Lots of jobs, but no one willing to work

Lots of jobs, but no one willing to work

Coastal eateries hoping to cash in on booming summer tourism have been left counting the loss of severe staff shortages. Restaurants and cafes spanning the length of the Limestone Coast are reporting a critical lack of willing workers, forcing them to operate with skeleton staff with limited opening times.

Beachport’s Waterfront Café at the Jetty has been particularly hard hit, with the owners resorting to closing early in order to manage staff hours. Michael Corman, whose family owns the café, said the business was “mega bucks down” due to their limited operating hours.

“We usually have 17 to 20 staff over the summer break, this year we are sitting around 12,” he said. “This year we could not get short order cooks, or baristas, or table hands. “This then did not allow us to open at night time, as we did not want to work our staff to the bone.

“They worked 14 days straight and we closed on a Monday and the town was up in arms. “We got bagged, it’s affecting our reputation, it’s pretty disheartening.”

Mr Corman said he and his mother had not had a day off since December, splitting their time between the café and their fish and chip shop. He said they had tried endlessly to find staff, but found the applications they had received were mainly from people “ticking the box” to receive government COVID benefits.

“We got about 30-40 applications, one just admitted ticking the box to get the benefits,” he said. “We usually have uni students, which usually works for us, but they are getting the COVID subsidy, so it’s harder.” Mr Corman said this summer the café had been selling crayfish for local fishers, which had been “walking out the door”.

“We have got a five star chef, we have gone really upmarket and spent a lot of money on renovations and we could not get the return on it,” he said. “Even our fish and chip shop, we have only been able to run that at night time, because we did that after we closed the café.

“We cannot do anything about it, we just had to take it on the chin and close at 3 or 4 o’clock and miss the opportunity that is there for the summer trade.” Mr Corman said while the situation was exacerbated in the coastal regions, it was being experienced Australia-wide.

“I have some publican mates and when the first lot of COVID benefits came in some of their workers did not even come to work,” he said. “We are actually quite angry, we invested a lot into this, mum and dad put a lot of money into investing in the business, summer is when you make your money. “They were going to put it on the market, they have worked hard to build it up to a really good little business, so it is affecting their retirement plans.”

The extreme staff shortages are also being felt in ever-popular Robe. New Mediterranean restaurant Food Lab officially opened two weeks ago, but it was a “very slow opening” due to staffing issues.

Co-owner Raina Habets said a lot of the businesses in Robe were struggling for staff. “We have had a lot of applicants, but once they learned about the location and travel time they were not interested,” she said.

“Some of it was due to accommodation, it’s really a struggle for people to get accommodation. “We have a few staff from Mount Gambier, Millicent and Kingston,some people are willing to travel but it’s been really tough. “Jobkeeper is making it harder.”

Miss Habets said she had also experienced similar problems with her café in Mount Gambier, which often struggled to find enough staff. “It is sad for businesses who cannot get employees because people are getting more money rather than working,” she said.

“It seems like some employees are only willing to do the bare minimum.” Miss Habets said it was particularly difficult to find chefs for eateries. “We have really struggled, a lot of places are, chefs do not want to stay in businesses for some reason,” she said.

“That’s what has stopped us operating fully, we do not open for breakfast because we do not have a breakfast chef, we are just doing what we can to make it work. “At the moment we are operating with limited hours, we just do a short lunch service and a dinner service seven days a week.

“A lot of businesses do close during the afternoon, which is sad, because people like to look for coffee, because there are not a lot of options.” Periwinkles Café at Port MacDonnell is one of the more fortunate coastal establishments that has managed to source the majority of staff required for summer.

Owner Emma Fensom said while she had enough front of house staff, she was still looking for a chef. “I’m specifically looking for a chef as my current one’s going on maternity leave,” she said. “I have had applicants but I need to find the one to be the right fit for the café.

“I do not have too many problems with front of house staff, over summer we generally score uni kids who come home, so front of house is under control.”

Mrs Fensom said Periwinkles had been able to open as normal over summer. “We have had some crazy days, some quiet days and some steady days, it’s very weather dependent,” she said. “I think I am one of the lucky ones, I have not had to find any staff, I’m only a chef down.

“I think there are a couple of reasons why it’s hard to find chefs, when lots of people’s hours changed during COVID the hours were not there, maybe they found another vocation.“Hospitality can be very demanding, as a chef you make your money on weekends and lose your social aspect of life. “There’s a few Mount Gambier people looking as well.”

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