Burkey, as you finished my wife and I started with the company having completed our 2 weeks at the training centre and 6 weeks in house training.
The training scheme was second to none followed by occasional 1 day training on first aid, fire fighting, customer restraint, cellar management courses, food hygiene. We finished up with more certificates than a modern day school leaver.
As you will remember at that time of your employ you could purchase Merrydown Cider, Lambs, Bells, Vladivaar, Creme de Menthe, Jack Daniells etc the list goes on. In todays terms when you enter a Sams pub its like entering Lidel, the majority of the spirits are there, but not as you know them. You can't even buy a bloody bitter lemon for the missus because Sams don't sell it. Christmas coming, sorry no snowballs, no babychamp, Smiffy hasn't got round to copying those yet.
The downhill slide started with the removal of Sky TV followed by TV of any kind and a music ban throughout the Estate.
The Fuherer then decided that we were all fiddling him so a 5% surplus was demanded. Anyone who knows maths will note that it is an impossibility to reach that figure without robbing the customer.
It was more recently decided that no free pool was to be given to anyone, even your pool team. They have to pay for the table when they are at home. Have you ever heard anything like it?
All the area managers have left, the good and the bad.
People are being set on now by Smiffy or his representitive by knocking on doors to see if anyone would be interested in taking over their local.
What a joke company it has turned out to be, a bloody laughing stock, yet a decade or more ago, as you infer, it was the family firm to work for offering training of the highest degree, and rewards and care for the genuine hard working employee.
If Chris Brown or Mick Thompson are reading this, then please note that you were the best of the best, very well respected, and have been sadly missed. Never heard a bad word said against either of you lads. Its a pity that some of your skills in man management has not rubbed off on Smiffy.
