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Keywords Brewing industry, Management, Hospitality, Cutomer satisfaction, Leisure
Abstract For much of the twentieth century, British breweries made profits from producing beer and selling it to the public houses, and then, because they owned the public houses as well, made further profits by selling to the consumer. The government investigated this perceived monopoly, and required changes, as a result of which, in the 1990s, the brewers and the pub owners tended to separate, so that many pub owning companies did not brew, but had to rely upon profits derived from sales to the general public. This Led to a far greater emphasis on customer satisfaction and so public houses have tried to attract particular sections of the market. At the same time, the public were becoming more specific in their desire for leisure entertainment. As a result, the nature of the public house changed Some traditional houses may still exist, but in addition there are many others designed for different groups of people. This study tries to identify the main features of some of the pubs that are currently popular.
Introduction
The traditional British pub existed to sell beer, and offered little else but drink. Licensee Frank Thompson recalls that when he took over his first pub in 1964: customers were mainly male and serious beer drinkers. The majority came to their local with their mates to enjoy good ale, a chat, and perhaps a game of dominoes. It was only ... in 1973 that we started doing food, and then it was only sandwiches (Morning Advertiser, 2001a, p. 20).
At that time, there were pubs which offered entertainment and other facilities, but these were rare. Nevertheless:
public house standards of comfort came under more intense scrutiny as alternative recipients of leisure spending flourished, including the club, coffee and wine bars, restaurants, sporting activities, home improvements (DIY) and more holidays (especially those taken overseas, which helped to encourage the demand for wine) (Gourvish and Wilson, 1994, p. 570).
Juke boxes, electronic games and fruit machines are modem accessories in most houses, and are the result of changing demand, together with a wider variety of drinks, food in bars, and attractive surroundings where families are welcomed.
Writing recently in the Daily Telegraph, Adam Edwards described...