Working on the Chain Gang

A debate flares up from time to time about the rights and wrongs of chain outlets versus independent businesses (indies).

We were thinking about this at the weekend and it's raised its head in a another forum - in a different context, so I've been musing on it some more.

Are big chains evil?  Should we eschew them in favour of indies?

Actually, I'm coming to the view that they have their place.

Let's say you're going to a football match in a strange town and you don't have a copy of the Good Beer Guide to hand.  Your priority for a pub visit is a couple of pints of decent beer - maybe something to eat purely for fuel (and stomach lining) purposes and then you need to get to the ground, so this is unlikely to be a leisurely lunchtime.

Looking at a high street of five pubs which are you going to choose? 

You can see that three have hand pumps so you can discount two.  What you can't tell from window is how well that beer is kept, how much they sell, etc.

I would suggest in these circumstances, in a town you don't want to culture a long term relationship with, you choose the Wetherspoons.

You know precisely what you'll get - decent, possibly even very good, beer which is well kept and properly served and where you know that if you have to return a pint, that'll be done with no fuss.  Chances are, the service will be pretty efficient too.

Once you've chosen this venue, you can relax because you know what the customer experience will be - and you can turn your attention to the important matter of musing over the team's line-up and why someone's on the bench not in the starting formation.

If this is your home-team's town, then I'd hope you'd be prepared to try the other "real" pubs over time, after all, this is proper relationship, isn't it?  It's worth investing more than money in.

Oddly, on Sunday, we broke completely with habit and for reason of proximity of railway station, we ventured into the London and County for a swift one.  Actually it turned into a less than swift one simply because the beer was really good and a break from what's generally available in the rest of Eastbourne.  We won't spend whole relaxed afternoons or evenings in this place...that's not what it's about.  But I can certainly see our traditional "goodbye" pint being here from time to time in future.  Sometimes a girl who lives most of the time in Sussex simply craves a pint of Oakham JHB.

Will it put other good pubs in Eastbourne out of business?

Not the really good ones, no.  That day I visited the Crown and Anchor, the Victoria, the Dolphin and the Dew Drop (blimey, that's quite a list for an afternoon and evening, isn't it?) and all of them were lively and full of customers.  Each of them has their own offering, their own character and we choose accordingly.

I think the best high streets are full of variety, with styles and there's a place for bland chains - their very sameness can be useful and comforting in their own right.