Following a post from Spencer this week (Spencer, please do email me again to get this sorted out!) I just wanted to say a word or two about barring.
We are very proud at The Bell of our track record in self-policing and ensuring we provide a safe, fun environment for all our lovely customers. Indeed this is one area where I have heard such good feedback over the years and one reason that so many people of so many types and ages continue to mix together harmoniously.
One strand of this self-policing is our policy on barring. All of our Duty Managers are allowed to bar customers and there are a range of barring offences which, broadly speaking include: illegal or dangerous behaviour, unwarranted drunkeness, offensiveness or harassment towards bar staff, not respecting the authority of the house/the manager representing us, and any behaviour that we deem is becoming an unwarranted irritation to other customers or impeding their enjoyment of their time with us.
Because of this broad range, we trust our managers to use their personal judgment when exercising this right. It is for the Duty Manager in question to bar a customer, to decide a time this will last for (where appropriate) and to un-bar following review. Usually they will either explain these things at the time or invite the person in question to come back at a mutually convenient time in order to do so.
I will not become involved in this process unless there seem to be wildly conflicting stories of what has come to pass. In such a case, I would invite all those involved to meet so that I can hear their viewpoints. After this, I will meet again with the Duty Manager involved to go over the case one more time to see if the right decision was made and to clarify what next action is appropriate.
We do not take barring lightly and, although nobody has a "right" to be in The Bell or to be served, we always do our best to allow those barred the quickest and most efficient route back to unbarring (according to the original offence) and to give them as much information as possible about what the original decision was based upon, how long the period of barring will last, and what we need from them to become unbarred.
Hope that all clarifies this area.
Patrick
General Manager
