S’pore Eatery is Made Up Of Solely Student Part-Timers, With Pay of $7 to $9 Per Hour

2019-04-22 , 10:00 pm

Just a couple of weeks back, we wrote an article about Chili’s exit from Singapore. It was sudden and devastating, and no reason was given at that point.

Well, here’s an update.

According to TODAYonline, Chili’s withdrew due to “escalating labour expense, difficulty in hiring and training people, exceptionally high leasing expense, and the general expansion of shopping malls in Singapore have fractured the market”.

In other words, the cons outweigh the pros of staying in Singapore.

The Current Climate Of The F&B Industry

Not many Singaporeans want to stay in the F&B industry in the long term. It has less-than-desirable pay and bleak career advancement prospects.

And to add to the woes of the industry, the foreign-worker quota is set to decline for the services sector in the next few years.

But Not For SuperFudo

Facing the same issues, here’s a cafe that built its whole business model around them.

Here’s how Superfudo’s system works: while the labour force dwindles, you can usually count on the attention of poor students looking to earn a quick buck.

Yes, every staff at their eatery is a part-timer.

It’s Cheaper & More Efficient

A workforce made of part-timers also helps to keep monthly labour costs low, specifically below $15,000 for the running of the 2 Superfudo outlets (at Holland Village and Orchard Road).

According to TODAYonline, the co-founder Joseph Xu, says: “Most cafes of similar size pay more just for a single outlet with shorter opening times and a rest day,” he said.

Another advantage is the flexibility; as Mr Xu says: “When business dipped, we dropped manpower and saved wages. When it’s improving… we add when needed.”

This is in contrast to a crew of full-timers with a fixed cost in wages unless you fire them or ask them to go on leave (which is usually paid, he adds).

Surviving on Just Part-Timers

Most eateries already have a big proportion of part-timers in their crew, but to have the whole crew be students, even the manager?

How does that work out?

I’m guessing that the flexible work schedule has a big part to play in keeping enough people at the cafe.

Unlike most F&B jobs which mandate a minimum number of hours weekly, employees at Superfudo simply indicate their availability on a flexible rostering system.

The manager then organises the roster, giving priority to the more experienced.

This flexibility allows students to work there even while studying. Most of the crew are aged 15 and 23 and come from junior colleges, polytechnics and universities.

The cafe pays $7 per hour on weekdays, $8 per hour on Saturdays, $9 per hour on Sundays and $14 per hour (WAH!) on public holidays.

Not for Everyone

Mr Xu did urge other F&B joints to consider this as a solution to the labour shortage problem, but he recognised that for some places, this just won’t cut it.

Basically, you can’t just take one aspect of a business model and expect to apply it to another business that has a whole different strategy; it’s more delicate than that.

With a crew of just part-timers, the food and service will not be top-notch.

That’s how Superfudo avoids the problem that Chili’s faced with training up staff only to have them leave after a few months: if you don’t request too high a standard from your part-timers, you won’t need to train them as much, and they remain cheap and dispensable.

As a casual dining establishment, Superfudo can afford to gain less revenue from a more humble menu because it cuts cost on the labour, so it’s profits remain decent.

But for fine-dining establishments, or as Mr Xu noted, restaurants like Hai Di Lao, which is known for its outstanding service, you need qualified chefs and an experienced service crew.

In that way, offering higher wages to get staff of a certain calibre works since the corresponding revenue is also higher.

It’s just a different business model.

But labour crunch is the buzzword now, and we’ve already mentioned the tightening quotas.

The question is, does the other model even work anymore?

If you can’t get hold of a crew of experienced staff for costs that aren’t ridiculous (aka not surpassing your revenue), maybe we will see a future here where Superfudo’s model is the only one that works.