No-headgear policies earn pubcos bad name
Managed pub companies are suffering a media backlash after banning headgear for security reasons.
At least three firms have recently been branded insensitive or ludicrous for their "no headgear" policies, which are in place to make sure people can be identified on CCTV.
These cases show the problems faced at managed pubs that operate blanket policies because they lack the flexibility to judge each case on its merits.
The latest incident occurred at a pub owned by JD Wetherspoon, which has a ban on the wearing of headgear across its estate.
Cancer sufferer Margaret Bartlett, 67, was turned away from JDW's Square Peg in Birmingham because she was wearing a hat after losing hair following chemotherapy.
JDW spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "We will take steps to ensure staff know when to make exceptions.
"This is a blanket policy on advice from the police to make it easier to identify trouble-
makers. In this case, doorstaff stopped the lady from entering the pub. It was a mistake and we apologise wholeheartedly."
Last week, the Morning Advertiser reported that a Greene King managed pub,
the Monument in Hereford,
asked great-grandfather Colin Osbourne to remove his Trilby.
Greene King bans headgear at its managed pubs that have CCTV behind the bar. The story was featured in several national newspapers.
Last November, a local paper in Loughborough ran three front-page stories in a row about the "no baseball cap" policy at the town's Barracuda Bar.
Bar owner Barracuda Group does not operate a blanket ban on headgear but chose to ban caps at its Loughborough outlet. Company spokeswoman Sarah Calderbank said a woman was asked to remove her cap and was happy to do so - but then told the local press.
"The pub had the policy in place to be positive and pro-active, and to work with pubwatch. The local paper just trivialised it," said Calderbank.
In December 2004, 47 rugby players were refused entry to Mitchells & Butlers' O'Neills bar in Peterborough because they would not remove their Santa beards and hats. M&B said their faces were not visible to CCTV.
