Brakspear Hospitality Awards presented to top tenants
July 17, 2013
Pub company and brewer Brakspear yesterday presented its Hospitality Awards 2013, with a reward of up to £2,000, to tenants and lessees from five of its pubs.
The Awards, now in their third year, are given to the business partners who achieve the highest scores in the company’s mystery customer scheme. Among this year’s winners, one tenant, James Dawe at the Catherine Wheel in Goring, achieved a perfect 100% on one visit – only the third pub to do so in the three years of the scheme – after less than a year of running a Brakspear pub.
Across the 145-strong estate, mystery customer scores increased by 4% in wet led pubs and 2% in food led pubs, compared to the previous year. Scores have risen every year since the scheme’s launch in 2010, with the average score for customer service now at and 81% for wet led and 84% for food led pubs.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, said, “Our winning tenants and lessees have displayed amazing levels of talent, business acumen and commitment to make their pubs the best in the Brakspear estate this year.
“Their achievement, and that of all our business partners who have improved their scores, is doubly impressive as we have made the mystery customer scheme more challenging each year in order to reflect the ever-higher expectations of our customers. The fact that the vast majority of our pubs exceed these expectations is cause for celebration, and it is a pleasure to reward our top performers today.”
The Hospitality Awards winners were announced at a special presentation, held aboard a Mississippi-style paddle steamer that took took tenants and lessees from around 40 Brakspear pubs on a river cruise from Henley-on-Thames.
Winners were offered a prize of either £1,000 in cash, or £2,000 to invest in their business. Most have chosen the latter, spending on improvements such as new carpet or garden furniture. Each winner also receives a plaque to display outside their pub.
Mystery customers visit every Brakspear pub twice a year and answer more than 100 questions covering all aspects of hospitality from cleanliness and service to marketing and merchandising.
Davies added, “The mystery customer scheme is now viewed by our business partners as an invaluable tool in helping them to make their pub a success. We are rewarding the top scorers today, but we also recognise all those who achieve 75% or more in our ‘Best of Brakspear’ book, which we produced as a way of encouraging customers to visit the pubs that will meet or exceed their expectations.”
Hospitality Award 2013 winners
James Dawe: Catherine Wheel, Goring-on-Thames
Sean & Ness Arnett: Blackwood Arms, Burnham
Paul Clerehugh: Crooked Billet, Stoke Row, Henley-on-Thames
Ruth Peters & Matthew Woodley: Plowden Arms, Shiplake, near Henley-on-Thames
Nigel & Julie Rainbow: Three Horseshoes, Henley-on-Thames
Brakspear’s mystery customer programme is designed and implemented by The Silent Customer, based in Henley. Managing director Janet Wood said, “It has been rewarding to work with Brakspear for three years and see the impact of the mystery customer visits on standards across the estate. Our congratulations go to all today’s winners and particularly to the Catherine Wheel: scoring 100% in our comprehensive questionnaire is a tremendous achievement.”
Images show: TOP RIGHT: Brakspear Hospitality Award winners aboard the New Orleans steamer: back row (l-r) Sean & Ness Arnett, Blackwood Arms; Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies; Matthew Woodley & Ruth Peters, Plowden Arms; Marius Solminski & Laura Murray, Crooked Billet; front row (l-r); Tim Schulz & James Dawe, Catherine Wheel; Nigel & Julie Rainbow, Three Horseshoes
MIDDLE RIGHT: Tom Davies, Julie & Nigel Rainbow
BOTTOM RIGHT: Tom Davies, James Dawe & Tim Schulz