O'Neills in Broomhill

[LeagueFan]

Scream pubs are directly aimed at students not "chavvies". Although there are some students who drink real ale, the majority don't. Until a few years ago they did stock it, but we didn't sell enough of it and lost a lot as wastage, and although a lot of work is being done by CAMRA, it's image was and to an extent still is, of an drink for the 'older' customers, which doesn't fit into Scream's student strategy. It's also a decision which is taken nationwide, not just for the Sheffield Screams.

 

Chavs do drink lager, granted, but students do drink lager too. They also drink spirits and wine and a lot more besides. Just because a pub sells lager it doesn't mean its a chav pub. I'm sure you'll find your pub sells lager too, it might even be Carling!

 

The staff at the York aren't stupid, if they were they wouldn't be behind the bar. Just because they're trained to ask if you've got a Yellow Card, doesn't mean they haven't got minds or personalities of their own. Finally, the Carling at the York isn't warm or flat (and it's meant to be tasteless), and i'm sure Real Ale is served a lot warmer and flatter.

 

Can we please just lay this to bed? You don't like the York because it doesn't sell ale, that's fine, but there's nothing they can do about it, but please don't resort to talking rubbish about the staff when there's no foundation for it. Can we just let's agree to disagree?

[snowboarder]

You don't like the York because it doesn't sell ale, that's fine, but there's nothing they can do about it, but please don't resort to talking rubbish about the staff when there's no foundation for it. Can we just let's agree to disagree? [/b]

 

 

There are other reasons I dont like it, but thats a personal choice. I will in principle agreee to disagree with you, but really must point out the customer service skills for SCREAM staff are not what I would call versatile. Some pubs you can chat away to the staff for hours, busy or not, the Broomhill Tavern for example, and they dont have programmed set responses. Maybe all chain pubs have staff development programs of this nature, I dont know, but I personally cant understand why bar staff should resort to text book answers like they work in a call centre and are reading off a Q card when asked sensible and intelligent questions.

 

 

Perhaps the old days of bar staff actually taking a bit of time to talk to you, and who actually know what products they have on sale, and who are possession of some degree of communication skill, who can speak in more than a dalek monotone automated response voice.....are long dead. Sad......

[LeagueFan]

To be honest with you, I agree. For the year just gone, all Scream staff are given a list of things they must offer or say to every customer depending on the drink served. This is for legal reasons (Pepsi instead of Coke), but some are just daft! For example, when ordering a vodka and coke, the member of staff is trained to upsell to a double, maybe offer a premium vodka, ice and fruit, then the pepsi thing, yellow card?, anything else. I think the girl you originally mentioned had only recently started, but there's a lot of things to remember. The company has finally cottoned onto this fact and has drastically reduced all this 'spiel' (spell check anyone?) because we all complained the staff sounded like they were in McDonalds!

 

So in a way, I can appreciate the staff might have sounded like they were reading off q cards, which is a shame, but they are working on it!

[snowboarder]

Well its the same in all chain pubs these days....SELL SELL SELL....you walk in to buy a pint and get offered "upgrades"....if I want an upgrade I go to a mobile phone shop, not a pub! VARSITY chain are not much better......ask for a pint of whatever and you get the its "buy four for the price of nine treatment" or whatever happy hour (actually SAD hour) they are running at the time. I was in one of those and was trying to buy a single pint of bitter, but instead got the "We have jugs of lager going on a special offer", or "would you like some crisps at £5K a bag, special offer this week" The day I "upgrade" to lager, or £5K a bag crisps, will be a genuine sad day.

 

What really annoys me in most pubs is the standard "Would you like anything else" question when it is obvious you are either by yourself and do not want to buy a whole tray of drinks, and have already held out your hand with the money to be taken. Also with someone else you buy TWO drinks, why would you want to by a 3rd unless its for the bar staff...maybe thats it, they are after a tip in the form of a drink. Ok, its polite, but not at all necessary unless you are looking as if you have not finished your order. It is all far too Mcdonalds, well rehersed plastic smile, trying to be helpful but oblivious to any real help or understanding.

 

 

If I have to start on customer relations, dont get me onto ORANGE phone "have a nice day and we dont give a toss" customer services.......no way...

[ptigga]

I have to agree with Snowboarder here.

SCREAM pubs are aimed at the binge drinking culture. They offer alcohol to people who just want to get drunk, or are already too drunk to notice how crap the beer is and how loud everything is.

 

I dislike the way the customers are treated purely as people to sell drink to. You'll never get friendly staff who take time out to talk to you. You'll never get a lock in, or an ocassional pint on the house for being a regular.

I also hate the way that West Street is a no-go zone at 11:20 on an evening because of all the drunken idiots coming out of the Cavendish and Varsity.

 

You would be quite right in telling me to go to a local instead; and I will most of the time because they have better beer, friendlier staff and a better atmosphere. What I object to is when local pubs are replaced by SCREAM pubs and completely ruined; turning a quiet local into a nightmare.

 

In my view SCREAM are being irresponsbile. They are encouraging binge drinking and then inflicting these drunken punters on the local neighbourhoods every evening.

[Litha]

Originally posted by cruella

He He He...If you have any top GOSSIP on the above said bar manager... of O'Neils ...They will be greatly recieved as i am his new boss!...

All in the office are waiting exitedly..if its too bad please PM me...

He He cheers..

 

could you please send him out on his rounds with a barrel of Guinness PLEEEEZE. since O'Neills closed ive lost the best pint in sheffield < heehee >

Hugs

Litha xxxxx

ps... hows you ? fine n dandy i hope )

[Classic Rock]

Originally posted by snowboarder

What really annoys me in most pubs is the standard "Would you like anything else" question when it is obvious you are either by yourself and do not want to buy a whole tray of drinks, and have already held out your hand with the money to be taken. Also with someone else you buy TWO drinks, why would you want to by a 3rd unless its for the bar staff...maybe thats it, they are after a tip in the form of a drink. Ok, its polite, but not at all necessary unless you are looking as if you have not finished your order. It is all far too Mcdonalds, well rehersed plastic smile, trying to be helpful but oblivious to any real help or understanding.

 

 

Not quite. You do from time to time get the absent minded customer who has bought their drink and then FORGOTTEN they are with someone and and up ordering again for them when they return from the loo or make it in from the car park. It's always handy to ask if there's anything else....just as a prompt.....they may well want that extra bag of crisps. You can usually judge the situation. The 'anything else' doesnt tend to be a hint for a tip. Not in my experience anyway.

[LeagueFan]

I'm don't really want to be drawn into the binge drinking thing, but I don't agree with your comments. Scream, as part of Mitchell and Butlers, are the first big pub company to introduce a Social Responsibility Policy which will be industry wide within the next year or so. It governs the promotions we can run to ensure that the customers and the surrounding neighbours can feel safe. To single out Scream pubs as "aimed at the binge drinking culture. They offer alcohol to people who just want to get drunk" is slightly naive as offering alcohol to people who want it is the purpose of the licensed trade.

 

As for the comment about the punters coming out of Scream and Varsity I think you're just picking out the "student" pubs. Public disturbance is a nationwide problem in every major city. During the week, students are milling about, and although they are loud and cocky because they think they know everything, they are mostly harmless. Tension increases on Friday and Saturday nights when the local louts come out, so I think singling out the Cavendish and Varsity is unfair, especially with the extremely violent incidents of the last few weeks around Flares, Dikkins, and I think it was Ice Bar or Bar Matrix. In my experience, the locals break stuff, the students steal it.

 

As for the comment about lock ins, I'm sure your local independent landlord can easily invite his regulars to stay for a drink. As a national, high profile brand, Scream is an easy target as this board demonstrates. If Scream steps out of line, its gets bollocked. If the Cavendish were to have a lock in, in the location it's in, I guarantee it would be shut within a week!

 

Also I think you're confused about the definition of a local, with chatty friendly staff. When a local pub is dead, with a few old boys sat in the corner, it's easy for the staff to chat with you and be friendly. The staff in Scream pubs are friendly, and when it's quiet the staff will happily have a chat with you. but i'm guessing the times you've been in Scream pubs, and you use West Street as an example which is a high street pub, there's been 3 people behind you, and there isn't the time to ask where you've been on holiday this summer.

[fordcortina]

Originally posted by snowboarder

I stick by my story, the staff are muppets. They have been trained only to smile and speak in short words for their "chavvie" customers. They have no customer skills at all other than to pour warm, flat tasteless Carling and say "have u got a yellow card", which is the longest sentence they have been trained to speak without more than a 5 second pause in the middle between "got" and "a". I could have more intelligent conversation with a pool table and probably get a better response!!!

 

And as for students not drinking real ale what r u talking about? Look at the Dev Cat in term time, its wall to wall students supping real ale. Same in the students Union and all other real ale pubs in Sheffield. Its townie chavs who drink the crappy lager not students, as a rule. Even girl students knock back bottles of Newcastle brown in the Fox and DUck, to be seen regularly.

 

What a snob you are! Also how can anyone not realise Scream pubs are 100% directed at sudents?!

,

All this talk of chavs and townies is disgusting its basically just total snobbery with chavs/townies=working class young people.

 

To make it even worse a large proportion of those so who use it are using it about local sheffield people while they are temporary (student) guests in their towns.

If any of these people dont like the local people in certain pubs why dont they just p**s off back to where you come from...

[funkypants]

Originally posted by LeagueFan

I'm don't really want to be drawn into the binge drinking thing, but I don't agree with your comments. Scream, as part of Mitchell and Butlers, are the first big pub company to introduce a Social Responsibility Policy which will be industry wide within the next year or so. It governs the promotions we can run to ensure that the customers and the surrounding neighbours can feel safe. To single out Scream pubs as "aimed at the binge drinking culture. They offer alcohol to people who just want to get drunk" is slightly naive as offering alcohol to people who want it is the purpose of the licensed trade.

 

As for the comment about the punters coming out of Scream and Varsity I think you're just picking out the "student" pubs. Public disturbance is a nationwide problem in every major city. During the week, students are milling about, and although they are loud and cocky because they think they know everything, they are mostly harmless. Tension increases on Friday and Saturday nights when the local louts come out, so I think singling out the Cavendish and Varsity is unfair, especially with the extremely violent incidents of the last few weeks around Flares, Dikkins, and I think it was Ice Bar or Bar Matrix. In my experience, the locals break stuff, the students steal it.

 

 

Idiot!!!!!!!!!! Flares is Mitchells and Butlers too. Get your facts straight, we've got the smae policies exactly and have to stick to them more so than you because we're city centre and busy!!!!!!