Leading by example

As the Responsible Drinks Retailing Awards enter their fourth year, Kelly Smith finds out how scooping one of these coveted titles has benefited some of the previous winners and encouraged them to carry on the good work

Hugh Brooker, RSVP (now Slug & Lettuce) in Bath

Most Responsible Independent Operator 2004

Bar manager Hugh Brooker is one of the trade's true pioneers of social responsibility.

An original Responsible Drinks Retailing (RDR) winner, Brooker has driven forward ground-breaking schemes and partnerships that have become de rigueur in dealing with drunken disorder.

From helping to set up the Bath Bar Charter, where licensees, councillors and residents meet to resolve conflicts, to launching street and taxi marshalling - which have since taken off in cities across the country - the licensee has paved a practical and professional route for others to follow.

"A lot of kudos has come with the RDR award," he says. "I've done a number of briefs on social responsibility in my area and others - getting people involved with local police, authorities and residents."

Changing attitudes is something Brooker has focused on from the start. "There have always been licensees who have been happy to go along with what we were doing, but others who would say 'what's in it for me?'"

His answer was street marshals: a team of local security guards and a paramedic who would patrol the centre at night. They would be the "eyes and ears" of the police and work with existing taxi-rank marshals, pubs and bars, using a CCTV and radio link-up to curb anti-social behaviour.

After the success of the pilot and a repeat performance during Christmas 2005,

Brooker asked licensees in the area to pay for more marshals and establish a permanent presence on Bath's streets.

"The scheme snowballed from there," says Brooker. "Feedback from police, councils and residents has been positive. The fact that marshals wear high-visibility jackets helps to keep order. Plus, they go outside their area to give life-saving medical attention to people who've sustained injuries, but not always because of drunken behaviour - 50% of incidents are not alcohol related."

RSVP, a Laurel-owned managed bar and the biggest on Bath's drinking circuit, was converted to a Slug & Lettuce last year. But it doesn't mean that Brooker is now a little fish in a big pond. "Although we're in among some very big boys, we're still in the top 10 to 15 performing bars, which shows that a responsible business is also a profitable one."

Regent Inns

Most Responsible Managed Chain 2006

In 2004, Regent's flagship brand Walkabout set an industry-wide

example by becoming one of the first high-street chains to banish two-for-one drinks offers.

The managed operator has since been dogged in its determination to keep its bars trouble free - an approach that earned it the title of Most Responsible Managed Chain last November.

The award, it says, has "raised the profile of its efforts to run the most responsible venues on the high street". Area managers and risk assessment managers continue to monitor the estate to ensure Regent's best-practice policies are specific to each venue.

The most important thing, says commercial director Simon Kaye, is maintaining contact with the police and local authorities. "They all interpret the Government guidelines differently. To ensure that we are continually implementing best practice across the estate, we have constant dialogue and engagement with the police, environmental health officers, fire officers, residents and trading standards."

Kaye believes that one of the challenges of being a city-centre operator, is that - no matter how responsible you are - you sometimes cannot avoid being lumped in with the

louts because of the way the police define trouble spots. "A fight could kick off outside one of our premises at 6am, and even though it closed at 2pm, it is still chalked up on

our tally," he explains.

Despite this, 12 of Regent's bars have won awards and 10 have received accreditations in the Best Bar None scheme, which promotes safely-managed premises.

Other activities since November include the voluntary introduction of polycarbonate glasses in parts

of its estate. And the company's interactive computer system has been updated with new advice on underage drinking, health and safety issues, smoking and energy consumption. The smart system also records any instances of anti-social behaviour - and has helped reduce incidents by 75%.

Although ID scans have been installed at several sites, technology has not replaced people power: Regent's door supervisors turn away thousands of potential underage drinkers every week.

"The protection of our customers, neighbours and communities through all these activities shouldn't be an obligation, but good business practice," affirms Kaye.

Punch Taverns

Most Responsible Pub Company 2005

"Winning the award certainly sent out a clear message to industry observers that we were serious about the whole issue of responsible retailing," says Punch's head of communications Nicola Highton.

"It was a great achievement and something the whole business could be immensely proud of. But we haven't rested on our laurels," she vows.

The company says it has raised the stakes since being named Most Responsible Pub Company in 2005.

Training remains the cornerstone of its strategy. RDR judges praised Punch's Profit Through Quality (PTQ) training course for its relevance to tenants and lessees and for tackling the issues head-on. Today, the number of courses being held has doubled and 4,000 licensees and staff have so far attended, reports Highton.

"More and more licensees are recognising the need to trade in a responsible manner," she says.

Following its purchase of Spirit, Punch reviewed the managed group's promotions and pricing with the aim of developing a value-for-money ethos that never encourages excessive drinking.

All Spirit sites have committed to tackling underage drinking by joining the Challenge 21 scheme - something that is encouraged within the tenanted and leased estate.

Ben Lain and Chris Lewis, the Swan Hotel in Stafford

Most Responsible Independent Operator 2005

"Responsible retailing has grown in importance over the last two years and it's in the public eye much more," says Ben Lain, who runs the Swan with co-licensee Chris Lewis.

"By winning the RDR award in 2005, we felt we were ahead of the game," says Lain. "It has helped us stand out. The local press were very interested in the pub after we were named Most Responsible Independent Operator. We've done really well out of it.

"The message is getting through here now and we ensure that other pubs we associate with carry that message."

Irresponsible drinks promotions are an easy trap for licensees to fall into, especially for those trying to compete in a busy town or city centre. This is why RDR judges were so impressed with how Lain and Lewis came up with a way of increasing wet sales without promoting a single drink.

The pair's live music evenings tripled earnings because they attracted a large volume of customers who stayed, on average, one to two hours longer at the pub, which meant less rapid drinking but more money in the till.

"We use things like live music rather than cheap drinks to build business," explains Lain. "The venue is relatively expensive compared to others, but people are happy to come here as we provide the kind of environment they're looking for.

"Customers know that it is not the sort of premises where they would expect to see any drunken behaviour. We've made that clear by displaying our RDR award at the door, together with responsible drinking posters."

Customer safety is top of the agenda when it comes to staff training at the Swan. As part of an ongoing programme, staff have attended an alcohol and drug awareness workshop, the BII's conflict-management course and various role-play s