In recent years, we have seen many pubs and bars adopt much shorter opening hours than in the past, often opening at what may seem odd times of the day and not at all on several days of the week. Given the financial and staffing pressures pubs are under, no individual pub should be criticised for doing this, provided that they publicise their hours clearly and don’t vary them on a whim from day to day.
However, they need to be aware that they are limiting their appeal to regulars who are in the know, and deterring casual trade. You may feel that there is little value in being open for certain hours of the day, but in fact giving potential customers the confidence that you are going to be open at all is likely to increase trade overall. Although it relates to cafés, this is a point made in this article by Rory Sutherland in the Spectator.
It cannot escape the notice of café operators that one reason why both chains and immigrant-run businesses do well is that they are open consistently and open late. But this isn’t simply because they sell more stuff later in the day by dint of being open: the reality is more complicated. If you stay open two hours more, even if you sell little in those two extra hours, you will still profit over time, because you will get far more business in your core hours. Firstly people are more confident that you are open: nobody plans to rendezvous in a café where there is a 20 per cent chance it’ll be shut. And no one really enjoys eating in cafés in the hour before closing, because once the staff start ostentatiously delactating the nozzle on the coffee machine, it ruins the vibe.An important factor in Wetherspoon’s appeal is that they are open all day, every day. You can arrange to meet someone in Spoons at any time and have the confidence they will be open. You don’t need to go online to check what their hours are. The same is true of other managed house chains – locally, for example, with Holts.
And the increasing unpredictability of opening hours must be a factor deterring people from visiting pubs in general. Limited hours may make sense at the level of the individual venue, but overall it results in a kind of “tragedy of the commons”. “Pubs? You’re lucky to find one open!”
As an aside, fairly recently a craft beer shop opened in my local suburban shopping centre. I’m sure they open the hours that they feel suit their business. But most times when I’m visiting the area, it’s closed, so I can’t even have a browse.
I can't seem to post on your thread about opening hours Mudgie.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved back to Blighty earlier this year my local closed at 6pm on Sunday and didn't open again until 6pm Tuesday.
It only opened all day on a Sunday and never before 6pm any other time.
Their food covers had dwindled down to a handful most days.
The beer selection was often dire and poorly kept.
Dogs had been banned for years.
It's how it is, said the manager.
But actually it was how it suited him more like.
Then a young couple took over the lease.In their 30's with two young kids.And they already run three other pubs.
They closed for a week, threw out half the furniture, cleaned the place from top to bottom and got in a decent chef and opened up Tuesday to Sunday all day.
The beer selection - Pride and Bass often - is kept in top nick by the simple expedient of a full service on the cellar cooler.
Business, they tell me, is up 60%.
60-70 Sunday lunches at £15 a roast.
Dogs are welcomed with a bowl of biscuits and the Waitrose Welly Weekenders are back in droves.
The pub is humming once again.
It's a fallacy pubs are dying on their arse. Shit pubs are dying on their srse.
Prof, I've reposted your comment on this thread where it belongs. No idea why you could post on the other one but not on this one, as it works OK for me.
Delete"It's a fallacy pubs are dying on their arse. Shit pubs are dying on their arse."
ReplyDeleteI've seen this before, but it's basically a fallacious argument.
Over the past forty years, the number of pubs in the UK has about halved. This is basically due to a combination of social, economic and legislative changes that have reduced the overall demand for pubs. Obviously within that trend well-run pubs will tend to fare better than poorly-run pubs, but even some well-run pubs have been left stranded by changes in their local economy or demography.
In general, pubs are probably much better run than they were forty years ago. But, even if all pubs were as well-run as the best, it would only have made a few percentage points difference to the total.
But...there are many really buzzing micropubs, places so busy you can't get a seat and there is no sign of a downturn. I don't like many of these places but they show that there is still an appetite for drinking out, albeit on a smaller scale. Smaller buildings, lower costs.
DeleteThis certainly affects me. I usually work full time, so if I'm visiting a town I don't frequently go to on a day off in the week, either me or my better half will check opening hours first, and if the hours are too restrictive, a place will sadly get missed out, and it's really nice to see a pub that opens all day, because you know that you don't have to specifically plan to visit, you can just drop by.
ReplyDeletePublicans are obviously free to choose the hours they open but, having done so, there is no need for those hours to be regarded as a state secret. It costs nothing to post a notice outside the pub .with the opening hours.
ReplyDeleteBut that would restrict the publicans desire to close on a whim. A desire which reflects many publicans long established attitude that they are doing you a favour by allowing you to buy beer from them.
It is ironic that since we got "all day opening" it is much harder to find a pub that is open at lunchtime
Pubs that open late or shut early on a whim are just embarking on a self-fulfilling prophesy where anyone who's been bitten by the place being closed won't ever trust the hours again. This is particularly relevant in areas where pubs get a lot of passing trade rather than locals pubs in villages where erratic hours are largely known.
ReplyDeleteWe've all seen what might be perfectly decent pubs ruined by bad landlords - not just indifferent beer, but big screens, loud music and, should you be interested, dreadful food. Some of this may be due to policies adopted by pub chains (I'm looking at you GK), but, too often, the Guvnor should not be allowed near a pub, either side of the bar.
ReplyDelete