Infuriating and frustrating

The Problem of Cheating
[part two of three]

Juventud Rebelde again looks at the flaws that cause a lack of controls, a lack of organization, and demoralization in state-run enterprises that provide services to the population.

By Yailin Orta Rivera, Norges Martínez Montero and Dilbert Reyes Rodríguez, journalism student

"This pot of glue cost me 150 pesos. The spool of thread, 50 pesos. The tools you see on this table also are mine. I bought all of this with my money. The company doesn't give me anything to work with. That's why I have to charge you 25 pesos to fix your shoes. If you don't like it, go to the corner. A private shoemaker works there. You'll see how much he charges."

That was the explanation we received a few days ago from a shoemaker at a shop in Centro Habana, after we complained about the high price he quoted to mend a pair of shoes.

The same day, in the Havana section called Revolution Square, a coffee-shop manager said his shop works because he and his colleagues –the workers– bring from their homes almost all of the goods and utensils needed. "If we didn't, this place would be shut down permanently. The company gives us almost no supplies," he said.

Two weeks later, at another coffee shop in the Havana municipality of Cerro, a vendor told us that he and his co-workers spent their own money about a year ago to try to fix the water pump. The pump remains broken and the company has not arranged for repairs.

A taxi driver told us that he spent a lot of money to recondition a car that his company was going to dump. Now, thanks to his investment, the car is "in shape" for service and has been turned over permanently to him.

How will the shoemaker, the coffee-shop employees and the taxi driver recover the money they invested in supplies, parts and materials for their work? What are the socioeconomic and moral implications in a situation where the workers themselves have to provide what they need to run a state-owned business?

Reporters from Juventud Rebelde spent several days visiting dozens of food and service stores in Havana and the province of Granma, looking for answers to those questions.

Who's minding the store?

Restaurant workers and managers frequently pay for the glasses they use to serve drinks to their customers. In most of the restaurants we visited, we discovered that the workers guarantee with their money the purchase of utensils such as glasses, pots, pans, slotted spoons and ladles.

But those expenses are minor in comparison with the structural, electric or plumbing repairs they pay for, because the company doesn't have enough money.

Ulises Morales, a clerk at the cafeteria La Casa Pérez, said that the employees frequently buy the glasses (at 2 pesos each) in which they serve refreshments.

"Now we're having problems with the water pump. All of us contributed money about a year ago to try to get it fixed. We found a private mechanic, but the problem was not fixed," he said.

Pedro Diezcabezas de Armada Campos, manager of the Moral Bar, at the well-known Esquina de Tejas, admits that he and his employees frequently buy glasses for the same price. He also had to arrange for building repairs, for which he paid with his own money. He makes 370 pesos a month.

Juan Ramón Sánchez Villavicencio, manager of a cafeteria in Cerro, told us that 15 days ago he bought 10 glasses at 2 pesos apiece so he could sell soft drinks. His salary is 225 pesos a month, and he says he often has to pay for supplies out of his own pocket.

So far this year, the Provincial Enterprise of Commerce and Gastronomy has provided supplies to very few of its outlets, said Raúl Benedit, the company's technical director. He admitted that the refrigerators in some of the restaurants are in need of repair. Right now, more than 200 of them are in bad shape, he said.

Barbers' supplies are cut short

"Everything you see here is mine. Everything I use for my work I buy with the sweat of my brow. The administration of our company demands a lot from us but gives us nothing. And we are one of the best barbershops in the country. We've won awards many times and we bring in more money than any other shop," said Leoni Fraga, a barber at Combinado Bulevar in San Rafael.

"Here, the company provides only the store space. The rest, I have to bring from home. All the implements are mine. Every day, I turn over about 55 pesos a day, and I think we deserve a little better working conditions," said Osiris Castellano, another barber.

A colleague, René Socarrás, said that, so far this year, all he has received from management has been four packets of talcum powder and two small towels. "The rest is on me. I have three hair clippers, but I paid for them myself. Most of the barbershops in Havana are in the same shape. Every day, I turn over anywhere from 45 pesos to 50 pesos to management."

"The only thing they gave me this year for my work was a broad smile. I don't think we can expect anything from management. For a long time now, we've been asking them to fix the air conditioner. They should provide everything here, but they only give me a chair, a room, and electricity," said Damaso Santa Cruz, another Figaro at Combinado Bulevar.

When we tried to question the manager of the barbershop, she refused, saying that we needed to get written permission from the person in charge of the Bulevar before we could talk to her.

I buy, therefore I work

Far from the center of the capital, in the municipality of Marianao, we talked two days ago with the technicians and workers at a small service complex called Foto Libertad. The situation regarding materials, tools and utensils was no different from the situation at the Bulevar.

"From this homemade soldering gun to the last little screw in this box, everything here I have obtained through my personal effort. This is a state-run shop but so far this year they've given me nothing with which to work. The manager here can tell you that I'm not lying," says appliance mechanic Jaime Pérez.

He collects parts because many clients bring several old appliances and ask him to repair one using parts from the others. In exchange, he gets to keep the broken-down appliances, which he then cannibalizes so he can repair other appliances. That's not the ideal solution to give quality service to his clients, Pérez says.

"More than half of the people who bring their appliances here for repair have to take them back in the same condition, because we don't have the parts needed to solve the problem," he says.

Like the other workers, every evening Pérez turns over to the manager a sum of money that varies according to the number of customers he had. Last Friday, for example, he turned over 30 pesos.

A few steps away from Pérez, Juan Antonio Catalano works. He is a shoemaker and, like the appliance repairman, he must bring from his home all the materials and tools he needs to care for his clients -- to whom he charges the official rates, he adds.

"The workers are right. This year they have not received any tools or materials. They fix things with their own spare parts or those brought in by the customers. Because there are no repair parts, the company put them on a straight salary and told them to turn over whatever they can, at the end of the day," said manager Juana Mora.

No incentive for the employers

Not even Granma, the leading province in terms of services and gastronomy, escaped the irregularities. An investigation showed that many workers there also have to pay for the tools they need for their labor.

That's what happens in La Mariposa and Salón Moderno, the top-ranking dispensers of services to the population in Monument City. The intense activity of barbers, hairdressers and other employees, plus the numerous customers, add up to a high volume of materials.

Managers agree that the supply of materials is not enough. Dyes, shampoo, creams, talcum and nail polish are often unavailable. Why doesn't the service come to a halt?

Well, most of the raw materials are purchased elsewhere by the specialists, and out of their own pockets, too. A facial-care specialist buys creams that cost 1.40 convertible pesos (CUCs); the manicurist, who has only three colors of nail polish, buys other paints for only 70 cents (CUC), as well as polish remover. The barbers at Salón Moderno have to provide their own razors.

If the institution does not cover the outlays and the system of wages-plus-commission is forbidden, what motivates the workers? Sergio Peña, manager at La Mariposa, says that "they themselves find the materials so they won't have to stop providing service. That way, they earn approximately 300 pesos a month."

You don't have to be an economics wizard to realize that there is no incentive for the company in buying the raw materials, which do exist but cost more if bought from government suppliers.

At Salón Moderno, we observed that a barber –seeing that the receptionist was distracted– led a customer to his chair, cut his hair, and collected the fee, giving the customer change from his own pocket. The receptionist is supposed to collect the money.

The way things work was summarized by a worker who declined to give his name and place of employment. "Everyone looks after himself. Myself, I'm a refrigeration technician. I began to work at a state-run shop not too long ago and I'm waiting to get ahead, and make connections with the suppliers of materials and tools so I can later set up my own shop."

The personal gain hidden in state services (sometimes not even hidden) has certain "advantages" when compared with self-employment. State employees don't have to pay taxes, store-space rental, electricity, raw materials and tools.

Gastronomy in the crosshairs

Our research allowed us to conclude that most of the service providers we visited are going through a bad period. New procedures are needed to reverse the situation.

We also detected deficiencies in restaurants. Employees brought in products not necessarily dispensed there, taking advantage of the lack of supplies and the confusion of the store managers.

For example, Zas cafeteria, in the Cerro municipality, last Friday offered only cigarettes, beer and a few cartons of eggs, which sold rapidly. "Last week, we had some foodstuffs for the customers. Today, all we got at the warehouse was eggs. I got pork meat but I don't have a cook to prepare it," said the assistant manager. The cafeteria is supposed to work 24 hours a day. Is it worth the trouble?

A few blocks away, we found another cafeteria, Chiqui Jai, which also is serviced by the Cerro enterprise. Its menu showed ten types of meals, which proves that occasionally the lack of drive and responsibility of some managers causes their stores to offer a meager variety of goods.

Our notebooks contain many similar examples, showing that food supplies to many restaurants are totally insufficient. That situation provokes, first, contempt from the population toward those establishments and, second, various violations of the law.

So far this year, inspectors from Havana's Department of Monitoring and Control of the Union of Commerce and Gastronomy Enterprises found that workers in 112 restaurants brought in various products for sale and used the establishments for their personal gain.

"The municipalities where most irregularities were found were Arroyo Naranjo, La Lisa, Marianao, Diez de Octubre and Boyeros,” said Department chief Jesús Surdanivia.

Workers should not have to buy anything

Although restaurant managers say they are undersupplied, the Director General of the Commerce and Gastronomy Union in Havana, Jorge Almaguer, maintains the opposite. "There are resources to guarantee food products in all our outlets," he said. "The problem is that the individual managers don't care and pay no attention. We have discussed that with them on many occasions.

"No manager or worker needs to contribute money out of his own pocket to repair anything or provide services. That's not the rule. If a shop doesn't have the ability to offer services, it's got to shut down. That's the rule.

"We don't encourage workers to bring their tools from their own homes, much less to spend their money to solve the shop's problems. That's a justification used by some to continue to 'invent' and swindle the people," Almaguer added.

However, he said, the Ministry of Auditing and Controls did a diagnostic study of gastronomy in Havana City two years ago and learned that restaurants 20 years ago did not receive goods; 15 years ago they did not get cleaning supplies .

"Other than the deficiencies, I must also say that we have a lot of unscrupulous workers who use shortages as an excuse to profit. We have the ability to transfer a worker to another site to work or improve his skills while we repair his shop, so he can reopen it later," Almaguer said.

According to him, work in Havana is being accelerated to return Cuban gastronomy to the splendor of years past. Before the end of this year, most of the restaurants will be totally remodeled, he said.

"The money for the construction and for the restaurant supplies and services, even for the uniforms, comes from the state. We're not asking the worker to contribute even a grain of sand," he said.

Who speaks the truth?

Management and labor don't agree. The former claim that the lack of seriousness on the part of some workers is the main problem affecting the proper operation of most services, at least in the shops inspected. The latter complain that the solution to several problems in their shops lies in their own wallets. The argument may last for years. Meanwhile, the causes persist for the lack of control and organization, not to mention the demoralization. And the customers must take what they can get.

Deformation

"There is a deformation. If a person is a bartender and offers his services with his own resources, the whole industry is in disorder. The organization of economic relations has failed," says Dr. Idalia Romero, a professor at the Department of Entrepreneurial Sciences of the School of Economics of the University of Havana.

"People are looking for their personal satisfaction, not that of the client. This damages the shop's image. The customer doesn't trust [the establishment] because it has an air of deterioration. Almost every customer assumes that he or she will be cheated. They say the shop will not give them the stipulated amount of food or that it will commit other violations," Romero says.

"The problem is not always a lack of resources but how the resources are organized. The most important aspect is to organize the shop. And we do have paradigms of success. We have positive experiences that can be generalized. We have to revert the order, but always taking into account the fundamental role of the leadership."

Next: Part three [final]

Previous: Part one

^ Top