Diplomatic discrimination

[misslideaway]

I work in a bar which has been recently taken over by a new, young and in-experienced manager. Since his arrival, we have started to get a lot of 'undesirables' in our pub. This is no way linked to the manager however, he does not seem to command any respect or authority therefore I think he's a troublemakers dream. As yet there have been no serious incidents, although I think its a slippery slope.

I want to get these people out of our pub and make our regulars feel easy in their own pub again. I thought about having a 'no stripey shirts policy' however its hard to police and extremely stereotypical hense not very efficient.

Any suggestions on how to get rid of undesirables in a diplomatic way which will not cause problems?

[samuel23]

Try these ideas ~ But explain to your regulars whats going on first or you may end up with a totally empty pub!! Put classical music on, change the juke box to jazz, or stop music altogether, don't have live bands, get rid of any pool table or pinball machine and replace it with either a bar billiards table or nothing, sell food, prohibit smoking, insist on all drinks being served in a glass, don't allow high influence drinks such as snakebite to be served, ban smoking and don't show sky sports for free - insist on ticket only viewing. Introduce a loyalty scheme whereby you issue cards (kept behind the bar) with name address and phone number on it (easier for the police should it ever come to that) then every ten stamps is a half price drink. A word of warning - if the situation isn't dealt with you will lose your good regulars as they won't want to drink in a pub that has a reputation for being leary

[lankeela]

I have a stripey shirt and I don't consider I am an undesirable.

[samuel23]

Ah yeah lankeela - but do the stripes go up and down or left to right?
And has it been given the all clear by the fashion police? can't be too careful who you let in these days :-)

[froggequene]

If you have genuine concerns about the changing clientele, you need to speak to the manager, it is part of his job to safeguard the health & well being of his staff and existing customers. You don't indicate what position you're in but if you act on your own initiative you could wind up undermining the manager's position & endangering your own job.

[noxlumos]

If you have concerns take them to your manager. However well meaning you are, you have no right to really even consider implementing anything, he's the manager, if you wanted the job you should have applied. Sorry but I'd be furious if one of my staff was posting this question.

[samuel23]

froggequene, noxlumos - did you read the question properly? I think what misslideaway is after are some ideas to put to her manager. She didn't say that (forgive me misslideaway but I presume you are a lady) she was going to implement any ideas put forward herself. All she stated was that she wanted to get rid of the undesirables. If I were a regular in the place where she works I'd want to get rid of them too, but it doesn't mean to say I'm going to act on the ideas I come up with myself does it?
People please....A little more humanity and a little less self righteousness. If misslideaway is worried enough to ask for inspiration, p1ssing on her bonfire with stuffy replies isn't the way to go.

[froggequene]

samuel 23, I actually thought you were taking p*ss in your first response, not everybody tackles things with the same gusto.

It's not actually clear to me that she does intend to bring any suggestions to the attention of her manager, it's her lack of confidence in him that sticks out.

If she is genuinely worried about the undesirable element in the pub then she needs to speak to her manager and raise her concerns, for all she knows he already has a plan of action.

[samuel23]

Take your point and yes of course it should be discussed with the manager, and the area manger should be involved too and if the manager is worth his salt he will have already been formulating a plan. I should point out that I have actually managed pubs, held a licence and passed all the requisite exams to become a member of the british institute of inkeepers, so I have some inside knowledge on the problems. All the suggestions in my first reply were actual solutions put forward at training sessions. There are pubs specifically geared up to cater for the less desirable element and these have door staff, cameras, and specilist managers to cope with the unique demands these sort of places create. The problem is that when the undesirables get barred from these places, or decide they don't want to toe the line and conform, they look for somewhere they think they can 'take control' of. If the manager is perceived as weak, then the undesirables will run riot - and don't forget the manager has a legal duty too ~ to look after the health and safety of his staff and to maintain public order. If he were a good manager his staff would already be aware of his plans - it's called communication!! it's an art form and not everyone has the skills.