Outraged punters blast Britain's biggest pub chain

Outraged punters blast Britain’s biggest pub chain over ‘dynamic pricing’ plan which would see drinkers charged 20p more for a beer at the weekend during peak times

Punters at a Stonegate pub in central London which recently introduced ‘dynamic’ pricing have branded the move a bad business decision – insisting the price of a pint should be the advertised price and nothing different.

The Coach House, an historic four-storey Victorian pub near Leicester Square in the heart of Piccadilly, has been quenching the thirst of Londoners since the 17th Century – when the country was a Republic for a short period and Oliver Cromwell was head of state.

But the pints they serve have never been more expensive – and now those prices will change depending on how many fellow pubgoers have a thirst, or if there’s a sports match on television.

Some punters had no idea the prices of their chosen drinks at the Coach House would now fluctuate.

Punters at a Stonegate pub in central London which recently introduced ‘dynamic’ pricing have branded the move a bad business decision – insisting the price of a pint should be the advertised price and nothing different

Peter Stewart (pictured) often pops into the Coach House for an after-work tipple, and, even though he doesn’t agree with the chain’s decision to introduce dynamic pricing, a lack of alternative venues in the vicinity of his offices means he will likely continue to visit the pub

Paul Gubby (pictured) says he understands, but does not agree, with the dynamic pricing introduced by Stonegate. He said: ‘You wouldn’t know if they’d upped the price of your beer. ‘That’s what annoys me… It might be £6, but it could have been £5.80 two hours before – you would have no idea’

Others, though against the pricing system, admitted they could see why pubs were introducing such measures when the likes of theatres and airlines had already been practising the same methods for years.

Peter Stewart often pops into the pub for an after-work tipple, and, even though he doesn’t agree with the chain’s decision to introduce dynamic pricing, a lack of alternative venues in the vicinity of his offices means he will likely continue to visit the Coach House.

The 34-year-old, who is currently expecting his first child with his partner, said he had no idea they had introduced dynamic pricing until he was told about it.

READ MORE: Busy pub? Then pay more for a pint! Britain’s biggest pub chain will charge drinkers 20p more for a beer at the weekend during peak times

Mr Stewart, who works in sales for a financial services firm, said: ‘I think it’s a bit of a daft commercial decision, to handle it the way they [Stonegate] did.

‘That said, there’s not a great selection of pubs around here, so I don’t think the dynamic pricing will put me off.

‘I don’t use Slug and Lettuces or any of these pubs, but I didn’t know it was at this pub.’

Another man, who gave his name as Martin, who popped into the Coach House with colleagues for an after-work drink, said he believes some pubs bump up the prices of their products to ward off punters they would rather drank elsewhere.

‘Some pubs price up their drinks to exclude certain people,’ he said.

‘I have seen it work from the landlord’s perspective. I walked into one pub recently and it had all changed.

‘It had more of a gastropub feel to it, and some of their former workers had been excluded.

‘My friend told me it was because they put the prices of the drinks up.’

A pint of beer now costs more than £6 in areas across London and the south east of England

The Coach House, an historic four-storey Victorian pub near Leicester Square in the heart of Piccadilly, has been quenching the thirst of Londoners since the 17th Century – when the country was a Republic for a short period and Oliver Cromwell was head of state

Paul Gubby says he understands, but does not agree, with the dynamic pricing introduced by Stonegate.

The 56-year-old farmer, from the town of Orpington in Kent, said: ‘I can understand it, when the theatres and the airlines already do it.

READ MORE: Business owner hits out at Britain’s biggest pub chain for charging drinkers 20p more for a beer at peak times – as viewers rage they’ll ‘drink elsewhere’ instead

‘But I can’t understand it in a pub, to be honest. The price should be the price and that is it.

‘They need more staff when they’re busy, but that should be covered in the price of the pint.’

However, Mr Gubby made the point that customers often don’t know if prices have been reduced or raised.

The father-of-two added: ‘You wouldn’t know if they’d upped the price of your beer.

‘That’s what annoys me… It might be £6, but it could have been £5.80 two hours before – you would have no idea.

‘Imagine if the landlord of my local pub, who used to work for Stonegate, if he would ever introduce dynamic pricing.

‘He gets about ten people a night. If he gets 20 the next night, is he going to put the prices up because it’s busy?

‘I would be annoyed if I paid more for a pint, but I wouldn’t know.

‘If you were in here all afternoon and the prices started going up, then you would question it.’

After buying a round for himself and his wife at around 5:30pm, Mr Gubby reiterated how it was impossible for him to tell whether he had paid more for his drinks.

He said a pint of Camden Hells lager, a packet of peanuts and a bottle of Rekorderlig cider cost £15.10.

Bob Vyas, who doesn’t drink alcohol but popped into the Coach House for a soft drink before getting the train back home to Cambridge, said he thought the dynamic pricing was a bad business decision considering how hard people were struggling financially at present.

The 50-year-old consultant and father-of-two, who was also oblivious to the recent introduction of dynamic pricing at Stonegate venues, said: ‘Considering we are all struggling to meet ends meet at the moment, I don’t think it’s a great idea.

Cabin crew workers Marina Kelly and Naoures Agrebi, both 22, (pictured) said they thought many pubgoers were often too drunk to notice whether the price of their beer had changed throughout the evening

Bob Vyas, (pictured) who doesn’t drink alcohol but popped into the Coach House for a soft drink before getting the train back home to Cambridge, said he thought the dynamic pricing was a bad business decision given how hard people were struggling financially at present

‘You can probably get away with it in London, but if it’s somewhere outside of London, it’s not going to be a brilliant idea.

‘At the end of the day, if Joe Bloggs starts saying, ‘Do I have one drink less or sacrifice something else?’.

‘It’s a difficult time for everyone. I don’t think it’s a good business decision.

‘Some places do happy hours to get punters in, but this will potentially discourage price sensitive punters.’

Cabin crew workers Marina Kelly and Naoures Agrebi, both 22, said they thought many pubgoers were often too drunk to notice whether the price of their beer had changed throughout the evening.

Ms Kelly, who is from Ireland but now lives in Dubai, said: ‘When people start drinking a bit and start getting tipsy, they don’t look at the prices, so people don’t notice.

‘Anyone could put on an extra 20 pence. Once you’re drunk, you will buy drinks for everyone and, by the end of the night, all your wages are gone.

‘I think if you’re drunk enough, if it’s 20p more, then it’s not unfair.

‘But if it’s more… It depends how much money you make.’

Ms Agrebi, asked if she would continue drinking somewhere if she found out they were employing dynamic pricing, added: ‘If I like the place, I will still go.’

Ms Kelly added that, in her native Ireland, she didn’t think anyone would notice if prices were raised or reduced, because ‘alcohol is alcohol in Ireland’.

Stonegate Group, which owns Slug & Lettuce, will charge customers an extra 20p for a pint during peak trading period

William Morris, a retired deputy headteacher originally from Wakefield in Greater Manchester, said h

‘We go to a pub in Dulwich where they put the price of beer and cider down by about a third to £4 a pint, and the wine down to £5 a glass between Monday and Thursday.

‘I think that is a good idea. The dynamic pricing doesn’t effect our group.

‘If the prices went up somewhere, we wouldn’t go.

‘There’s a lot of choice of pubs in London. If you have one that’s going to be more expensive because it’s busy, I wouldn’t go.

‘I see the concept, but, for us, we wouldn’t go.’

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