Staffing woes at North Shore diner example of industry-wide problem

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You may be familiar with the expression, “it’s hard to find good help these days.”  An iconic diner on the North Shore knows it all too well, as it is being forced to cut its hours because it can’t fill open positions.  And it turns out the problem is more common than you think.

The Tomahawk Barbecue in North Vancouver has been serving up hearty breakfasts for more than 90 years, but now the iconic diner will close early four days of the week.  The thing is, it has nothing to do with business.

“I hate to do what I’m doing, but I’m left with no choice,” admits owner Chuck Chamberlain, who posted this message to the diner’s Facebook page earlier this week.

“I interviewed four qualified people for fill-in positions, and then on the day when it came time for them to show up for work, not one of them did,” he explains.

“I was left with no choice.  It was either to double up with the existing staff or change a couple of things around, but either way, at the end of the day, I thought, well, the customers would not be getting proper service.”

A group that represents the hospitality sector says this is not uncommon.

“The problem is acute in kitchens.  That’s where the biggest problem is right now in the industry,” says Ian Tostenson with the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.  “It’s all throughout.”

He blames it, in part, changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

“Some people say, ‘Aw, they’re just trying to bring in cheap labour.’  It wasn’t that at all.  They’re bringing specialized labour and that pipeline has been cut off and so now we’re starting to see, with the strong economy, basically a shortage all throughout the system.”

Tostenson also points out there are more people leaving the industry than coming in.

“I think that people in certain demographics, particularly millennials, I don’t think they see that opportunity like they perhaps could, and I think there’s avenues that need to be put in place to help other labour groups [like] First Nations, senior citizens, single moms, orientating them into how they could get into the industry.”

In the meantime, Chamberlain will run on a reduced schedule until he can attract more staff.  He will stay open late Fridays and weekends, fortunately.

“It’s either to either give bad service or no service at all.  I’m more worried about my customers.  I’d rather they have a good experience as opposed to a bad experience.”