Mark Vollers, Owner of The Lake District Coast Aquarium, Maryport, Cumbria

I have owned a busy Café for nearly thirty years as part of a public aquarium visitor attraction, our customers are from all walks of life, but the Cafe menu has to be acceptable and affordable to families with children on a day out. In recent times the pressure has really been on to maintain profitability in the face of relentless cost increases.

As a way of helping turn this tide  I turned to James Threlfall to give me the benefit of his wide experience of the catering industry. I have used consultants in the past, they don’t come cheap, they can easily overload or upset the staff with their manner, and the result is often disappointing.

James’s approach is initially low key,  coming on site for a few hours at a time on different days simply observing existing practices, talking to and getting to know the staff, making notes about what is good and where improvements can be made.  Then with approval of the existing management, coming up with an agenda of changes that can be carried through in the following weeks.

Every visit is followed up with a concise report. In our case this included reducing food wastage, streamlining work practices, proper labelling of foods, better and structured use of our specials board to name but a few things. Changes are telegraphed well in advance and discussed with key staff so that there is no resistance when they happen. 

 Very commonly staff can be resistant to change or quickly revert to old ways, but this is largely avoided because the groundwork has been done, the staff don’t feel threatened, and James returns to re-enforce the lessons learned in the following weeks.   Staff know that through greater efficiency and being open to change is not only good for the business but also helps safeguard their jobs and hours of work. 

As the consultancy period progresses and the agenda for change completes, James’s visits can become less frequent, simply becoming occasional drop-in sessions to check all is well, answer queries or discuss any other relevant matters arising.  

This approach has worked really well for us, and I would whole heartedly recommend James’s services to anyone.