Mystery pub visitors help test service
A new 'mystery shopper service aimed at independent pubs has been launched.
The service, from mystery shopper agency MarketPublic, is a way for licensees and small pub chains to gauge the standards of service.
For around £36, plus expenses, hosts can visit www.marketpublic.com and arrange for the shopper to visit their pub.
The licensee can choose the areas to be examined, which include the standard of food and the quality of service, or use a pre-prepared set of criteria.
They will then be able to see the shopper's report online.
MarketPublic managing director Kevin Davies said: 'By harnessing the efficiencies of the internet, we can offer a service cheaper than our competitors.
Publication: Morning Advertiser
Section: News
Layout name:
Due date: 22/09/2005
Page No: 4
Works licence gets chop after teen-booze probe
by The PMA Team
A £4m nightclub in Nottingham has had its alcohol licence revoked for serving under-age drinkers.
The revocation is the first in the country since police began a series of sting operations late last year.
Nottingham police have already forced a Spirit venue, the Long Island Iced Tea Bar, to cut its capacity by 700 after it was hit by a sting.
Police claim The Works, which is owned by the Nightclub Company, had been serving youths as young as 14.
They said they had recorded more than 80 incidents at the 2,310-capacity venue between March last year and April, covering assaults, disorder and drunkenness. The club had records of 40.
Licensing officer Insp Paul Winter also told a five-day magistrates' hearing last week that he was concerned the club did not tell him of a serious assault.
The case was brought after the club failed twice in December and March to stop under- age customers being served alcohol.
The Nightclub Company is to appeal to the crown court against the revocation but it is allowed the keep the club open pending the appeal, which is expected in the new year.
The Morning Advertiser has learnt that the Nightclub Company rejected a compromise solution from the police prior to the hearing that meant a capacity reduction of 1,000 people at the venue. Police were also pressing for the club to be closed for four months while £2m was spent on alterations.
On the five-day hearing, a Nightclub Company source said: 'It appears the police need to bring very little in the way of evidence for a revocation application to succeed.
'We thought the balance of evidence was in our favour.
'The police produced very little statistical evidence, relying instead on their opinions about the premises.
'It's clear the police have wanted to take draconian action in Nottingham because of a problem with disorder. The magistrates appear to have felt the need to show support for the police.
The magistrates ruled that the Works' licensees, Christopher Snelling, Peter Cro and Peter Welsh, were not 'fit and proper to hold a licence.
Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Steve Green has talked about the need to cut the capacity of the city's pubs and clubs by 5,000 people.
