Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Independent Readers are responding Warning of a “perfect storm” this Christmas Said that Britain’s pub culture is gradually disappearing from everyday life.
Commentators reacted to reports that pubs across the UK are facing their toughest festive trading in years, with some landlords revealing they have no Christmas party bookings for the first time and fear they may not even be open until the New Year.
While many expressed sympathy for the struggling campaigners, readers argued that the pressures outweighed one bad season.
High prices were the most common complaint, with readers saying it now feels impossible to justify pub mark-ups when alcohol is much cheaper in supermarkets.
Others pointed to changes in social habits, particularly among young people, who are drinking less and socializing online, leaving pubs without a new generation of regulars.
Some said the pubs themselves had changed, blaming loud music, constantly playing sports on TV and bad food for driving away customers looking for conversation and community.
Many argued that the blame lay at the top, blaming governments, breweries and pub companies for squeezing margins while local landlords bore the risk.
Here’s what you had to say:
Young people don’t go to pubs anymore
It’s a very different landscape and it’s always changing. Also true.
There is one fact that is clear to me, and that is that a lot of young people no longer go to pubs – and it’s not because of the prices, it’s just because they don’t need to do so anymore.
When I was young, we had to go to pubs and clubs to meet mates and girls and eat chinwags. There was nothing else. In my area your group couldn’t go anywhere else to socialize. I’ve been doing it since I was 15, like almost everyone I know.
Nowadays, young people don’t have to leave their bedrooms to talk to people, watch their antics or play games with them – and this is true with people all over the world.
Why would they choose to go out, spend money and wear clothes, when they can do so in their jimmy-jams from their warm bedrooms?
This is another consequence of the Internet. Like high street shops that are no longer needed, many pubs will disappear as older generations like mine die off and stop using them. There is no generation coming to take our place. I think it’s a great shame, but inevitable.
Loud music and no place to hide
I loved pubs, but mainly turned them off because of loud background music or Sky Sports on the TV, with nowhere to hide. So it became harder and harder to find a peaceful place to spend quiet time with friends.
Maybe I’m showing my age, but a lot of pubs have only themselves to blame.
Charge more to customers, pay paltry salaries to staff
Pubs overpay their staff, overcharge their customers and make no effort to provide good food to attract non-drinkers.
What do they expect?
Perhaps the problem is a mixture of breweries’ profiteering and pubs not responding to market changes.
Twenty years ago, pubs had to attract customers. Now they just think all they have to do to be in business is Stella and some dishonest craft ales.
there is always a winner
There are some days of the year when pub trade is brisk, and there are other days when trade is very poor. It’s a broken industry.
Some of those busy pubs that are tied to the products they can buy and sell will not make anywhere near the profit that a brewery-managed pub will earn. However, there is always one winner: the pub companies, which make huge operating profits every year. For the pub tenant, it’s a very different story.
Prices are too high in pubs
it is inevitable. Young people are drinking less alcohol and prices in pubs are much higher. A bottle of beer that I can buy for £2.50 in the supermarket costs £5.50 in a pub near where I live. This is a huge mark-up.
Pubs need to reduce their prices according to the law of supply and demand. I suspect that many landlords are trying to maintain their profits despite declining customer numbers by raising prices – this is simply not realistic.
Pricing of beverages needs to reflect the traditional customer
Drink prices need to reflect the needs of the traditional pub customer who wants to stay a while and drink five pints. So by all means charge £7 for one, but offer £15 carnets for five.
On spirits, the mark-up is an outrage – charge as much as you do now but quadruple the quantity served. There will be equal benefit.
A whirlwind preparation for Christmas
The hotel we go to on a weekly basis has made huge preparations for Christmas. They have three dining rooms, which are full for weeks. There was clearly a deed last Friday. They came from a town 24 miles away.
Now I’m guessing that their excellent cooking, very generous portions, extensive menu and reasonable prices might have something to do with it.
Black-Eye Friday told a different story
Well, that was not my experience when I was out on Black-Eye Friday last week. Pubs and restaurants across the city were doing brisk business. A lot of office pubs are also creeped out by the looks of it.
Declining trend of drinking alcohol among people under 25 years of age
All the pubs in my village are packed for Christmas. Many things may be responsible for the decline in drinking among people under 25: preferences for different drugs, different ways of socializing, a dislike for alcohol and being thin (and perhaps, for us older people, a little boring?).
Some comments in this article have been edited for brevity and clarity.
want to share your thoughtsSimply enter your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the day’s top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click ‘Log in’ or ‘Register’ in the top right corner to sign in or sign up
Make sure you follow our community guidelines, which can be found HereFor a complete guide on how to comment, Click here