Chris Maclean: Keeping your eyes peeled

Just occasionally a group of customers come in who trigger all the alarm bells. They may be dressed oddly, be particularly noisy or seem unduly boisterous but sometimes nothing obvious stands out ~ but the alarms ring anyway.

Such a group came in on Friday afternoon. Five of them. They were having a conversation amongst themselves, heatedly. One of them peeled from the group and asked his mates loudly what they wanted to drink, one went to the lavatory, two found the bar billiards table and the last started on his mobile phone. It was this sudden, and unusual, fragmentation of the group that alarmed me. I couldn't keep my eyes on all of them. I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

The man on the mobile phone talked loudly. "Yeah mate, we got the £80,000 distribution contract this morning" was followed moments later with "Hang on, my phone's got no credit". There were too many contradictions. He talked animatedly to me about how he was buying a bar in Cyprus. All the time I was trying to keep an eye on his mates.

The two on the billiard table struggled. I heard one say "I thought this was pool". I'd lost sight of the other two but saw them in a blind spot near the toilets. I heard one mention how the other had only just "got out".

For some licensees this must be an everyday occurrence. But for me I find the whole thing an uncomfortable experience. In truth nothing was taken, nothing got damaged and I caught no one taking drugs.

But immediately these guys came onto the premises I started checking all of our weaknesses. Locking the office and cellar doors, making sure the wallet, mobile phone and laptop on view were securely put away. I chide myself for not being more security conscious. I'm annoyed as these situations which show how vulnerable we really are. How shambolic our security often is.

The only thing I can take comfort from is the recognition that I'm still capable of reading customers and being atuned to what is going on. Clearly these five were up to no good and that my presence, and resultant actions, prevented some kind of incident. It is a huge part of our role in providing a safe, comfortable environment in which people can socialise. There can be very little training for it. It is a fundamental part of running a business in an urban setting. Neglect this area and the whole of your business becomes vulnerable.

This time we got away with it. I just hope others are as tuned to it as I was on Friday. Its a timely reminder of just how dangerous thing can be.

Please be careful out there.