Originally Posted by
FlyerLX
Tbh they don’t need an expensive refurb to change the look… It’s not so old or worn out. They just need a decent catering contractor (I think at the moment it’s Autogrill from the motorway service stations??) and a few more staff to clear and clean. As so often in European lounges, there do seem to be enough staff hanging around… They just seem to be making a point that their job is not to clean up a bit, or they’re too important to do that, or their over-protective working conditions mean they don’t have to do it, or whatever. Fewer strikes and more wipes would be useful.
Autogrill does manage decent eateries so I do not think the issue is directly related to Autogrill itself but rather the decisions or budgets from whoever has the authority to do so.
The Belgian labour strike landscape are almost non-existent in F&B industry. The two factors that make the difference in good or bad service:
- Training of the personnel
- Sufficient staff
As the labour cost is high in Belgium (even for minimum salary), an employer will attract less trained personnel and will keep the amount of staff to a minimum to keep running costs as low as possible.
The issue in my eyes is even worse outside of the EU. You may encounter an excess of service staff because labour cost is low (mostly too low for the employees to have a good QOL), but training is nearly non-existent and thus service is just bad.