Mystery

This photo was sent to me in March 2018 by Nogbad. He says he found it in a "general Christmas Card from this period. It can only be 1989 or 1990 but I don't think it was related to Christmas and Angie can't remember the event either.


It's the entire team of Herr Adolf Rossgoderer a Wienerwald legend and one of the most loyal lieutenants to the company's founder, Friedrich Jahn and indeed when Grand Met took over in 1989, he showed absolute continued loyalty. However, I know he had serious personal doubts about some of the approach but always went along. He like so many was not far from retirement and I think he got there in 1990.

He was in charge of the "controlling" department. Wienerwald was run and "Controlled" on a relatively simple Goods-in and Dishes/portions-out system. The company got an invoice from suppliers for 100 half fresh chickens and 100 bottles of beer and thus expected 100 portions of chicken and 100 half litres of beer to end up in the cash registers. Effective, easy and cheap ....if you assume honesty.

As our experience had been in the UK with Berni Inns, managers learn very quickly that food & booze can be bought cheaply in any cash & carry and thus "supplement" their income. A company's standard portion may become a little less or the coffee may be a touch weaker. More tricks in the books than possible to list. The good ones could get away with it relatively easy, the greedy ones generally made a mistake somewhere.

Adolf also had a small department of four male "bottle & chicken counters" out on the road day for day. These were the people I inherited and was charged with turning in to an effective audit department.

Adolf is strangely not in the photo. Perhaps the photo was taken when I was giving him a conducted tour of Grand Mets UK business from 16th to 18th October. He loved England especially the tour we did on the last day of London, Richmond and Windsor.

He was at heart a good guy, could be somewhat moody. I was to meet up with him from time to time in Munich after we had both left the company. His private life was quite hard as he had a seriously disabled wheelchair-bound wife who he absolutely adored as well as his beloved Dackel (dachshund) Susi. Angie's Mum painted a picture of Susi for him which was presented to him when he retired. He treasured it and when we went to his funeral many years later, his family insisted Angie have the painting back as they knew how grateful he had been to have received it.

What can be guessed from the photo is that it was probably taken in the Wienerwald public restaurant on the ground floor of the HQ in Munich. The (plastic) greenery in the background, the light coloured melamine tables with wood surroundings and the paper place mats suggest that they may have gone down to inspect the new bright image that Grand Mets marketing department had dreamed of to get Wienerwald away from its dark "rustical oak" image.

I have used 1st December but now see that I was in Munich that Friday and Nigel in Hamburg all week. I flew home that day and at some time the next day got a call from him. A bit hesitant for Nigel - he wanted to inform me he had flown back to Heathrow Lufthansa First Class and very much enjoyed the ride, but a bit disappointed with the quality of the Heathrow to Gatwick taxi to pick up his car there!

There had been heavy fog at Hamburg and the airport virtually shut down. Not sure if he was due to fly British Airways or Air Europe, but they cancelled and the only available seat left anywhere was the said First Class. That dented the budget but the deposit on the hotel reservations for our German Christmas party on 15th had already been paid.