National Trust cafe staff incredulous as bosses tell them to make three coffees and a hot chocolate in just two and a half minutes in bid to tackle queues
As National Trust cafes try to get a move on, staff say they are being infantilised
Nick Constable | Mail on Sunday | 1 April 2023
As coffee addicts know, there's nothing worse than a slow queue when you are desperate for a caffeine hit.
But National Trust staff say plans to curb complaints about the speed of service at its 280 cafes take the biscotti.
Servers will be timed to see if they can make three coffees and a hot chocolate within a two-and-a-half-minute deadline – and there will be a 'surprise twist', with a question about allergens.
The test will be repeated after a month to check for any improvements.
National Trust sources say staff are furious, with one West Country cafe worker protesting: 'We're being treated like children.
'The whole charade feels like something you'd see on The Apprentice. If we're too slow, will we be fired?
They continued: 'This has come about because of bad feedback from visitors queuing for ages.
'But the reason for that is that we are woefully understaffed. All the managers know it.'
A worker at another trust cafe said her manager told her she would be timed on how quickly she could make two lattes, a soya cappuccino and a hot chocolate.
She said: 'I will also have to deal with a request about allergens, which may affect the order.
'They'll judge each cafe on its average time for producing that order. So if you have one server who is inexperienced, or not very quick, it'll drag the whole team down.
'It feels like a kick in the stomach after how hard everyone worked during and after the pandemic.
'Staff are furious because everyone is working as fast as they physically can.' CONTINUE READING