Hello Flint,There is no ban on romance, friendship or anything else like that in my store. (Soon not to be my store !) I have never had a problem with crew / management relationships - as long as they don't interfere with the running of the store. In fact, where there is a romance between a manager and a crew member, both are so conscious of "favouritism" accusations that they try to overcompensate by being more strict, or avoiding working the same area. This is not something I ever dictated - more like something self imposed. The crew and managers are very friendly in my store - possibly because it is a very young store - I am 28, and my assistant manager is 29 - and we are the oldest. However, we all go out together occasionally, and the crew and managers understand that a good relationship is not something you abuse.
I encourage my salaried managers not to take their breaks in the crew room, simply for the benefit of the crew. But this is not a hard and fast rule. If there was a manager in the crew room all the time, I don't know if anyone would complain, but I like to give the crew some privacy from us managers. Let's face it, I wouldn't want to sit down to lunch with my franchisee every day !
Gill
None.
