Blood Donors Lose Pint of Guinness in Ireland

Posted by barblog on Mar 21, 2010 in Bar Management | 0 comments

It’s the end of an era in Ireland. Guinness, whose best-known advertising campaign proclaimed that its stout “was good for you”, has scrapped the long-standing tradition of providing free drink to blood donors.

Diageo, its parent company, has decided to abandon the tradition of providing complimentary bottles of Guinness to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS). “We felt this style and type of donation was not best suited to us now,” said Grainne Mackin, for Diageo. “Guinness has long stopped promoting the product as medicinal and we want to be in full alignment with our voluntary marketing code. It wasn’t driven by any commercial agenda.”

Paddy Bowler, the director of operations at the IBTS, said it considered offering a free Guinness to every donor by buying the drink itself, but decided against it. “The government is going to lower the blood alcohol limits for drivers,” he said. “So we didn’t feel it was appropriate to supply alcohol at the clinics any more, particularly those down the country.”

Instead, blood donors will be offered a cup of tea and a biscuit, or a non-alcoholic drink, along with small tokens such as a pens, key-rings or balloons for their children.

Guinness sales have been declining in Ireland by about 8% a year, so this move probably won’t help consumption!

Mr. Business Owner, Tear Down That Sign…

Posted by barblog on Oct 27, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Signs | 13 comments

I like to think that I can weigh up several solutions to a probelm before making a decision without relying on “the way it’s always been done” . I haven’t always questioned the status quo though.

I think I can pinpoint when that change took place. I still remember that afternoon when a simple conversation with a french tourist made me think differently.

I was an assistant bar manager in a hotel in Galway, Ireland about ten years ago when I struck up a conversation with a group of French tourists who were full of questions about the area.

One of the tourists asked me about a sign he had seen that day while driving through the countryside. The sign (pictured above  left) said “Danger: Accident Black Spot”. He wanted to know what it meant. I explained that this was a stretch of road that was particularly prone to accidents due to the layout and general visibility.

I had barely finished explaining when the French tourist asked a simple question that changed the way I think: “Why don’t they fix the road?”!

I paused for a second, thought about his question, then laughed as the reality hit me! Of course! Why DON’T they fix the road? Is it sufficient to acknowledge that a higher frequency of casualties and fatalities result from this stretch of road?

Of course not. Is a sign enough to prevent them? Not at all. Yet, everywhere you travel around the country roads in Ireland, you’ll see these signs. Why? Because it is much easier to erect a sign than to make a conscious and planned effort to fix the problem. I’m sure the sign REDUCES the number of accidents but is that any consolation to the families of those injured on this stretch of road? Hardly.

So what are the accident black spots in your business? What sign are you erecting in the hope that the problem will go away?

Is it time to fix that road that has been causing problems for you, your staff and maybe your family?

To paraphrase a former American President: “Mr. Business Owner, Tear Down That Sign…”

What a Stupid Question! You can do much better…

Posted by barblog on Oct 16, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Service | 2 comments

Ireland used to be known as the land of 1000 welcomes. Something happened to change that though. MONEY! Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Ireland was on it’s financial knees, the government flew top level executives from US companies to Ireland, brought them out to a green field and told them that this was going to be the headquarters of their European Operations.

Many laughed, but the smart companies took notice and moved to Ireland in their droves to take advantage of an educated workforce, subsidised tax rates and a gateway to Europe. As the 80s turned to the 90s and then past the millennium, emigration was something our parents spoke about but we never had to experience. We were the children of the Celtic Tiger – an economic bubble (always destined to burst) where we had credit cards, jobs and for once were not at the bottom of the heap. Read more..

Are we pricing ourselves into madness?

Posted by barblog on Sep 4, 2009 in Bar Marketing | 2 comments

I recently travelled between Ireland and the US from Shannon Airport. I had an early morning flight and once I arrived at the airport, checked in my bags and headed to the café for a quick bite to eat before going through security. Now, I have had bad experiences in this café in the past. Some of you may remember, that on a previous occasion for lunch there, I wasn’t allowed to choose my vegetables for my lunch from the selection available because THEY decided for you! This time round, I thought I’d play it safe and had a super-health breakfast: One mini innocent smoothie, one Actimel and a small bowl of fruit. Read more..