Hi Guys

Well the time has come for me to start sending the old resume out to different people in Canada.

For 10 years I was a manager for Whitbread plc with their Branded Restaurant division and feel that this is the route to continue in when I arrive in Canada - even though I have done team training and VNQ assessing in the UK.

Have had a call today from Boston Pizza who are really interested in chatting to me "as soon as I arrive".

Want to know if anyone out there knows how managers are treated within the Hospitality Industry - do they work the obligatory 55 hours plus a week I used to work for Whitbread ? How are managers treated ? What should I expect from Hospitality companies out there ?

Thanks very much

Gaynor
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Hi BB
I read an article only the other night about Boston Pizza being desperate for staff - I'll try and hunt down a link. I think you should aim high in the current job market!
Cheers
Floss

Found it:
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...72caa1&k=90792

Would this information entitle me to a bit of extra pepperoni on my pizza if I popped over to Lethbridge???

Of course I would arrange it for you Floss !

Bit concerned tho by the article as being down 5 team members per site is a huge amount and could mean totally bum hours which am trying to avoid

Gaynor
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I can only speak for Nova Scotian Managers, within the hotel industry, but they certainly do not put the hours in that were expected of their counterparts in the uk.

In the uk I was expected to work a minimum of 60 hours, as General Manager of a hotel, as a GSM I worked usually between 75-80. Here GMs do not work any more than 35 and GSM's approx 40 on a long week. The restaurant manager in the hotel I work in never works evenings or more than 39 hours. Any more than 40 is definitely frowned upon. I hope this attitude keeps up until after I work my way back up again in a few years time!

Thanks hun for that - gives me something to work on.

I am in touch with a couple of peeps in Canada who want to meet with me as soon as I arrive but of course having been out of the industry for about 12 months (having gone to be an nVQ assessor) am very concerned about having to doing the 60 hour weeks again - dont think that my body could take it again

Would be grateful if anyone else has any tales to tell too

Gaynor
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Just wanted to bring this to the top again - see if anyone else knows this

Gaynor

I know people who work in Boston Pizza where I live. It is not renowned as a good employer in this town, but then we are in BC. The "restaurant" itself is not so good - frozen everything reheated, basically. I have been in the kitchen in my local one quite a few times The hours are variable and unreliable, even for the "managers" who only manage the part time casual staff. That extends to scheduling shifts and usually firing those who refuse more than one shift in any given month (hence the reason I have ended up in the kitchen getting kids I work with re-instated). Again, the only experience I have is of my local one, it may not be typical.

Try this lot - next to Swiss Chalet they are supposed to be OK -ish employers in the "family" food sector.
http://en.kegsteakhouse.com/employment/management

Thanks Dingbat

Have also applied to swiss chalet

Gaynor
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Gaynor, as you may know I worked at Sears - the manager there didn't work long hours - just standard weeks, the team leads were the same - I'm kind of thinking that restaurants should be on the same lines - you certainly don't see white pasty looking sleepy yawny people with matchsticks holding their eyes open.

I did 5 (wasted) years as Asst manager for Beefeater, with the hours I worked, my wages were about a quid fifty per hour and a crummy room in the staff house that resembled a squat.

Try all the major chains (I'm sure you have) as you know Alberta on the whole is desperate for service staff, so you should have your pick of jobs. Good luck

Hey Piff

So you appreciate what it is like to work for Whitbread Was exactly the same my team members earned more than i did especially on premium weekends like Easter

Just want to get out of all of that crappy hours and stuff and at least feel more appreciated by my employer - which working for Whitbread they skank you all the time with your bonus leaving you feeling so unappreciated

OK rant about previous employer over

Gaynor
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I have a friend who is a manager for Red Lobster. The money is crap (around 40k), the hours are just horrible. A normal week for him is around 60-80 hours, plus the dubious pleasure of sometimes working 21 days straight. The turnover is retail is extremely high and you are forever recruiting.

I have to say that my wife was a store manager for Rogers, Staples, then Starbucks and the hours were horrific. You have to cover the hours of staff that dont turn up (becuase you can never get hold of anybody else), the pressures of retail store management (including restaurants) are really high.

Starbucks pride themselves on being one of Canada's (if not the world's) best employers - but for managers the pressures are extreme. I have yet to meet a manager who has been left alone to "manage", you get to do all the day to day stuff on top of your management duties, there just isnt enought time in the day. Dont forget that as a manager, you would not be entitled to overtime - quite frankly whoever you are and whatever job you do, I have found that you will be expected to work over the hours as a given.

Sorry to sound so negative/realistic about it, but it isnt just my (and my wife's) opinion. I am an HR Director, and have interviewed a number of retail/restaurant managers who all have the same story.

My experience is that anyone in that kind of work that can get away with a set number of hours per day or week is the exception rather than the rule.

Thanks for that

All comments welcome

Gaynor
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Gaynor - that doesn't sound good does it? Bit like Whitbread all over again I'm thinking florist assistant Pretty things and they smell nice, they don't get drunk and yell at you an no temperamental chefs!