Making a splash
"At the moment, we're displaying our latest certificates in the fireplace," says Jacqui. "I'm not sure where they'll go after that, but we'll always find room."
Clearly, it's not the kind of dilemma which is likely to prompt huge amounts of sympathy for the Maceys from their peers. The Fountain Inn, which the couple have run on a tenancy with The Union Pub Company (UPC) for the past seven years, is a flagship, not just for UPC owner Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries but for the trade as a whole.
Located at Clent, near Stourbridge in Worcestershire, the pub combines a full food menu with a traditional pub feel which includes a skittle alley, cask beer and a warm and friendly welcome.
Having picked up the Sunday Lunch of the Year title at the Pub Food Awards last November, the Publican Awards in March saw the Fountain Inn named Customer Service Pub of the Year, while Richard and Jacqui were named BII Licensees of the Year at the same ceremony. The pub has also won 10 internal UPC awards over the past few years, including beer keeper, catering, cask ale, excellence in retail, and staff training pub of the year titles. Other regional and trade awards have helped to ensure that the Fountain's stone walls and oak beams have plenty of certificates.
The two Publican Awards go to the heart of the message that the pub trade needs to be sending to consumers and the powers-that-be. The Fountain is responsibly run, offering high-quality food and drink delivered by staff who provide impeccably high standards of service. At the same time, it provides an enjoyable, relaxed experience which ensures that a pub doesn't cross the hard to define line that turns it into a restaurant.
However, for too many pubs this approach is aspirational rather than reality. "I found it hard to understand why more pubs don't put an emphasis on customer service," says Richard, "particularly at a time when it's so important that the pub trade is seen to be responsible, both as an employer and in the way we treat customers."
Late entrants to the trade
One reason for the success of Richard and Jacqui's approach is undoubtedly the fact that they are relatively late entrants to the pub trade. Richard trained as a chef and worked in hotels and restaurants, while Jacqui previously worked as an office manager and business administrator.
The food is undoubtedly important, but there are plenty of good food pubs in the upmarket, well-to-do part of Worcestershire that forms the pub's core catchment. It is the different, but undoubtedly complementary, skills the Maceys bring to the job, combined with an easy front-of-house style, that makes the pub stand out.
Having said that, customers at the Fountain eat well. The food on the menu is almost entirely fresh and locally sourced. It includes meat from a local butcher, game from local shoots, fruit and veg from a supplier in Kidderminster and even speciality oil and dressings from a supplier in Bewdley.
During the week the customer base ranges from the grey market and ladies who lunch to business customers, with more couples in the evening. At weekends, when the pub is often booked up weeks and months in advance, the family trade becomes important.
Richard keeps a close eye on food trends, while keeping traditional pub food at the heart of the menu. Evolution has come through increasing the number of healthy options, with vegetarian, vegan and coeliac diets catered for. Children are encouraged to order smaller portions of main menu dishes.
Other innovations have targeted the pub's - admittedly few - quiet trading periods. Once the Sunday lunchtime rush subsides, customers can enjoy a roast meat sandwich with a pint of cask ale on a Sunday evening, a promotion which has been very successful.
Skittles evenings which combine a meal with a masterclass in the traditional pub sport have also become popular. "Not many people play skittles any more," says Richard. "The themed evenings overcome that, customers have fun and the skittle alley stays in use."
Training is paramount for the Fountain's 32 staff, including Richard and Jacqui. A buddy system ensures that new starters can get a feel for the type of service and standards that are expected. This covers basics such as meet and greet, sitting customers down, providing menus and taking food and drink orders.
Trainees get the Fountain Inn welcome
New staff wear an apron which identifies them as trainees. "Customers are prepared to give someone a bit of leeway if they know they've just started," says Richard, "and it's also a talking point. When they're ready, we'll have a little ceremony where they'll be given their new apron in front of the customers."
Uniforms are worn by all staff, from branded shirts behind the bar to suits for the two duty managers. "We found that helped customers identify who's in charge," says Richard. Training extends from entry level qualifications such as Basic Food Hygiene to BII Advanced Qualifications. "It's absolutely essential that we present the pub trade as a career," says Richard.
So, with the Fountain boasting more personal licence holders per square foot than many high street pub circuits, Richard and Jacqui are looking for a second pub, in part to ensure that the level of skill and experience in the business is fully utilised.
"We have some good people on the team who are ready to be running their own business, and we'd like to keep them with us if we can," adds Jacqui.
Despite having a successful, established business and expansion on the horizon, the Maceys are far from blasé about their success in the Publican Awards. "We were featured on Central TV and in the local press after the awards were announced, and that generates a curiosity factor that has bought in new customers," says Jacqui. "Quite a few regulars have also booked. They said they thought they'd better get a meal in before we get so busy they'd never get a table."
