Barchester Manufacturing Limited Plan for Change Responding to customer complaints Charlotte Mannion November 2011 Page 1
Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Background 4 Findings 5 Recommendations 7 Appendix 8 Page 2
Executive Summary The purpose of the report is to examine the complaints received from staff and see if changes are needed to improve the canteen facilities. It is based on the number of complaints received and these were analysed to identify which were major concerns and which were nice to have. Complaints were grouped under the following headings... Hygiene Food quality Facilities Food choice Service. There is a real concern that Barchester Manufacturing may be in danger of contravening health and safety legislation. It is recommended that the canteen is redecorated and cleaned thoroughly to reduce health risks. This should be given the highest priority. Canteen staff should undertake training in food hygiene and customer service and the cooking staff should attend training so as to improve the quality and choice of meals. The cost of failing an Health and Safety inspection or a staff member becoming ill after using the canteen far outweighs the cost of refurbishment and training. Charlotte Mannion November 2011 Page 3
Introduction The report has been commissioned by John Smith, Catering Manager for the works canteen at Barchester Manufacturing. It covers the staff suggestions which were deposited in the Suggestions Box in the canteen. There are more than thirty five complaints, collected over the last four months July to October 2011, which are addressed here. The report draws important conclusions and provides recommendations for changes. It is assumed the report is for the canteen committee members to discuss and then decide on the way forward. Background Barchester has a canteen which was built to accommodate 25 employees to enjoy a lunch time meal. Since its inception 8 years ago the company has grown substantially and now has more than 50 employees. The canteen has struggled to provide enough room for everyone to eat. Recently a shift system of three sittings was introduced but the users have not been as disciplined as is required to make the system work. Despite the length of time the canteen has been in use the furniture has never been upgraded or replaced. Some of the catering staff are coming up for retirement and although there is a plan in place to replace them nothing has been done to progress it. Page 4
Initial findings All the findings are presented as complaints made by staff anonymously and have been grouped under the following headings. Hygiene The complaints ranged from dirty towels in the lavatories and dirty tablecloths and cutlery in the dining room. There were a number of complaints concerning food being either under or overcooked and kept warm too long. There is one report of an insect being found in a bowl of soup. Food Quality There are a few complaints about the quality of the food and drinks served. These include weak tea, burnt coffee, over hard ice cream, thick custard and soggy vegetables. Facilities The facilities are reported as being very poor with overcrowding with no room for orderly queues. There are also complaints about wobbly tables and a lack of chairs with some customers having to use benches. There are issues about the height of the chairs and lack of natural light as well as a complaint that the salt cellars are broken. Food Choice These complaints and suggestions included requests for salads in the winter, fruit instead of dessert and a wider selection of healthy options. There was also a request for more vegetarian choices as well as European food. There is also a complaint about fish always served on Fridays. Service There are a few complaints referring to the lack of service. These include a lack of clean cutlery, waiting too long to be served and the food being either cold or unavailable outside peak times Overall distribution of the complaints is shown on the next page. Page 5
9 8 7 6 Hygiene 5 Facilities 4 Food Quality 3 Food Choice Service 2 1 0 1 Conclusions The immediate concerns are those linked to health and safety and, in particular, hygiene. There is a clear need for an improvement in cleanliness standards and possibly refresher training in food hygiene for all staff. Until this situation is addressed the canteen remains a concern for the whole organisation and may be in contravention of health and safety legislation. There needs to more room provided to accommodate all those wishing to use the canteen which should reduce the overcrowding. Consideration needs to be given to providing a second eating area so that more people can eat in the lunch hour. The current shift system does not appear to be working so a method to improve this is needed. However this would need to be policed to ensure everyone gets appropriate time to eat their meal. It appears much of the furniture is unsafe and needs to be replaced. The quality of food seems to be an issue and a check should be made to see if staff who work in the canteen all hold appropriate qualifications. The findings in relation to the food quality may also be a source of potential food poisoning. There is also a clear need for a better choice of food/meals on offer to reflect changes in healthy food and a wider range of meals commonly available nowadays. Page 6
Recommendations It is recommended that... The canteen is closed for one week for a full redecoration and for a cleaning regime to be introduced to include the lavatories and kitchens. A weekly Laundry service is required to ensure there are plenty of clean table cloths and towels and curtains replaced with blinds. The windows need to be adapted or changed to allow more natural light. Furniture needs to be replaced with up to date tables and chairs at the appropriate height. All staff working in the canteen should undertake basic food hygiene training. Cooking staff will benefit from attending training on introducing a wider and more modern range of foods to meet the needs of vegetarians and the health conscious. The costs of following these recommendations should be balanced against the cost of handling an inspection from the Health and Safety Executive or a food poisoning epidemic across the organisation. Page 7
Appendix 1. I found a beetle in my soup. 2. The towels in the lavatory are dirty. 3. The curtains in the canteen are too dirty. 4. The tablecloths are dirty. 5. My knife was not clean. 6. I could not see what I was eating. 7. Coffee tastes as if it has been kept hot all day. 8. Chips are not cooked through. 9. Vegetables are kept warm and get soggy. 10. The tables are unsteady. 11. The chairs are too high. 12. There are still four tables with benches rather than chairs. 13. you cannot move without knocking into people. 14. There are too many delays. 15. There is not enough room to queue properly. 16. Not enough staff to get your food quickly. 17. Canteen is too crowded at peak times. 18. You have to wait too long to be served. 19. Food is often cold for latecomers. 20. There is never enough of the popular dishes for those coming in later. 21. Salt cellars don t work. 22. We are always running out of clean cutlery. 23. Baked potatoes taste as if they are continually reheated. 24. Custard is too thick. 25. The coffee is burnt. 26. The ice cream is too hard. 27. Tea is too weak. 28. Hardly any choice. Page 8
29. Why not serve some European dishes? 30. Must we always have fish on Friday? 31. Why can t we have salads in the winter? 32. Make the meals more varied. 33. Can we have a choice of fresh fruit instead of dessert? 34. When will we have a choice of healthy options? 35. Only ever one vegetarian alternative. Page 9