The Garrison: make the host of it

in Bermondsey Street, south-east London, tell Jessica Harvey their recipe for success

How we got here​

The Garrison was our first venture. We both had a bit of history working in the industry and opened the pub in 2003. Having both independently studied design at university, we left and moved to London and both ended up working in hospitality, as we had done during our holidays and between terms of our study. We're both naturally suited to the environment and always loved the industry, so both of us really ended up in it

by accident. I like to think that the industry chose us.

At the Garrison, we still get to indulge our creative sides, certainly with our décor, menus and the website, so it's an outlet for our creativity. But, above all, we are both attracted to producing an environment and inviting people in and making sure they have a great time.

The biggest motivation for working in hospitality is enjoying being a host, giving customers a good time and trying to think about them while they are in your care. The people who succeed in the industry and work in it for a long time are those who stick with it and never stop enjoying those things.

Business growth​

As our pub grew, we introduced a bespoke introduction system whereby, when new people join, we have re-evaluated the way we interview and how they receive their orientation and induction.

They now have an orientation day where we introduce the values of our company. It's really just formalising the whole training programme and making sure that everyone is on the same page. It guarantees everyone works with the same values in mind and there's cohesion across the whole team.

It helps people to bond and has enabled us to get people to serve everyone in the same way.

We believe that to 'always think long-term' is the right thing to do. But getting all your people to think along the same lines is part of the battle.

Food and drink​

As we are very food-led, we think about food when considering the drinks. For example, we don't have a cocktails list, but have a couple of apéritifs on our menus to encourage people to have a drink before they eat, whether at the table or the bar.

We also feature a lot of dessert wine ideas on our dessert menu in order to try and encourage people to have drinks that will complement their food, therefore enriching the whole experience. Our wine list is carefully made up of a proportion of wines that are made to drink on their own, while people are not eating. We match the rest with food.

Marketing​

It's often hard to measure the value of marketing because it usually costs money and can be quite difficult to measure the return. But the most important marketing you can get is word of mouth, and that doesn't necessarily have to cost a penny.

If you're doing a good job, sending people out of the door with a smile on their faces, feeling they've had value for money, then they'll tell other people about you. We rely on employees to be ambassadors for us.

We also get involved with the London Restaurant Festival every year and put on a set menu for a two-week period, which offers really good value for money, and the pub benefits from the extra marketing that it brings.

Added to this, we get mentioned on the festival website and everywhere that publicises it. We have to pay to join, but it's just an initial outlay and then we opt for a set-price menu of our own choosing, which enables us to get some extra marketing and bring in loads of new customers.

Plans for the future​

The Garrison is about to celebrate its eighth birthday and this year is all about service and improving our product. That's not just for waiting staff and barstaff, but everybody.

Having everyone delivering an experience to customers from when they walk through the door — or ring to make a booking — through to when they come to eat and drink and leave again is vital. We're going to make it our mission that the whole customer journey is a good one. That's going to be our big challenge.

Marketing tips​

• Websites that use Flash technology are not really searchable and can't be

found or opened on iPhones,

so can be quite restrictive. So, make sure you have a CMS website so that you can modify your own content and keep people up-to-date without bombarding them with newsletters.

• CMS websites can be made very easily by using WordPress and you can have a weekly blog as well as link your Twitter feed to it. That way, it needn't cost anything.

• Use Twitter and a few other virals to hit people because a lot of customers are switched on to that. If you give people a good experience they will talk about you, either by a review online, or via Twitter, or just by telling someone. This creates follow-up bookings.

Staff recruitment and retention tips​

• Recruit people that want to do a good job and make customers happy. If you don't have that, you'll struggle forever to get someone to serve people well.

• You need to get people that genuinely want to please a customer and, if you can find and recruit those people, your job is much easier and you'll find they stay with you for longer.

• Remember, it's really up to the management to step in until the right person has been found.

• Recruitment takes up energy, costs money and can be time-consuming. So remember, you're better off spending time on it than having to do it again three months later.

• Have a detailed interview process and find out if a person has a genuine interest in the industry or not. Ones who usually stay longest are those that would like their own pub one day.

• Give staff the chance to learn across all departments so that one day they may be equipped to open their own place.

• Try and make sure you are visible, so that other people can see how much passion and enthusiasm you have for the industry and for what you do, and the people you recruit will feel encouraged to share the same values.

• Look after people. Make sure your staff wake up in the morning and look forward to coming to work so that when they get to work they are happy. If they are, and they work with like-minded people, they'll make friends for life.

Our business philosophy​

• The most important thing you can do as an operator in this industry is to deliver 'consistency'.

• Longevity should always be at the forefront of your mind. Shortcuts will only serve you well in the short term.

• Service is important. When we receive really great service from somebody with a lot of personality and who has shown a lot of care and product knowledge then it always impresses us.

Food and drink offer tips​

• Create goodwill by having birthday parties, or rewarding regular customers by giving them individual discounts. If it is a special occasion buy them a bottle of wine or give them an individual gift.

• Do an offer just for one month of the year. Toptable is a great avenue to offer discounts across food. But don't do it too often. If people know you've permanently got a discount on, it doesn't convey a good message.

Who we admire​

The Drapers Arms in Islington: It has an open, airy feel, is unpretentious and has a modest range of beers and wines, however, the quality is very high. They're not afraid to experiment with ingredients and you can feel relaxed there and just hang out all day. It's a lovely pub.