Hi coffeedrinker, thanks for your post. I think there are a couple of things to consider here, though. Firstly, there is a very high turnover of staff in hospitality generally, as its not generally considered to be a career choice, so finding good staff, and getting them to stay for longer than it takes for them to finish there commerce degree (or whatever) is quite a challenge Cafes are opening up (and closing down) faster than it is possible to keep up with them. It seems just about every new apartment block has its own boutique cafe to service it nowdays There are simply more cafes than there is demand, and less staff to go around as a result Which is not necessarily a bad thing in the long run, as the competitors will survive, and hopefully improve at their game Also, I'm not sure if I'm the only cafe owner who has noticed this, but, surprisingly, those hospitality staff who I've encountered who have come along, singing their own praises about how good they are, and commanding the big bucks, almost never (at least not in my experience) seem to be worth the money: too much ego involved, not enough talent I'm also curious to know who it is you are talking about when it comes to cafe owners intentionally not doing the right thing? I know plenty of cafe owners who are very decent people, and who go out of their way to nurture and develop their staff I for instance have paid for 'stress leave' days off for staff members when they weren't entitled to them, paid for staff to get a professional massage to relieve tension, contributed to the cost of staff dinners, etc - and I'm certain that I am not the only one Cafe owners are also invariably the ones who have to cover shifts when staff call in sick with only a few hours notice, or when staff sometimes walk out in the middle of service because the they cant cut the pace Many cafe owners also sacrifice quality time with their family to fill in when its extra busy, and spend many hours doing additional administration work on top od a 50 hr working week That is not to say that there aren't any shonky operators out there, just trying to make a quick buck, there are! I've probably worked for half of them at some stage in my life! But that's all part of the learning curve, and the hospitality apprenticeship, and sometime you have to go through the shite to get to the shanola! Also, its about individuals taking responsibility for their own actions, and when this comes to cafe staff, this means raising the bar, and setting high standards, and not compromising or settling for second best Cheers, ACG
