Kraakman is disappointed about it, but due to the staff shortage he actually had no other choice. Due to illness and other problems, it was an unpleasant year for the company, which has two stores in Amsterdam East.
Enough work
By the middle of this year there were 50,000 vacancies in retail, it shows the most recent figures from CBS. That is less than last year, when shops started looking for new staff en masse after the corona closures. There are considerably more than before the corona crisis.
Due to two sick bakers, he and his partner Khalid had to work six nights a week. “If one of us were to drop out, you’re all set. Hence this solution,” says Kraakman. “Very unorthodox, because for forty years December has been all about baking oliebollen.”
In recent years, on New Year’s Eve, up to a thousand customers came to the store to get oliebollen and apple fritters. “That also had extra cachet for us,” says the 59-year-old entrepreneur.
Double turnover
In this way, the last week of the year was good for twice as much revenue as a normal week, he says. He prefers not to give exact figures. “But it’s not like you can go on holiday for three weeks in January after a week of baking oliebollen,” he adds.
“And you also have to incur costs,” he says. The bakery must be converted to bake oliebollen. “It is lucrative, but also requires quite a bit of organization, for example by putting up a tent,” says Kraakman. This is necessary to manage the flow of customers properly.
Afterwards it also has to be cleaned again, which is also a big job. Now you don’t have to do all that extra work, and that makes a difference. Yet another advantage is the peace and quiet for the staff, says Kraakman. “That our people can get back to work fit again in January. That is also worth something to me.” The staff receives the days off as a gift as a ‘secondary employment condition’.
Home for Christmas
It was not an easy choice. “I didn’t make the decision overnight.” He also considered the options of not baking or purchasing the oliebollen from another bakery. “But if you are not going to fry, you almost have to hire a spokesperson to explain it to your customers,” says Kraakman. “And we don’t want to buy from someone else. That hurts the baker’s heart.”
However, there is also a positive side to the decision. “I also have a wife at home. And children and a grandson,” he sums up. “It is the first time since 1982 that I have been free between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.” The fact that he has been with us for an extra day also played a role in the decision, he admits. “If I had been 35, I would have slowed down for a week.”
Today he was too busy to enjoy that prospect. “But tomorrow I will probably think: it will be nice for a while. And then I will start again on January 2 with fresh courage.” A little later Kraakman calls again. “Suppose there are young bakers who are interested, then they can sign up,” he jokes.
2023-12-23 15:50:17
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