Ellen

Interviewee: Ellen

Interviewer: Katie Smullen

Date of recording: 19/07/2022

Recording location: on-line (Google Meet); interviewer in Sheffield, interviewee in Scunthorpe

Length of recording: 42:13

Subjects: café, university, aspirations, chemistry, council, kitchen, Scunthorpe, Newcastle, Karens, August bank holiday, Covid-19, hospitality, paper round, confidence

Abstract

Summary of conversation: Discussion about their first job: a paper round passed down by a friend. Their next job was in a council-run café. Discussion of application and interview process. They were 16 when they started this job. Weekend job which they managed to balance with college and picked up more shifts during holidays. They were 13/14 when they started their paper round. Discussion of working a paper round for their town telegraph. Discussion of their contracts, particularly their experience working on a zero-hour contract and the difficulties with it. Discussion of working for a council-run business: they pay well, and there is minimal contact with the council. Finished University this year, looking for a full-time job as a postgraduate. Unsure of their aspirations, but their hospitality job has impacted their standards. Discussion of difficulties with writing a CV. Would rather live in their university town, Newcastle, rather than their hometown. Discussion of the benefits of living in Newcastle. Discussion of their attitude towards getting a job, i.e., choosing the city first and then finding a job, against their parents’ attitudes, i.e., finding the job then moving to that city. Doesn’t relate their job entirely to their personal satisfaction, however comments that it is ideal to have a stress-free work environment. Comments that they aren’t too concerned with pursuing Chemistry. Discussion of how lockdowns affected their degree and resulted in burnout. Discussion of the impact of the pandemic on their café job. Comments that they didn’t get furloughed, the layout of the café changed, and variability within the job changed. Believes that management struggled to deal with the challenges brought about with Covid-19. Didn’t mind not being furloughed as they were only casual staff, however comments that it bothered others as the way furlough was calculated didn’t consider the whole scope of hours worked due the zero-hour contract. Enjoys working with their friends, however they don’t enjoy working in hospitality. Comments that customers can impact their satisfaction with the workplace. Anecdote about a customer being dissatisfied with the price of food in the café. Discussion of wait staff facing complaints for food delays but gets support from the kitchen staff for this. Is less concerned with customer backlash after working there a while. Staff stayed quite consistent until the pandemic, with some leaving due to hours being cut. There has recently been an influx of new staff, which they think is good because they aren’t understaffed, but unfortunate as they all need training at the same time during a busy period. Wouldn’t want to work in hospitality again. Works well with friends and would like to work in a small team. Has high standards for their work. Their hospitality job has helped with their confidence, and their attitude to change. They became more spontaneous, helping with their anxiety. Comments that their confidence was pushed during the first lockdown where they were asked to work at the golf club, which had a different clientele and different expectations. Discussion of regulars due to the park membership system. Relationships with colleagues is something they think fondly on. Found it stressful working during Leeds Festival, as many of the staff would take time off, leaving them understaffed. Anecdotes of problems during August bank holidays, including power cuts and floods. Comments that decisions made by management often come from a lack of experience in retail, making their job more difficult. Discussion of responsibilities expected of them despite them being casual staff. Comments that they don’t want to be taken for granted in the future.

Sequential summary:

<0.38-3.29> Discussion of their first Jobs

<3.29-5.36> Discussion of contracts

<5.26-6.50> Working for a council-run café

<6.50-8.56> Discussion of work prospects post-University

<8.56-10.48> Discussion of Newcastle

<10.48-11.46> Relation of the workplace to personal satisfaction

<11.46-13.23> Future job prospects in relation to their Chemistry degree

<13.23-18.26> Affect of pandemic on their work environment at the café

<18.26-19.35> Opinion of their café job

<19.35-22.07> Anecdotes of difficult customers

<22.07-25.28> Discussion of colleagues

<25.28-28.55> Discussion of ideal work environment

<28.55-31.02> How work has impacted them personally

<31.02-33.34> Working at the golf club

<33.34-35.15> Regulars

<35.15-36.20> Fondest memory of the café

<36.20-38.12> Most stressful memories of the café

<38.12-39.48> Expectations in their café job

<39.48-41.31> How they would apply skills learned to future positions

Excerpt

[00:35:17] INTERVIEWER:

What would you say was your fondest memory of working in the cafe?

ELLEN:

I mean, I work with like one of my, I, like one of my best friends since 10 years has worked there with me like from the very start. So, since we like left - because we went to different colleges as well. So from like school […] like most of our time together. But I think when I came back after, like, from uni, after like, the first lockdown as well, my relationships with, like the cooks like, the older ladies in the kitchen, it changed a lot as well because a lot of the old staff had left. So I was like their like one of their last remaining ones that they knew so that was quite nice as well. I do really really like the people I work with like it's just passing the actual job.

INTERVIEWER:

And if you don't mind me asking, what would you say is your most stressful experience working in the store?

[…]

ELLEN:

Probably the August bank holiday weekends, but it's when Leeds Fest is on. So, a lot of the staff would go to like – staff my age would go to Leeds festival, so it would always be me working that weekend and then they always do a big event in the park on that weekend but it's called like Party in the Park or something, where they do like their own little festival and they have like food – like a food festival and stuff – and that's always manic. And they have like, they put on like shuttle buses to bring people in and we always have a power cut because there's too much going on and then obviously then all your electricity goes off. And your tills shutdown, we had a flood one year because our dishwasher flooded the cafe and they would […]. So they just switched all the water off and then management was like oh but customers still want to come in. So they were like stood in dishwasher water like it like covered the bottom layer of the cafe, but no one was leaving. So they were like, oh well, you can carry on serving them, so – but we had no water, so he couldn't give out – so we couldn't wash any pots. So we just had to like keep stacking them up. And then me and one of my friends which – we had brooms, and we were trying to push water from the actual, like, dining bit back into the kitchen again. So that people – that customers weren't standing in it.

[00:38:12]