Fearful restaurant staff find safe room

“In a role like this, the focus is on leaving the organisation in a better state than when you entered. As a result of the efforts of the whole team, we have done that.”

Those are the words of Pukeroa Oruawhata general manager Peter Faulkner who, after 25 years with the group, is taking a step back.

Faulkner was employed as Pukeroa Oruawhata’s banker for about 14 years before taking on the role of general manager, which he has held for the past 11.

He said, although he was not quite at retirement age, the timing was right to move aside.

The Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, established in 1980, is responsible for managing and enhancing land and assets owned by Nga¯ti Whakaue, including the Rotorua Central Mall and Trade Central, as well as the Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa being developed.

“I’m not at retirement age yet but essentially what I’ve been looking at is managing the transition process to phase myself out and bring someone else in,” Faulkner said.

“Our focus over the last 25 years has been to develop the assets we had to provide a stable and sustainable base which will provide benefit for Nga¯ti Whakaue — both current generations and future generations.

“We have that solid platform and now is the time to introduce a fresh set of legs to take us forward on that next phase of growth.”

Faulkner will retain a reduced role at Pukeroa Oruawhata, helping with the transition to a new general manager and seeing out the completion of the Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa.

“The company has asked and I’ve agreed to oversee the spa through to

completion, on a reduced-time basis, but we expect that to come to market in August 2022.”

He said a health scare a few years ago, which he has fully recovered from, helped put things in perspective. He has two sons living in Canada, who he has not seen for about three years, one of whom has a son Faulkner is yet to meet. Visiting them is top of the to-do list after he steps down.

“I have a freshly minted grandson in Canada who my wife and I are desperate to meet. It’s all those sorts of factors that go into the decision.

“I have things outside of work that I want to do.”

The biggest challenge Faulkner and his team faced came last year, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns.

The way the group came through those hard times reaffirmed the stable platform they had developed.

“It was full-on and challenging, but satisfying. We came through that in a pretty stable position. Getting through at the other end was really rewarding. That basically says we have built a solid platform, now let’s get someone new in for the next stage of growth. ”

Faulkner said there was some sadness in stepping down after so long in the role, but he was proud of his contribution.

“It’s like a child, sometimes you just have to step away and let them grow. There is a degree of sadness but also a degree of pride in what we achieved.

“It’s a culmination of a whole range of things. We have a solid asset base, solid income streams and we’re starting to deliver solid returns to our owners and Nga¯ti Whakaue.”

Staff at Mcdonald’s Te Ngae took refuge in a safe room and called police after identifying a drivethrough customer as potentially dangerous.

Restaurant owner Rob Parry said on Tuesday night a man came to the drive-through speaker and immediately aroused suspicion with the questions he was asking.

“He asked ‘are you here by yourself?’ which clearly freaked out the person taking the order who said no, there were five or six people on site,” Parry said.

“Then they proceeded to the drive-through window and were acting suspiciously. Thankfully, we had some senior managers on, who took over the order.

“The person had difficulty swiping their card, they appeared to be under the influence, and they were trying to get us to reach out and do the Eftpos transaction for them.”

Parry said the person appeared to be searching for something in the car. Worried that it could be a weapon, the staff decided it was safest to retreat to the safe room and call the police.

A police media spokeswoman confirmed they received a report of a person behaving suspiciously at the restaurant at 11.01pm.

The person was taken into custody, she said.

Parry said he was pleased with the safety-first approach his staff took.

“They took a super cautious response and I would prefer that every time,” he said.

“They made the right call and it’s a call I’m thrilled they made.”

He said the safe room was designed for armed robberies or any situation in which staff felt threatened.

“It originated from a spate of robberies in Auckland. Every site in the country has got it and it works well in this day in age.”