Chris Maclean: getting on target

The ladies' darts team were here last night. It's a good thing I had something booked in or the pub would have been virtually empty.

They have absorbed the transition from the old regime in here (music, televisions, loud youths, drugs) to the new regime (no music, televisions, alcopops) quite well but still seem a little uneasy.

It is the visiting teams that seem most disoriented with the absence of all that clutter. It's as though all the pubs in town have gone down the line of least resistance.

They all seem to have a television/music/alcopops. The same drinks. The same carpets. Nothing to distinguish them.

Small wonder then that companies like Wetherspoon can come into the town and mop up by offering those same facilities ~ but in a cleaner, more modern environment and, importantly, at a fraction of the price.

If we are to survive in this town, with a Wetherspoon's 50 metres from us, then I need to distinguish ourselves by being different.

So how?

It cannot be because we are cheaper. They sell stuff for less than I can buy it.

It has to be because we can offer something else.

We have to offer quality. We have to offer safety and security. We have to offer conversation and conviviality.

Our distinction must be based on these values.

That is the challenge and I am enjoying it. But until the visiting darts teams come to accept this, it might be hard work.