Batman posed an interesting (I realise this is an amusing misuse of the word) question in his last blog. After the Where’s Wally fiasco in the pub Tuesday night, I am sure everyone has now read it.
Well, Batman, people go to different pubs and try them to see what they’re like. Instead of simply going to the pub which is closest to their home, their work or the train station, people often venture out into the great unknown to see what delights might be held elsewhere. There are probably a few things that any regular drinker will be looking for when pondering whether they’ll be returning or not.
1. The general feel of the place – Any regular pub goer has the ability to the pretty much immediately ascertain whether the pub they have just entered will be good, fun, relaxing or an engaging place to drink. You’ll know, depending on your mood, how long you’ll be staying and if you’ll ever be returning well before your first drink is finished.
2. What’s on tap/optic – If the pub doesn’t have what you like to drink, it’s pretty much going to fall down at every other level. Once you’ve walked in and judged your book by it’s cover, the next port of call is most likely going to be what they can offer you from behind the bar.
3. The service – If you’ve found what you’re looking for, the way in which your ‘go to’ beverage is served and how the staff interacts with you will play an important part in your pub experience. If the beer is warm, flat or tasting of line cleaner for example, you’re not coming back. If you usually stand or sit at the bar and the bar staff are rude, you’re not coming back.
4. The pub’s regulars – This does have a close relationship with the general feel of the place, as the pub’s personality will often take on that of its most faithful customers. But the welcome, ambivalence, disdain or overall behaviour of the pub’s regulars will have a great impact on potential new drinkers. I do think this is seen every day in Taps with people who come in during the week never to be seen again. They are dismissed as tourists that don’t drink very often, but when you venture around town and see them regularly drinking elsewhere, you have to question, as Richard did, what stopped them returning. Loud and foul mouthed as some of us are, I can see this being a defining moment in many peoples’ decision of whether to return or escape unscathed.
5. Location – No matter how nice a pub may be, if it is too far out of your way it is unlikely to ever really become your local. Or rather, if it is your local, you are unlikely to ever really be as regular a customer as you would be at a pub closer to home. Knowing your pub is 486 steps from your door to theirs isn’t a necessity however, it just helps when you can’t see.
6. Price – Most regular drinkers have pretty much taken this out of their thinking when choosing a pub to drink in. It’s accepted that you will spend an obscene amount of money on destroying your liver every month and that Pot Noodle will be your Sunday lunch banquet. But there is a line and I think it falls about here after everything else.
7. Miscellaneous – Depending on who you are and what you expect from your pub experience, things like television screens/sky sports, juke boxes, pool tables, dart boards, strippers and food etc... will all play their part in your decision making. But I do feel these only come into play once you have pondered everything else previously mentioned.
I’m sure there will be other things that people consider when choosing their pub, but you people can stick that up, erm, in number 7.
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