October 2, 1996 | Over The Edge ~ i
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Earl's Kestauraut

by G. Neptuno

I tried for weeks to track
down Earl’s manager
Richard Marken. I even went
into the restaurant for dinner
just to see if I could catch
him. After many phone calls;
a mountain of messages and
constant badgering, I finally
got an interview set up.
Between following up on
profits, devoting time to each
leader at work, product
development and traveling to
different countries to
experiment on other cultures’
fine cuisine, anyone can see
why he is impossible to get a
hold of. But his running
around maintaining the
business makes it worth it
since Earl’s is one of the
most popular restaurants in
Prince George.

Earl’s is conveniently
located at 1440 East Central
and they offer an incredibly
diversified menu. The menu
variation is based on their
chefs’ experiences. Their
chefs tend to take their time,
making sure every meal is
nothing short of perfection.
Their staff is highly
motivated. Marken says that
they don’t treat their staff as
just staff, they consider them
business partners as well.
Decisions are made together
under a trusted partnership
and the staff knows that it is
their decisions that affect
their jobs. As Marken says,
“We don’t hire
clockpunchers.”

Earl’s offers a relaxed
atmosphere, full of fun and

enjoyment. The minute you
walk in you are automatically
greeted with a welcoming
smile by the hostess and it’s
a good start to see that their
staffis always happy to assist
in anyway. They love
customers who have a
passion for food and interest
in the menu and the products.
Their service never carries
pretense and they want their
customers to feel understood.

I personally enjoy any meal

at Earl’s and I always leave
feeling full and content that
I got my money’s worth.
Their slogan really says it all.
Earl’s. Great food. Great
people.

Student Discrimination ?

-Tracy Gula and Kara Smith

Recently an issue was
brought to our attention at the
local retail outlet of Thrifty’s
in Pine Centre Mall. One of
our friends wanted to write a
cheque for her purchase, but
the cheque was rejected
because she did not have a
credit card ( which you can’t

even get until you are 19, she’s
18 ). This seemed especially
strange considering that
posted behind the till was a
notice saying, “We will be
pleased to accept your
personal cheque if it is pre-
printed with your name and
current address, and you can

provide any two of the
following: B.C.1.D,
Driver’s License, current
employee/student card with
photo and number, major
credit card, car insurance, or
gas card.” While our friend
did not have a charge card
of any type, she did have a

current UNBC student card

and a valid driver’s license,
which will still meet the
criteria, right? Wrong!
Upon questioning the
manager, who wouldn’t give
us her name, we found out
that the sign was not in
agreement with the store
policy. Both the sign and the
policy manual were sent by
the head office. The store
policy manual says that one
piece of ID is needed for a
picture and another is needed
to verify a current credit
history. The latter makes no
sense because the store does
not, in any way, have access
to your credit history, be it
good or bad. Also, if your
cheque does return from the
bank with that nasty, big, red
NSF stamp, the retail store
cannot put the purchase onto
the credit card that was used

in the first place.
When we spoke up about
the discrepancy, the

unnamed manager ( Marnie

), became extremely hostile —

and quite defensive. The
rudeness with which she met
our inquiry was stunning,
especially coming from
someone in an administrative
position within a business
that relies on public service.
We had no problem with the
store policy itself, whatever
it may be, it was with the
contradictory nature of the
sign versus the policy
manual.

We feel that the manager
took our comments as a
personal attack rather than an
observation concerning the
store policy. This is less than
acceptable. We would like to
stress that
communication problems
were due to the sign which
came from the head office.

the