The Chairman’s Message
Pick up your copy of the Wetherspoon Magazine today from your local JDW or Lloyds No.1 bar.
For a pub company’s magazine, over the years, Wetherspoon News has stirred up its share of controversy. We were the first pub company, through these pages, to call on the government to ban smoking in pubs. "Get on with it, Tony," we said to the then prime minister, much to the chagrin of the leading pub newspaper (The Morning Advertiser) which called me 'arrogant' for expressing these views. Tony agreed with me, though, or so I like to think – and the rest, as they say, is history...
We’ve also stirred up a hornets’ nest with our views on binge drinking and the linked issue of the massive government crackdown on under-18s drinking in pubs.
Not all newspapers correctly reported our comments that binge drinking is a cultural issue which has been in existence for centuries and is, today, reinforced by celebrities’ behaviour and photos of pie-eyed stars in most newspapers. Whereas most papers reported our criticism of drunken celebs, they left out the bit about the press – surprise, surprise. This is a key issue with binge drinking: everyone thinks that it should stop, but most don’t want to restrict their own behaviour at Ascot, Henley or Twickenham.
The government’s response to binge drinking has been to set ‘targets’ for the police force, in catching underage drinkers; this has involved a colossal amount of police time and money. However, this has exacerbated the problem by creating, as we have said before, a teenage vodka-drinking culture in our streets.
The solution is to eat, drink and be merry (as The Bard said), while understanding that drinking should be fun and should not lead to violent, aggressive or intimidating behaviour. A problem acknowledged is onehalf resolved, so let’s hope that this prime minister is listening to the views expressed in Wetherspoon News.
On a completely different note, Wetherspoon has been very successful in promoting a coffee culture in our pubs – and we now sell more than 500,000 cups a week – more than Caffè Nero, I believe. However, my pub visits and discussions with staff and customers indicate some complaints about delays at the bar and slow table-clearing at peak times, as a result.
‘Listen’ is supposed to be the first rule of running a business – and I hope that we do. So, we’re investing £4 million a year, as from now, in extra staff at peak times. Clear, clean tables and floors, as well as swift service, are essential elements in a good pub – and we aim to get this right in the next weeks and months. If we don’t, please let the editor of Wetherspoon News know – and we’ll do something about it.
Many thanks, once again, to all of our customers for using our pubs and to our loyal staff for their incredibly hard work.
Best wishes
Tim Martin, Chairman
