This is stupid

[TallBox]

Pub chain limits parents' drinks

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/71...ws_pubs_040108

Adults with children are only allowed two alcoholic drinks at JD Wetherspoon pubs in order to limit their stay, the chain has confirmed to the BBC.

A spokesman for the company said it was "uncomfortable" with children being on the premises for long periods because of a lack of play facilities.

And he said parents visiting its pubs could even be refused soft drinks or coffee to curtail their stay.

There are 683 Wetherspoon pubs throughout the UK.

Segregated areas

The drinks policy came to light when Stephen Gandy contacted the BBC after visiting a Wetherspoon pub in Wallasey on Merseyside for a meal with family and friends.

The group was told that they could not have more than two alcoholic drinks each because they were with a child, even though the child's mother was only drinking water.

Imagine a foreign visitor coming in and getting told that - it's unreal
Stephen Gandy

Mr Gandy said they were told by the bar's manager that the aim of the restriction was to comply with "child cruelty legislation".

"I tried to tell him that I understand and know the legislation and it's not in relation to cruelty but in relation to comfort, environmental conditions and segregated areas and a comfortable environment for children," Mr Gandy added.

"But he was having none of it and the choice was we could stay but the child would have to go. Obviously we didn't want that so we proceeded to another establishment that made us welcome.

"Imagine a foreign visitor coming in and getting told that - it's unreal."

HAVE YOUR SAY
Anything that gets kids out of bars has to be a good thing
Gina Smith, Sussex

When the BBC contacted JD Wetherspoon, spokesman Eddie Gershon confirmed the policy was in place, but denied it had anything to do with child cruelty laws.

Mr Gershon said: "Wetherspoons is quite clear it wants children in its pubs but it's not a children's pub in as much as a Wacky Warehouse or that type of place.

"What we don't want is the adult just staying and drinking in the pub while the child is just sitting there and we will 100% back our manager in the approach he has taken."

In relation to Mr Gandy and his friends, Mr Gershon added: "The only people they need to look at are themselves."

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[TallBox]

Pubs shouldn't just be for pissheads in the evening. There are exceptions to this (e.g. town centre boozer on a Friday night), but pubs should generally be for families to come together and have a meal and a few drinks. Otherwise, we'll end up where we are now with segregation between adults and kids with groups of teenagers tanking up on street corners, or outside offies.

[Stefan88]

Don't go the Weatherspoons then it's shit as it is.
I never really considered Weatherspoons to be a family sort of place anyway especially not in the evening.

[b4mmy]

I heard this on the radio this morning. My view is that Weatherspoons are responsibly protecting children by dissuading parents from getting hammered in front of them.

I don't care if it's a profit motivated decision or not... I wouldn't want my son sitting in the pub with his mum while she gets shit faced...

[CharlieP]

They were talking about this on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning. Personally I think it's a sensible policy and suits the Wetherspoon's chain (generally city centre pubs with no facilities for children) - I'd feel very uncomfortable if I saw accompanied children kicking their heels for an hour in any Wetherspoon's that I've ever been to.

I'd vote "It completely depends on the pub", if only it were an option.

[smysticed]

Originally Posted by M62

I heard this on the radio this morning. My view is that Weatherspoons are responsibly protecting children by dissuading parents from getting hammered in front of them.

I don't care if it's a profit motivated decision or not... I wouldn't want my son sitting in the pub with his mum while she gets shit faced...

Yeah, what you say would be fine if that was their motivation, but that doesn't seem to be so, they're not even letting parents buy nonalcoholic drinks after all.

[GrAfiK_248]

any desent responsible parents wouldn't get drunk infront of their children.

[nezzybaby]

Any decent responsible parent wouldnt drag their kid into a pub for hours on end regardless of what they are drinking. Pubs are not places for kids, I hate it when im having a quiet game of darts with some friends and some little kid runs in front of the dart board, it genuinly scares me. And when someone tells me to curb my language because there are young ears present i get very annoyed.

If the pub has a wacky warehouse, or other childrens play area, or the pub advertises itself as a family pub, then fine take the kids there for a couple of hours. Weatherspoons and other pubs are not places for children!

There are maybe two or three people in my local at home who take their kids into the pub every day, the kids are constantly in trouble at school due to their language, and have very few friends, i dont care that the parents arent drinking, their kids should not be there!

[Tubeman]

I applaud them... You get some awful alcoholic families taking their kids out to the pub all weekend and getting cunted in front of them (then going home, having a fight, smacking the kids about etc etc)... How fucking lame must it be for one of these kids.

On New Years Eve I volunteered to help with the crowd control at Charing X and this hideous family came up to me asking how to get back to Barking... The father had obviously recently been in a fight and had cuts all over his face, the mother was a pig-ugly harridan with rotten teeth and they both stank of alcohol, these two poor kids were being dragged along and shouted at by their shitfaced parents. The parents disagreed about which way to go, so the mother dragged the little girl off by her hand, the father roughly grabbed the girls other hand and the two of them started a violent tug of war with their poor little girl in the middle whilst screaming over her head at each other. Oddly the girl didn't even cry or even make an expression, as if this was completely normal.

It's these sort of degenerate alcoholic scumbags who Wetherspoons are no doubt targetting... Spoons attract these cunts because the beer's cheap and so I commend the fact they're trying to address the social problems that get played out in their premises rather than profiteering from them.

[b4mmy]

Originally Posted by smysticed

Yeah, what you say would be fine if that was their motivation, but that doesn't seem to be so, they're not even letting parents buy nonalcoholic drinks after all.

so what? This is a full blown pub chain we are talking about... they are not suburban or country cafes with some facilities for kids.

Think about the children for a minute, and forget about the needs and wants of their selfish parents.

What kind of environment is a pub where supposedly mature people are likely to be getting trashed. Weatherspoons have gone up in my opinion since I heard this story... good on them.

[Prince Victor]

YES.

[Brilliant]

This should be outlawed, it's basically discrimination against parents, if a pub said "black people can order only two drinks because them being here is uncomfortable" people would rightly freak out and demand the pub chain to apologize and immediately withdraw the ridiculous rule, but parents sadly get too often trodden on in the UK.

Hmmm, okay just read the other posts, if it actually is targeted at parents that drink too much, hum, I thought they just wanted to increase profit by kicking families (that do not order vast amounts of alcohol) out.

[Accura4Matalan]

I very rarely see any kids in Wetherspoons anyway, despite it being more like a restaurant during the day.

[Mancunian Monkey]

I've never seen any kids in Wetherspoons anyway

[CharlieP]

Originally Posted by Brilliant

Hmmm, okay just read the other posts, if it actually is targeted at parents that drink too much, hum, I thought they just wanted to increase profit by kicking families (that do not order vast amounts of alcohol) out.

No, it's not targeted at parents that drink too much - it's targeted at parents who drag their children to a completely inappropriate (i.e. city-centre pub with no facilities for children) venue for a couple of hours.

The spokesman on Radio 4 this morning pointed out that managers were also guided to encourage parents that weren't even drinking alcohol to move on quickly.

[cinosanap]

If it saves embarresment...

[Rigadon]

Originally Posted by M62

I heard this on the radio this morning. My view is that Weatherspoons are responsibly protecting children by dissuading parents from getting hammered in front of them.
..

Possibly even probably, but as is common in the UK a sensibleish policy is ruined by appalling implementation. Its amazing that British companies get nay customers at all

The Wetherspoons guy on the radio was apologetic that the policy wasn't transparent to customers and admitted there ought to be some signage. As if anyone will read some obscure sign before being rudely turfed out. Signs are very useful when more direct ways of informing people are impractical. However with their policy which relies on bar staff monitoring the drinking of specific individuals with children and notifying them individually when they exceeded the limit there is no excuse for not notifying them individually of the policy in advance.

If they were to tell adults with kids the policy in advance there may be a few assholes who take exception but I imagine the vast majority would accept it. By telling people only once they had reached the 2 drink limit I would expect all but a small minority to be extremely pissed off. The unnecessary public castigating of parents in front of their children and telling them to leave is completely unacceptable IMO.

[b4mmy]

On and on....

I really am baffled why anyone would wish to advocate the requirement for a correct procedure whilst addressing parent's who take their children into an establishment that is clearly and predominantly used for the purposes of consuming alcohol. These places are not exclusively serving families. They are not creche's or nurseries... why is it Weatherspoon's responsibility to remind parents of their obligations.

Weatherspoons have declared their hand. Their establishments are primarily for drinking in, and they don't want adults to get drunk in front of them. What's the problem?

[carlspannoosh]

Maybe they should just ban kids from pubs.

[Rigadon]

Originally Posted by M62

On and on....

I really am baffled why anyone would wish to advocate the requirement for a correct procedure whilst addressing parent's who take their children into an establishment that is clearly and predominantly used for the purposes of consuming alcohol.

Because they deliberately have a policy of allowing children into their premises. Plenty of bars and pubs ban kids and make that clear. Wetherspoons not just allow them but encourage them in the right context http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/food-...Category=18346.

As I suggested I have sympathy with their compromise but as I said I have no sympathy for their piss poor execution.