Letters
An inspector calls your bluff
May I use your letters column to make a confession to Eric Marsh, in response to his reference to me.
I do indeed recall the incident that occurred in the days when I was the executive responsible for the AA's hotel inspection service. He is correct that on the occasion of my visit to the Cavendish Hotel in Baslow, Derbyshire, I booked under a false name. This was mainly because, as Mr Marsh stated, my picture was printed with the foreword I wrote to the AA guide that year.
Now for my confession. At the time of the incident, the Cavendish Hotel was being considered for three red stars and two rosettes for the quality of its cuisine. Because the AA always takes meticulous care before awarding its highest accolades, I decided it would be helpful on this occasion if I, together with chief hotel inspector Geoffrey Lerway, stayed at the hotel on the same night, but ignored each other during the visit.
While I was spotted, Mr Lerway was not. May I therefore offer my late but profound apologies to Mr Marsh for being so devious!
The story did have a happy ending. On the evidence of this and previous visits, both Mr Lerway and I agreed on the undoubted qualities of the Cavendish Hotel and I was happy to confirm the accolades it subsequently received.
IAN TYERS
Director of Membership Services,
Best Western Hotels, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.
Putting pressure on tardy payers
How true was Neville Dyckhoff's letter when he spoke of the 90-day payers who had negotiated terms of 30 days in order to get advantageous prices.
Could Caterer readers offer advice on another aspect of this thorny subject - how many copy invoices, orders or proof of delivery notes (PoDs) should be sent and for how long? With large companies, especially where the invoice has to pass through several departments, they can get lost with frustrating regularity.
Providing a copy of the original order placed and a copy of the PoD can lead to high costs being accrued on photocopying, postage and staff time.
One invoice gained its own notoriety when it was unpaid after 13 copies of the invoice had been sent, 10 copies of the order and five PoDs. This invoice was sent in August 1994 and cleared in January 1996.
What can we do? "Put them on stop," I hear you cry. But how? These are clients whose business is worth tens of thousands of pounds to us.
"Threaten legal action!" Yes, you can, but only if you don't want any more orders. "Charge them for each copy invoice over three." Hey, now there's an idea! Anybody got any thoughts on this?
CATHY WILCOX
General Manager,
Staines Catering Equipment, Southall, Middlesex.
Industry wins labour's ear
Following previous comments in Caterer that the industry was failing to get its case recognised by all political parties, your coverage of the Labour party conference, Tourism - Agenda for Britain, does not show the contribution that industry representative bodies are now making.
One section of the programme was devoted to hospitality. The Joint Hospitality Industry Congress (JHIC), British Hospitality Association and Hotel & Catering Training Company were able to put forward their views as the Labour Party develops its policy towards our industry.
Indeed, the Labour Party seems to be taking our concerns on minimum wage seriously, having admitted that its imposition will be an extra burden for hospitality operators. The party now offers full consultation on the application and levels of wage to be set and has offered a possible review of VAT as a consequence of introducing higher employment charges.
Even the Conservative Party is now listening to the concerns of the hospitality industry as distinct from tourism. Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine and National Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley will be on hand to hear our Vision for the Future, a Henley Centre research project is being unveiled on 21 June at a conference to be held in London.
JHIC members are involved in reviews of liquor licensing, planning issues, employment and training needs, as well as many other matters affecting the industry.
Who says that the industry's case is not being heard? Next comes the action to co-ordinate a meaningful partnership with the party in power to create the right trading environment, so securing a profitable future for our vital industry.
MICHAEL HIRST
Chairman,
Joint Hospitality Industry Congress,
Camberley, Surrey.
The age of fresh experience
I must respond to Robin Hilton's comments taking offence at our recruitment policy and recent advertisement in Caterer.
As an industry specialist, the Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group seeks to maintain a balance of experienced managers and young people at an early stage of their careers who can either develop with us, or learn from us and then move onwards - and most definitely upwards. We must keep this balance to retain standards of innovation and industry awareness.
It is because of our policy to retain experienced staff that at present we are looking to strengthen our team at junior level. Our only assumption in giving age guidelines is the reasonable one that younger people are more likely to be at the beginning of their career path than older ones and have a future of progression ahead of them.
As far as ability is concerned, we believe that, qualifications being equal, someone with one year's experience and a full career ahead is a better bet for us than someone who has had the same experience but twenty times over; age per se is therefore not the significant issue.
For Mr Hilton's information, the average age of the consultancy staff in our industry group is 36, with 40- and 50-year-olds featuring strongly.
JEREMY SCROXTON (aged 43)
Associate,
Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group, St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Archives answer student prayers
The Hospitality Partnership is aware of the amount and quality of correspondence industry colleagues receive from students. Research we conducted 18 months ago identified that students typically included school children as young as 13, NVQ and BTEC students in further education, university undergraduates and postgraduate researchers.
While everyone agrees that tutors and students should be up to date with industry practice, business pressures inevitably mean that managers cannot possibly respond to every request.
The Hospitality Partnership is trying to resolve the situation. We propose the creation of a national archive of the UK hospitality industry. Such an archive would be made up of documents and materials, no longer commercially sensitive, supplied by industrialists and firms. This material could include marketing plans, policy statements, operative manuals and job descriptions.
The archive would create a resource that would enable academics, researchers and students to engage in research without directly writing to companies. Current technology would allow the archive to be transferred to CD-Rom and therefore be accessible to every college and university department in the UK.
The idea is still at an early stage. We believe it is innovative but it needs colleagues with foresight to support the initiative. And perhaps a wealthy sponsor to get it off the ground.
The Hospitality Partnership will be considering it at its next management committee meeting, and would be pleased to receive comments.
PETER JONES and CHRIS RIPPER
Hospitality Partnership,
c/o HCIMA, 191 Trinity Road, London SW17.
Call to restore Soyer's monument
I have been contacted by a firm of funeral directors because of the poor state of repair of a monument in Kensal Green cemetery in north-west London.
The monument immortalises Alexis Soyer who laid the foundations for army catering and who was inventor of the Soyer Field Stove. Soyer is buried in the cemetery, which is adjacent to 562 Brigade Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers).
The preliminary cleaning and preparation work will cost £3,000 and the restoration process will cost £10,000-£15,000. I am now seeking readers' assistance in raising the balance of the finance necessary for the project to begin.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDWARD MARVIN
151 (Greater London) Support Regiment,
The Royal Logistics Corps (Volunteers),
TA Centre, Sydenham Road, Croydon, Surrey.
