Look after pub punters and they’ll look after you

19-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 22-Aug-2012 at 10:38 GMT

Adams: "Word of mouth is a powerful advertising tool and giving extra thought to how you treat all visitors"

We are very lucky to have both a bar billiards and a quoits team. Roughly once a fortnight we have the opportunity to entertain a visitingteam and show them what we’re all about. We are expected to feed around 10 to 12 players.

A tenner doesn’t go far but we don’t let that stop the chefs putting out great food. We’ve served our own southern-fried chicken legs, spaghetti and home-made meatballs, our butcher’s burgers and home-made pizzas, which are fairly cheap to serve with a
bit of flair and plenty of flavour.

It’s easy to do and I wonder why other establishments have wildly different standards from their norm for such occasions. Our teams have returned from away matches in the past, occasionally even at pubs renowned for food, after being fed dry, curled-up sandwiches,
a measly portion of cold supermarket pizza or the classic ‘beige buffet’.

Our food is locally sourced and freshly cooked and we make sure our match-day meals are representative of what we serve to our dining customers.

We are regularly complimented by our own players and the away teams. With a few seasons under our belt now, the opposition teams have even started to mention that they always look forward to the Thatchers Arms matches, especially for the food.

We have converted several away players into becoming regular diners, they bring their partners or families over to enjoy the food as they have seen and tasted what we do. I’m positive that 50 shades of beige would not have the same effect...

In the current climate getting any new customers through your doors can be tricky, so every person over the threshold is a bonus.

Away teams might not spend much on their one visit of the season but they are a captive audience. If you manage to impress them they’ll probably come back and almost certainly tell their mates at their local what a lovely hostelry they visited.

Word of mouth is a powerful advertising tool and giving extra thought to how you treat all visitors — not just the paying ones — can reap unexpected rewards.

We make sure any sales reps or tradesmen that visit receive the same service our customers get and are served our best coffee and tea,
with our home-made biscuits, not just a cup of instant.

Hopefully they like what they see and if the amount they talk to us about other pubs is anything to go by, we’re sure that the investment will pay off.