Service: it's only so-so in Soho
The Morning Advertiser teamed up with Diageo last month to put pub service to the test.
Using the supplier's esp training principles as a guide, we uncovered the two faces of Soho's pub scene
Knowing how to serve a drink in tip-top condition is just one part of running a good pub, according to the training team at drinks giant Diageo, who say that an unwelcoming atmosphere can be just as off-putting as a lipstick-stained glass.
The original aim of Diageo's esp programme was 'every serve perfect', to educate licensees by offering free training on the ideal way to sell drinks in their pubs.
Now the breadth of the initiative has been extended to include points on improving general customer service, changing the principles of the esp name to 'environment, (customer) service and products'.
Last year, the Morning Advertiser team joined forces with Diageo and went to Brighton to see how successful pubs in the city were at serving drinks, grading each of the eight outlets we visited on the esp quality principles.
In January, we repeated the experiment, and this time round visited licensed premises in central London's busy Soho district.
Applying the latest esp criteria we 'mystery-shopped' our way round eight outlets to see how they were performing.
Here's what we were looking for:
Environment
l dark and light spirits positioned separately on the back bar
l top-selling products and leading brands should be highly visible
l a neat and clutter-free back bar
l an attractive display of ice and fruit
l good use of lighting and music
l Point of sale (PoS) material promoting responsible drinking.
These were all evaluated to give a score out of 20 for each venue.
Customer service
l Friendly and professional staff who made eye-contact as we ordered
l Sound product knowledge and instances of up-selling to a premium product.
Each venue received a score for these factors, again out of total of 20.
Products
The four main drinks categories - wine, draught beer, RTDs and spirits - were each graded out of 20 to give a possible total of 80 points for products. Draught beer was benchmarked against Guinness, where sold. The ideal temperature for the Black Stuff is 5°C to 6°C.
The key criteria were:
l Serving temperature
l The range on offer
l Appropriate use of glassware
l Well-stocked and attractive fridges
Venue A - freehouse
Total score 101/120
This three-room bar is set on two floors in the heart of Leicester Square. As well as a large, trendy upstairs bar, there is a dance floor downstairs, which is the main draw here, especially during the regular live music nights.
Environment: 14/20
Top marks for nearly all the elements relating to atmosphere. It was let down by failing to display any PoS material relating to responsible drinking.
Service: 15/20
The staff were extremely friendly and provided great theatre in the way they made and served the drinks.
Spirits: 19/20
Spirits are clearly an important part of this bar's business and could not be faulted. The team showed impressive product knowledge and were keen up-sellers.
RTDs: 19/20
Again, the RTDs were wide-ranging and were all sold at the optimum temperature of 3ºC, with clean, cold glasses.
Beer: 18/20
This bar provided the perfect pint of Guinness. The range of draught beer and lager could have been wider, though.
Wine: 16/20
Wine was served in pristine, cool glasses and there was a reasonable variety to choose from.
Venue B - freehouse
Total score 47/120
This legendary Soho bar is small and intimate with few seats available when we visited. It doesn't sell pints and will eject anyone using a mobile phone. It had a particularly good selection of wine.
Environment: 7/20
While the pub's cosy ambiance and eclectic decor won it points, it was let down by its cluttered back bar. Another factor that reduced the score was the absence of responsible drinking PoS material.
Service: 8/20
Despite being packed, the staff were reasonably friendly and unsurprisingly knew a great deal about their wines. There was also no food available.
Spirits: 9/20
The dark and light spirits were not separated and were not easy to see. Equally, the glasses were warm and contained no fruit.
RTDs: 0/20
No RTDs were sold
Beer: 14/20
The range of draught beer was not great, and the Guinness was too cold, at 4°C.
Wine: 9/20
The wine range was excellent, however it fell down on the poor glassware: the glasses were warm, as if they had just come out of the dishwasher.
Venue C - managed
Total score 69/120
Owned by a small regional brewer, this pub has a strict 'no music' policy and also sticks to selling non-branded drinks, sourced exclusively by the brewery. The pub maintains a traditional interior.
Environment: 14/20
Although the team was divided on the pub's no music policy, when judged according to Diageo's ESP criteria, the range of non-branded, unfamiliar products saw its overall score fall.
Service: 13/20
The bar staff were extremely knowledgeable about the products available, however, they did not try to up-sell at all, and there was no food available.
Spirits: 14/20
The spirits range was well-served, with the appropriate fruit. However, the glasses could have been cooler.
RTDs: 0/20
No RTDs were on sale here.
Beer: 14/20
While the range of draught beers on offer were not as familiar as neighbouring bars, the pub demonstrated that it knew how to store and sell a selection of stouts and lagers.
Wine: 15/20
The venue fell down here due to its poor range, although the wine was served in a cool glass.
Venue D - freehouse
Total score 55/120
This pub has changed very little in the last 30 years: it is the opposite of trendy with many elderly regulars at the bar, and no music.
Environment: 7/20
This pub fell down on environment since it did not separate dark and light spirits, and did not sell many of the top-selling products and leading brands. The back bar was reasonably uncluttered. There was no music and the lighting was average.
Service: 7/20
The staff were perfectly friendly, however their lack of English meant that they found it difficult to understand many of the orders. Service was also very slow.
Spirits: 8/20
The glasses used to serve spirits were warm and not particularly clean. There was also no ice in the glass.
RTDs: 7/20
The RTDs were served at an acceptable temperature of 6.5°C (the ideal temperature is 3°C), but the range was extremely limited.
Beer: 18/20
Excellent, and the glass was branded. The temperature was perfect at 5.6°C.
Wine: 8/20
The wine category lost out due to warmish wine glasses which could have also been cleaner, and the lack of choice in terms of glass size.
Venue E - managed
Total score 63/120
This pub caters primarily for tourists and theatre-goers. The present building dates back to the 1800s although the pub is much older.
Environment: 10/20
The environment rating suffered due to the lack of PoS material relating to responsible drinking. Apart from that, the bar was very tidy and clutter-free.
Service: 7/20
The staff were very unfriendly and did not therefore draw customers to the bar.
The staff also did not try to up-sell any drinks, or up-size from a single to a double.
Spirits: 9/20
The glasses used were clean and cool, however, there was no fresh fruit and the overall quality of the drink did not match the price.
RTDs: 16/20
RTDs fared reasonably well here. Marks were lost through lack of range.
Beer: 9/20
The range of draught beer and lager could have been better, although the Guinness wasn't too bad. The bartenders did not use the three-part pour procedure - pouring, settling and topping up.
Wine: 12/20
Although the range of wines was poor, the wine was served in clean,
