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Older staff beef up McDonald's
Mark Blunden13.08.09
Over-sixties employed by McDonald's are making the fast food chain more profitable than their younger colleagues, according to research.
Data from its 400 outlets shows customer satisfaction is 20 per cent higher where older people are on the staff.
About 60 per cent of McDonald's 75,000-strong workforce are under 21 and only 1,000 are aged over 60. Its oldest employee is an 83-year-old who works in a Southampton restaurant.
David Fairhurst, chief people officer for McDonald's in the UK, said the success was down to the work ethic of older staff and their customer skills.
"Having a 20 per cent increase in customer satisfaction levels translates into sales and profits," he said. He added he wanted to see an increase in the number of older workers.
Reader views (4)
Not really surprising. Older people nowadays have a better attitude towards the work ethic than teenagers whose only ambition is to appear on reality television.
I recall being in my local Sainsburys, and asking one of the young staff members if they could tell me where an item was. They replied "No", and walked off...Customer service! It was enough to make the cat laugh.
- Jock, London
But what will this years BA graduates do if all the jobs are taken by pensioners?
- Bob, Cheam
It's the same in B&Q and Tesco, if you want to know where something is ask the OAP worker, not only do they know where it is, they know what it actually is.
- P Staker, London
Mature people do indeed have more experience and skills. Yet, the job market, and particularly recruitment agaencies, will ignore your CV if u are or appear to be over 30. Best is not to put your date of birth on your CV. This is not a legal requirement, and at any rate, you can decline answering a "how old are you" question on grounds of discrimination. In a work situation, an elder can be a mentor to a gung-ho inexperienced younger, pretty much like a dad or a grand-dad. When will employers put that in their thick skulls?
- Chaz, London, UK
