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Halaena McKeague went offline just now, and words are pouring in.
His first turn at Gisborne’s Burger King since New Zealand moved to level 3 and the nation went crazy to go was only four hours, but it passed in a blur.
Taranaki-Daily-News
Some fast food chains only offer cashless payments.
As dozens of cars rolled along the self-service line and staff searched for space inside the kitchen, there was no time for anything other than removing their disposable gloves and donning a new pair among customers.
“I checked a box and a half,” says McKeague.
RNZ
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“I expected BK to run out of cash like other fast food places, but most of the people here [in Gisborne] we want to pay in cash, and we cannot refuse them. “
The experience left her deeply concerned for herself and, as a store union representative, for her coworkers. They are like his family, he says, all he wants to do is keep them safe.
She doesn’t know how that is going to work.
“I have a staff member who has asthma and another who is seven months pregnant, but she has to work.”
And if the queues look bad, McKeague says, it’s “ten times worse” in the kitchen.
Staff cross paths dozens of times in one shift as they move from preparation to kitchen to service areas.
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Takeout workers are increasingly concerned about their safety as stores open on Level 3.
“Distance doesn’t exist in fast food kitchens. I drew a map the other day because I know that kitchen is like the back of my hand, and there is simply no way.”
At Burger King’s headquarters in Auckland, chief marketing officer Andrea Spearman says the company has also “mapped” its restaurant kitchens and that it is possible to “safely run” a one-meter physical gap between staff.
“The health and safety of our team members, guests and communities is our top priority and during Covid-19 Level 3 we have strengthened our already rigorous procedures around food safety, cleanliness and hygiene,” she says.
Gloves are being worn, masks are available but not required, and all customers are “encouraged” to use contactless payment, she says.
At a Christchurch KFC, Jenna * doesn’t want her name used for fear of a backlash from the company, but she says she and her coworkers can’t keep their distance and deal with the constant stream of customers. Something has to give.
“I was on duty last night and it was crazy. They put me in preparation and the cooks have to go through my area to put the chicken in the kitchens, and I have to go through their area to put it in the heater.”
ROBERT KITCHIN / MATERIAL
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“If you are on the way through packing [orders], there are two people in that space and it is very small. “
She says the store has guidelines for Covid-19, including hand washing, but the volume of customers has seen service outweigh safety as a priority.
Jenna says she had time to wash her hands on her break and as she changed seasons, a total of three times in a four-hour shift.
Details that in normal times would count as minor annoyances have now become moments of fear. The number of customers who don’t have their windows open to order on the speakers means Jenna must take the order and payment face-to-face with them.
And in both cases, the “gold standard” security check (monitoring of personnel temperatures) is simply not happening, both women said. Things.
At KFC, the thermometer Jenna expected to see when she turned on, and on her break, didn’t appear.
A spokesperson for KFC’s parent company Restaurant Brands says staff temperature controls “are not a Tier 3 requirement” and that masks are available but, similarly, not a required requirement.
KFC does not accept cash, the spokesperson says, EFTPOS machines are disinfected between transactions, and staff “must” wash their hands every 30 minutes.
Supervisors are closely monitoring a one-meter social distance policy based on government recommendations, he says.
At Burger King in Gisborne, the thermometer had not come out of its box in the manager’s office on Thursday, Halaena says.
On paper, the rules are clear; There is a checklist for disinfection and cleaning, distance and temperature controls, gloves and masks. In practice, the high demand for service and confusion reign in the illusion of security.
“A manager told the staff that they had to wear masks, and one said no.
“They promised something they just can’t keep.”
Audio provided by RNZ
