
Copy of General Managers Certificate (Managers)
Copy of Passport and Visa Details if required
Training and Induction Checklist
HAS THE EMPLOYEE BEEN
PROVIDED WITH THE FOLLOWING?
Copy of the Employment Agreement if requested
Copy of the Job Description
Copy of the Menu and Beverage Lists as required
Training Manual
Uniform
Contact details for the venue and management
Car Parking Details
Keys if required
Computer Password and Email address if required
16 THE THYMES November 2012 employment update
YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY RESPONSIBLE HOST
Getting your staff match ready for the busy summer season should involve a refresh of your host responsibility policies.
need help? call us on 0800 737 827 November 2011 10
employment matters THE THYMES August 2012 09
B efore we lead into the busiest time
of the year for the industry over
the next few months it is advisable that
businesses take the time to review their
Host Responsibility policies.
The extra volume, and larger groups,
of customers over this time of year
warrants a refresher for all staff. Ensure
that they are knowledgeable and well
trained in their responsibilities in
dealing with the responsible service of
alcohol on your premises. It is likely
you will also have a number of
newcomers who have come on board
for the season and these staff will
require clear instructions on identifying
and proactively dealing with potentially
intoxicated persons. Some new staff will
be unfamiliar with identifying the early
signs of intoxication and will need
guidance as to when intervention is
required. During this busy time, you will
be relying heavily on your staff to
ensure that your premises are
compliant and you need to ensure that
no slip up in protocol occurs.
.
Your policy provides documentation of
your premise’s commitment to host
responsibile practices and should
therefore be written specifically for your
premises, in the format that best suits
your business, and ideally with staff
input.
Remember that the policy should be
clearly visible to customers and staff
and should address some key points,
including the following:
1 Minors
The premises should have clear
and obvious notices displayed
about the laws regarding serving
to minors.
Indicate the acceptable forms of identification.
host responsibility
Staff should be instructed on how to identify and proactively deal with minors.
2 Responsible service of alcohol
Premises should have clear and
obvious notices displayed about
the laws regarding serving
intoxicated persons.
Indicate that staff are trained to
recognise and understand
intoxication and practical
interventions. They are instructed
not to continue serving alcohol to
any customer who appears to be
getting intoxicated, either directly
or through friends.
Food should be available at all times alcohol is being sold. (ensure menus are clearly visible in bar areas.)
Various food promotions and specials could be available cheaply and quickly and make customers aware that there will be no promotions which encourage intoxication.
Staff should actively encourage safe drinking and driving levels.
The premises should have clear
signage about the size of spirits
served - doubles or singles.
3 Non and low alcoholic beverage
options
Non and low-alcoholic drinks
should be promoted and readily
available (encourage a positive
staff attitude towards these drinks)
Tea, coffee and iced water are
available at the bars.
4 Transportation
Make customers aware that the
premises support a designated
driver scheme.
A telephone should be readily
available so customers can call
a taxi.
NEED HELP? The Restaurant Association can assist with developing or refreshing
your host responsibility policy and has a free guideline, along with sample policy,
that is ready to be tailored to your needs. Order a copy of the guideline and policy
by emailing [email protected] or phoning 0800 737 827.
TOP TIPS: TRAINING NEW & YOUNG STAFF AROUND ALCOHOL
Ensure your staff are informed about the legal
implications of alcohol service – ie the fines
involved for serving minors and intoxicated patrons.
Make sure you support your young staff – back
them up if they feel a customer has had too much
to drink – don’t go “over their head” and continue
service.
Do regular role plays with “real life” examples that
have happened in your establishment – discuss the
best ways to deal with different situations.
Make sure they know what support is available –
who they can get assistance from if they are unsure
about such things as whether a patron has had too
much to drink.
Give them clear guidelines of what to look for in
intoxicated patrons – discuss and give examples of
the four main indicators of intoxication: Speech,
Coordination, Appearance, Behaviour.
If they are uncomfortable about asking for ID from
people who are their peers then let them know they
can use the “big brother” line – “I’m sorry but my
manager has told me I cannot serve you any
alcohol unless you have the correct ID”. This
removes them from being “the baddie”!
Ensure consistency within the team – are they all
following the same steps and correct procedures?
Are these written down somewhere in clear and
simple language in an area where all staff can
read them?
Train them in early intervention – easier to deal
with problems sooner rather than later – teach
them the steps to slow down service.
Get staff to think about both their language (be
non confrontational) and their body language
(don’t be defensive) when dealing with intoxicated
patrons.
Make sure all of the team are aware about which
staff members are underage – the same rules apply
to them as to the public – ensure that no-one
serves them alcohol. Discourage “after work”
drinks with younger team members.
EFFECTIVE INCENTIVES
Staff incentive programmes are a great way to praise a job well done and can generate some enthusiasm amongst the team – with the added opportunity of increasing sales and improving service. BY MARGARET MAIN, TURNING TABLES
“If yo
u want
to be
bigger
than
everyo
ne
else,
you’ve
got t
o
be bet
ter th
an
everyo
ne els
e”
S taff turnover in the hospitality industry is high and in
these challenging economic times it is worthwhile
thinking outside the square for ways to motivate and
boost employee morale and thereby encourage your staff
to stick around. Here are some suggestions for
implementing an effective staff incentive programme...
When planning an incentive programme, keep these tips in mind:
What's your goal? It might be to make sure servers
mention the new drink specials or to encourage them
to raise their sales averages.
How long can the staff's enthusiasm be maintained?
Most consultants suggest 30 to 45 days tops for a
single incentive programme.
How can you make sure that everyone gets excited?
The more prizes, the better. Make sure each server
who improves gets rewarded for the effort.
What are cheap but truly rewarding incentives? Get
creative. Develop your own in-house rewards-no
clean-up duties for one night, for example. Trade
with neighboring businesses. And if you're not sure
what will get your staff motivated, ask them.
FIRST STEP Focus first on teaching your staff how to sell:
How to read the customer
Conversation openers
Make sure they have plenty of product knowledge
Know how to ask the right questions of the customer
Getting the timing right – when to ask
SECOND STEP Be clear about what to want your sales incentive to
accomplish. For instance the purpose might be to
increase sales of one item, to increase total food and
beverage sales or it might be to simply increase customer
awareness of new items on the menu or get a better
“spread” of items being sold.
THIRD STEP You have to engage the people who can impact sales.
You need to know who the right people are, what
motivates them and how do you make sure they know
what the purpose of the programme is.
Here are some suggestions for prizes:
Gift vouchers – swop with other businesses; petrol
vouchers; movie tickets – Gold Class could be a treat;
spa treatments; gift cards; activities – eg bungy, sailing,
kayaking, canyoning; professional house cleaning; car
wash/valet; alcohol; iPods; wine trail; high tea; time off
or early finishes (but they still get paid for full hours).
November 2011 27 international update
Examples of incentives you could use:
1 Bingo card – 12 to 16 squares with a different item
in each square – this encourages sales of a wide
range of items. Employees may need to complete in a
shift or if harder items over a week with a prize for each
person who completes their card within the time frame.
2 ’The Perfect Bill’ – what is your perfect bill – it could
be breads, entrees, mains, side dish, a dessert to
share and a bottle of wine? Whatever it is make sure your
staff are aware of it and reward each person who
achieves a perfect bill on a shift. This again encourages
selling right through the process.
3 Raffle ticket – buy some books of raffle tickets and
each time a staff member sells a particular item (may
be the special or promotion item or something that is a
challenge to move) they get a raffle ticket. At the end of
a shift or a week you draw the raffle and the winner gets
a prize. Obviously the more they have sold the better
chance they have of winning.
4 Increase in Average Spend – could be based over a
week or on the previous weeks takings and either
based on individual staff or team effort. You may use
their personal best and aim to increase it by 5 or 10%. A
prize for the staff members that reach the target.
5 The Fishing Line – good for driving efficiency in the
kitchen. Set a time limit for getting particular dishes
out. Hang up a fishing line and attach monopoly money
to the line. Each time they send the meals out later than
the target one of the notes gets removed from the line. At
the end of the shift whatever is left on the line they get to
share out amongst themselves (or alternatively get that
value in staff drinks).
6 Most improved – assessed by the manager. This
could be based on sales, reduced breakages,
reduced mistakes etc – can be used in both the kitchen
and front of house.
7 Best team player – again judged by the management
team and can you also get input from peers. Judged
over a month, the prize could be a paid day off or no
clean up duties for a week.
8 Staff Favourite – Nominate a product that is this
week’s staff favourite. It could be a menu item but
this also works really well with products on the back bar.
Make sure everyone is familiar with the product and
reward the person who sells the most. You could do this
incentive in teams – ie pair up staff from kitchen and
restaurant or bar and restaurant.
THE THYMES November 2012 21
business initiatives
HARNESSING THE POWER OF WORD OF MOUTH The restaurant and hospitality industry has always been reliant on word of mouth due to the largely
intangible nature of the business, and because personal experience forms the basis of consumer
assessment. Word of mouth is particularly important in building long-term relationships; loyal
customers have a role as ad hoc marketers in conveying their personal experience to their networks.
Customer satisfaction is therefore essential for positive message spread. BY JAN BIERMAN
business initiatives
C ustomers compare their actual dining experience
against their expectations. Industry research
indicates the most significant aspect is quality of food,
promptly followed by service, ambiance-atmosphere,
and value for money.
Word of mouth has always been important in marketing
and is set to play an escalating role in decision-making
for consumers. Family and friends have traditionally
influenced dining decisions, but in the Web 2.0
environment choices and communication channels are
exploding. Consumer empowerment is on the rise. So
more than ever restaurants should not underestimate the
power of a recommendation or bad review.
Whilst much of word of mouth marketing still occurs
offline, as social media becomes more pervasive its reach
will impact on most businesses. Social media and
discussions in the digital space are already driving a lot
of offline conversations.
The impact of social networking is already being felt by
the restaurant sector via diner feedback on online forums
and guides, and comments on personal social media
pages. The old adage of a person with a
complaint telling 8-10 people about their
problem is now more virulent.
A mishandled complaint will travel a lot further, thus
multiplying the potential damage to your reputation and
ultimately your bottom-line.
In spite of all the hype many of you will still think social
media is only a fad, and it is good old-fashioned word of
mouth that is driving customers and repeat customers.
Others of you will claim that referrals by word of mouth
reduces the need for a website. US research is indicating
89% of diners check out your menu online before they
dine, so that in itself should be reason enough to ensure
a consistent online presence. MYOB’s latest survey
reports that only about half of the businesses in the
hospitality sector have websites. The strategic message
here is - if you do not define your own message in the
digital space someone else will.
In harnessing word of mouth, whether it is personal or
digital, there are some key take-outs:
Understand that people will talk about you (or not
talk about you) because of how their experience with
you has made them feel. People exposed to an
emotional event feel urgency to affiliate; also called
the “social sharing of emotion”. This phenomenon
occurs when individuals communicate frankly with
others about their feelings in circumstances that they
perceive to be an emotion-eliciting event.
Generating positive word of mouth
requires a unique selling point. People always
remember something different, and if they
enjoy it they will spread the message.
Excellence will go so far, so help people
remember you as a place that has something
special, like a specific dish that you feature,
introducing a surprise such as giving customers
something free (unexpected for most customers),
or creating an atmosphere that stimulates the senses.
CONTINUED ON
FOLLOWING PAGE
industry sales report FROM PREVIOUS PAGE, Harness ing The Power Of Word Of Mouth
Listen, respond and
engage with your
customers. If you
ask for
feedback
accept the
comments
with good
grace and
use it to improve.
Acknowledge
complaints – always
thank people for being a
customer and for sharing their
thoughts (even if you don't
agree with them). If you're
going to build a business
around word of mouth it is
better not to have these things
working against you. It is all
about attitude, customer rela-
tionships and the dialogue
you want to have with your
consumers.
Trust lies at the core of every
strong personal relationship –
the same goes for
relationships stakeholders
have with brands. You
consistently need to deliver on
your brand promise. The
driving force behind
consumers’ desire to share
positive stories about you is
the trust they have in the
quality of your product and
service.
THE THYMES September 2012 11 business initiatives
One of the ways I have found best to
encourage staff to ‘SELL’ more is to tell
them to stop thinking of selling and think
about SERVICE. BY JOE DEEGAN
A s a young waiter on cruise ships I was
serving a table of 12. The ship had just
stopped in Alaska and we had a special of
Sockeye salmon on the menu. I recommended
the fish as the best option on the menu that night
and when I took the order the first 11 guests all
ordered salmon. The last gentleman also decided
to have the salmon although he seemed hesitant.
As he handed me the menu he said ”Well done
Joe, you are a good salesman…”
My reply was possibly a little too cheeky but I
informed the guest that I did not consider myself
a salesman as “I will still be here at the end of
your meal as well”, suggesting that a salesman
would have made the sale and that would be
the end of the relationship.
Increasing revenue must be something that your
staff see as their job. Not a favour or something
else that needs to be added on. Get staff to think
what they would order if dining in your restaurant.
They will always struggle to sell something they
would not enjoy themselves.
I am happy to visit the premises of any Taranaki
branch member to speak to staff on this subject.
Contact [email protected] / 021758915.
SERVICE NOT SELLING
Trust is not built overnight; it
must be nurtured over time.
The ability for stories to scale
beyond traditional channels
to become viral is a
challenge. You need to
understand the growing role
of technology and its ability to
aggregate, amplify and
distribute individual voices. As
quickly as positive stories get
exposed, negative word of
mouth travels even faster in
the social media space.
Sometimes word of mouth just doesn’t
happen. You are doing everything
right, but it's not remarkable, at least
not in the sense of being worth making
a remark about. It is better to be
talked about, than not talked about,
but it is how you leverage that fine line
to ensure a positive message.
Word of mouth is free marketing and
the most effective advertising you can
have. Its power is in drawing attention
and getting your customers to tell your
story forward. So make every
relationship and experience
memorable and give your customers a
reason to talk about you with gusto!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jan Bierman is a director
of branding agency Rare HQ Ltd – rarehq.com.
Rare HQ can help you develop your word of
mouth strategy to improve your brand’s
performance. Contact: [email protected]
ADVERTISEMENT
I’ve noticed two major mistakes made by many well-intentioned folk:
1 They’re available too much of the time to their staff.
2 When passing a task over, they give lots of unnecessary detail to competent staff.
Being available for staff isn’t necessarily always an issue in hospitality businesses, but let’s
discuss it. Do you have a lot of interruptions? Do you find that staff with queries, phone calls,
drop-in visitors and emails regularly break your focus?
If you’ve said ‘yes’ to staff interruptions, consider this. We’ve come out of the dark ages where
bosses communicated as little as possible to their underlings. People were expected to take
instructions and just get on with the job. Over the last few decades there has been a change in
management styles. We’re now encouraged to communicate openly with our staff, to
‘empower’ them. However, there’s a downside. Many business owners feel they have to
constantly ‘be there’ for their people.
So where does delegation fit in here? Being ‘there for your staff’ 100% of the time is not good
management. In fact, it causes bottlenecks, frustration and low morale, and blocks your staff
from learning and developing their own skills.
If competent people keep interrupting you with questions they should be able to handle, ask
them to come with two solutions every time they come with a question. Pretty soon you’ll reduce
the questions. If they’ve had to work out the answers before they come, they’ll soon realise they
don’t need to interrupt you for what amounts to a ‘rubber-stamp job’. If you’re too quick to
supply the answer you encourage laziness and dependency. Beware of good old human nature
– the tendency to take the easy road. For many people, if they can get someone else to do their
thinking, why wouldn’t they ask!
And a solution for Point 2? If a staff member is competent, don’t force your details on them.
Instead, give them the big picture of what you want to achieve and see what they come up with.
Of course you’re willing to guide, coach and review, but beware of unnecessary detail. Often a
good staff member will have a better way.
Robyn Pearce CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is the Time Queen. She mastered her own time challenges and now helps people around the world overcome theirs. She can show you how to transform your time challenges into high productivity and the life balance you desire.
November 2011 27 international update
DELEGATION MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM Delegation or the lack of it can make or break any business. I work with both large
and small companies in a very wide range of industries around the world and I
constantly hear that many owners and managers struggle with delegation.
BY ROBYN PEARCE
THE THYMES September 2012 15
business initiatives
Holiday & Leave Record Pads Under the Holidays Act 2003 there is a requirement to maintain a holiday and leave record containing very specific information about each employees employment, including:
the name of the employee and the date employment commenced
the days on which an employee works, if the information is relevant to entitlement or payment under the Holidays Act
the date the employee last became entitled to annual holidays
the employee's current entitlement to sick leave and annual holidays
the dates any annual holiday, sick or bereavement leave was taken
the amount of payment for any annual holidays, sick leave and bereavement leave taken
the dates of and payment for any public holiday worked
the number of hours worked on any public holiday
the date on which the employee became entitled to any alternative holiday
the dates and payment of any public holiday or alternative holiday on which the employee did not work, but for which the employee had an entitlement to payment
the cash value of board and lodgings provided
the cash value of any alternative holidays that the employee has surrendered for payment
the date of termination and the amount of pay for holidays on termination
ORDER NOW… The Restaurant Association’s
Holiday & Leave Record and
Time / Wages record pads
satisfy all these requirements &
are available for just $12.00
(incl of GST and P&P) - order
online through
www.restaurantnz.co.nz.
FEATURED PRODUCT.. .
November 2011 14 managing your business
shareholders’ agreements
GETTING IT RIGHT FROM THE GET GO
I n New Zealand, by far the most common structure for
the operation of a business is a company. In the
restaurant industry, often there are a small number of
shareholders, who generally also work closely with the
business. If a dispute arises between these shareholders,
this can have wide-reaching negative effects on the
business and can result in costly, time-consuming
litigation that can undermine the value of the investment.
In particular, if the company is owned equally by two
shareholders, no major decisions can be made without
unanimous approval. If two shareholders disagree, a
deadlock situation can occur, which can turn nasty.
This is where a shareholders agreement can help.
What is a shareholders’ agreement?
A shareholders’ agreement is a written contract between
shareholders, regulating the operation of the company in
which they have invested. The agreement sets out the
ground rules for how the business will operate and what
rights and obligations the shareholders will have towards
each other. The shareholders’ agreement can also be
useful in dealing with major change events, such as the
introduction of new investors, the exit or death of a
shareholder or the sale of all or a substantial part of the
company’s assets.
A shareholders’ agreement can be entered into at any
time, however the shareholders will benefit most from the
agreement if it is entered into at the beginning of a
business relationship.
A shareholders’ agreement is not a constitution. If a
company chooses to adopt a constitution, this document
must be filed with the Companies Office, and is therefore
a matter of public record. The benefit of a shareholders’
agreement is that it is a private document that governs
the operation of the company internally. Companies
often choose to have a constitution and a shareholders’
agreement, and the documents may cross reference each
other.
When starting up any business, it is important to consider how the relationships between the
various parties involved will be governed going forward. This is particularly relevant in the
restaurant industry, where there are often a number of financial contributors assisting in starting
up a restaurant, and the on-going relationships between the various parties may not be fully
contemplated at the outset. BY SARAH GIBBS & LYDIA WALLIS, Solicitors, Hesketh Henry Commercial Team.
business initiatives legal viewpoint
Shareholders’ agreements should be drafted with the individual business
in mind, and should be established with a view to increasing the efficiency
and consistency of the operation of the company.
If you have any questions relating to shareholders’ agreements, or would like any other
corporate or commercial advice, please contact Sarah Gibbs ([email protected])
or Lydia Wallis ([email protected]) from Hesketh Henry’s Corporate and
Commercial team or call 09 375 8700 to discuss how we may assist you and your business.
What matters are addressed in a shareholders’ agreement?
Appointment of directors: Under the Companies Act 1993 (“Act”),
directors can be appointed with the approval of the majority of
shareholders. To protect a minority shareholder’s interests,
provision in the shareholders’ agreement can be made for a
minority shareholder to be entitled to appoint a director. Such a
provision would also be recommended where the company has a
50/50 share split, as neither shareholder holds the majority
required to appoint a director under the Act.
Pre-emptive rights: If a shareholders’ agreement includes
pre-emptive rights, a shareholder wanting to exit the company must
first offer their shares at fair value to the remaining shareholders. A
mechanism for calculating fair value should be provided for. If the
remaining shareholders choose not to purchase the shares, the
exiting shareholder can offer the shares to a third party. It should
be a condition of any transfer of shares to a third party that the new
shareholder signs up to the shareholders’ agreement.
Drag and tag provisions: Tag along rights enable a minority
shareholder to force an exiting majority shareholder to secure the
same “exit deal” for the minority shareholder. Drag along rights
allow a majority shareholder selling its shares to require a minority
shareholder to also sell its shares to the purchaser, if the purchaser
wishes to purchase 100% of the shares in the company.
Dispute resolution: In order to save on lengthy delays and extensive
legal fees, it is recommended that a dispute resolution provision
sets out the procedure for resolving disputes between shareholders.
The provision should set out clear time frames by which parties
must act, in order for the process to be completed quickly and
effectively.
Non-competition provisions: These provisions prevent an exiting
shareholder from being involved in a competing business in a
particular geographical region for a prescribed period of time after
selling shares in the company. This clause would no doubt be
highly relevant in the competitive restaurant market.
member benefits
BANKING SERVICES TAILORED JUST FOR YOU...
Although many members currently enjoy the preferential credit card
processing rates available through Westpac. However, we’d like to
remind you that Westpac's range of personal and business banking
benefits for members means you could save on almost every aspect
of your personal banking needs. Other member benefits you can
access include:
everyday business banking discounts (including free cash handling, and discounts
on cheque clearance and electronic transactional fees)
a BusinessPlus Gold MasterCard with hotpoints® rewards membership included
discounted Equipment Finance for purchasing assets like vehicles or equipment
savings on personal or home loans and the best interest rates
a free business risk consultation and discounted business risk insurances
INTERESTED? For more information call the Westpac association member helpline on 0800 177 677 or email [email protected]
MEMBERINITIATIVES
...don’t forget to support the people who support your Restaurant Association key partners... associate+ partners...
ADVERTISEMENT
26 THE THYMES November 2012 member benefits
November 2011 14 managing your business
WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN A LOYALTY CLUB MAKE? THE NUMBERS...
T hose who have been fortunate enough to visit
AmiGos know what a special place it is. From offering
Bhut Jolokia chilli dishes (400x hotter than Tabasco) for
chilli fans with ironclad constitutions, to banoffi pie for
those with a more delicate palette, AmiGos has built up
such a following that they’re moving from their current 40
seat restaurant to a custom built 120 seat venue.
Clearly they’re doing many things right so it is natural to
ask if they need a loyalty system at all? However, accord-
ing to Waz it is an important part of Amigos success:
“AmiGos has been operating a guest loyalty program for 4
years, using direct mail, email, Facebook & Twitter and our
own website. While the benefits to the business grew with
the membership size, so did the administration time
required to keep the list up to date. Using our POS 'loyalty'
module helped keep track of members details and spend,
but proved very limited in the way value was added to the
guests. 'Points' are boring, and we've found they become
less attractive over time... then along came EFTPlus...
Now we offer rewards for any number of criteria; on
joining, on visiting a certain number of times, amount
spent, birthdays, anniversaries... the choice is limitless, and
the system literally takes care of itself. Zero maintenance
on our part after (maybe) an hour of setup.
We wouldn't be without this system. AmiGos is about to
take on a 120 seat venue, having well and truly outgrown
the current 40 seats, and EFTPlus have played a large part
in our continuing success in a small town with a lot of big
players!”
To find out exactly how valuable we asked Waz to share
some real figures. At first glance measuring the
effectiveness of a loyalty club would seem relatively easy.
Do loyalty club members spend more than non-members?
But when you think about it for a moment you realise that
this is probably the wrong question to ask. The people
who join your loyalty club are more likely to be regular
customers anyway. This means they’re more likely to
spend more over time so the answer to the question is
probably “Yes”, whether you have a club in place or not.
Comparing average transaction size between members
and non-members can also be of limited value. If your
members are coming back because they have a reward to
use, which provides a discount or free product, their
transaction amount is naturally a bit lower.
Here’s the proof ~ Waz from AmiGo’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Wanaka gives us a glimpse into business outcomes
by sharing some real numbers from his EFTPlus driven ‘Guestlist’ loyalty club. BY TJ WASHINGTON, EFTPLUS
Better measures are to look at whether customer behaviour
changes after joining the loyalty club and whether more is
spent overall. For this reason ask the following questions:
Do loyalty club members spend more after they join?
Do they visit more often after they join?
This is what it looks like for Amigos:
So the answer to these two questions is yes. We cannot
say for sure how much the loyalty club itself is responsible
for these figures. However, we can say is that we see
similar statistics across most EFTPlus loyalty clubs. Which
means, at the increased value after they join, it doesn’t
take many active members to return the cost of having a
loyalty club. And every member above that represents
increased revenue. On these figures adding 100 members
should add at least $2000 per month in revenue, taking
into account the cost of the service and providing rewards.
For Waz there are other benefits too:
“There's the ability to segment our database in any way we
want; by gender, age bracket, best customers, customers
we've not seen in a while, or any combination of criteria, eg
females 18 - 30 who are in our top 50 best guests! We can
then email or txt special offers to that group straight from a
smartphone, anywhere... it really is that good!
Our guests love the EFTPlus system, joining is as easy as
sending a short txt, the ability to link a payment card to
their membership makes it very easy to collect the rewards,
and the rewards themselves are presented in a voucher
system that can be displayed from a phone or printed as a
voucher to bring in. The online validator means a 5 second
bit of data entry while settling the bill, and bingo, reward
accepted and crossed off the list of outstanding vouchers.”
So the next time you’re in Wanaka drop by AmiGo’s,
enjoy the dining, join the guest list and don’t say we
didn’t warn you about the Bhut Jolokia.
Want to know more about the loyalty program implemented by Amigo’s? Contact Eftplus: 0800 338 758
GROUP Members before join
Members after join
Average spend (per visit) $17.28 $56.08 Average visits (per month) 0.29 0.61
Value per month (av spend X av visits)
$5.01 $34.21
THE THYMES November 2012 27
member initiatives
November 2011 14 managing your business
INSURANCE FOR MEMBERS WHAT IS GOING ON?
I nsurers are dependent on offshore reinsurance (the
insurance for the insurer). Before the earthquakes,
Global Reinsurers paid less attention to the NZ market
and so the cost of reinsurance was cheaper. Following
the quakes their focus is clearer. For the first time they’ve
realised how risky we are and as a result their reinsurance
prices have increased over 400%. One well-known local
insurer’s reinsurance costs have increased from $38m to
$250m – and that is not including their EQ claim costs.
All insurers want their portfolio of business to be as
attractive as possible for a reinsurer so they can keep
those costs down. To achieve that they’re looking closely
at the business they write and reviewing everything. So
look out for higher natural disaster (ND) premiums, higher
ND deductibles and expect more questions from insurers
to assist them to understand exactly what your risk is.
Older Buildings
By definition older buildings (pre-1940) were built before
modern EQ standards were established. Now those
buildings are ‘unattractive’ risks for reinsurers and
therefore also for insurers. The result is inevitable – much
higher premiums; insistence of EQ code compliance and
in most cases, insurers simply will not take on any more
older buildings for natural disaster cover.
Wellington and Christchurch
Insurers have limited capacity in these high risk areas.
Natural Disaster reinsurance for these regions is so costly
that smaller insurers have decided not to trade in these
markets. Larger insurers support their customers by
staying in these markets and absorbing the extra costs
involved but they have little capacity to take in new
customers. Again the result is inevitable and these areas
become closed or captive markets.
The Solution
The good news is that we can still get cover for Natural
Disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc)
for older buildings and businesses inside them and for any
business or building in Wellington and Christchurch. But
building owners and businesses will pay more premium
than they ever have before. Because it is so hard to place
this business in the NZ market, here’s what to do if you
own or tenant an older building or own/tenant a building
in Wellington or Christchurch:
Insurance in NZ is more costly following the earthquakes and it doesn’t matter where you are situated
because the whole country is now seen as riskier by insurers and global reinsurers. And it’s not just
earthquakes; think tornados, floods, snowstorms, landslips... BY CROMBIE LOCKWOOD
If you are a customer of ours already, we have your
insurance well placed at the moment. Your premium
will be higher, terms will change, but you have cover.
If you are not a customer of ours, you still can be and
receive the service and support we’re renowned for.
We will review your insurance and either, place it with
the insurer for Restaurant Association, place it else-
where or keep it with your current insurer – whichever
is the best arrangement for you and your business.
Earthquake Prone buildings
The other emerging issue for older buildings and some
not so old, is that they are deemed to be “earthquake
prone”. Buildings will be classified ‘earthquake prone’
under the Building Act 2004 if it would:
fail in a moderate earthquake, which, broadly
speaking, means a building that would not meet 33%
of the current building code requirements if the
building was re-built today; and
be likely to collapse in a moderate earthquake
causing injury or death to people in or around the
building or damage to other property.
Each Council identifies these buildings differently – some
are proactively advising owners, others haven’t quite got
there yet. Councils must adopt a policy detailing how they
will exercise their powers and responsibilities under the
Act. These policies may address local circumstances, eg
the level of seismic activity in their region and local
building types. Each policy will set out the level to which
strengthening work must be undertaken and the timeframe
for that work, which generally depends on the level of risk,
the building's use and no. of people using it.
From an insurance point of view, if you own or are
tenanting an EQ prone building, your insurance cover is
likely to become restricted. You may only be covered for
the depreciated value of your assets, as opposed to the
replacement value. Your sums insured may reduce,
particularly your business interruption sum. You will need
to tell us if you are in an EQ prone building. You can find
this out by talking to your Landlord or local Council.
To be sure of where you stand call your nearest Crombie
Lockwood office - visit www.crombielockwood.co.nz for
contact details from Invercargill to Kaitaia or email
28 THE THYMES November 2012 member initiatives
we would like to welcome the following new members of the restaurant association who have recently joined us:
you have joined the only organisation that exclusively assists you to safeguard the viability of your café or restaurant. We will help guide you through the regulatory minefield that exists in today’s business environment. You have joined 1600 of New Zealand’s most dynamic and profitable hospitality businesses.
Banana Leaf Limited, Porirua
Burger Fuel – Pukekohe, Auckland
Burger Fuel – Silverdale, Auckland
Cafe 547, Hamilton East
Cafe Concepts, Auckland
Cafe Tarawera, Napier
Charlotte Steakhouse and Grill, Wellington
Church Hill Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Stewart Island
Cock & Bull – Botany, Auckland
Cock & Bull – Ellerslie, Auckland
Cock & Bull - Hamilton
Cock & Bull – Lynfield, Auckland
Cock & Bull – Newmarket, Auckland
Columbus Coffee, Ashburton
Daddy O's, Wellington
Europac Restaurant, Wanaka
Fresco Foods Ltd, Auckland
Habitual Fix Albany, Auckland
Hansan Vietnamese Restaurant, Auckland
Kassaba, New Plymouth
Kwang Chow Restaurant, Mt Maunganui
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS...
congratulations...
November 2011 19 new members
Roland & Lucienne Enterprises, Taupo
Pan de Muerto, Wellington
Pita Pit Burnham, Christchurch
Ponsonby Central, Auckland
Roselands Restaurant, Waitomo caves
Thai Classic Restaurant & Bar, Auckland
The Coffee Club Westfield Riccarton, Christchurch
The Fridge Café, Auckland
The Gables Restaurant, Russell
The Nose, Cromwell
Toru, Auckland
Wang Thong Thai Fusion, Auckland
Wholly Bagels & Pizza Cuba, Wellington
Wholly Bagels & Pizza Hutt - Lower Hutt
AND these supplier members supporting
the industry... (go to www.restaurantnz.co.nz and click on ‘partners’ & ’industry guide’ for contact information on a range of industry suppliers of goods and services)
Cottonsoft Limited, Auckland
www.cottonsoft.co.nz
adve
rtis
emen
t
REGIONAL UPDATES
K ia ora from Rotorua.
Firstly I would like to thank
those of our members who
nominated me back in as Branch
President and also John Knight as Vice
President at our recent Branch AGM
held at Triple one Five. Mericia
Waqanimaravu has offered to stay on
as Branch Secretary and will be sharing
that role with Leandra Bowen
(Gilmour’s).
Labour Weekend was bursting at
the seams and most businesses did
very well. On the Saturday evening of
Labour Weekend we had a mini
reunion on my husband Rogers’s side
and dined at my first ever training
Hotel (THC) now the Holiday Inn. The
food was great and it was also fantastic
to see three of my students working
there. The customer service was good.
The weather turned ugly on Sunday but
improved on Monday when my current
students and I worked at the New
Zealand Maori Rugby League
Tournament. That was certainly ‘full
on’.
There are some exciting developments
with Eat Streat (Lake end
Tutanekai Street) where a lot of our
local members have their businesses.
September 2011 23 R
EG
ION
AL
RO
UN
DU
P…
RO
TO
RU
A &
WA
IKA
TO
kia ora from
rotorua The design that has been chosen for
the development includes an opaque
roof, retractable awnings and
underground heating that features
underground geothermal-heated pads
which could be heated to up to 30C to
keep diners warm. Individual
retractable awnings would cover the
dining areas. This should be completed
by next summer.
It was great to have Lynley Martin and
Gemma Wild (Skyline Rotorua)
dine at Waiariki’s restaurant last
Friday. Skyline is one of the big
employers of our students. Thanks also
to Bruce (GM at Skyline Rotoura) for
supporting our top Diploma in
Hospitality student (Kristal Heta) Year 2
this year. She certainly has deserved it.
I have to share a little story about my
grandchildren, Noah 8 and Saraya 7.
One afternoon we were in the lounge
and both of them came down with pen
and paper, a tea towel folded over one
arm, ready to take orders. The menu
was ham sandwiches with, or without,
crusts (options). They took the orders
and I could hear them in the kitchen
asking each other what we would like
to drink. I heard “poppy will have
ginger beer”, “mummy/aunty will have
a diet coke”, and “nana will probably
have a wine”. Out of the mouths of
babes I say.
Naku noa na
Sharon Wallace
Rotorua Branch President
Waiariki Institute of Technology
m: (027) 233 4146
THE THYMES September 2012 31
regional round up
what’s on
waikato
T he last half of the year seems to have
flown by at alarming pace and for
many the lead up to Christmas is now
in full swing. The vibe out there seems
more positive than the past few years so here’s
hoping for a cracker Christmas for everyone.
Congratulations to Matt Maclean and his team
at Palate for taking out honours in the 2012
Cuisine Restaurant Awards, walking away with
the title of ‘Best Regional Restaurant’.
Congratulations also to the team at Pumice
for making the finals of the Awards for
Excellence and local Café ‘Mavis and
Co’ who were announced runners up in the
2012 NZ Best Café Awards’-Café Magazine.
They are about to open a new venture ‘Clarence-Wine & Tapas by
Mavis’at their Grey Street site. Watch this
space.
Another local—Victoria Street
Bistro were voted ‘People’s Choice
Finalist’ in the 2012 Monteiths Wild Food
Challenge and travelled to Auckland to
compete in the final cook-off for the second
year in a row.
October has seen the opening of Hamilton’s
first boutique brewery- ‘Good George-
Brewery and Dining Hall’in
Frankton and while it is a first for the region it
is certainly not the first foray into hospo for its
founder Jason Macklow and the prolific
Phoenix Group.
All in all the region has had a busy and
successful 2012 and here’s hoping for a great
couple of months to finish off the year for all.
Have a safe and happy holidays,
Hayley Scott
President Waikato Branch
Zinc Cafe
p: 029 226 2375
November 2011 24 regional updates
T hings have been trucking
along in the Manawatu
area lately.
On Sunday 4 November the Manawatu Hospitality
awards were held. The venue was
the Regent Theatre again and our
association was proud to sponsor
the restaurant of the year again. The
finalists were Aberdeen on
Broadway, Bellas Café, Rendezvous
Restaurant and Bar, Bethanys
Restaurant and Café and Neros
Café and Bar.
All fitting finalists and again showing
our region has very high standards
of restaurants.
We have had a few changes with a
new member opening an excellent
new café on state Highway 1, 2km
south of Sanson, where the historic
Maze / Woodlands Lodge was prior
to being gutted by fire about 3 years
ago.
Alan Parker and Frances have done
a great job of producing the
Woolshed Cafe, purpose built on
this site in a woolshed format, and is
fast establishing itself as an excellent
venue with a great menu and great
staff.
The Fork and Spoon café has
recently opened in Marton in the
historic Granery site. The
Manawatu Golf Club has
been rebranded from the original
Sandtrap café to the Hokowhitu
Café, and a new on-licence allows
non club members to enjoy the
excellent facilities.
Hester Guy Catering is
rumoured to be taking over the café,
restaurant and functions centre at
the Palmerston North RSA, which
will add value to a very good facility.
Joes Garage has opened in
Princes St, where till recently a short
lived Thai restaurant was located,
and the fit out is excellent and we
wish them well.
George St however, has certainly
cemented its spot in town as our
“Restaurant Row” with Tomato
at one end and Cafe Cuba at the
other, with a string of quality outlets
in between. When you look at the
collection of awards received by this
street’s occupants, it has to be a NZ
record.
Mother Goose in Bulls has been
successful for Tracy in engaging a
chef into our excellent apprentice-
ship scheme.
Interestingly, I found at a Sunday
market, a copy of Bob Sells
autobiography ($1). Bob was one of
the original presidents of our
Association, and it’s a great read
about our industry, especially in
Auckland in the 60s and 70s. If
anyone wants to borrow mine I am
happy to share it.
Lindsay McKinney
Manawatu/ Wanganui Branch
REG
ION
AL
RO
UN
DU
P…
M
AN
AW
ATU
&
WELLIN
GTO
N
from the capital:
manawatu
32 THE THYMES November 2012
Rumours, happenings and
events
The former Pan de Meurte Mexican
restaurant which was located in the
Sandwiches music venue is now a
restaurant called Pickle.
A new 200 seat dumpling restaurant is to
open on Tennyson St.
Big Bad Wolf, a new charcuterie café has
opened on Wakefield St
Jeff Kennedy, the former owner of Caffe
L’affare, is to open a new café and coffee
roasting venue in Jesse St called Acme.
Port Café, located on the waterfront in the
Herd St Apartment building has closed.
The hospitality company that operates 3 bars in
Featherston St is opening a new bar on the
corner of Cuba St and Vivian St.
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School has
opened as well as the relocated Weltec
cooking school, located in the same complex.
WOW (World of Wearable Arts) provided a
fantastic lift for the hospitality sector with over
45, 000 attending the 2 week event. Many
visitors came from out of town and filled the
regions hotels and motels as well as eating and
shopping whilst here.
Kind regards
Mike Egan,
Wellington Branch President &
Restaurant Association National President
m: 021 966 667
regional round up
from the capital: hot plate coming through
T he last few weeks of activity
here on the coast always
signal the beginning of our
silly season. The heat from the
sun starts intensifying and those lucky
enough to get outside regularly begin
their tanning process.
We start with our annual Agricultural and Pastoral
show (11th to the 13th of October this
year) where a lot of our industry related
suppliers and chefs participate. There is
always a keen interest in the Beef and
Lamb New Zealand sites which include
judging and competitions across the
board—from breeding and rearing the
livestock to how they finally taste on the
plate. Attending numbers were slightly
down on last year but as it co-incided
with the school holidays this time
around it was still a positive turnout
from the organisers behalf.
And fortunately for my own involvement
this year the food I had to taste and
judge was the best I have tested in four
years! After some of the celebrity male
farmers efforts last year (tongue in
cheek) that I had the displeasure of
putting in my mouth I was very grateful
for the plates provided by a fully
female panel of contestants this year.
Over the Labour weekend we had the
re-branded festival “Feast” which
used to be called The Gisborne Wine
and Food Festival. Entertainment from
kiwi bands Dragon and Hello Sailor
and more drew a crowd of around
3500. Numbers were also down for
this event compared to last year but it
was hailed as a success from all who
participated as vendor numbers were
considerably lower also.
September 2011 23
It has been a pretty lack-lustre off
season for most of hospitality,
continuing with the trend world-wide of
financial slowdown. Our tourism
industry is more than likely going to
continue with this decline over summer
as flight numbers to our region have
been cut recently and the costs have
increased (due to higher airport
charges). Our connecting roads
through the gorge have also got a bad
reputation after this year’s washouts,
our local council have doubled the
price of parking in the city and Kiwi rail
have mothballed our pretty much
unused railway line.
Thank goodness for the fantastic
sunshine that has started early for us
here. It always chases away any blues
and the town springs into action in
preparation for Christmas and
Rhythm and Vines which is
thankfully bucking the trend and
aiming for 35,000 tickets this year.
The only changes I’m aware of
amongst the local operators is that we
are expecting a new café to open in
time for summer (just across the road
from our police station on the main
street) and a new Turkish restaurant is
nearing completion to provide
upmarket food of that genre. Yum! I’m
looking forward to a new place to
dine!
Best of luck for the summer everyone,
Grant Bailey
Poverty Bay Branch President
The Fettuccine Brothers 2007
m: (021) 0546 691
REG
ION
AL
RO
UN
DU
P…
P
OV
ER
TY B
AY
update on
poverty bay
34 THE THYMES November 2012 regional round up
I am thankful that the Restaurant Association is
working to retain the café & restaurant
manager roles on the Immediate Skill
Shortage List as I am discovering right now
how essential it is for it to remain there.
Some 18 months after the earthquake which
destroyed our business, we are close to
reopening. Prior to the earthquake we had 32
staff, within 2 weeks of the quake all but 5
had left the city. None have returned.
We have been advertising for staff for the past
6 weeks and to put it mildly it is almost
impossible to find almost any staff with any
experience at all. It was the case, prior to the
earthquake, that a staff member with less
experience could be taken on and ‘nursed’ by
surrounding them with experienced staff. That
can no longer happen as there are no
experienced staff available.
Restaurant manager is one such position. They
certainly have a key position and act as the
conduit between ownership and staff. They are
responsible for such things as rosters,
ordering, dealing with bookings, complaints,
kitchen/front of house issues, staff issues
intoxicated patrons, the list is endless. They
must be confident and mature of nature,
understanding patient and business like.
Christchurch has lost a generation of
hospitality workers. They are not going to be
easy to replace and the effects are wide
ranging. In my business it means that we have
a shortage of staff trainers, we have a
shortage of duty managers and that has
meant a reduction in our opening hours. Our
case is not isolated however. It is a hospitality
spring in Christchurch at the moment, with a
number of operations due to reopen and
many operators are expressing the same
sentiments. This is a serious issue and a
solution must be found.
Michael Turner, Café Valentino
canterbury viewpoint
W hat perfect weather
Taranaki has been
having. And just for
once it’s timely as we’ve
just had the Powerco Garden
Spectacular, a garden and art
festival that goes on for 10 days. Sunny
weather was just what the gardeners
and festival-goers were hoping for.
We welcomed all the new clientele that
this festival generates, and it was lovely
being fully booked in the evenings at
this time of year. This year the visitors
seemed to be combining dining and
looking, even during the day, so for us
there was a nice increase in turnover.
The Halamoana Awards have been
and gone ~ check out the results right.
It was a colourful and enjoyable event
giving our local hospo operators a
chance to let their hair down together.
We’ve had a few comings and goings
of late. Okurukuru Restaurant has
been closed for a while and has a new
leasee, Sohnke Danger (affectionately
known as Danger). Danger has moved
from being head chef at the Garlic
Press restaurant and the new venture
is called ‘Danger at Okurukuru’.
He’ll be aiming for the family market
with a more relaxed feel.
The Montrose Winebar has closed
down and the building housing it has
been purchased by Mark Louis and a
business partner. They plan to reopen
half of the building as another cocktail
bar and will focus on supplying craft
beer, fine wine and a good, classic
cocktail list. Mark also co-owns Club
55 and Our Place, and was
previously co-owner of The Powder
Room, a cocktail bar that has also been
September 2011 23
closed for a while now. When a door
shuts, there’s always someone ready
and waiting to have a go at opening it
back up.
Someone called Jeremy is involved with
opening an eatery called Federation
Café & Deli. How do I know this
you may ask? Well a would-be chef
applied for a position I was recently
offering and instead of writing a new
letter of application to me he used a
copy of the one he had previously
written to the Federation Café.
Here at Bach on Breakwater, I
have just started a new head chef for
my evening dining and what a relief! My
last new one lasted just 2 weeks before
walking out mid shift without saying a
word! He wasn’t coping very well, and
must have suddenly realised it. I had to
hurriedly put my apron on, sharpen my
knife and start doing the job, which was
a bit of a shock to the system as I’m not
a chef. However ‘girls can do anything’
and I’ve had some very full weeks over
the past month. Quite frankly I’m a bit
tired! My previous evening chef, after
leaving us a few weeks ago, has come
back and applied for a day chef job
that’s about to be vacated, so at least
I’m keeping the skills in the family so to
speak. And while I don’t enjoy all this
chopping and changing, after doing the
night chef job for a month, at least I
won’t be so nervous if the space is
suddenly vacated in the future; although
hopefully that will never happen again.
So now it’s time to gear up for
Christmas and the summer!
Barbara Olsen-Henderson
Bach on Breakwater
REG
ION
AL
RO
UN
DU
P…
TA
RA
NA
KI
tales from
taranaki
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2012 WINNERS: Outstanding Hospitality Achievement Doc Van Praagh (KDJ) Outstanding Owner Operator Kerry Vosseler (Chaos) Outstanding Barista Louis Aiello (Joe's Garage) Outstanding Host/Hostess Rachel Deegan (Frederic's) Outstanding Bartender Layne Rapira (The Mayfair) (also Excellence Award Winner) Tom Carroll (Rosie O'Grady's Irish Pub) Outstanding Chef Lukasz Zielinski (Frederic's) Trainee Chef Dylan Wilson (Okurukuru) Outstanding Supplier Bidvest Outstanding Sales Representative Mike Schofield (Bidvest) (also Excellence Award Winner)
Outstanding Bar Our Place Outstanding Cafe Chaos (also Excellence Award Winner)
Outstanding Restaurant Table @ Nice Hotel Outstanding Take-Out Establishment Burger Fuel Outstanding Caterer Delistar Outstanding Waiter/Waitress Anne-Laure Bernollin (André's L'Escargot Restaurant) Outstanding Ethnic India Today Outstanding South Taranaki Personality Linda Morrison (Tairoa Lodge) Outstanding South Taranaki Establishment Marracbo Cafe
regional round up
taranaki halamoana awards 28 october, matinee, new plymouth
November 2011 24 regional updates
I t's been an interesting winter
season down here – early snow,
then very little snowfall during the
peak months, the warmest August
on record, then big snow dumps in
spring. In fact there’s a fresh blanket of
snow on the mountains as I write this
and a chill in the air that suggests
spring is still a bit reluctant to show up.
Queenstown is renowned as a
world-class winter destination and the
proof was certainly in the pudding this
year with many businesses reporting a
bumper winter. Visitor numbers for our
peak months of July and August were
great and while the mild winter affected
our ski conditions to a degree, it
actually gave visitors the opportunity to
spend more time enjoying our plethora
of off-mountain activities. However,
warmer temperatures in September
shortened our winter season somewhat
and we experienced a sharp
unwelcome dip.
As Queenstown grows, so too does its
restaurant offerings – Josh Emett and
Fleur Caulton's Rata Dining
opened in May to much acclaim;
Gasoline Alley was replaced by Ivy
and Lola's Kitchen at Steamer
Wharf and has been very well received;
and a funky ‘50s style diner Cranky
Franky's has replaced Rees St Deli.
In the coming months Kiwi Masterchef
Simon Gault will launch a steak-
house and oyster bar and the iconic
Dux de Lux will be transformed into
an upmarket Italian restaurant.
One key issue currently facing our
local operators is a substantial increase in the rental
charged by the council on outdoor
tables and chairs. Many operators
believe it is unfair given that the
increase is much higher than other
major centres especially because
outdoor seating can only be utilised for
about six months of the year. The
Restaurant Association has assisted
local operators with this issue by
engaging professional services to
present an independent valuation of
these rentals, but at this stage the
report has been rejected by council so
the dispute goes on.
Over-supply of liquor
licenses is also a hot topic at the
moment and it’s my understanding that
it’s an issue affecting other regions as
well. Many operators here believe we
should aim for ‘quality not quantity'
and that the current situation in
Queenstown has led to cost cutting
and drink specials which could
potentially cheapen the town’s image
and slice the pie smaller for businesses.
A committee of operators is lobbying
council to act on this but so far there’s
no progress to report.
The good news is summer is just
around the corner which is when
Queenstown really turns on her
charms. Let's hope the Aussies keep
filling the planes headed this way and
The Hobbit release re-ignites America's
interest in visiting New Zealand.
Kind regards
Cam Mitchell,
Southern Lakes Branch President
The Bunker
m: 021 441 205
REG
ION
AL
RO
UN
DU
P…
SO
UTH
ER
N L
AK
ES
greetings from the south
regional round up
The Restaurant Association have
developed a Model Job Descriptions
handbook for members. This provides a
valuable resource for creating
position descriptions to help
businesses hire the most qualified
applicants for their operation.
The Handbook includes Job Descriptions
for 24 positions.
Job descriptions are intended to help an
employer determine whether a person is
qualified to perform a job. This handbook
provides generic position descriptions,
which can be customised to reflect the
specific tasks and responsibilities of the
employees in an operation.
We have identified the attributes,
experience and competencies that could
be associated with the various positions.
ORDER NOW…
The Restaurant Association’s Model Job
Descriptions handbook is available for just
$12.27 (incl of GST and P&P) - order online
through www.restaurantnz.co.nz or call 0800
737 827.
The Restaurant Association appreciates that hospitality is a 24/7 industry and as a result employment issues can occur at a variety of times. A reminder that we have a HELP DESK, capably managed in-house by CEO, Marisa Bidois, which is contactable Monday to Friday 8.00am-6.00pm on
0800 737 827 and outside these hours on 027-559 7777. The service is for members with urgent employment problems.
Help is never far away!
Model Job Descriptions Handbook
FEATURED PRODUCT.. .
regional round up THE THYMES November 2012 37
mainly of interest to
auckland members...
November 2011 34
Waiheke Island's hottest new opening is the stylish
Oyster Inn (www.theoysterinn.co.nz), which
offers restaurant dining, bar, private room and even
three luxury boutique hotel rooms (where you’ll get
complimentary Havaianas in their trademark yellow
& white).
The restaurant is headed by Cristian Hossack
(formerly head chef at London's Providores), where
they will aim to serve honest, simple dishes made
with the very best local produce. The raw bar is
stocked with the island's Te Matuku oysters (as well
as others from the region).
Barworks are all set to open The Postman’s
Leg, on the site of the old Glenfield Tavern, which
has undergone a massive transformation (you’d
hope so!). The venue consists of a large open bar
area, indoor & outdoor function areas and one of
the largest, sunniest garden bars Auckland has ever
seen—and of course a huge carpark.
Also just opened further North is JAC’s
Trading Co (www.jacstrading.co.nz) in The Plaza
on the Whangaparoa Peninsula. JAC stands for
Jellicoe and Cradock, which are apparently the two
channels of water between the Whangaparaoa
peninsula and Little Barrier Island, and Little Barrier
and Great Barrier Islands, don’t you know.
The beautiful French café has also had some
changes with the development of the courtyard into
a flourishing edible garden and the launch of a new
dining space, The French Kitchen. This will be the
ultimate chefs table - private dining with an open
kitchen, where chef / owner Simon Wright can cook
for an intimate number of guests.
We hear that the Birdcage will soon reopen, with
a restaurant/gastro bar headed by Frith Griggs,
former restaurant manager at Parnell institution,
Iguacu.
White’s & Co., a soft-serve yoghurt store in a league
of its own, has opened down at Britomart. The
brainchild of good friends Angus Allan (co-founder
of The Collective) and Kirk Saunders, White’s & Co.
is dedicated to delivering the very best in quality
using all-natural yoghurt. They also have some kitted
-out wheels which can take them to various
locations / festivals over the summer.
2012
November
12 Winner of NZ Café of the Year announced
13 Restaurant Association Front of House induction workshop, taste, 45 Normanby Road, Mt Eden.
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
15-18 Taste of Auckland, Victoria Park www.tasteofauckland.co.nz
20 Restaurant Association webinar, Employment Law FAQ’s, presented by Hesketh Henry lawyers RSVP to [email protected]
25 Farmers Santa Parade
December
4 Restaurant Association Christmas Visiting Hour, taste, 45 Normanby Road. Mt Eden
8 Coca Cola Christmas in the Park, Auckland Domain
25 Christmas Day
26 Boxing Day
31-5Jan ASB Classic, womens tennis tournament, ASB Tennis Arena
2013
January
1 New Years Day
2 Day after New Years Day
7-12 Heineken Open, mens tennis tournament, ASB Tennis Arena
26 Auckland Seafood Festival, Wynyard Quarter www.seafoodfestival.co.nz
28 Auckland Anniversary Day (public holiday)
news. upcoming auckland events.
JAC’s Trading Co
auckland members 38 THE THYMES November2012
Wine Facts...Riesling
Racy
, aro
matic
, div
erse
. N
atu
rally
vib
rant w
ith a
zes
ty
aci
dity
. Th
e w
ine
for
Asi
an c
uis
ine.
Food M
atc
hin
g ~
New
Zea
land R
iesl
ing’s
com
bin
atio
n
of fruit
inte
nsi
ty, ci
trus
note
s and r
efre
shin
g a
cidity
com
ple
men
t th
e su
btle
fla
vours
of Ja
panes
e te
mpura
. Past
a Poultr
y
Spic
y Sw
eet
Garlic
C
itrus
& V
inaig
rette
Thin
k sp
ice,
flow
ers
, m
inera
ls,
limes
& p
each
es.
N
Z R
iesl
ing r
anges
fro
m b
one
dry
& s
teel
y to
lusc
ious
& s
wee
t. M
ost
lea
n tow
ard
s an
off-d
ry s
tyle
with
artfu
lly b
ala
nce
d z
esty
citr
us
& lim
e. Y
oung w
ines
often
show
the
fragra
nt aro
mas
of apple
, ci
trus,
lem
on
& tro
pic
al fruit.
With
age,
toast
ed h
oney
&
som
etim
es k
erose
ne
chara
cter
s ca
n d
evel
op.
Th
e co
ole
r So
uth
Isl
and p
roduce
s th
e m
ajo
rity
of
our
Rie
slin
g.
Serv
ing
an
d C
ella
rin
g
Did You Know?
1 H
oney
is
the
only
natu
ral fo
od w
hic
h n
ever
goes
off.
2 A
n a
pple
is
more
effec
tive
at w
aki
ng y
ou u
p in the
morn
ing than c
offee
(sure
ly n
ot!)
3 A
n e
gg c
onta
ins
ever
y vi
tam
in e
xcep
t Vita
min
C.
Key Dates…
November
12
Win
ner
of N
Z C
afé
of th
e Yea
r
announce
d (
ww
w.n
zcafe
oftheye
ar.
co.n
z)
13
Res
taura
nt A
ssoci
atio
n F
ront of H
ouse
In
duct
ion w
ork
shop, at ta
ste,
45
N
orm
anby
Road, M
t Eden
. A
uck
land
(to b
ook
em
ail
jo@
tast
enz.
co.n
z
15-1
8
Tast
e of A
uck
land, Vic
toria P
ark
,
A
uck
land (
ww
w.tast
eofa
uck
land.c
o.n
z)
16
Cante
rbury
Anniv
ersa
ry D
ay
18
Toast
Maritn
boro
ugh
(w
ww
.toast
maritn
boro
ugh.c
o.n
z)
24
Air N
ew Z
eala
nd W
ine
Aw
ard
s
announce
d (
ww
w.a
irnzw
ineaw
ard
s.co
m)
30
End o
f th
e w
hite
bait
seaso
n,
but ch
erries
and r
asp
ber
ries
will
soon b
e in
!
December
3
W
estla
nd A
nniv
ersa
ry D
ay
Check Out…
The
Sum
mer
of Rie
slin
g is
a c
eleb
ratio
n o
f Rie
slin
g b
y so
me
of N
ew Z
eala
nd’s
fin
est ries
ling p
roduci
ng w
iner
ies,
res
taura
nts
and r
etaile
rs. Part o
f a w
orldw
ide
move
men
t th
at en
coura
ges
the
consu
mptio
n, dis
cuss
ion a
nd e
njo
ymen
t of
Rie
slin
g,
ove
r su
mm
er ther
e w
ill b
e a n
um
ber
of ev
ents
- w
inem
ake
r din
ner
s,
tast
ings
and w
ine
lists
cel
ebra
ting a
ll th
ings
Rie
slin
g. Fin
d o
ut if
your
esta
blis
hm
ent
is invo
lved
and for
more
info
rmatio
n g
o to w
ww
.sum
mer
ofrie
slin
g.c
o.n
z
Hospo Thymes staff page
Indust
ry u
pdate
for
hosp
itality
sta
ff, bought to
you b
y th
e R
est
aura
nt A
ssoci
ation o
f N
Z
rip it out and p
in it on y
our
notice
board
etc
...
Tips for surviving
the Christmas rush
1 If
you a
re d
oin
g a
split
shift
, m
ake
sure
you h
ave
at
least
10 m
inute
s aw
ay
from
the
work
pla
ce.
If yo
u c
an
giv
e y
ours
elf a q
uic
k ch
ange
of sc
ener
y bef
ore
the
nex
t sh
ift it ca
n o
ften
hel
p r
efre
sh y
ou.
2 A
noth
er s
plit
shift
tip
, bring a
fre
sh p
air o
f so
cks
to
work
to p
ut on b
efore
you s
tart the
din
ner
shift
. Your
feet
will
thank
you for
it!
3 Tr
y not to
drink
too m
any
ener
gy
drinks
or
coffee
s,
you w
ill o
nly
end u
p fee
ling w
ors
e, o
r not bei
ng a
ble
to
sle
ep w
hen
you g
et h
om
e.
4 M
ake
sure
you e
at pro
per
ly.
Take
som
e fruit
to w
ork
w
ith y
ou for
a n
ice
hea
lthy
snack
. 5
Tryi
ng to g
et C
hrist
mas
shoppin
g d
one
early
cuts
dow
n o
n the
pre
ssure
.
RE
ST
AU
RA
NT
A
SS
OC
IA
TIO
N O
F N
EW
Z
EA
LA
ND
WW
W.R
ES
TA
UR
AN
TN
Z.C
O.N
Z 0
80
0 7
37
8
27
1-5
+ Y
RS
Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Wellington)
Poverty Bay: Grant Bailey (Fettuccine Brothers, Gisborne)
)
Bart Littlejohn (Sails Restaurant, Auckland) Steve Logan (Logan Brown, Wellington)
Michael Turner
Howard Morris (Harry’s Bay, Nelson)
Joe Deegan (Pacific International Hotel Management School, New Plymouth)
Marcel Rood (Raupo Cafe, Blenheim)
s
Marisa Bidois
R
Andrew Targett (Elizabeth Café & Larder)
Cam Mitchell (The Bunker Restaurant & Bar, Queenstown)
Hayley Scott (Zinc Café, Hamilton)
Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Wellington)
Sean Burns (Milk and Honey, Napier)