Better by staff

Fallowfields Country House Hotel and Restaurant

Faringdon Road, Southmoor,Oxfordshire OX13 5BH.

Tel: 01865 820416

Owners: Antony and Peta Lloyd

Chef: Alan Jefferson-Mackney

No of bedrooms: 10

Restaurant seats: 70

Function room seats (with marquee): 120

Room rate: £87.50 for single room and breakfast; £135 for four-poster for two with breakfast

Corporate eight-hour rate: £12.50 per delegate

Total turnover 1998: £300,000

Estimated turnover 1999: £500,000

Turnover for February 1999: £32,500

Projected occupancy for March 1999:135 bed nights so far

THEY'VE done it - Antony and Peta Lloyd have finally had a holiday. Admittedly it was just for a weekend in Le Touquet, France, but it's the first for five years, certainly the first since they turned their former bed and breakfast into a 10-bedroomed country house hotel and restaurant.

It's not a one-off, either. They have booked a week away in July with their family, and are also planning for two weeks' holiday next year.

Their new-found freedom was made possible by Derek Lambert, a retired caretaker at Nuffield College, who has spent most of his life managing hotels, pubs and clubs. He and his wife Margaret, who live locally, are happy to sleep over and keep the place running while the Lloyds are away.

Antony knows they are lucky. "He's a marvel," he affirms. But he accepts that the Lamberts did not have too much to cope with, as things have been pretty quiet at Fallowfields during the first couple of months of 1999 - February occupancy was 35%, against an expected 40%. Antony is optimistic, however, that there will be a "strong booking rate" for the spring and summer.

His upbeat attitude has prompted the Lloyds' latest move: they are to take on an assistant manager, who will supervise front of house and manage functions. "He can cook, too," says Peta, with evident pleasure - their new member of staff will take on at least one of her shifts to cover chef Alan Jefferson-Mackney's days off. (As Caterer went to press, a deal has been agreed, but Antony is loath to name names until his future employee has worked his notice.)

Although there are currently fewer customers around, Fallowfields is anything but quiet. The Lloyds are using the time to move ahead with their "company vision", Antony and Peta's long-term plans for the hotel.

They announced these last August at a staff day to launch the upgraded Fallowfields, thank the staff for all they had done so far, and set the new targets for the hotel - "to be the best payers in the area, and to make half-a-million next year".

In refining this vision, Antony explains that they have come up with a plan of action, two of the main points being pay increases and top-quality training. It is this second aspect that Peta, in her new role as training manager, is tackling.

She is attempting to standardise chambermaid and waiting roles in the hotel by producing a manual to which all staff can refer. Although there are two maids who cover weekdays, the weekend staff number about 14, and it's more tricky to check on who knows what. "Just simple things like putting the washing machine on properly," says Peta. The manual includes exactly how to load the machine as well as folding and putting away linen.

She has also spent time showing staff exactly how well the bedrooms need to be cleaned: "Things like dusting the lower legs of chairs and tables get missed," she says. "We want to be ready for any inspectors when they come," Antony chimes in. "They will be looking for dust, running their fingers along picture rails and so on." So Peta has also devised a monthly spring-clean checklist for each of the rooms.

Peta is unapologetic about the amount of detail. "I want it to include all they need to know. The benefits to new staff are huge. We can brief them and then they can refer to the manual whenever they need to."

Waiting staff are getting the same amount of attention. Antony and Peta have had a meeting with their friend, chef-lecturer Robin Pacey, and have identified two different styles of service for the hotel - function and restaurant service. Both, they feel, need working on. "Sometimes it's a little inelegant," admits Antony, choosing his words carefully.

So this month they will be paying Pacey to come and take a service "masterclass", for waiting staff. "We see it as increasing their armoury of skills," says Antony.

As part of their action plan, the Lloyds have introduced comment forms for guests to provide feedback on the service. One of the conference customers pointed out that parking was "a nightmare" for meetings of more than 20 people. So Antony has got David Holmes, a gardener-handyman, to start clearing an overgrown patch at the side of the house with a view to making it a car park.

"We were also told our coffee and tea service was slow," says Antony, "although we thought we should wait until their scheduled break, they expected it to be there ready." The purchase of some top-quality vacuum flasks solved that problem.

The Lloyds are planning to have six-monthly reviews with all the staff, an "appraisal and counselling plan" with built-in objectives and development plans for each individual. Antony realises this may take some time to get up and running. "I will have to train Peta to appraise the cleaning staff, and Jefferson-Mackney to appraise the commis and the gardening staff." The new assistant manager, when he arrives, will be expected to review the front of house staff.

Personal targets

As well planning another pay rise later this year, the Lloyds are setting personal targets, due to start in 2000, for the two salaried staff. For example, Jefferson-Mackney could get the kitchen through an environmental health visit without costing them any money, and the assistant manager could makes savings when it comes to stock-taking. "They might get a bonus of between two to five thousand pounds," says Antony. He doesn't rule out performance-related pay for other staff either.

The couple have had meetings about starting Investors in People and Excellence Through People schemes. Antony thinks they will probably opt for the latter, as it seems to echo the goals of their company.

They are both still keen that Fallowfields is a fun place to work, too. "When it comes down to it, we want this to be a good place to work, with a nice atmosphere," says Peta. And their plans for Millennium Eve reflect this. They have decided on a staff and family party, instead of opening to the public. They will all feed, serve and clear up for each other. Rather than a missed opportunity to make money, Antony sees it as a positive reinforcement of mixing work and pleasure. "A perfect solution," he insists. n

Next visit to Fallowfields: 8 April