Let’s paint a picture. It’s Friday night. The pub is buzzing, you’re three pints behind on the pumps, and the phone won’t stop ringing. You answer it, pen behind your ear, trying to find a spot in the battered old diary to scribble down a booking. You can feel the regulars at the bar getting impatient. You hang up and… you’ve already forgotten the name they gave you.
Sound like a typical night? For too many brilliant publicans, it is.
You got into this business to be the heart of the community, to pull a perfect pint, and to create a place where people make memories. You didn’t sign up to be a receptionist, an accountant, and a filing clerk all at once.
The good news? There’s a way out. Running a successful pub isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter. And that starts by getting a handle on five key areas.
Forget the fancy business jargon. Let’s talk straight.
The Five Pillars of a Great Pub
Think of your pub like a stool. If one leg is wobbly, the whole thing is shaky. If all five are strong, you’re rock solid. Here’s what they are:
- Finding & Keeping Customers: Getting bums on seats and making sure they come back.
- The Numbers: Making sure you’re actually making money once they’ve left.
- Keeping the Lights On: All the boring-but-crucial stuff that keeps you safe and legal.
- Your Team: Finding good people and helping them do a great job.
- The Food & Drink: What you actually sell.
It’s that simple. And if you feel a knot in your stomach reading one of those, that’s your starting point.
Where’s Your Wobbly Leg?
For most of us, the biggest daily headache is the first one: Finding & Keeping Customers. And a huge part of that is the absolute chaos of taking bookings.
That paper diary isn’t just old-fashioned; it’s costing you.
- It costs you time: How many hours do you and your staff spend playing phone tag?
- It costs you customers: How many people hang up when the line is busy? How many never call back?
- It costs your reputation: One double-booking because of a scribble can lead to a nasty online review that puts others off.
You’re so busy dealing with customers, you have no time to * attract* them or make the ones you have feel special.
The First Step to Getting Your Evenings Back
Imagine if that phone just… stopped ringing. Imagine if bookings just appeared neatly on a screen, your tables were perfectly organised, and you had a list of everyone who’d visited that you could email about your next quiz night.
That’s not a pipe dream. It’s what happens when you move your bookings online.
It’s the single easiest way to fix that wobbly leg. It’s not about being a tech whizz; it’s about using simple tools designed for pubs like yours to do the hard work for you.
- You save hours every week instantly.
- You stop double-bookings and the headaches they cause.
- You start building a list of loyal customers you can talk to directly.
It frees you up to do what you’re actually good at: checking the ale, chatting to regulars, and being the fantastic publican you are.
Your One Job This Week
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple. Think about which of the five pillars feels the shakiest.
If it’s Finding & Keeping Customers, make a change. Pick one thing, your Sunday lunches, your steak night and decide that from next week, bookings are online only. Just try it.
See how much time it saves you. See how much calmer service feels when you’re not chained to the phone.
You built this business. Now it’s time to make sure it’s working for you, not the other way around.
Ready to stop the booking chaos and start getting your time back?
The KuulSeats booking system is built specifically for UK pubs to make life simpler.
Find out how a free trial can help you reclaim your pub.
Call us now for a free trial:
0203 1500 455