Disgusting Management. Disgusting Staff. Disgusting Place to Work.
Pros
Unfortunately for this third-rate cafe, which is trying very hard to be upmarket there were no pros. I wish I could say that the free lunch that I was entitled to on each shift was a pro. Food is extremely bland, tasteless and has no quality. Almost everything else is straight from the freezer. Even the "homemade" soup comes from the freezer. Going home but the downside to that was knowing I had to be back at work the following day.
Cons
During my time at Paul UK, I learnt that all that glitters is not gold. Their breads, cakes, tarts, and almost everything else that they sell is nowhere as fresh as they would like you to believe. Breads, cakes, etc. are straight from the freezer, which is then baked or left on trays to defrost. Cakes that are not sold are left overnight in the fridge only to be sold the following day. On several occasions, I witnessed Production Team Members and other Team Members preparing food in unhygienic ways. I had the misfortune of having a manager that is absolutely clueless although she has been working for the company for many years. There is one team member with a very toxic attitude and acts as if she owns the company. She is repeatedly rude to other members of staff and customers. Although management is aware of this due to numerous complaints they have received from customers, they choose to do nothing. Managers from head office lack intelligence, which is shown in the way they behave and communicate. Most Paul cafés are heavily understaffed. Management often transfers staff from other Paul cafés to cover shifts. Instead of Paul UK, employing more staff, they choose to engage in this type of activity in order to cut costs. The pay is absolutely appalling. One would expect with so many cafés and restaurants in the UK and the rest of the world, that they would pay their staff a decent hourly rate. Paul UK, is a very stingy company regarding pay, hours worked, employing more staff and staff food. Managers are not keen on sorting out problems although they like to give the impression that they are.
