Tuesday 29 September 2009

No Christmas cheer as the cull starts early

We have the beauty of our autumnal season to behold every morning as we stir our first cuppa of the day and gaze out of the window, pondering what the day has in store.
Having suffered a moderate summer the pub trade has continued to see losses as the non smoking brigade still refuse to invade what hostelries are left. ',Food-led' pubs have seen a fair trade, many of them surviving by food alone, but that time has drawn to a close again as the autumn season becomes entrenched.
Pub staff are now finding that hours have to be cut as expenses are minimised in expectation of even less customers coming through the doors. Pubs that have served food throughout the summer months now have an overflow of staff-which does not sit well with the accountants at the top of the tree! So, the poor staff who have been running themselves ragged for the past 4 months to keep their masters in luxurious lifestyles, now tremble in morbid fascination as they wait to find out just how many hours per week they need NOT enter for work. As the pubco's find profits spiralling downwards one thing is for sure, the bosses will not have a cheerless Christmas but the staff of these eating houses, that also sell beers, will now be worrying about financial losses in the wagepacket as we creep inexorably closer to the yuletide festivities.
2 hrs here and an hour there doesn't seem alot but when people are working, but still be on the breadline, those 3 hours are of the utmost importance to the household economy.
Yet, come Christmas Day, all staff will be expected to work until every last penny has been wrested from the revellers pockets, for Christmas Day is bonus day for 'food-led' pubs; the staff are not important in the grand scheme of things, save serving food & drink.
Fully expect your other half to miss the glory of Christmas day for the great God pubco needs their services badly!
They can treat them like unwanted flotsam from now 'til Christmas but can also forbid them to remain at home on that day. In fact as far as Christmas is concerned the food-led pubs only concern is money, not the staff. Mind you, if none turned in through tactics of revolt, an interesting scenario would then occur.....100 Christmas dinner expectees and no staff...oh sweet lord...retribution on the overlords bigtime! One days wages, even at double time, does not make up for the loss of wages leading up to Christmas Day-there is no Christmas cheer as the cull starts early.
Of course there is one way to fight back! This household has sacked Christmas day altogether, the 26th of December is now our Christmas day-sod the pubco's!
And just think folks, if smoking hadn't been totally outlawed in pubs the above problem would never have surfaced. But isn't that what has caused all the problems within the trade?