Caterer Letters
Good-quality staff are worth the expense
At last! Roddy Watt has addressed the subject of illegal immigrant labour, which many of us, as professional recruitment companies, have been battling to resolve for some time ("We are just the victims of dodgy staff agencies", Caterer, 31 July, page 17).
It is my experience that, with so many unscrupulous agencies operating in such an unprofessional manner, using illegal immigrants and charging ridiculously low rates in order to undercut and obtain business, we are faced with a situation where operators - who are under huge pressure to reduce costs in the present climate - look at the immediate cost saving, not the facts and obvious implications.
It is absolutely impossible to offer good-quality, fully trained staff, with legitimate papers, at reduced rates. Unless we all - operators and agencies - pull together and endeavour to tackle this problem, the hospitality industry and those of us who are dependent on it will find ourselves fighting even harder for survival.
The figures in Roddy Watt's letter are spot-on but, unfortunately, there are currently very few operators which recognise the significance of this potentially disastrous situation.
Temporary recruitment companies should not be seen as the cheap route to staffing. Most of us have worked for many years to enhance our service, and it is such a shame that few people recognise the dilemma we are facing.
Monica Whalley
Chief executive, RHR Group, London
Plea for memories of wartime hotels
I am working on some personal research into central London hotels during the Second World War (1939-45), looking at all aspects of hotel life and how this was affected by events outside.
Inevitably, it is likely that much of the material I come across will be related to major five-star hotels that still exist. Although I will go directly to these hotels, I think the best source of information is going to be personal memories and experiences.
Do any readers have personal memories, or friends or relations who remember working at, being billeted at, taking refuge at, staying at or dining at a central London hotel during the Second World War? Does your hotel have guest records or photographs? Was it requisitioned for use by the military, or affected by bombing during the blitz?
Any information from wartime London would be of interest.
Caroline Murdoch
Redworks PRcaroline@redworks.co.uk
Tel: 01869 810443
Flexible systems and total solutions do work
Sara Edlington's article "Working together" (Caterer, 31 July, page 43) highlights the fact that we all now accept the need to integrate commercial areas by computer, and that the new debate is whether to achieve this by interfacing multiple systems or by seamlessly covering all areas with one system.
While multiple interfacing still produces some fraught results, earlier issues with seamless total solution systems are now resolved by using flexible software.
The argument for a cocktail of systems has never been about obtaining "best of breed" for each area, as all properties and groups differ. It has always been about finding the most appropriate system to meet the specific needs of each area within an individual business.
In short, selecting a single system to cover all areas requires too much compromise from all departments. However, with the advent of flexible software this is no longer the case, as systems are swiftly configured to the exact requirements of each individual department and property.
Another issue used to be the daunting task of implementing a total solution. This too is no longer the case, as flexible software systems can be used to cover one commercial area, then expanded to other areas or properties later.
There seem to be few remaining arguments against the seamless total solution system. Hoteliers can now avoid the stress of managing a cocktail of semi-integrated systems and enjoy the benefits of seamlessness in their marketing, yield management, guest care and cost control.
Simon Gordon-Smith
Managing director, A Different Perspective, Mortlake, London
Need a change of life? Try a change of wife
Do you want a new partner for 10 days? Channel 4 is looking for families to take part in the second series of the programme, Wife Swap.
The aim of the programme is to look at the home lives of modern families and, in a fun way, compare the philosophies of two families juggling the same responsibilities.
I hope to find a lively family with a good sense of humour and outgoing personalities, and who live life to the full.
We are particularly keen that the new series should move beyond basic household debates and explore the fundamental choices people make about their families and households. Where people choose to live and how that informs their perspective on family life is a major part of this.
So, are you fun, lively and up for a laugh? Do you have a particular style of parenting or running a household that another family could benefit from? If so, we would love to hear from you.
Kirsty Mitchell
Researcher, RDFMediakirsty.mitchell@rdfmedia.com
Tel: 020 7013 4229
To all Stelvin doubters - don't put a cork in it
As a convert to Stelvin, or screwcaps, for wine, I have become depressed by the almost universally bovine reaction of our customers when, as a wine merchant, we switched from supplying a New Zealand Sauvignon in cork to a version under Stelvin.
Nearly 80% - yes, you read that right, 80% - of our customers have sent the wine back (Mudhouse, as it happens) and refuse to list any wines with screwcaps.
This suggests to me that the debate extensively aired in the trade press (see Caterer, 29 May, for example) is irrelevant and has failed to persuade people at all. Change will only come when wine merchants knuckle down and educate their customers - or bully them.
The scepticism arises from the fact that restaurateurs feel their customers will object to screwtops because they devalue the product within. From Dulwich, Soho, Mayfair and Primrose Hill comes the refrain: our clientele isn't sophisticated enough to understand that Stelvin is the way forward for certain wines.
The second excuse that we often hear is: "We haven't got time to explain to customers." Surely, it behoves restaurateurs to communicate that most white wines from New Zealand and Australia will soon be bottled under a screwtop.
Given the number of restaurants which have Australians and New Zealanders working in them, this resistant attitude to change is even more feeble.
I will be writing to all our customers setting out the arguments, but I have no doubt that the only approach is to get the growers over to this country and let them blind the Luddites with science.
Douglas Wregg
Sales and marketing director, Les Caves de Pyrene, Guildford
