To whom it concerns…
As a 20 year career hospitality professional, in an advanced management position I find it difficult to correctly and astutely express my disgust at this kind of listing.
But I’ll give it a go, because I feel it’s justified. You should also know that it takes an awful lot for me to do this, I’m not an internet troll or a “keyboard warrior”. You’ve just annoyed me enough to write this email.
First of all, I understand that staff costs are among the major financial concerns for any business, in particular hospitality. They fluctuate from week to week, month to month and year to year and make it near impossible to project exactly how much will need to be spent without completely compromising on quality of service delivered to paying customers.
That said, there are ways to combat this – all of which you and your management will know. Hiring “interns” is the laziest way of doing so, and in doing so you insult career professionals such as myself and others who wish to make it a career by offering insulting stipends for an honest week’s work.
By offering to mentor bar staff (something in itself I admire, if it’s done in an appropriate way and not to exploit a loophole that is yet to be fixed), all you are doing is adding to the culture of belittling a profession that recently has been reduced to nothing more than bodies in uniforms.
If you truly wish to mentor staff and train them to your standards, then it must involve continued training with the same rates of pay, benefits and work conditions that full time staff are entitled to and enjoy. Failure to do this only teaches the “intern” that this is a business that will exploit you at every turn to save a buck.
Therein lies the problem with the attitude towards hospitality as a whole, but that’s a whole different email.
If you are on the hunt for cheap staff to fill a spot on the roster because summer time is coming up, you will be disappointed in anyone you hire.
I, as probably you did, worked my way through college. My current workforce also consists of students, all studying various fields. They are treated with respect and mentored and trained properly. They are also paid a fair wage, and are offered the same promotional opportunities as anyone else, coupled with the wage increases that come with promotions.
Not only do I keep the same staff for the duration of their studies, because they know they have a good thing going, but I end up with a loyal and hard working team who strive to exceed the expectations I bestow on them.
I will put pound to penny to bet that a Job Bridge intern would not respond the same way, and why would they? Because their welfare payments will be stopped if they refuse to apply for your “opportunity”?
The level of respect that you are showing not only to your own bar(s) but to bars in general is so shockingly absent, it makes me physically angry. Bar work is some of the hardest work that someone can choose to do. I do, and always have ranked it as some of the most physically, mentally and emotionally draining work a person can do. It is also some of the most rewarding, when given the correct respect especially by and from employers.
Hiring bar staff (or any staff for that matter) through the Job Bridge scheme in this way shows no respect for anyone who works for you now, or will do in the future. It showcases your complete and utter contempt for your current workforce. How would you feel if you thought you could be replaced by a €50 a week “intern”?
I am fully aware that you are not the only employer to exploit this scheme for financial gain, but that doesn’t make it ok.
Your management should be earning their salaries, instead of saving them, by finding alternative ways to save money and increase profits.
Or perhaps you could advertise for a HR Management Intern for €50 a week and see what ideas they come up with.
Alternatively, place your HR Manager/General Manager in the bar for 30 hours in any week, (ideally when there is a wedding for 200+ guests, or similar) and then ask them if they’d work those same hours next week for €50.
I’m guessing they wouldn’t work them for 10 times the amount, lest it remove them from their desks.
Which brings us around to my final point – whomever it was that placed that ad, or whatever meeting was held that resulted in the decision to hire through this scheme should have their own positions questioned.
You have failed the purpose and ethos set out in the original ideals of the Job Bridge scheme.
You have failed to instil any sort of faith in potential (and existing) employees.
You have failed in maintaining a respectable brand, being one who regards its employees in such a low regard.
You have failed in keeping my opinion of your business as a reputable and respectable place to frequent. (Being a local in Navan, that’s a sad out come)
You have failed to have me return as a paying customer, in any form. (Which is going to involve an awkward conversation with a summer bride you have this summer, whose wedding I’m a guest at)
You have failed to see the vicious circle you are placing yourselves in.
By that I mean that you will inevitably ask yourselves why the staff you’ve hired to mentor are continuously disgruntled, have no inclination for your standards of service, grunt at customers and (hopefully not) possibly begin finding ways to steal from you, to make up for what they feel are all injustices. You’ll sack them and hire someone else at €50 a week.
Regardless of level of skill, experience or even desire to be there, happy employees who feel valued will repay you with more than hard work – they will be loyal in the face of challenges big and small.
As it happens, I’m looking to change my career for reasons I’ve outlined above. Shouldn’t be a problem with my qualifications in HR. All of which I’d use (at €50 per week) to show you how it should be done, and also to devalue your profession the same way you’re doing to so many others.
No doubt I won’t receive a response, so I don’t expect one. What I do expect is for this to be emailed around all the heads of department to be snorted at while said heads do all they can to retain performance bonuses. All they can, except any actual out of the box thinking and/or hard work.
Yours in frustration,
Matt
