Heartbeat: Apprentices whip up some good results in catering survey

July 18, 2018

A survey into the catering facilities at our organisation, led by level 3 Apprentices has revealed that colleagues and visitors are impressed with the service.

A group of five apprentices, who are studying for a Business and Administration qualification, spoke to those visiting Hallam Restaurant at Sandwell, and Arches at City over a 10-day period to find out what they thought about the food and customer service.

They surveyed more than 100 people and the results showed that people were pleased with the new-look Hallam Restaurant and with the food that is served on a daily basis. Many however, complained about the long queues experienced at the Arches.

Stella Powell, Assessor/Coach from the Learning and Development team, said: “The project was a good way for our apprentices to use their skills and it was very realistic. It took place over a six week period, which included time to analyse the results.

“The overall results showed that users of the facilities found it generally good. These findings have been passed onto the catering team so that they can work on the feedback. “

She added: “The apprentices demonstrated that they carried out the task effectively. They found it very interesting and they took ownership of it.”

The results were presented to the catering department by the apprentices, Joe Quinlan, Hayley Johnstone, Amina Safeer, Terri Montford and Isabella Gianfreda.

Terri, who also works as an acting team Leader in antenatal, said: “I found this project very enjoyable and interesting, gauging a wide variety of feedback from staff and visitors.

“We discovered that people found the overall service good but have pinpointed some negatives which were brought to the attention of the catering managers. I definitely think that future apprentices who will be doing their Level 3 in Business and Administration would benefit from doing another project like this as this has helped me build my confidence and team working skills.

“Hopefully we will be seeing some positive changes within the catering department.”

David Calder, Catering Manager, said: “The information we received from the apprentices was brilliant and really valuable – especially about where we needed to improve.

“Generally, diners thought the food was of good quality and they were impressed with the refurbished Hallam Restaurant.

“However, as a result of the feedback regarding long queues at the Arches, we are now looking at ways to solve this issue by extending the serving hatch, so that we can place another till inside.

“This will mean more people can be served, but also we will be able to offer a wider range of food. The proposal is still in its early stages, but it just shows that we are working on those issues that were flagged up by this important project.”