Quarter Reviews

Handling customer complaints for things out of your control.

Quarter is ultimately hindered by senior management's unwillingness to listen to their operational teams. There seems to be a real disconnect between the teams on the ground and London-based management, who continually push for higher profit targets without a hope of the teams meeting them. It's extraordinarily demotivating to know that even if your unit is at 100% capacity, or otherwise doing well in the local market, you are still thousands of pounds away from your profit target. Furthermore, senior management micromanage small day to day decisions and details whilst simultaneously lacking a thorough understanding of daily operations. This feedback often comes from the founder of the company, who would benefit from having more senior staff in the company that are willing to challenge his opinions. It does seem like decisions are often made based on appealing to his personal preferences, as opposed to what would genuinely progress the company and improve guest experience, which can be really frustrating when you care about doing right by your customers. Salaries at Quarter are low, which is due in part to being in the hospitality industry. Quarter does however utilise bonus schemes that as previously mentioned adhere to unachievable and demotivating targets, meaning that after reaching a certain level, you will are very unlikely to receive them, depending of course on your position. The company does not pay sick pay, because as an SME, it doesn't legally have to. Even though people have no financial motivation to call in sick, it is still discussed in meetings as if it is a intentional act to skip work. The vast majority of teams operate on skeletal basis, so when people do call in sick or even have planned leave, there is little to no framework to support the team, and people are expected to cover for multiple roles with no financial compensation or even recognition. Compared to other local employers, there is work to be done. Finally, the restaurant and hotels sides of the business regularly clash and encounter miscommunication issues. These can become nasty beyond professional boundaries, and there seems to be a tolerance from some individuals that this is 'just how they are', especially if they have been at the company for years or have seniority. Having worked on both sides, I can understand the frustrations from various perspectives, but there is a huge divide in the company that is exacerbated by clashing priorities and a general resentment for anyone 'from the other side.' The majority of this pressure does seem to come from senior management, as everyone fights for revenue for their individual units to succeed/survive.