Incompetent Managers

[taddyted]

The Spread at Wragby, recently reopened after a nearly 12 month refit and thousands of pounds spent. What do Smiths do? Put a couple of young managers in with no previous experience, no idea how to run a pub or no idea how to even pull a pint. The result? Average beer, poor customer service and we've stopped going to what was one of our favourite pubs after the male manager was rude, ignorant and clear couldn't give a ****. Rumour has it that they've now left so we will venture back to see who the latest incumbent it. Come on Mr Smith, surely if you spent so much money on a refurb you might at least consider putting decent people in? Then again....

[ian]

While I cannot and will not comment on the Wragby I would like to say the following.

I'm speaking as a customer only so my comments are has I see things and maybe not as others see them.

1. Running a pub is about customer service and the manager and the pub is judged on that.

2. There in no excuse for bad manners or rudeness and there is no excuse when serving a new customer.

3. I don't mind managers new to the trade. We all have to learn and believe me I've been learning in my job for for 45 years.

The trouble with the pub trade, you are allways on show and if your having a bad day you've nowhere to hide.  You have to stand behind the bar and be polite while all the time you want to tell the customers to p*ss off.  That is why I would never make a good manager.


ian.

[dogsboddy]

the situation at the spread is to daft to laugh at .after spending all that money and having it closed so long they put them two in that lasted about 6 weeks then another took over 2 weeks ago ,now a notice on the door closed untill futher notice (yes the new one's have gone)

[devastatedrelative]

I find it absolutely awful that Humphrey can set people up to fall in the way he does. 

These people have possibly left a job, may have sold or given up their tenancy of their home and really unsettled themselves with the optimistic view that things will be hard work but fine. 

How can he continue to treat people as his disposable serfs.

Does he not care at all about how many lives he ruins, the ill health he causes, the split relationships.  Of course he doesn't.  Perhaps he will go down in history as one of the cruelest people of this century - well in the top 100.

Come on Humphrey have a heart.  Do your recruitment properly, train them well and become a good employer. 

It's not just the management couple who have their lives turned upside down with his hiring and firing and manipulative antics but those of children, and extended families.

Perhaps Humphrey should read some of the religious fiction such as the Water Babies and remember to treat people as you want to be treated ie Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.  He does seem to mascerade as a christian albeit obviously not practicing and seems to live in the same era as the author.

There is a saying, I think Yorkshire, "What goes around comes around".

[alepaul]

I agree, what a terrible man he is...invests lots of money on a pub doing a fantastic refurb, doing a far better job than most other pub owners would do. Then takes on managers to run the place and they can't live up to the great new pub, so unsurprisingly their contract is terminated. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to invest large sums of money in a venue only to find that the managers are incompetent. If you're that couple who get taken on to run the spreadeagle and you make a mess of it you've only got yourself to blame - you were given a fantastic opportunity in a fantastic newly done up pub.

Most other pub companies would never spend any money on the place, making the tenant (or leaseholder) having to foot the bill for everything and generally meaning the pub falls into a poor state of repair. They would also continue to keep putting up the rent and price of beer. Is it any wonder that pubs up and down the country are closing? By the way I don't know of any SS pubs which have closed (for more than a week or so).

Come on, let's have a bit of reality please and stop just knocking SS because you've got a grudge.

[whizz]

It would be interesting if, alongside the pub list we could also have a list of the longest current serving landlords, the way things are stated on here it does'nt sound as though there has been a landlord who has survived more than a few months. Or, even a mention of past landlords who got in a long service. Surely, with such a long list of pubs to choose from there must be some who are making the system work. For instance, it would be interesting to find out if the balance, out of all of Sams pubs, is, are more  in long term employment with the company than not. Maybe some members on here know already of some long serving landlords.

[ian]

Whizz, I know of a few 10+ years and a couple of managers have 15+ years in.

ian.

[whizz]

Ian, I had you in mind when I posted it, I thought if anybody knows, you would.

[centurion]

It would be interesting if, alongside the pub list we could also have a list of the longest current serving landlords, the way things are stated on here it does'nt sound as though there has been a landlord who has survived more than a few months. Or, even a mention of past landlords who got in a long service. Surely, with such a long list of pubs to choose from there must be some who are making the system work. For instance, it would be interesting to find out if the balance, out of all of Sams pubs, is, are more  in long term employment with the company than not. Maybe some members on here know already of some long serving landlords.

NO!!

[ian]

Must say I'm with centurion, we all must remember that we are talking about people's livelyhoods here, and it will be  a step to far.  To me it's a hobby so I don't have anything to lose, but there's a lot of people out there that does have a hell of a lot to lose.

ian.

[OnTheDrink]

I agree, what a terrible man he is...invests lots of money on a pub doing a fantastic refurb, doing a far better job than most other pub owners would do. Then takes on managers to run the place and they can't live up to the great new pub, so unsurprisingly their contract is terminated. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to invest large sums of money in a venue only to find that the managers are incompetent. If you're that couple who get taken on to run the spreadeagle and you make a mess of it you've only got yourself to blame - you were given a fantastic opportunity in a fantastic newly done up pub.

Most other pub companies would never spend any money on the place, making the tenant (or leaseholder) having to foot the bill for everything and generally meaning the pub falls into a poor state of repair. They would also continue to keep putting up the rent and price of beer. Is it any wonder that pubs up and down the country are closing? By the way I don't know of any SS pubs which have closed (for more than a week or so).

Come on, let's have a bit of reality please and stop just knocking SS because you've got a grudge.

You really are a troll. Tenants don't pay for anything other than decoration and leaseholders enter in to contracted arrangements to maintain the building they lease, after a survey, and after the building is leased to them in a fit and proper state. If HS takes on 'incompetent' managers then that is entirely his responsibility, from selection, training to placing in position.  You're not seriously suggesting that the company puts managers in pubs without making sure they're capable of doing the job? Your comparison of leased and tenanted pubs with the entirely (bar one) managed Sam Smiths estate beggars belief.

[OnTheDrink]

It would be interesting if, alongside the pub list we could also have a list of the longest current serving landlords, the way things are stated on here it does'nt sound as though there has been a landlord who has survived more than a few months. Or, even a mention of past landlords who got in a long service. Surely, with such a long list of pubs to choose from there must be some who are making the system work. For instance, it would be interesting to find out if the balance, out of all of Sams pubs, is, are more  in long term employment with the company than not. Maybe some members on here know already of some long serving landlords.

I don't think that's a good idea. I have good friends who are SS managers and they'd be horrified by the idea that the forum that's generally supportive of SS managers put their heads above the parapet. We're not talking about a normal company here.

[passedit]

alepaul some pub,s are a credit to the Hump he doe,s spend a fortune on some of them then naff all on other,s.

I was a manager for over 20 year,s the first 19 were great my last year an absolute nightmare,got out at the right time.

Yes the beer,s are top notch and so is the price,unfortunetly he treat,s the manager,s like something he,s trod in.

He treat,s his Shire horse,s better than his manager,s so alepaul read this forum more carefully than you have been doing we cannot all be wrong

[devastatedrelative]

I agree, what a terrible man he is...invests lots of money on a pub doing a fantastic refurb, doing a far better job than most other pub owners would do. Then takes on managers to run the place and they can't live up to the great new pub, so unsurprisingly their contract is terminated. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to invest large sums of money in a venue only to find that the managers are incompetent. If you're that couple who get taken on to run the spreadeagle and you make a mess of it you've only got yourself to blame - you were given a fantastic opportunity in a fantastic newly done up pub.

Most other pub companies would never spend any money on the place, making the tenant (or leaseholder) having to foot the bill for everything and generally meaning the pub falls into a poor state of repair. They would also continue to keep putting up the rent and price of beer. Is it any wonder that pubs up and down the country are closing? By the way I don't know of any SS pubs which have closed (for more than a week or so).

Come on, let's have a bit of reality please and stop just knocking SS because you've got a grudge.

I was expressing empathy with those who he is mistreating and if Humph reads this a way of changing the turnover of staff. 

The general public think that managing a bar, the staff, stock, etc is so easy.  The truth is it isn't.  You do need adequate training to do the job and if SS isn't giving new staff support then there is no wonder they fail.

If so many are failing so quickly, then he needs to look at his recruitment and interview techniques.

My post was saying that these new managers come along all optimistic, most likely with the promise of support and get nothing.  Sometimes they are just put in post and have the training weeks later.  They give up their homes, jobs, etc and are left with nothing.

The unsuitable ones should be sifted out at the recruitment process and the others supported with adequate training and sensible supervision.  Not to do this is just setting people up to fail.

It would be interesting to find out the ages of the successful managers as I suspect that he prefers older managers - but not past retirement age.  Although this will depend on which way the wind is blowing at Taddy Towers. 

Failed managers are people.

[whizz]

I should have phrased it differently, I was talking in percentages, not naming names. I was wondering what the percentage of managers in the company is for those who are long stayers as against those that dont last so long. It's the numbers not the names that's important. At the moment it's all about negativity in the company, I was looking to see if there was any positivity there.