Interview with Glasgow takeaway Sprigg puts staff first in cost of living crisis

The award, sponsored by this paper, is part of the Glasgow Business Awards organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce with Royal Bank of Scotland as the main sponsor.

Tom McDermott worked his way up in the customer service world - and learned some lessons about how to treat staff on the way.

The Sprigg founder and owner knew going in that he wanted to ensure he paid a proper living wage, offered no zero hours contracts, guaranteed breaks and made pension contributions.

It's helped the takeaway and cafe go from strength to strength, as the bond between customers and staff have high-quality fresh produce flying out the door at two Glasgow locations.

Tom told the Glasgow Times: "It’s huge – it’s part of the ethos of the company. The way I employ my staff and work with them is part of the fabric of Sprigg.

Tom McDermott, owner of Sprigg

“It’s impossible for us to not do those things because of my approach to how I think staff should be treated in a hospitality job.

“I’ve worked in customer services since I was 17-years-old, I worked in a call centre and various other customer service jobs in the banking centre.

“I love customer service and I believe in really good customer service, but in order to get it your staff have to be well looked after.

"Pricing is probably going to be more relevant than it’s ever been for the business because of the cost of living crisis.

“What I think is great for our customer base is that they understand if they see the business as paying the real living wage, they know when they’re buying that product they’re getting value for money - not just in the product itself, but in the way that the staff in the business are being looked after.

“A lot of customers nowadays are very conscious of that and you can build that into the cost of your product.

“So we believe in fair pricing in a lot of different ways. It’s not overcharging for the food from the customer’s perspective, but also charging enough for the food that allows us to pay our staff properly and not hiding behind, for example, tips in order to not pay our staff properly.

"We also have really high standards on freshness so we don’t hold a lot of stock in the business. That means we have to work really hard in terms of turning things around really quickly to maintain that freshness.

“That all does come with the cost.”

It's that connection that allowed Tom to open a second location in Sauchiehall Street, following the successful outlet on Ingram Street.

Sprigg in Sauchiehall Street

He said: "I always felt the location had huge potential as it is such an iconic street and area. We're delighted with the response to us opening and street very much feels like it is on the up now that our shop row and the building above is full.

"We'd love to see other businesses moving in to the area and we're starting a working group with a number of key stakeholders to help this happen."

It's not just an ethical approach to treating staff that has established Sprigg as one of the city's favourite businesses, there's a clear focus on the environment too.

The packaging at Sprigg is recyclable

Tom explained: "The packaging has always been recyclable but I think there’s a lot more than can be done. We’ve got some exciting plans this year to introduce some reusable packaging and essentially a deposit scheme and that will massively reduce the amount of packaging that we get through.

“Although it’s recyclable, and even if you introduce compostable like for our coffee cups, there’s still a lot of confusion and issues with all of that stuff not being recyclable.

“We work hard to make sure it gets into the right recycling channels, but as with anything you can always do better when it comes to sustainability.

“We’ve got some plans in that space to get better at what we do."

Sprigg on Sauchiehall Street

With Sprigg nominated for Glasgow's Favourite Business, Tom feels it can only be the connection with the local community that has taken him this far.

He said: "It's very exciting, humbling - strange. You just live in your business so, as daft as it sounds, you don’t always think about what happens when the customer leaves the shop door – but I guess the hard work we’re doing is paying off.

"It’s got to be (why we've been nominated). It can’t be anything else.

“We have an amazing connection between our staff and our customers, and I think absolutely that would be the reason – or I hope it is.”

The winner of The Glasgow Times Award for Glasgow's Favourite Business will be revealed at the annual Glasgow Business Awards ceremony, taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on Thursday 6 October 2022, with voting opening on Friday September 2.

Place your vote for The Glasgow Times Award for Glasgow's Favourite Business here.