Testimonials
Imogen Trickett – The Bridge Inn, Shoreham by Sea
Imogen had been working in the trade for 20 years before deciding that it was time to take on her own place. After looking at other breweries it was Fuller’s that stood out from the rest as they provided the valuable advice and after care that was needed to take on The Bridge Inn, Shoreham by Sea, a busy town pub.
“Taking over was a big step, said Imogen, “but with help from the very beginning, starting with meeting Fuller's recruiter and then Debbie, the Business Development Manager, the whole process was dealt with quickly and painlessly and I was soon stood at the pub with keys in hand thinking, Ooh, I am the landlasy! and I haven't looked back since.”
”The first thing I did was completely change the menu. I knew that food was going to be a key part of our business so I started doing good, home-made food using local produce. As the pub is on the coast, fish is a big seller on our menu and using local fish is a key part of our selling strategy. Imogen, who has worked previously with Diageo, said: ”As well as the food, our customer service is very good. We greet everyone who comes in and all the staff taste the food so they know what they are selling. It’s great having good food but the front of house staff need to be excited as well so the customers get that passed to them.”
Since she took over, between her and the staff, she have undertaken courses including employment law, basic food hygiene, first aid, Fuller’s cellar management and a two day marketing course that they found to be really beneficial. Imogen said: ”The course was really useful and helped me focus on things that actually do work. There were great ideas to try and it gave me a better insight to marketing, which has led to wiser financial choices.”
"Fuller's has just completed a brand new external signage and lighting scheme that looks fantastic."
Lee and Charlotte Bartlett – The Lord Nelson, Brentford
Lee Bartlett began his working life as an apprentice BT engineer, but worked part time in his local pub to supplement his income. However it quickly became clear to Lee that his passion was for the licensed trade, rather than engineering. Having truly caught the bug he took on a full time position and left his apprenticeship. His talent was obviously spotted as he was soon promoted to assistant manager, aged just 19 years old, then general manager at 21.
Charlotte’s background is in Retail Management, and she is currently floor manager at Harrods. They have been together for 14 years and have two beautiful young daughters.
So, with 16 years experience in the trade under his belt, Lee suddenly thought, ‘I love this business, why am I not doing this for myself and my family?!’
They attended many open days at pubs with various pub companies but soon realised that purchasing a business for a premium seemed quite expensive. With Lee’s expertise in the trade they preferred to build a business themselves rather than purchase an established premises. With this in mind they decided to look at pubs owned by smaller, regional brewers and found a little treasure, The Lord Nelson in Brentford. As they were both locals to the area it seemed like a perfect opportunity.
From day one it was all hands on deck. They closed for three days and had a mini refurbishment. Lee applied his managed house training and standards to the menu, creating a brand new offer and soon The Lord Nelson was ready to set sail again.
Lee and Charlotte said, ”It’s great to receive so much positive feedback from the locals and also new customers who wouldn’t have used the pub before. We’re so happy at what we have achieved by implementing our own standards. We’ve both brought in skills from what we have done in the past, and it has really paid off.
”The main difference is that when you are working for a managed house you can sometimes feel as if you are under a large, secure umbrella. That can sometimes mean that you don’t challenge yourself or others perhaps as much as you should. Now every decision is ours, every penny spent is down to us and what we make goes into our pockets. Being in charge of you own destiny is one of the best feelings in the world!
“There is more stability for our children too, knowing that we will be at The Lord Nelson for at least 10 years. We can enrol them in schools, make it our own home and make appropriate changes to how we run the business more or less when we want - obviously within reason. We don’t want to upset the two friendly ghosts now would we.”
Tomas Bowen-Perkins, Charles Baker and Mark Poynter – George and Vulture, Hoxton
Tom, Mark and Charlie are three friends who have similar interests, are of similar ages, who all respect the pub trade but, most importantly, wanted to have their own business.
Charlie worked in hospitality throughout his younger years managing his own bespoke events company, but has been in the advertising industry since; he specialised in sales and has a flair for business and management. He is a people person and seems to be everyone’s best friend. He has a real passion for service and is fascinated by the hospitality industry.
Mark is an engineer. He was an independent contractor for the majority of his eight years in the industry, and has helped deliver multi billion dollar infrastructure projects all over the world, including the last Olympics and large schemes in Dubai. Work wise he is your stereotypical engineer and everything must have a process.
Tom has a background in property. He started in residential then moved into commercial property. Before getting his own pub he specialised in the buying and selling of pubs, clubs, hotels and restaurants. He also has the experience of running a small business.
They are all still connected to their old industries in one way or another with Mark still spending time in Dubai, Charlie freelancing in the city and Tom running his small property investment company but all agree there is nothing as satisfying and more rewarding than running something as hands on as a pub.
The three of them quoted, ’Running a business like the George & Vulture is made a whole lot easier by working for such an honest, fair and forward-thinking company such as Fuller’s who will work with you to achieve your goals. Giving you the tools you need to create a successful pub. After all they want to see your pub thriving as much as you do.’
Frances Whitehead - The Greyfriar, Chawton
As a trained chef and the lessee of the Greyfriar, Frances Whitehead had changed her outlook on recruiting and training. When she first took over the lease she used to leave the interviewing to her husband, Peter. As her own confidence grew, and as she works so closely with her team, she knew that this was something she wanted to take on board.
She advertised, held interviews and worked along side the new recruits during their first few weeks at the Greyfriar.
Frances said: “I know from my experience that chefs are practically minded people so, rather than have them sit for an hour or two talking about where they have worked, I work along side them during a ‘one day interview’. I look at how they hold themselves, what they wear, are they clean? What are their working areas like while they are cooking? What are they watching – is it themselves, others, or the whole picture?” From this, she could evaluate their standards and see what they can bring to her kitchen and her business. Following this, they would be on a month’s trial and she would continue to assess them, as well as holding weekly chats to see how they are doing. If all looked good for both of them, they would be given a full contract.
Frances said: “With our continually changing menu, the training is constant and ongoing. We always aim to try new dishes and with our chefs coming from all over the world, their knowledge and experiences will be different. They bring their own ideas to the kitchen so when I think they are ready I will ask them if they would like to hold a themed night with a menu of their choice”.
All young waiting staff start off in the kitchen as a kitchen porter, then when Frances thinks they are ready they move out onto the floor and she would shadow them. This builds their knowledge of how the kitchen works and the importance of the relationship between the floor and kitchen staff.
The length of service at the Greyfriar between the full time bar, floor and kitchen staff is no shorter that 18 months. Most students have been with them for the duration of their courses and they return every holiday season. The benefits of this are enormous – the staff know the customers, their names and what they drink, and the customers know the staff and can enjoy a lively rapport. Happy staff and happy customers – Frances said, “it’s the best way to do business”.