Women still uneasy about pub cultures

A research report has revealed that much of the UK bar and pub industry is getting it wrong when it comes to their female customers.

What Women Want, commissioned by Archers Schnapps, reveals that women care more about service than venue, with the attitude of bar staff and atmosphere at the top of their list when deciding where to spend a night out with the girls.

Of the 2,000 people who took part in the research, more than half of the women typified a female-friendly bar as one where customers were friendly and where staff made them feel safe - for example, warning them to keep property safe.

But the most significant factor, says the report's author, social psychologist Dr Petra Boynton, is that women still don't feel comfortable drinking in a bar on their own.

"We were expecting women to be much more confident," she said. "Both men and women interviewed agreed that they would leave a premises if it got aggressive, but what women term ‘aggressive' is different to men."

She added: "Flirty, inappropriate comments, for example, put women off, and they are reluctant to make a complaint to bar staff. Bar staff, meanwhile, see aggression only when the glasses start flying.

"There's nothing wrong with people looking - no one wants to be a killjoy - but while door staff can ban a man wearing trainers, they don't see this other stuff going on. Bar staff and door staff should be more aware and be more supportive to women."

Other factors that women cited as fundamental to enjoying a night out were easily available telephone numbers for reliable taxi services, well-lit areas outside the pub or bar, low noise levels so they could "talk with their friends", and clean glasses, tables and toilets - stocked with abundant loo paper.

by Fiona Sims

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20-26 June 2002