JD Wetherspoons

[Teeniebf]

Mmmm interesting news about this well known 'family friendly' pub chain. They have in place a policy which limits parents to 2 drinks only - alchohlic & non alcholic - to prevent them from staying too long in their establishments with their children. One customer queried this when he was told about it and was told that the adults could stay in the pub that he child would have to leave, unsuprisingly he chose to leave and go elsewhere and was told yes this is true and that the JD Wetherspoons would back any of their staff/managers who enforced this policy. I used to take my family to a local wetherspoons as I enjoyed the fact that they are quiet and peaceful places. But from now on I will not be going anywhere near any wetherspoons - with or without my 2 sons and I intend to let everyone I know who has children that they shouldn't go into wetherspoons. Just another wonderful example of family unfriendly UK at it's best!

Even though Wetherspoons are a chain, think they differ depending on where in the country you are.

I hapily took dd to the Wetherspoons for lunch when we lived in Devon, it was large, airy, had a massive courtyard at the back (suntrap in the summer) and a large family area. Wasn't full of pissheads either.

However the ones in Cheltenham and Gloucester are really horrible, wouldn't set foot inside, and have the reputation locally for being filthy, rough and full of drunkards.

Another example of this "family friendly" world of ours!

The one in Bath is opposite the dole office

Noone calls it wetherspoons - it's known as "Jobcentre Plus"

Ours is known as 'Alcoholics airport lounge'

(on account of the modern design and cheapness of the booze)

I live in a fairly small market town and the Spoons is far from rough- in the day time it's actually quite a hive of varied activity not just related to alchohol! I know of at least two community groups that meet there on a weekly basis as it's a convenient clean (yes!) place to chat over a coffee when you have small children in tow. It's quite a pleasant environment for mums to meet and have a coffee in. Agree that for older babies and children it's not ideal but many a rainy afternoon has been spent in there with sticker books, colouring, conversation and nice coffee. Which it does serve!

I can see that in big towns and cities the low prices will attract ruffians (love the word!) but round here it's a pretty sanitary place to be when compared with the other options. I'm not in love with the place, it's a homogenous bland place with no soul (!) but def the easy option here.

As for the ban on more than two drinks, I agree with other posters who have said that fair enough but customers will vote with their feet. It won't stop me going there, I can't really get that worked up over the principle, but reckon they will lose a fair bit of public goodwill (if there's much left after the ox-burger issues etc )

Is it because that the pubs don't have child facilities eg baby changing ??

I was very surprised to be to leave a ws on a saturday lunchtime recently as they did not allow children, I had to feed dd in the car on a freezing day (there was no where else suitable to go into).

I cant remember the last time I went into a Wetherspoons pub, (full of people getting drunk on cheap booze, and probably 'ruffians') but I wouldn't have thought that as a company their target market was families/kids anyway. They're a profit making organisation so if this policy is about making money then that's their prerogative. If they think less kids = more adults getting drunk = more money then that's what they are going to do.

In some locations the 'family market' might have a big spend and its in their financial interest to make it as child friendly as possible e.g. wherever Minkus lives. Making it friendly and accessible for community groups is probably worth their while (especially if using it during the day when they'd otherwise be quiet).

Still dont like kids in pubs anyway. Went into a really nice, very adult orientated bar for lunch the other day and it was like a creche!

Sorry this was a bit long. Am sympathetic to those that live out in the country where options for lunch etc are very limited with kids.

Wetherspoons pubs are pants - years ago went to the bar with a friend and tried to get a drink but man behind bar refused to serve me and asked my friend what he wanted! Wrote to management wanting to know if they are racist (am Chinese) or sexist but no satisfactory answer. Hope they go out of business for seven generations.

The website makes a big deal out of its healthy meals for kids and says their pubs are a great place for a family meal out! They need some joined up thinking, I'd say. Or thinking full stop. How DARE they treat paying customers like this! the smoking ban makes pubs great choices for families looking for a place to have lunch out. Pubs aren't crack dens.

Why not simply ban children. JDW's message is a mixed one. It is either a suitable place to take children or it isn't. They are either family friendly or they're not.

I was quite annoyed about this. no wonder the british have a less healthy attitude to alcohol than most of europe (where children are welcome in most bars, certainly bars that serve food). If they don't want families, they should ban children all together.

but also I think whoever is in charge of wetherspoons' PR is an idiot. why announce the soft drink thing? why not pretend they are protecting children after all? the mark-up on soft drinks is huge after all (not that I care whether or not it makes finincial sense though)

Hmmm I think I've only ever been to Weatherspoons to go drinking or for cheap food while at Uni!

I do agree with not having children running around everywhere in pubs / restaurants. Even if they have a play area such as Wacky Warehouse. They can run in those areas, but it really annoys me if they run around / roam at large in the restaurant bit, or scream (with the exception of babies) or whatever.

I've taken my DD out for lunch since she was a baby & I think if they never go they never know how to behave. Also most parents you see out don't appear to be binge drinking!

Mind you I don't think it's a great loss as there are plenty of more civilised places where you can go instead.

I went to a Wetherspoons in Birmingham once with a mate. It had just opened.

We were sitting there having a nice drink (at a red bull addled table) and suddenly about 10 rozzers burst in to do a drugs raid.

I tell you, having an Alsation sniffing my crotch is not my idea of a good night out

Alsatian

I hate this idea as it smells of police state.

We have come so far down that road that
a private entity now feels it is in our best interest to enact a regulation that infringes on the rights of the public in general to make an informed (or uninformed) decision for itself. we show our acquiescence by continuing to support the business.

Wetherspoons can go screw themselves. And I am not even a drinker.

Only read OP

Twice a year my family (parents, Dh and I, sisters spouses and our kids) get together in the beer agrden of the one local to Mum, have a meal and sit there for the afternoon- kids well supervised. I can't see how that affects anybody badly, and tbh I won't be handing them my money in future- either they're a family friendly chain with the organic menu's they offer, or they're not.
It's alcoholic, soft or hot drinks as well isn't it, so I coulde asily amange a couple in half an hour if say bf and wanted water.

Oh the one we use has a beer agrden, large family area, organic kids menu, kids out by 5.30 rule, and space for changing. Oh and pictures of an event kids are involved in all over it.

{hmm]

i dont see the problem some people have with kids in pubs.

my kids have been taken out to dinner since they were tiny, either pubs restaurants/cafes, whatever, so they know how to behave. dd 3.2 yo doesnt get out of her seat unless for the toilet, and both dd and ds (hes 14mo) know not to shout/be too loud but they are allowed to talk to us/make some noise.

i do understand having a problem when the parents of children in pubs do not monitor their behaviour and they are happily playing hide and seek under other peoples tables

if this had been aimed at alcohol only i would understand, nobody likes to see a drunk mum and dad with dc in tow. but for soft drinks? get a life

and as for weatherspoons i stopped frequenting them when i turned 17

My problem with kids in pubs is that even when they are well behaved I dont see why I or anyone else has to modify their language/behaviour etc because kids sat at the table next to me. I hate to see kids in an environment where people might be getting a bit tipsy/merry/outrageously drunk. Also noisy kids/running around/hiding under the tables/parents oblivous to kids noice/loudly crying babies is a major PITA if you're out trying to share a nice bottle of wine with friends or DH whatever.

That said, I dont have any objection to the kind of pub that is very specifically aimed at families only and if I wanted to go and have a quiet drink I wouldn't go to such a place. Like I said in an earlier post, me and DH went out for a nice lunch the other day to a bar that we've gone to in the past (nice, trendy, grown up kind of bar) and it was like a creche.

I suspect my dislike of kids in pubs goes back many years when me and bf of the time went out for sunday lunch to our usual bar. It was really busy and this family came in (it wasn't really a family orientated bar btw but they were friends with the owner). They couldn't get a table so they stuck their very noisy badly behaved kids at our table because we had spare seats while they went and got drunk at the bar). We then had the company of two PITA kids for our entire lunch (one spilled their coke all over BF lunch).

That's the thing gr1979- I have no issues with pubs that don't allow kids at all. what I object to is pbs that produce special kids menus, have in many cases got family areas, then make it clear that although they're willing to take your cash for these items, you're not actually welcome. Which is imo how Wetherspoons are coming across.

It seems to me that people have problems with kids in pubs because the parents are either a) getting horribly pissed and/or b) ignoring the kids and letting them run riot.

If we had more of a culture where children were taken out and expected to behave well from an early age, I suspect we'd have less badly behaved teenagers and young people vomiting up their booze every Friday night.

I grew up in a country where children are included in every outing, whether that be to the bar or a park. Children were always very well-behaved. The British binging culture appals me and I can't help thinking this weird Victorian attitude to children in pubs is connected.

Peachy... Its a good point - they should be one or the other.

Sazzy... I think the drinking culture in the UK is another topic in itself that is influenced by a number of factors (attitude to children and alcohol being just one of them). I personally dont go to the pub to binge drink.

IT seems to me that the local weatherspoons to us are full of undesirables, and students. The students being OK of course But you can spot the dole spunkers a mile off

I personally wouldnt take my child in there again, having once done so - went there with my mum for lunch and the childrens meal was disgusting. Also, the clientelle left alot to be desired.

I dont have a problem with children in pubs, especially post smoking ban. I just think it depends on the pub. We went to a lovely pub for lunch yesterday and were able to sit in a quiet corner and have lunch and also let DD move around without bothering other patrons. This often suits better than some resturants where DD is expected to stay in her seat, which at 2.5 is unrealistic. Our DD was very much included in this pub visit, it was not a case of her just being there while we were pissing it up, although i must confess to a lovely pint with my pie I think it is wrong to take children to the pubs if they are not included but rather there for the lack of childcare, if you see what i mean.

I think one of the issues is parents perceptions of what bothers other people. (I'm honestly not aiming this at you lucyellensmum, I just mean in general).

I've got friends who take their kids to the pub (mostly afternoons, but sometime in the evening). This is usually when a group of us are getting together to celebrate something and they want to include them. They would say that their kids are well behaved and dont bother anyone, but I (and other people in the group) can see that they do!

It is unrealistic for this particular friend's child to be expected to sit still in her seat (only a toddler) but its not unreasonable for a group of adults to expect to be able to enjoy a quiet drink without a toddler running round them.

I think this is one of those topics that people need to agree to disagree on though as there is not much of a middle ground. I'm not a raving binge drinker who likes to stay in the pub all day avoiding pesky kids, I promise