Chatterbox

Busniess summary:

The chatterbox cafe has the reputation of being the local hangout, this cafe has mouth-watering coffee and contemporary food with fantastic service. Updating their menu every 6 months for customers so they can experience the various range of cooking from a well-known chef by the name Casey Bunting. This café looks for managers, cooks, cashiers and waitresses. Looking after their staff and making sure they are completely satisfied is what the Chatterbox community aims for. They prefer people to have great communication skills and people that are fast working and can work in hectic environments.

Personnel information:

The manager Sal: Sal has been working at the café for 15 years and opened the café up. Sal oversees everything and is in charge of planning menus and hiring of new staff, Sal trains and teaches new staff the regulations and instructions while working at the Chatterbox café.

Sal oversees all the hazards and manages the incident reports and makes sure that everyone is following the OHS rules of the cafe by reguarly conducting a meeting with all staff and going over rules and regulations with them. 

Conditions of being a manager:

●      Communicating with staff especially chefs to plan menus.

●       Communicating with all staff and asking questions like if there are any potential hazards that need to be fixed.

●      Making sure your customers have the best experience possible.

●      Arranging the purchasing and pricing of goods according to budget.

●      Maintaining records of stock levels and financial transactions

●      Ensuring dining facilities comply with health regulations and are clean, functional and of suitable appearance

●      Conferring with customers to assess their satisfaction with meals and service.

●      Selecting, training and supervising waiting and kitchen staff.

●      May take reservations, greet guests and assist in taking orders.

The only people that have their food handling license are the chefs, the chefs are the only people that are permitted to make the food. The staff that make the coffees, lattes etc.. all have their barista license. A barista license typically means that you have successful completed a formal course in espresso coffee making and service for commercial establishments like cafes and bars. These qualifications the staff have at the cafe confirm that they are all well trained within their duties. The waitresses don't have their food handling license because they don’t make the food they just deliver. The owner Sal supplies their PPE, masks and gloves required. 

6-8 staff working always. If more than this amount, the kitchen and area would get crowded and make it hard for workers to communicate and do their job. The employment size of Café workers is 28,000. 

Management of OHS concerns:

All the staff at Chatterbox café are trained on where all the kitchen hazards are so they can be careful and can minimize the risk, making sure to use communication when in the kitchen so staff members don’t smash into each other. Tripping hazards and wet spillage need to have attention put to it and make sure to use signs etc for that hazard. Sal has applied COVID rules in place within the café to prevent customers from getting COVID, putting 1.5m stickers on floors, and sanitiser out the front of the store so customers can sanitise their hands before walking in. There are posters up in the store to remind customers to wear their masks and to practice social distancing. 

The object of the OHS health and safety act are to secure the health, safety and welfare of employees and other people at work and to eliminate, at the source, risks to the health, safety or welfare of employees and other people at work. Also to ensure that the health and safety of members of the public is not placed at risk by the conduct of undertakings by employers and self-employed people. The principles of this act is undertaken in four sections. The first act is the importance of health and safety requires that employees and other people at work to be given the highest level of protection against risks to their health and safety. The second act is people who control or manage matters that give rise or may give rise to risks to health and safety, will be elimnating and reducing the risks as reasonably practicable. The third act is that employers and self-employed people should be proactive and take all reasonably practicable measures to ensure health and safety at workplaces. The last act which is the 4th act is employers and employees should exchange information and ideas about risks to health and safety measure that can be eliminated and reduced to end risks. 

If there is a notifibale incident at the cafe, legally under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers and self-employed peopls must notify WorkSafe immediately after becoming aware an incident has occurred. If you fail to report an incident to WorkSafe it is an offence and could potentionally result in prosecution.

If you need to report a health and safety incident call 13 23 60. 

If there is a hazard at the cafe, the hazard will be reported to Sal the manager and he will fix it, if it is extremely serious then the hazard will be reported to WorkSafe for further investigation. 

You need to report the following incidents;

• Death.

• A person needing medical treatment as an in-paitent at a hospital.

• A person needing medical treatment within 48 hours of being exposed to a substance.

• Amputation.

• Serious head injury.

• Serious eye injury.

• Removal of skin.

• Electric shock.

• Spinal injury.

• Loss of bodily function. 

Conditions of the kitchen:

●      Keep all equipment and tools clean.

●      Make sure cleaning chemicals are in bottles locked away from all food.

●      Look out for each other in the kitchen and make sure people are aware of where you are.

●      Clean all equipment, preventing cross contamination. 

To keep OHS measures in place within the cafe, there are books with all the regualtions, information and how to maintain the food safety program and practises to keep the food safe. There are also material safety data sheets, which includes information on the properties of each chemical, the physical health, and environmental health hazards, protective measures and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical. This SDS (safety data sheet) is required from safework Australia that you need one in your busniess/store. 

(photos of books on last page)

Skills and attributes for employment of working in a café:

Some skills required for employment at the chatterbox café are great communication skills and knowledge of cooking and kitchen hazards if you are wanting to work in the kitchen. Working at a café or being a restaurant manager usually includes having industry experience. Formal qualifications aren’t essential, a diploma in hospitality, cookery or hospitality management may be useful for your job. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as hospitality. For chefs, you can work without formal qualifications but having a certificate III or IV in cooking, catering or kitchen operations are useful. The waitresses do not have their food handling or barista license because they don't make the food and drinks, they just deliver the food to the customers and write down orders. If a waitress wants to take part in making the food then they can do a course to obtain a license. People that handle the alcoholic drinks are required to have their alcohol handling license.You can work as a Barista without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. A certificate III in hospitality might be helpful. 

Employment opportunities (including work placement)

You need to have a passion, says the manager Sal, you need to enhance your skills to work in hectic environments and can deal with different range of customers. You need to have some sort of experience in food, waitressing and fast food. Having a diploma in hospitality, cookery or hospitality management may be useful for your job. Having experience in hospitality will help you to work in cafes/restaurants as you would have a taste in what you are responsible for and the requirements you will need to follow while working this type of job. Chatterbox cafe does not take work placement as they are usually quite busy and don't have the time to show a person everything they need to know and do at the cafe. Typically, they only want to train their new employees as the new employees are actually hired and will work there for quite some time whereas, work placement only takes place for two weeks.

Employee wage entitlements, workplace agreements, Rights and Responsibilities:

The manager Sal must look out for the safety of his staff and making sure his customers are looked after. Workplace conditions are making sure your customer is satisfied and looked after first and foremost.

Cafe workers:

Café workers earn $1,030 weekly and the average full-time working hours is 43 hours a week. Cafe workers need to prepare and serve food and beverages, take customer’s orders, operate cash registers, clearing away used dishes, cleaning and preparing tables for use and providing back up to other cafe members. Some common OHS duties that cafe workers need to look out for is slips trips and falls, occupational violence, sexual harassment or threats, handling glassware and broken glass and exposure to hazardous substances like cleaning chemicals. If these OHS risks happen cafe workers will need to report this to the manager Sal, who will deal with the problem. Future growth is very strong and the skill required is entry level. 

Managers of restaurant/café:

Managers work 48 hours per week and make a rate of $1,346 weekly. Some responsibilities of being a manager requires you to plan menus, planning and organising special functions, maintaining records of stock levels and financial transactions and selecting and training of wait and kitchen staff. Future growth is strong and the skill level is a high skill. 

Chefs:

A chef’s weekly earnings is $1,250 and works 46 hours on average. Responsibilities of a chef is monitoring the quality of dishes at all stages of preparation and presentation, preparing and cooking food, explaining and enforcing hygiene regulations and they may select and train staff. Some OHS duties for chefs are risk of burns or fire from ovens, deep-fat fryers, and steam from pots, working with knives, mincers, and other dangerous tools or equipment and handling raw meat and poultry. Chefs future growth are very strong and the skill level is a high level. 

Typical day at Chatterbox:

The typical working day at the chatterbox cafe is quite hectic and is very full on at the peek times from 9am-12pm on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All the equitment such as coffee machines, cuttlery and dishes need to be washed reguarly. The manager will be at the store at 5am everyday along with some other employees that set up everything for the day and do a extra clean of the store before customers start rushing in. When times are quiet all employees should be doing something even if its as little as wiping down menus, cleaning tables or ensuring that there are COVID safe practices implied within the cafe. 

Store information:

●      PH- 03 9741 7495

●      EMAIL- info@chatterboxcafe.com.au

●      ADDRESS-63 Watton St, Werribee VIC 3030 

Hours:

Monday 5am–5pm

Tuesday 5am–5pm

Wednesday 5am–5pm

Thursday 5am–5pm

Friday 5am–5pm

Saturday 5am–4pm

Sunday 7am–3pm