THE GUV'NOR

Graham Rowson

The licensee of the Plungington Tavern in

Preston, Lancs,

offers some simple ideas to keep punters coming back

With summer nearly upon us and after a cracking spring, how do we combat the loss of sales resulting from:

l Football season ending

l Customers taking holidays

l Cheap supermarket booze

l Private barbecue parties

l The smoking ban

There are plenty of ideas knocking around and, with proper organisation, the rewards are there for the taking. Remember that your profits will reflect the amount of effort you put in.

Have a look at these ideas - they may not all suit your pub, but they might just give you that spark you need to get more motivated.

1. Make sure your smoking facility is completely ready.

2. Plan a race night and ask your local bookie to help out.

3. Arrange an in-house men- versus-ladies triathlon of pool, darts and dominoes.

4. Organise a sports event against your local pub rival.

5. Arrange a Mystic Meg-style fortune-telling night - very popular with the ladies.

6. Poker Sundays often go down a treat.

7. Arrange an Ann Summers ladies' night - more men than ladies will attend!

8. Ask the pubco/brewery to install extra-cold technology for beer dispense.

9. Create a summer cocktail for the ladies and give it a saucy name.

10. Proper maintenance keeps coolers and ice machines in prime order, so pull them out and clean the vents. Remember there is such a thing as quality ice.

11. Now is a good time to obtain a few polycarbonate glasses. Try them out on your customers and listen to their comments. Remember, it's their opinion rather than yours that matters.

As part of our "Keep Them In" campaign, we are arranging the interment of Leeds FC - all to be done in the best possible taste! A service will take place in the pub and a 4ft coffin will be lowered into our cellar, only to be exhumed when Leeds are promoted - bizarre, but good fun.