Pressing engagement
When a big news story breaks, Brian Smith's catering staff brace themselves to cope with fluctuating numbers at their operation at the Mirror Colour Print works in Oldham.
"On the day Diana, Princess of Wales's death was announced, the Mirror printed an extra issue, which meant the night staff stayed on, doubling the numbers for breakfast without any warning," says area manager Andrea Walwyn.
The operation is a complex 24-hour service, peaking at night as the presses roll, with 400 customers using the dining facilities from 10pm to 4am compared with 200 at lunchtime. There is also a breakfast and tea service serving a combined number of 250. Take-up is 55% on day service and 70% on night with a 40% increase on budgeted sales since Brian Smith took over in April.
"The extent of these services is unusual," says Ron Collacott, Brian Smith's assistant managing director. "Most 24-hour operations have shrunk, and use vending for out-of-hours catering. We had to make sure there was consistency throughout the shifts and understand the flow of information to ensure, for instance, that temperature probes are being used at 3am as well as 2pm. Instead of the process managing us, we had to manage the process."
The fixed-price contract was gained by Brian Smith against stiff competition from Eurest, Carlton, Consultant Catering, and resident caterers for 13 years, Gardner Merchant.
"When we changed caterers, we were not looking for lower cost but higher quality," says Peter Pearson, financial manager for Mirror Colour Print. "We'd operated a cost-plus contract with our previous contractors, but felt that this was an open chequebook. Costs had escalated while services had deteriorated."
Pearson switched to fixed-price with GM for the last year, but things did not improve and he went out to tender.
"We were looking for an independent catering company and felt that Brian Smith was of a sufficient size and had a good reputation. I was struck by their approach to quality," says Pearson.
There has been no increase in subsidy and the management fee is partly geared to sales. A 3% increase on the tariff to allow for inflation has been allowed, and Brian Smith has agreed with the client that no other tariff increases will take place without full consultation with the customer.
There are 18 staff working 16 shifts and the site staffing structure was changed "dramatically" by the new caterers to allow staff to work all shifts, including weekends, instead of one or the other.
"This way they work as a team and it gives them a better understanding of the business. It's also fairer and allows staff to take ownership of all the shifts," says Walwyn.
To counter high wastage resulting from the unexpected fluctuations in numbers, chefs were employed to work on all shifts, instead of just some. A fast-food griddle was introduced on the night service to provide call-order food at speed, and batch-cooking allows chefs to serve freshly prepared meals as needed. Before this, the day shift prepared food for the night shift and weekends.
The menu is structured around what the customer wants, with daytime customers preferring something lighter, and the night staff opting for heavier meals and more hot items. Catering manager Paul Parker had to adjust to the fact that hospitality often takes place during the night, anything from buffets to hot pies and peas.
Menus reflect the nature of the client's business with Scoop of the day (soup), Editor's choice and Hot off the press (griddle bar dishes).
