Litmus Partnership consultancy services to outsourced managed support services

Before

showcase ~ Harrogate College, Leeds Met University

There were a number of issues identified that prompted the College to carry out the refurbishment.

The issues have been categorised under three headings; Consumer, Compliance & Energy and Security.

Consumer Issues:

Poor presentation of products.
Inability to extend product ranges to suit consumer expectations due to issues of space and poor equipment levels. This was further restricted by limited kitchen storage and production capacity.
Confusing customer flow patterns creating lengthy queues and subsequent loss of customers.
Dated, uncomfortable and unappealing environment leading to potential customers making other eating arrangements.
College staff were alienated from the restaurant mainly due to the layout and unfriendly environment.

Compliance & Energy Issues:

The kitchen and servery were both very dated and did not comply with current legislation. That is not to say the equipment was condemned but it would no longer be able to be repaired within current legislation.
Most equipment was inefficient in terms of energy consumption and operating costs.
Refrigeration and storage was confusing and cramped and may have potentially caused problems with old equipment failing to maintain efficient temperature levels.
Repair and maintenance costs were high due to repeated call outs to repair or service old equipment. Parts were increasingly difficult to obtain and most equipment was beyond economical repair.

Security Issues:

The restaurant servery counter made security difficult due to the confusing flow and queuing patterns. Due to the old design it was impossible to effect the correct remedial actions.
The servery could not be segregated from the seating area when the kitchen was closed other than by pull down shutters. Therefore the counter would have to be de-stocked at the end of each service which took a considerable length of time to undertake.