Stella Artois knocks £1 off pints for politeness over Christmas
Stella Artois has joined forces with Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the ‘Stella Please’ campaign after new research revealed increasing rudeness to hospitality staff.
This December, £1 will be knocked off the price of pints for customers who order with the quip, “Can I have a Stella, please”, in selected pubs across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Newport.
What’s more, for each pint ordered, Stella Artois will donate to the charity Hospitality Action to support hospitality workers during the busy festive season.
This comes after research from Stella Artois and YouGov revealed 41% of surveyed hospitality workers were concerned that customers would be ruder this winter, with 40% reporting rude behaviour from customers had worsened since the lifting of lockdown measures earlier this year.
Manners cost nothing
White said he had witnessed rude behaviour towards his team over the years and was happy to “proudly stand” alongside the hospitality industry and tell customers “please be polite.”
Not using manners like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is the most common form of discourteous behaviour experienced by the 1,000 hospitality workers approached in the Stella Artois survey. This is followed by complaining about costs of services and products and talking on the phone.
The global vice president of Stella Artois Tim Ovadia said: “Christmas can be a difficult time of year for hospitality workers, even more so this year with many preparing for an unpredictable, yet their busiest festive season in years.
“We wanted to raise awareness on the pressure the hospitality workers may face this season and our research shows how small acts of kindness from the public really can go a long way for them.
Serious issue
“This is an industry that is very dear to us and our Stella Please campaign further builds on the initiatives we have run over the past year to best support hospitality staff whatever the challenges being faced.”
For Hospitality Action’s chief executive Mark Lewis, verbal abuse towards hospitality staff was a “serious issue” which had intensified since the end of lockdown.
“We praise the efforts of Stella Artois and Marco in helping spread awareness of this important issue and getting the nation to show kindness to the hospitality industry during this busy time of year for them,” said Lewis.
He added: “Hospitality staff will bend over backwards to ensure you enjoy the festive season, so please show them some kindness in return.”
