Plenty to write home about
On a flight back to Edinburgh last week while reading a newspaper, I found myself reflecting on an article I had just read.
I was recalling growing up on the Wirral, near Liverpool, and wondering how I was going to get a job after university; how I was going to pay the mortgage after being made redundant between exchanging and completing on my first flat, and how interest rates rose to more than 14% the day after I upgraded to my second property, a house in need of much renovation.
All in all, doom and gloom, just like the newspaper I was reading.
My mind latched onto three positives from this visit to north-west England:
1. First a mystery-drinker pub call with a colleague on behalf of the pubco. We received a great welcome — foaming cask ale, served at the right temperature, with no wastage, in a perfectly clean glass — and the pub was spotless, as were the toilets.
When we fed this back to the licensee, he proudly told us that the past week was one of the best he'd had, seven years into his 25-year lease.
He was also experiencing growing food sales as he had given this area over to an employee to run as a separate business, allowing him to concentrate on the wet side of the business.
I was left thinking, "Wow...!"
2. Also at the first pub, six guys came in and ordered pints: three lagers, three cask ale. They sat down and all started laughing.
I thought, "Wow — these simple pleasures — an investment of £2.60 each and a good time with good company.
3. At the second pub, we also got a warm welcome. We asked for a menu and two pints of brand X cask ale — again, great foaming cask ale in a clean glass served at the perfect temperature. Our food choice was two fish & chips with mushy peas.
We enquired about Christmas bookings and were advised that they could be made on a super leaflet/flyer, available well in advance.
The pub offered a great experience, with outstanding service — and was definitely one to return to. It was another major pubco lease experience that had a different offer from the first pub, but I had experienced the same common denominators: great service, great cask ale and great food.
My reflection after my three positive pub experiences is this: amidst all the doom and gloom with which we are currently being bombarded, if the Great British Pub does not re-invent itself and evolve out of the current climate to offer great value to the citizens and tourists of Britain, I'll eat my hat!
Or for those readers from the north-west, as Woolworths is going for £1, I will show my a*se in a Woolies window.
Stephen Crawley is managing director of Caledonian Brewing Co.
