Everyone, including the boss, helps with flipping burgers

Oct 31 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

THERE can’t have been too many subjects of the Daily Post Profile who can boast they spend part of their working day flipping burgers.

Paul Griffiths can. For the past eight years, the 47-year-old has been the franchisee for three McDonald’s restaurants in Wirral.

The ethos of the world’s biggest fast food chain has always been that everyone mucks in and so, most mornings and lunchtimes, when the outlets are at their busiest, Griffiths can be seen working behind the counter or in the kitchen.

“There is no aura around the boss in this business,” said the father of four, “because everyone gets involved. It’s a good thing because it helps to break down barriers.”

Griffiths operates the restaurants through his company, P Griffiths Foods, employing around 160 staff. It isn’t a diverse business because McDonald’s, unlike other fast food chains, demands exclusivity from its franchisees.

And although his restaurants collectively turn over more than £4m a year, he insists margins are “small” and that profits often have to be ploughed back into the businesses. Being a franchisee is hugely rewarding, he insists, but those looking to get rich quick are in for a disappointment.

He said: “When you sign up as a franchisee with McDonald’s you have to do so for 20 years, so you are in for the long haul.

“It has to be run as a stand- alone business, so a lot of the profits goes back either into the existing restaurants or towards paying for new ones.

“For example, if I have to refurbish one of the outlets, which you have to do on a regular basis, that can cost up to £150,000, so all that has to be paid for out of the profits.”

The fast food industry gets regular kickings over both the nutritional quality of its products and the perception that its staff are poorly paid and badly treated. Having himself started as a trainee at McDonald’s more than 20 years ago, Griffiths is more than ready to mount a passionate defence of the company on both fronts.

“Because McDonald’s is the biggest, it is the easiest target,” he says. “We are trying to get rid of the ‘McJob’ stigma. When people join us they are usually surprised by the high level of training and development that is available and the progression that can be made.

“We get a lot of students coming to work here and, while they might not stay for the long term, while they are here they will pick up a great work ethic and that is an excellent thing to have on your CV.”

Griffiths claims McDonald’s food is far better quality and more nutritious than is often given credit for.

He added: “A couple of years ago there was a Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme which looked at chicken nuggets sold in supermarkets and fast food outlets.

“After the way they revealed some of the nuggets are made, I would not blame people for never wanting to eat them again. There was skin and all sorts went into them.

“McDonald’s doesn’t make its nuggets like that. We just use good quality chicken meat but the distinction is never made and we get tarred with the same brush. We use top quality beef from grass-fed cattle in Scotland and Ireland.

“I have four children and I am happy for them to eat at McDonald’s and they are all healthy and athletic. You don’t have to have chips every day – you don’t have to have milk shakes every day.

“You have a choice when you come here and another thing you have to remember is we have been using nutritional labelling for 15 years.”

Griffiths was brought up in Nottingham and, after leaving school, took a year out, working as a barman, a bouncer and a steel erector.

He then continued his education, enrolling on a degree course at the University of Liverpool in Geography & Education, and initially had thoughts of becoming a teacher.

He said: “I did think about teaching but I also wanted to become an entrepreneur. Not long after graduating from university, I started working for McDonald’s. I thought, the pay is good and it will tide me over until I find what I want to do – but I quickly got hooked when I realised what opportunities were available.”

Griffiths embarked on what proved to be a successful career with the company. He became an area manager and was personally responsible for setting up McDonald’s outlets across Merseyside.

After a stint as head of training, he was offered a development role in the company’s Chicago headquart- ers. He, his wife, Alison, a teacher, and their two young daughters, left the UK for the US.

“I came back to the UK two years later with a slightly bigger family,” he said. “My wife had our two twin boys while we were living out there.”

He returned to another senior role with McDonald’s in London, but yearned to be with his family in Merseyside. So he decided to take the plunge and become a franchisee – a decision he regards as one of the best of his life.

Despite now working for himself, Griffiths’s ties with the McDonald’s hierarchy remains strong. He is involved with the product team, which aims to continually improve the food served at McDonald’s, and the European nutritional / reformulation team.

He is also the chairman of the European food improvement team, which includes 22 European franchisees from the top 12 countries, heads of European departments, suppliers and country/ European leadership, and aims to improve food and delivery to customers.

He names two of his biggest professional achievements to date as being given two internal awards – The President’s Award and The Three Legged Stool Award for leadership and teamwork.

Griffiths is also heavily involved in fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and his restaurants sponsor an under-13 football team.

Despite all his commitments and being devoted to his family, Griffiths rarely takes his eye off the ball in his three restaurants – he can’t afford to.

“Quality control in McDonald’s restaurants is very strict,” he said.

“I have very experienced staff. In each of my three restaurants, there is a business manager. Two have 20 years’ experience each and another has 18.

“We can help people realise the potential they have got.”

tonymcdonough