THE GUV'NOR
21-Feb-2008
Peter Gatling The licensee of the Merry Harriers, in Clayhidon, Devon, gives top tips to get your business through the winter Have you had that...
Top tables
01-Feb-2008
Our regular focus where licensees give tips on customer service. What should you do when customers bring along their own food and drink for their...
Consultant: Opus is improving
17-Jan-2008
A pub-energy consultant has spoken up for much-criticised electricity supplier Opus Energy for improving its practices over the past six months. Mike...
LETTERs
17-Jan-2008
The changing face of Opus It is difficult to make an effective comeback from bad publicity. Some say that no publicity is bad publicity, but I...
Pubs on the rural rollercoaster
18-Oct-2007
Rural pubs have been in decline, but there is cause for optimism for those that remain - as long as they get their hospitality right, says Noli...
Awards scheme under fire
04-Oct-2007
PUBLICANS HAVE complained bitterly about an awards scheme which costs more than £100 - and leaves them with little in return.More than 70 pubs have...
Top tables
01-Oct-2007
Pub owners give tips on customer service. This month - customers threaten to leave because their order is lost and they have waited an hour for food....
Clone zone
01-Sep-2007
Richard Fox pleads for more individuality in a corporate-speak world Maybe I should stay at home more often - but after 20 years in this industry,...
Back to Basics: Customer service
31-Aug-2007
Whether customers have a great experience is not just about the strength of your drinks offer. Ensuring staff deliver great service can make sure...
Top tables
28-Aug-2007
Pub owners give tips on customer service. This month we ask what should be done if a large group of customers turns up, but no record of their...
THE GUV'NOR Peter Gatling
16-Aug-2007
Locally sourced food benefits the whole community, says the licensee of the Merry Harriers, Clayhidon, Devon Following the advent of the smoking ban,...
Pressure mounts in town pubs
09-Aug-2007
Busy pubs, struggling to keep up. Rosie Davenport rounds up the results from this month's mystery visits to measure the customer experience in urban...
Delivering under pressure
12-Jul-2007
The second wave of the MA's new monthly section puts community pubs under the microscope. Rosie Davenport reports on how they fared Community pubs...
Damage limitation
01-Jul-2007
Richard Fox offers advice on handling drunk and disorderly customers We've all experienced that uncomfortable and dramatic lowering of the noise...
Top tables
01-Jul-2007
Licensees give tips on customer service. This month - a customer touches a member of staff in an inappropriate way. How do you handle the...
Vintage value
05-Jun-2007 By James Wilmore
"The word that keeps coming back to us is soulless," says Sally Huband, director of second-hand furniture supplier Pub Stuff. It seems that an...
Serving food without a chef
10-May-2007
This month we look at quick and easy food ideas that busy licensees can introduce to their pub menus with a minimum of fuss and preparationAsk the...
Dealing with Mr Angry
12-Apr-2007
There will always be dissatisfied customers no matter how careful you are. Paul Clapham looks at effective customer service strategies The man who...
05-Apr-2007 By John Harrington
A licensee has been told he must pay Opus Energy an extra £1,813 over six months - after he complained about the supplier's excessive charges....
Diageo at the Hack & Spade
15-Mar-2007
The Hack and Spade has a good selection of quality brands and also a selection of premium brands, which are all displayed to maximise visibility....
THE AGENTS
15-Feb-2007
Rachel Peacock Managing Director The Bar Agency As the weekend approaches, most people have numerous options for their leisure time - I have heard...
01-Feb-2007 By Richard Fox
Richard Fox examines the spectre of prohibition casting a shadow over the industry.
East & West Midlands
01-Feb-2007
The Holyhead Coventry Pub manager Jonathan Attridge regards it as a privilege to run the Holyhead, considered to be one of the best in the Ember Inns...
Epub: table reservations by computer
15-Jan-2007
With food becoming increasingly important to pubs, licensees are getting better organised and using technology to gain a clearer understanding of...
Root of the Oak's success
11-Jan-2007
Mark Taylor finds out from Henry and Katherine Cripps what has helped to make their business grow at The Greene Oak, Oakley Green, near Windsor,...
East & West Midlands
11-Jan-2007
Holly Bush Church Broughton, Derbyshire Subtly changing the offer to attract new customers without alienating the existing solid support from the...
Revamped local takes flight
14-Dec-2006
William and Debbie Jackson tell Ewan Turney how they turned the closed Union Pub Company Bird in the Barley in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, into a...
The end of the line for bad service
05-Oct-2006
Last week when I phoned my own pub, the Bay View Inn in Bude, Cornwall, a flat voice at the other end mumbled: "Hello can you hang on a...
Barboxing clever
28-Sep-2006
Online ordering service barbox.com quadrupled its business in just four years. MD Duncan Malyon explains why more pubs are joining its online revolution
01-Sep-2006
We ask licensees to share their top tips on providing good customer service
M&B's shifts in retail emphasis
06-Jul-2006
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has won a reputation in recent years as the UK pub industry's foremost centre of managed retail innovation.
05-Jun-2006
Pub marketing company Promotions on Tap has teamed up with BBC Sport Relief in a bid to get pub regulars walking that extra mile for charity on...
The top 10 best ideas for... Mothers' Day
16-Mar-2006
Our tips on making the most of Mother's Day
At your service
01-Mar-2006
In the first of a new series we ask food-pub managers for their tips on giving customers good service. Chris Peverell, manager, the George &...
Food file - Craft talk
01-Mar-2006
Craft Guild of Chefs member, David Dudley, owner and chef/patron of the George Inn, Great Oxendon, gives his tips on how to achieve good service....
Good service - The waiting game
01-Nov-2005 By Mark Taylor
Good service makes the world of difference to your customers' enjoyment - and if you get it right, they'll return again and again. Mark Taylor...
Turn customers into guests
20-Oct-2005
Licensees at the Morning Advertiser's latest free training day were shown how to transform their customer service. Nigel Huddleston reports At the...
PIN-only payments due in by February
13-Oct-2005
Thousands of pubs and restaurants will be forced to accept PIN-only card payments from next February when old-style signed chits are effectively...
Marketing: A mystery no longer
08-Sep-2005
A new scheme makes mystery shopper insights affordable to more pubs. Phil Mellows finds out more.There are pluses and minuses for independent...
Sky, damned Sky and its football spend statistics
11-Aug-2005
Last year, Sky charged me £16 per game for PremPlus. I paid this, not because I thought there would be a good audience for football at Saturday...
The Morning Advertiser's free training initiative for reader
12-May-2005
Highlights from last month's BS=BP course: Improving your back bar One of the key messages on merchandising principles from the Better Service =...
ESP Bar Team of the year
27-Jan-2005
This award recognises the bar team that has demonstrated excellence in the following areas: quality of serve, teamwork and outstanding customer...
Central: The
13-Jan-2005
Marquis Wellington London Road, Leicester Terry Cable has been in the trade for more than 30 years and is from the old school of licensees. "I don't...
HR for independant free houses?
09-Dec-2004
Pubcos/managed pubs are taking the initiative in the pub sector and recognising the importance of meeting and exceeding customer expectations through...
Drink Talking: Alison Smith
25-Nov-2004
The most important factor in delivering good customer service is the person doing it says Alison Smith of Bar One Nine, Keynsham.I had a sorry...
A union of minds
30-Sep-2004
Three different businesses, but one common aim best practice.Mick Whitworth takes a look at the trade's efforts in the run-up to the Morning...
Carl Smith discusses the dos and don'ts when you put your ki
09-Sep-2004
Unless you can control the quality of food coming out of your kitchen you're sunk. Obvious isn't it. So how come you're getting complaints and losing...
Working with your suppliers
21-Nov-2003
The following article is brought to you by Coors Brewers.For years the supplier/customer relationship has been characterised by an annual meeting...
Motivating your team
24-Oct-2003
The following article is brought to you by Coca-Cola.Great decor and fine fayre need backing up with friendly, efficient barstaffInvesting in the...
Giving a warm welcome
24-Oct-2003
The following article is brought to you by Coors Brewers.Improving your employees' skills is one of the most effective ways to stay...