New Magic Lantern shows ...

Just added a link to Beer Goggles Beer Reviews ... and to the Hahn series of funnies ... enjoy!

Sticking It To The Man …

Are you sick of all the PPI adverts and the injury claims lawyers clammering at you every time you turn the telly on? So am I … but there is one such service that has really taken my eye recently and it looks to be hugely beneficial to pubs.

The opportunity to "stick it" to the big power companies is just too good to miss. It all comes down to their usual incompetence in carrying out certain duties following the deregulation process:

• Customers being charged for the wrong meter
• Customers  being charged for the wrong site address
• Customers meters being charged at the wrong profile rate 
• Customer bills having the wrong configuration
• VAT being charged at incorrect rates result to incorrect Climate Change Levy (CCL)
• Customers in debit due to profile alterations and resultant back dated billing

Publican Sam has teamed up with specialist auditors from Utility Refund who have over 8 years experience in getting significant results and refunds with the following companies:

• Greene King (East Anglian Pub Project)
• Scottish & Newcastle (Globe Project)
• Sprite Group (Clear, VCT and Clover Projects).
• Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham (Church of England).
• Kingdom Halls (144 Nationally).
• Age Concern (Nottingham City Office)

How far can they go back to try and help you?

• If you have not changed supplier, they may go back up to 8 years
• If you have changed supplier, they may go back up to 4 years

What do I need to do?

Just Click Here To Go To Specialist Energy Auditors

What information will I need for the auditors?

Electricity/Gas – 

• You'll need to provide a full copy of a recent bill (including the backs if double sided, all sheets if more than one sheet)
• You'll need to provide a standard Letter Of Authority; this states that it doesn’t affect any current arrangements that you have with any other broker/consultant - and a template for adding to your own headed paper is provided. (If you are an Eon client, you will also need the Eon letter of authority)

Water – 

• You'll need to provide copies of 12 months bills (including the backs if double sided, all sheets if more than one sheet)
• You’ll need to complete the checklist.
• If a water refund is due the auditors will contact you to arrange a site survey

For either type of enquiry you'll need to complete, sign and return the auditors' Terms and Conditions.

How long does it all take?

In some cases the auditors can complete the process in 48 hours, but in most simple cases it is more likely to take 2 months from claim to refund. Complex multi-site cases take much longer, in some instances up to a year.

So what's the catch?

As with most things in life, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so the auditors charge 50% of the refund plus VAT

How Much?!?!

The auditors say you would be unlikely to do this yourself due to the highly technical nature and once the refund is sorted out, the issues leading to that refund will have been completely sorted out and you gain 100% of the savings going forward. Given just how complicated an ordinary energy bill is these days I can quite believe the reason why you need to use auditors … they know what they are doing and they know all the rules, regulations and pitfalls to avoid. They also know how to get any refunds due quickly, easily and with little fuss!

How much can I expect to get refunded?

The auditors reckon an average of £10,000 for a pub energy account, however, refund levels obviously depend on what was wrong with the account, how long the current supplier has been supplying the property, size of property, the energy usage and how long the bill payer has been resident. The auditors also reckon this is a conservative estimate.

So potentially you could be many thousands of pounds better off, in return for submitting some information. As grandma said "nothing ventured, nothing gained" … so what're you waiting for?

RIP Eugene J Polley ...

... inventor of the remote control.

To mark his passing I've invented a new type of remote controlled device ... a R.O.B.O.T. (Remotely Operated Beer Optimisation Taster) (aka colleague and fellow beer-lover David Hutson).

R.O.B.O.T.

So how does it work? Quite easily really, just point your ROBOT in the direction of any beer festival, equip with a pencil and a festival program and recover the device at the end of the day.

All this being a somewhat byzantine way of saying a huge thanks to David for making some tasting notes from a local beer fest ... Newark Beer Festival 17, Riverside Park, Newark - May 25 -27 ... as organised by the local CAMRA branch and featuring over 140 ales and 50 ciders & perries.

I tell you one thing Mr Hutson must be powered by Duracell ... 10 ales and 3 ciders ... quaffed and noted , impressive!

The Top Three:

Oldershaw (Grantham) - Regal Blonde - 4.4% - "great blonde beer, perfect for summer"

Mallard (Southwell) - Decoy - 4.5% - "another light hoppy ale, perfect for summer"

Tydd Steam (Tydd St Giles, Cambs) - Quench - 4.4% - "refreshing light ale with amazing Chinese root ginger hint to it!"

 

Others of Note:

Towles (Bristol) - Berrow 48 - 3.9% - "standard dark bitter"


Mallard (sic) - Greet - 3.7% - "copper bitter, bit too malty for me"


Flipside (Colwick) - David's local brewery - Clippings IPA - 6.5% - "excellent ... we like" (hmmm overtones of LOTR ... "my precious")






Havant (Cowplain, Hants) - Time - 3.6% - "golden, citrus, very light, very nice"

Unfortunately for my remote controlled beer taster "SkyJuice" (4.1%) by Rock n Roll from the Lamp Tavern in Birmingham had run out before he could try any  ... but he did manage to make it to the Gwynt Y Draig, Mid-Glamorgan cider maker's Fiery Fox (6.5%) ... "very nice 9/10, rocket fuel!"



The only problem with ROBOTs, even Duracell powered ones, is that eventually they do run out of power ... or get completely stonkered ... because sadly the last couple of notes are indecipherable ... apart from one comment (attributed to a cider maker who shall remain nameless) ... "sour, like battery acid and wrong ... felt sick". The only thing I want to know, Mr Hutson, is exactly when and where did you try battery acid?

Suffice it to say and once again, thanks to DH for taking on this perilous assignment and sharing his musings with us all ... wonder how many batteries it will take to keep him powered up for the Robin Hood Beer Festival later this year with close to a thousand ales and ciders to taste?

Plan A ... Kaput, Plan B ... Just a Rapper, So Georgie ... Plan C?

You'd think that even the posh-boys in No 10 and No 11 couldn't be that deaf to the increasing chorus of national / international opinion that they should do something to stimulate growth in the UK economy ( Obama, IMF, IPRR, CBI, TUC, IOD ... the list goes on and on) ... but then again no.

Here's a totally pub-centric set of proposals:

1) Drop VAT to 5% for the hospitality industry

2) Scrap the Beer Duty Escalator

3) Forget Minimum Pricing

4) Regulate the Pubcos

5) Equalise Business Rates for pubs in line with other businesses





How the five point plan would help pubs ... and what you can do to help achieve these aims:

Jacques Borel, from the VAT Club reckons that a drop in VAT would create over 300,000 jobs (if you want a copy of the fact pack email: adam.pescod@wrbm.com) if you haven't signed the e-petition then do so now - click here

Scapping the Beer Duty Escalator would go a long way to protecting what the British Beer and Pub Association estimates are the 400,000+ jobs that rely on beer and its sale - if you haven't signed the e-petition then do so now - click here

Minimum Pricing won't solve the problem of alcohol abuse and will only further burden those on low incomes who enjoy alcohol "responsibly". If you haven't signed the e-petition then click here

Regulating the Pubcos to ensure that there is an equitable division of profit so that tenants can earn a living and invest in their businesses will help to further slow the demise of the Great British Pub - if you haven't contacted your MP regarding this matter then click here

Treat all tax payers equally as the HMRC mission statement says and stop the nonsense of rateable values for pubs being based on mythical market rents, fair maintainable trade and turnover. Challenge the Valuation Office at every opportunity ... way too many business rates petitions to choose from!

Pubs (and the brewing and hospitality industry in general) are huge wealth creators, employment providers and more importantly part of the social "glue" that keeps this country together ... on average a community pub contributes over £80,000 a year to its local economy according to the IPPR

To paraphrase JFK ... "ask not what your pubs can do for you ... but what you can do for your pubs ..." something we should be telling all our customers. Get them involved even if it's just based upon ruthless self-interest ... for them and you!

1814 Green Bottles ...

New Magic Lantern Show ...

Olympic Overload?

Like it or not ...

Like it or not at 5pm on May 17th, Posh and Becks (Princess Anne & David Beckham) and the Lord of the Games (Seb Coe), will take possession of the Olympic Flame and the "greatest show on Earth" will commence. Whether you are a sports fan or not, whether you think the games are too commercial or not and whether you think the cost will have been worth it or not ... you are about to experience something that most people only do once in their lifetimes, be a citizen of a host country for a summer Olympics.

The BBC promises "unrivalled" coverage of the XXXth Olympiad. In all there will be 2,500 hours of coverage spanning 25 channels showing every second of Olympic action. BBC 1 will show nothing but Olympics from 6am until 1am, with the occasional break for news. Those looking for their regular installment of EastEnders, Panorama, and Songs of Praise during this period will have to turn to BBC2. Some of the BBC's less popular shows will be "rested".


 
So spare a thought for those that don't give a monkey's nuts about the games, for whatever reason, and maybe you can carve a temporary niche in the market by not showing the games on your pub's TV screens ...

Minimum Pricing ... Maximum Court Time

With thanks to Greg Burrows for the link to the judgement of the European Court against the Netherlands when they tried to introduce minimum pricing for certain alcoholic products ... basically it is a "quantative restriction" under Article 30 of the EEC Treaty ... or in other words illegal.

To many of us this judgement is not surprising ... what is surprising is that the likes of Salmond and Cameron are intent on introducing minimum pricing for alcohol ... given that this judgement was handed down on January 24th 1978!


So unless the EEC Treaty has been amended sometime in the last 34 years WTF are Cameron and Salmond up to?

Numpty and McNumpty are going to cost UK taxpayers a shed load when it comes to having to test this again in the European Courts ... added to the distinct possibility that it will have next to no chance of succeeding as a policy to reduce alcohol harm it begs the question if either of the Numpty Cousins are fit for purpose?

Just a thought ...

Football Crazy? Or how to have a great EURO2012

Last week in the Publican's Morning Advertiser there was a piece on police "demonising" pubs by asking them to complete a questionaire on their plans for EURO 2012. So ignoring the hype and legal opinion of "heavy handidness", what lies behind is some excellent advice from the Police, which I have paraphrased below for your information. Nothing will kill off your business faster than a major public disorder incident ...

Why not think about letting your local police team know what you are planning in advance, so they can factor your activities into their planning, as grandma said the police are sometimes a publican's best friend.

Check that whatever you are planning is covered by the terms of your Premises Licence, especially with regard to anything taking place outside, if it's not covered then you may well need a Temporary Event Notice. Make sure any promotion you run complies with any conditions set by the licensing authority. (see the article on running responsible promotions on the How To Run A Pub website)

If you are the Designated Premises Supervisor(DPS), make sure that you are on duty for your big events, make sure you have enough staff on duty to cope with the number of customers you expect and that you have discussed with your team the running of the event.

If you really are expecting a large number of people to attend any given match then consider using SIA registered Door Supervisors, ticketing for the event and perhaps even limiting the number of doors customers can use to access your pub. (Check that all fire exits are completely clear and unobstructed) Make sure that the DPS/duty manager holds the keys for the front doors and can secure them at any stage.

You might also think about buying in polycarbonate or other plastic "glasses", this could save a lot of time in service (customers don't have to wait for clean glasses) and if a significant number of people are outside on beer decks, gardens or patios it could save a lot of broken glass. Similarly you might think about decanting bottled beers etc to plastic glasses for the same reasons or buying in stock in PET bottles.

Make sure your staff are doing regular clean-ups, collecting glasses and clearing tables as often as possible, you might even dedicate staff to this job, it's a good way to keep an eye on things, especially under-18s who might be watching the match and any ne'er do wells that these events can attract. This is especially important at half-time and at the end of any match. Keeping smoking areas clean and tidy is also important.

Whilst your TVs are likely to be well placed, try and ensure that they can't be seen from the street, you don't want a crowd of customers blocking pavements etc trying to watch through the windows.

Any big event at your pub is potentially a time for "difficulties", so make sure your CCTV is working, cameras not obscured by bunting etc and that you have enough disk space or blank tapes on hand.

Pass on any reports of disorder to local police (and other premises if you are in a Pubwatch scheme), in the event of trouble outside the premises, keep customers inside and if there is trouble at your premises, call the police immediately and stop serving alcohol.

As with any other time, as a responsible retailer,  make sure that there is no excessive consumption of alcohol - remember it is an offence to continue to serve somebody who has had too much to drink.

All in all what you need to do is carry out a risk assessment for any event that is likely to attract abnormally large numbers of customers, record your findings (you may need it later if there is an incident and you need to prove to the licensing authority that you took all reasonable steps to make sure you ran a safe event).

With a bit of luck and some careful planning you can enjoy the financial benefits of this major sporting event and continue to run a "tidy house".

Success ... watch 4 winning licensees

New Magic Lantern Show from BII on the Magic Lantern Shows page ... well worth 11 minutes & 23 seconds of your time ...

Wowcher ... or ... Oucher? Or how I learned to love Trader Tuesdays

This piece updated 17/5/12 - see below "Trader Tuesdays" section ...

More than two in five consumers rate vouchers as very or extremely important when deciding where to go out to eat - and the number is still rising. Those are among the key findings from new and exclusive research into voucher use in restaurants and pubs from Peach "BrandTrack". The survey of 2,000 UK adults in February 2012 shows that some 15 million adults among the UK’s eating-out population (42%) place high importance on vouchers. In addition the survey uncovered a hard-core of "voucher addicts" over 2 million of the population who use them every time they eat out.

Other notable segments of the population break down thus:

Women use vouchers most. Nearly half (46%) say vouchers are very or extremely important—compared to just over a third (38%) of men.

Young people are most hooked. More than half (55%) of 25 to 34 year-olds give vouchers high importance—compared to just 26% of those aged 65 or over.

London is a "voucher hotbed". Half (51%) of Londoners rate vouchers as very or extremely important. Scotland (33%) ranks lowest by region.

Voucher websites are here to stay. Over half (56%) use them, with Voucher Codes, Discount Vouchers and GroupOn the most popular.

The survey also reveals that one in seven people has increased their use of vouchers over the last six months, compared to just one in 14 who has cut it. But those increasing their use have tended to eat out more, indicating that vouchers are helping to shore up pubs and restaurants’ footfall in the face of competition from supermarkets—if not necessarily their profit margins.

Peach Factory chief executive Peter Martin says: 

“Operators want to move away from vouchers, but this research shows they have their work cut out. Consumers are now very savvy about their vouchers, and brands will have to be just as smart in their marketing if they are to find other ways of driving sales ... Voucher culture is in engrained, and it is not just about finding savings. Hunting down the best deal is a way of life for many. The people using them are not hard-up pensioners but more likely tech-savvy, educated under-35s ...”

So should you or shouldn't you offer vouchers to attract new business and retain existing customers? You may come to the conclusion that the next step to market your business and brand is to participate in an online promotion with GroupOn. But is it worth it?

It would seem that consumers love GroupOn, Living Social and other social deal sites as they enable buyers to try out local services, entertainment spots, restaurants and pubs at a discounted price.

While GroupOn may work for deal-savvy consumers, the fact of the matter is, these deals are not so ideal for every pub. For  a start, many pubs simply can't handle the volume of customers that pour through the doors, waving their GroupOn printouts and requesting to redeem their amazing online deals. More importantly, pubs can't afford to view these social sites as their customers might, they must think about how the promotion fits into their overall marketing strategy.

To help pubs make better decisions, they need to also understand how sites such as GroupOn really work, so here are two GroupOn factoids for retailers:

• GroupOn promotes a deal online. These deals usually exist in the 50 – 90 percent range. If enough consumers don’t purchase the deal, GroupOn doesn’t charge the retailer (in this instance a pub), and they receive some free online advertising.
•  If enough consumers do buy the deal, then GroupOn takes a cut of the proceeds (usually around 30-60 percent, depending on the terms worked out with the pub). GroupOn pays the remaining amount out to the pub in three instalments over 90 days.

What's the net effect? Pubs need to offer a deal for about 75% off the normal price, so for most pubs, deep discounting probably isn’t ideal, however there may be some instances where this works. For example, if you offer a service that is perishable and might have very high profit margins (for instance a large supplier deal you've taken in), offering your product for a deep discount may not hurt you as much as a retailer that makes a very small profit amount off each item. 

One particular product that falls within this range is cask ale, more specifically offered as part of your pub's beer festival (the event is perishable, as is the short shelf-life of cask ales). So you could pretty much guarantee a busy couple of days for the beer festival and increase the chances of selling the maximum amount of volatile stock, but the point of marketing and promotions is that it increases the overall long-term footfall of the pub. Will running a voucher promotion, such as GroupOn, achieve this for you?

Unfortunately, for many retailers, GroupOn does not, in fact, result in many repeat customers. Uptal Dholakia of Rice University reports that many retailers don’t see repeat customers from online social promotions, and that many coupon redeemers don’t spend beyond the promotion offering.

This seems grim, but it really just means that pubs need to be proactive and be in control of their financials and marketing efforts, before ever considering a GroupOn or other voucher deal.

Using a voucher promotion is a complex decision which has to be based upon your ability to manage perishable stock and service increased footfall. Get the former wrong and you might take a stock loss beyond the deep discount offered, get the latter wrong and you could suffer immense reputational loss from potential and existing customers.

One way to offer up a quick voucher promotion is to use social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. For instance you could create an event on your Facebook page and guarantee that all those that confirm their attendance will get a free drink or a discounted meal or some such benefit. Of course you have to have a list of those who RSVP you and you need to be able to marry up real life customers with their Facebook identities.

QR link to this blog ...

Operationally, there is an easier way to do this. Download a free QR code (Quick Response) from any of the free to use QR coding sites (I use qrstuff). 

The one illustrated on the left is a link to this blog. Simply put the voucher on your website or Facebook page, copy the URL to qrstuff, download the image and then Tweet the image using Twitpic. 

You can also print the QR code on to a poster to put up in the pub and put the QR code on your website/Facebook page. The customer then shows you the voucher link on their smartphone and redeems their promotional benefit. 

Just remember to take the poster/website/Facebook link down when the promotion ends and make sure that if your promotion is related to alcohol it fits the criteria of "responsible retailing" (for advice see my article on the How To Run A Pub Website)

For absolutely the easiest way to run a voucher campaign, but one with a twist, is to emulate the example of Grand Central in Basildon, that runs a "Trader Tuesdays" voucher redemption shceme. The twist? Grand Central accepts vouchers from any other pub or restaurant company which its waiting staff (it calls them floor-traders) exchange them for money off the bill or additional free food items. 


The benefits of a Trader Tuesday promotion - you don't have to go to all the expense of producing vouchers, you don't have to run expensive advertising campaigns to promote the idea, you simply cash in on all the hard work of your competitors, you get to fill the pub on what is traditionally a quieter night of the week. It means you have the chance to win new customers (who maybe don't want to use the original voucher's venue) and reward existing customers (who perhaps might be tempted away from your venue). The cost to you, apart from reduced margin through discounted pricing? Producing some in house posters and if you really splash out a £30 banner proclaiming "We accept other pubs money off vouchers!"

Finally you have to work out how much extra sales you have to generate to make the same overall profit from the promotion that you were making on that product prior to the promotion. So, if you were making £250 a week gross profit from your steak meals and you offered a discount based upon presentation of a voucher, the question you have to ask is how many extra steak meals do I have to sell to make the same profit?

As long as you realise that the return on your investment may not be immediate and that the benefits of marketing, brand building and increasing customer loyalty are mid to long - term strategies, then clever promotions using vouchers may well play an important part in your pub's marketing plan.

Who Was That Masked Man?

Son of Man (1964) - Magritte

In the toughest trading climate I have known in over 30 years experience of the hospitality industry and the pub sector in particular, I have noticed "increased chatter" about customer service, mystery visits, direct feedback and social advocacy. The former two terms I have been well acquainted with over the years but it is the latter that have caught my attention.

For a pub to be successful these days there are a myriad of factors that need to coalesce: environment (a clean and tidy pub), the offering (the drinks, food and entertainment) the brand (that which encapsulates your pub's core values and identity) and the customer experience (service, satisfaction and the "relationship" they have with you). By engaging with your staff through motivation and training so that they "buy in" to what you are trying to achieve at your pub you stand the most chance of success. The only trouble for most time poor licensees is it's difficult to see the wood for the trees and competing demands and sometimes innate subjectivity can cloud our view of our businesses. Ask yourself when was the last time you really stood back and looked at what you and your pub do, how things run and what you could do to improve things? 

For some pubs engaging with a mystery visit programme can be the answer and I have for a long time advocated their use, whether informally (we can all drum up a family member or old friend to come in and have a butchers at what goes on when we're not around) or formally (with mystery visits and reports); and we can all ask "how was your meal?" in terms of feedback. But is it enough? Are we asking the right questions? Are we putting these responses to the best use to benefit our businesses?

It’s probably best to first make a clear distinction between Mystery Visits and Direct Feedback. Mystery Visits are detailed anonymous reviews of the customer experience. As a result, they are used to assess the team’s ability to deliver on a wide range of measures. These measures are normally based on both operational standards and the order of service, and they are commonly aligned with staff training.

Direct Feedback sounds similar but is quite different – it’s about engaging with customers so features include a highly branded website, ‘customer recovery’ alerts where someone has had a poor experience, and ‘social advocacy’ to spread positive chatter about the best experiences.

For instance look at this example from The Jolly Boatman a "test site" the Mystery Dining Company uses to illustrate how a good direct feedback site works. 

You not only capture an impression of staff, customer service, value for money, cleanliness and overall satisfaction, but by offering up a reward for leaving feedback (in this instance a prize draw) you can collect more customer details for your pub's contact list.

But just collecting names for a mailing list shouldn’t be the be all and end all of the process. The smart operator will take on board the feedback customers provide, whether positive or negative and act on that information. As well as acknowledging the importance of customer feedback you have the opportunity to publicly engage with your supporters and your critics. An open and honest response to complaints or constructive criticism lends credibility to your operation and a level of transparency that will translate into an increased trust in your brand.

This dialogue, between publican and customer, conducted in plain sight and in a professional manner is what the marketers call Social Advocacy. So keep an eye on your Facebook page, your pub website, your Twitter account and any other social media you are linked to and get in as quickly as you would if the person were complaining to you in person in your pub.

Mystery Dining Company don't quote any prices for their services as each campaign is tailor-made to suit the business they are dealing with, however, if you are serious about customer service and managing your reputation I would hazard a guess that any investment you make in either campaign would pay handsome dividends.

New link ... check it out

Just a quicky to say new useful link for SAY NO TO 0870 and the rip-off charges from lots of companies ...

Walking Distance ... a step too far?

Whilst idling away a few moments during the Levinson Inquiry testimony of James Murdoch … zoned out a bit … saw a brilliant concept on Twitter

And it got me thinking about how pubs could incorporate a walking distance menu in to an organised charity event or cross-pollination marketing drive for their business.

Sustainability and local sourced produce, provenance and reduced food miles are important influencers for many consumers, none more so than in the pub trade; so tapping into the Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS) consumer segment might be a great way to enhance your pub's USP and increase footfall.

Whilst this might be a bit "chicken and egg", I am of the egg first camp … i.e. you have to hatch the egg first … so why not get online and look at the Big Barn website and see what local producers and growers are listed in your area and create a menu from as many of their products as possible. Add some local beer, cider or wine and you have the basis for a walking distance offering.

Now use Google Maps Walking Planner to plot a walking route from A to B to C etc that incorporates as many suppliers (and other points of local interest) that you can. Next … take a break from the pub and go out for a walk and look to see what else can be foraged along the way … for instance berries, edible flowers, mushrooms, wild garlic etc and add those ingredients to your nascent walking distance menu.

For a guide to what might be available check out this handy foraging calendar and this resource
for loads of advice on foraging.

All you need to do now is plot your route and make an estimate of the time it would take for an average walker at, say, 3 mph to traverse the route from and back to your pub, say, 90 minutes maximum.

The menu and the planned walk would make a great basis for a sponsored walk or for customers to follow … hopefully to work up a (wo)man-sized appetite for all that lovely food you are going to offer and a thirst for the local ales you stock.

Just as an example here is the Big Barn Map for the Bladebone Inn

OK so some of the suppliers may not be walk-able except for dedicated yompers but just look at the number of local suppliers the Bladebone Inn has … including a place that offers courses on foraging, a local "open farm" (working farm that does tours etc), a local brewery, local markets, butchers …

It works for urban pubs too …

For instance points of local interest are a local history trail through the neighbourhood that the local council promotes and signposts … and plenty of local suppliers including an award winning butcher who only uses farm assured stock

With a little imagination and a little effort you too could create a walking distance concept for your pub.

Happy Birthday Bill ...

Sorry couldn't resist ...

No one is quite sure when Shakespeare was born , he was baptised on April 26^th, 1564 and died on this day in 1616 but being a man of his times and a great frequenter of inns and hostelries it is little wonder that food and drink featured so heavily in his writing. So to celebrate our national bard and give you some fitting quotations for your chalkboards here is my top 20 with some fairly random links ...

1. Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 3

Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?

 2. Othello: Act 2, Scene 3

Good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well used.

3. Henry V: Act 1, Scene 3

I would give all my fame for a pot of ale.

4. As You Like It: Act 3, Scene 2

Truly, thou art damned like an ill roastedegg, all on one saide.

5. The Merry Wives Of Windsor: Act 1, Scene 1

Why, sir, for my part I say the gentleman had drunk himself out of his five senses.

 6. Anthony & Cleopatra Act 2 Scene 3

Give me some music; music,moody food. Of us that trade in love.

7. Romeo and Juliet: Act 4, Scene 2

Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his ownfingers.

8. Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 3

I am a great eater of beef and I believe that does harm to my wit.

9. Henry IV Part 1: Act 2, Scene 1

He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his.

 10. Macbeth: Act 2, Scene 3

 Drink sir, is a great provoker of three things….nose painting, sleep and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire but takes away the performance.

 11. Henry IV Part I: Act 3, Scene 1

O, he is as tedious as a tired horse, a railing wife; worse than a smokey house: I had rather live with cheese and garlic in a windmil, far, than than feed on cates and have him talk to me in any summer-house in Christendom.

12. The Comedy Of Errors: Act 5, Scene 1

Unquiet meals make ill digestions.

13. Richard III: Act 3, Scene 4

My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn I saw good strawberries in your garden there; I do beseech you send for some of them.

14. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 4, Scene 2

And, most dear actors, eat no onions or garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words: Away! Go, away!

15. Henry IV Part II: Act 5, Scene 1

A’ shall answer it. Some pigeons, Davy, a couple of short-legged hens, a joint of mutton, and any pretty littletiny kickshaws, tell William cook.

16. All’s Well That Ends Well: Act 5, Scene 3

Mine eyes smell onions; I shall weep anon.

17. Romeo and Juliet: Act 4, Scene 4

They call for dates and quinces in the pastry.

18. Henry IV Part II: Act 2, Scene 4

A man cannot make him laugh – but that’s no marvel; he drinks no wine.

19. As You Like It: Act 3, Scene 5

I pray you, do not fall in love with me, For I am falser than vows made in wine.

20. Othello: Act 2, Scene 3

O thou invisible spirit of wine! If thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil!

The Wrong Arm of the Law ...

A recent judicial review of the Police's powers relating to closure notices and powers of arrest has thrown up some vital information for all licensees that should be invaluable if threatened with closure or arrest with regard to certain licensing offences.

The background to this case is that in February 2011, West Yorkshire Police mounted a series of five enforcement actions against The Bank, Wakefield. The Police served S19 closure notices and then immediately forced the Claimant through threats of arrest to the Designated Premises Supervisor to close the bar. The bar was duly closed on each occasion. The effect of the closure was the loss of profits both on the night of the closure and on subsequent trading nights too.

The police had, according to the owners of The Bank, relied on Home Office guidance that was, in effect, wrong in terms of the law (the Licensing Act 2003 and the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001).

The law says that a closure notice under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (section 19) merely warns the licensee that if the matter of breach is not rectified within 7 days the police may apply to the magistrates’ court for a closure order pursuant to section 20 of the same act.

The claim also stated that while a breach of a licence condition is potentially a criminal offence under section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003, this does not automatically give rise to a power of arrest.

The Bank pointed out that arrest is governed by 24(5) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which provides strict conditions which have to be satisfied before a person may be arrested without a warrant. These include where the identity of the person arrested is unknown, where arrest is necessary to prevent a person suffering injury, or to prevent loss of or damage to property, to prevent an offence against public decency or unlawful obstruction of the highway, or harm to a child or a vulnerable person, or to allow prompt investigation of the offence to prevent disappearance of the person arrested.

Obviously, it will only be in very exceptional circumstances that such conditions are satisfied in the case of breach of licence conditions by licensed premises.  None of them was satisfied in the case of the Bank.

The Bank also claimed that its human right to trade and to rely on its licence had been abused by the Police actions. The unlawful threats by West Yorkshire Police to arrest the Designated Premises Supervisor if the premises did not close amounted to an unlawful interference with that right. As a result of closing the Claimant suffered loss of profits on the nights of the closure and damage to the goodwill of its business. Accordingly, the Bank claimed damages pursuant to section 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and/or section 31(4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.

West Yorkshire Police conceded that the Guidance was unlawful, that its actions had been illegal and that it was liable to pay damages. The Home Office withdrew the on-line version of the Guidance and wrote to all Chief Constables pointing out the legal errors in the Guidance. However, The Bank continued to pursue the claim, because a more public acknowledgment of the true effect of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 was required.

Mr. Justice Edwards-Stuart ruled that the Claimant was entitled to have recorded in a court order that the Guidance was unlawful.

The High Court has now approved a consent order requiring the Police and the Home Office to pay the Bank substantial undisclosed damages for loss of profit.

The order also records that the West Yorkshire Police and the Home Office accept that:

“The service of a Closure Notice pursuant to section 19 of the Criminal Justice

Police Act 2001 does not:

a.       Require the premises to close or cease selling alcohol immediately; or

b.       Entitle the Police to require it to do so; or

c.       Entitle the Police to arrest a person on the sole ground of non-compliance with the Notice.”

The Police and the Home Office also agreed to pay the Claimants’ costs.

Michael Kheng (from Kurnia Licensing Consultants) stated:

“This was a clear case of over-enforcement causing damage to the goodwill of a business, not to mention the intimidation felt by the licensee confronted by police officers requiring him to close there and then. My client and I felt it right to pursue this matter to a judgment, so that the legal position is clearly established, to protect future licensees from similar conduct."

So my advice, in the unlikely event that you are confronted by this sort of Police action, is to refer them to the above acceptance of the law by the Home Office and to seek the advice of a licensing solicitor as soon as possible.

Grandma used to say that the police were a publican's best friend and in my experience she was right, but just like any organisation or person they are fallible. Hopefully the message has gone out throughout the land that this Judge Dredd style of interaction with licensees is not just unhelpful in our combined efforts to provide safe and regulated drinking, but is also just plain wrong.  I mean 5 enforcement actions? What did the Police do to pursue other avenues such as a review of the licence with the Local Authority, if things had come to such a state that 5 interventions were deemed appropriate?

With grateful thanks to Sarah Clover, Barrister, No 5 Chambers, Birmingham and Kurnia Licensing Consultants for the above explanation and for achieving clarity in this matter for all of us running licensed premises.

Responsible Marketing ... can pubs lead the vanguard?

The statements of intent (below) from drinks manufacturers to drive an EU wide policy for sometime in 2015 may be of interest to you.

The Responsible Marketing Pact

 

“Prevent minors from inadvertently seeing alcohol beverage marketing communications on social media” Common standards on age verification, the use of Facebook Sponsored Stories for marketing purposes, user generated content will be established.

Be careful of what you post on your Facebook page and what you Tweet ... it's so easy to have your message fowarded to under-18's. 

“Set a common adult demographic standard for alcohol beverage marketing communications across all media, thereby limiting undue exposure of minors to drinks ads.” A common stipulation that ads may only be placed in media where at least 70% of the audience is reasonably expected to be above 18.

Make sure that your advertising (pub posters, chalkboards, Facebook/Twitter, website) is geared towards adult readers, even if you are a "family friendly" venue. 

“Prohibit any alcohol beverage marketing communications that might be particularly attractive to minors by ensuring that the content of ads appeals primarily to adults.” Consistent guidelines and enforcement to ensure ads primarily appeal to adults over 18.

 

Avoid using any promotional images, symbols or cartoon characters that appeal primarily to those under legal purchase age. They might add zest to your marketing material in certain circumstances (for instance a School Disco night) but could inadvertently be misinterpreted to be appealing to the under-aged.

We all engage with our customers, whether it's just a poster in the pub or a full on Facebook page and Twitter presence so in line with responsible retailing and promotional activity (see my article on the How To Run A Pub website) pubs have yet another opportunity to be at the forefront of the hospitality industry by early adoption of the principles outlined above. 

A sledgehammer to crack a nut? Or just cracked or nuts?

I have finally had time to wade through HMRC's consultation document on Alcohol Fraud (all 46 pages of it) so I could understand what the perceived problem is and what proposals HMRC has in mind to reduce this "problem".

I used parenthesis on the word "problem" deliberately as the total amount of fraud HMRC is hoping to minimise is estimated (at their "implied midpoint") to be in the region of £500 millions in lost beer duty and some £130 millions from spirits for the year 2009/10. By my reckoning that comes to £630 millions in lost duty due to fraud by illegal importing and resale in the whole of the UK.. According to the Office on National Statistics the population of the UK in mid-2010 stood at 62,262,000. So the loss per capita is roughly £10.12.

So what are the arcane masters of the revenue proposing to do to recoup this massive amount we're notionally all depriving the Treasury of? Well let's take a look at the measures that would directly affect pubs (the list of proposals for brewers and wholesalers is a matter for them to consider, although any costs of compliance will undoubtedly be passed on to pubs).

The introduction of "fiscal" marks for packaged beer (cans and bottles) that you will already be familiar with on spirits bottles so that all can see that UK Duty Paid is visible on all packaging. This would enable the Revenue, as HMRC puts it, to "undermine the modus operandi of large scale beer smuggling operations". The proposed marks would apply thus:

So far so good ... and this is how they would enforce it:

and

which in turn would relate to pubs as:

also:

All this, remember, to get back £10.12 per head of population.

I find this all a bit draconian (especially the review of licence threat) when you consider that HMRC's over-lord George Osborne is quoted today to be "shocked" at the  aggressive tax avoidance of 20 of Britain’s biggest tax payers avoiders who have used three main loopholes to legally reduce their their income tax bills by a total of £145 million in a year. That equates to roughly £7.5 millions per head of this elite top 20.

Don't even get me started on the likes of Amazon ... just suffice it to say that yet again it will be "ordinary" drinkers in pubs up and down the land that will pay the price for HMRC's latest wheeze. Still, at least "we're all in this together"

To have your say on this consultation go to HMRC  you've got until June 25th to put your tuppence worth (or £10.12 worth) in.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics ... Part 4

Minimum Pricing for Alcohol is being mooted as a solution to the problem of binge drinking.

The graph (right) is taken from a House of Commons Briefing Paper for MPs on Alcohol  it opens as a PDF.

Given that Cameron et al are calling for Minimum Pricing based partly on the rise in binge drinking ... well this is one sector of the population that is reducing this type of activity without minimum pricing.

What could have caused this drop in the absence of minimum pricing? Could it have been education and campaigns such as DrinkAware and the entire drinks industry from brewers to pubs?

Time to say "No To Minimum Pricing" as it will be the wedge that the health industry will use to force ever more draconian alcohol consumption controls ... just as the clean air campaign in pubs culminated in the smoking ban.

Apart from the ludicrous suggestion that a minimum price of 40p a unit would reduce consumption, the effect of this measure would disproportionately affect the less well off in our society, unlike the (ex)members of the Bullingdon Club if the picture I featured on April 1st is anything to go by ... and no, it wasn't a spoof.