St Austell Brewery chief executive, Kevin Georgel, has written an open letter to customers addressing the national staff shortage.
Many hospitality businesses are suffering from staff shortages, which are made all the more intensive because of the current restrictions in pubs.
The text of the letter
Dear friends of St Austell Brewery,
We’ve been looking forward to welcoming you back to our pubs, inns, and hotels for many months, and have been overwhelmed at the love and support we’ve been shown since re-opening. Thank you so much — it means a lot to us.
However, re-opening has also presented us with some new challenges and — like so many others — the national staff shortage is having a big impact on us.
While we hope the worst of the pandemic is now behind us — the most challenging time in our 170-year history — the road to recovery continues to be bumpy for the hospitality sector. For us, and businesses across our wonderful industry, finding front and back of house staff is a huge challenge at the minute.
Kevin Georgel. Photograph: St Austell Brewery
Our priority will always be supporting our people. That’s why — in some cases — we’ve had to put some temporary measures in place to look after the health and wellbeing of our pub teams, until we can find additional support for them. You may therefore notice slight differences in some of our managed pubs, including shorter food service times, seating areas being out of use, and reduced opening hours, to give our teams the time off to rest.
It goes without saying that we remain 100% committed to offering you great experiences, delicious food, fresh beer, and the warmest West Country welcome. That bit will never change!
We’re urging the government to acknowledge the staffing crisis and to help us find a solution. This is such a crucial time, as we come out of lockdown, and we want nothing more than to welcome all of you into our pubs, look after our teams, and play our part in the UK’s economic recovery.
Thank you all for your ongoing support as we move through these challenging times. Our teams are working so hard, and we appreciate your patience, understanding and kindness.
See you soon!
Kevin Georgel,
Chief Executive
» READ MORE: BBPA warns of serious staff shortages in pubs
