Cocktails And A Change Of Chairman At BII Scotland Event

Over 60 attendees packed out the presentation room at the brewery to see chairman of four years Donald McLauchlan CBII hand over the chain of office to Kenny Mitchell MBII.tp of Glasgow-based KMT Services. A line up of new officers was also voted onto the BII Scotland Council to take the organisation into a new era.

Kenny Mitchell said of his new role; “I am looking forward to my three years in office with optimism and excitement. I am confident that the industry will get its strength back, despite some of the problems experienced with implementation of the new licensing regime, and the public will continue to enjoy their nights out in their ‘local’. BII members throughout Scotland are here with open arms, ready to provide hearty hospitality to their customers.”

Once the formal proceedings were over, Alan Jones, Director of Host Academy for Glasgow-based G1 Group, took centre stage to deliver a lively and amusing presentation on ‘sales and success in a mad world’. He discussed a number of simple ways to increase footfall and maximise sales including using social media outlets such as YouTube to publicise venues and services in a unique way which is relevant to specific audiences.

Alan also promoted the excellent profitability and appeal of cocktails; simple but very popular and with potentially high GPs. He then moved on to look at the highs and lows of staffing matters. “Customer interaction is key,” he commented. “All the skills and training in the world can’t make a good bar tender or waiter/waitress. They have to be able to talk comfortably with customers from all walks of life.”

Training and development were Alan’s next big must have. He confirmed that investment in these vital business elements motivates staff and builds loyalty, resulting in higher staff retention and increased profitability. “It’s a no brainer,” he concluded. Alan believes that training will play an increasingly important role in the future and that the licensed hospitality industry is moving away from legislation-based to skills and knowledge-based training.

A full list of the members of the Council can be found on the BII Scotland website.

Our photo shows: Donald McLauchlan (right) handing over the chain of office to incoming Chairman Kenny Mitchell.

Contact

Joanna Buston
Email: joannab@bii.org
Telephone: 01276 417863