The value of a chair at your pub

13-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 14-Aug-2012 at 08:18 GMT

Last year I went through the very painful but exciting process of refurbishing a pub. The pub has 80 covers inside and a big outside area with at least 80 covers, possibly 200 when it can cope with the volume.

The challenge for me was clearly to create a pub that could trade the winter but also trade the summer. The odd bit is that the cost of a chair outside is so different to inside, and the contrast in the cost is significant.

The pub is a Punch lease so I don’t know what the building is worth, but let’s assume it is worth £800,000. With 80 covers inside the value of each cover (it is mainly food), is a whopping £10,000. In other words the investment to get a chair is £10,000. As most people like to sit down in my pub I could argue the value of a chair, in the winter at least, is £10,000.

But what of outside? How much is an outside chair worth? We put 80 covers outside last year, and have put nearer 100 this year. The cost of the outside furniture, gravel, jumbrellas etc.? Lets say £16,000, which means the cost of the outside chair is only £200 per chair.

So, if an outside chair costs £200 but an inside chair costs £10,000, why don’t we pay more attention to our external spaces?

I go to an awful lot of pubs where the outsides looks at worst uncared for or an afterthought, and at best beautiful but unserviced. I watched a busy bar last night where the staff were delivering floor service to the inside customers, but most customers were outside and getting nothing.

In many cases our outside customers are our biggest and cheapest opportunity in the warmer and sunnier months, and finally it looks like summer might actually be here.

So what are the barriers to realising this potential? Cost is one, but I found the biggest barrier was trying to find the right furniture at the right price. On recollection it took me about 50 websites and 30 calls to find the right furniture.

Several things come to mind that are also critical factors in outside furniture:

Outside furniture is for relaxing in, so give your customers arms on their chairs.
You might need to put the furniture away at night, so find out whether the chairs stack.
Umbrellas and Jumbrellas are great, but give your customers a choice between shade and sunshine.
Think about eating tables and drinking tables, and what you want where.
Benches are good, but if they have better in their own home why would they come to you?
Decide your outside service cycle, don’t abandon your outside customers.
Umbrellas, jumbrellas, heaters and blankets will all extend your cheap outside seats into the colder months, and it can be worth it
Don’t forget the smokers and “drinkers on the phone” table.
If you are tight for space, make sure you get the right mix of table sizes just as you would do inside.

In the summer pub gardens are the place to be. If we can provide comfortable and elegant surroundings, great food and drink and great service then we just unlock the biggest profit increase in the business. But don’t give customers an excuse to leave.

Make sure that you treat them like royalty, and the only reason they should get out of their chairs is to go to the toilet. Remember, they are in the cheap seats, so you can afford to pamper them.