Yates monitors service refusals for police data
by Tony Halstead
Staff in 153 Yates Group outlets are to record how many intoxicated or under-age customers are refused service in an experiment taking place throughout December.
The company has responded to a new police alcohol enforcement campaign by installing special buttons on tills to record the number of service refusals in the run-up to Christmas and the new year.
Yates said it wants to gather evidence, which will be made available to police, to show that it is fulfiling its responsible retailer commitment.
The till buttons will be activated from 1 December allowing staff to record every instance where customers have been turned away from its bars.
Chief executive Mark Jones said the scheme is similar to that operated by off-licence group Thresher, which uses it in outlets nationwide.
"We will be keeping stock of how many people are refused because their ID is not up to scratch and also those who are turned away because they have had too much to drink.
"December is always a volatile trading period, but this year there is even more need for due diligence in the light of the police crackdown," Jones said.
"We want to be able to provide a record to be made available to police should they knock on our door for any reason," he added.
Although Yates' doorstaff operate a tight vetting procedure, Jones concedes that customers still manage to slip through the net.
The till will be equipped with one button to record under-age refusals and another to keep tabs on those refused because of intoxication.
The scheme will run across all Yates's and Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteen outlets.
Jones said the results would be studied in early January and a decision taken whether to retain the scheme permanently.
