Thought I ought to write a bit more about our pub the Victoria Inn rather than just Salcombe - otherwise you readers are going to think I'm having the life of reilly here .......... well I am but in between all the breathtaking scenery, fantastic shops, great people etc etc - we are actually working incredibly hard! HONESTLY!!!!
I feel incredibly privileged to working with such a great bunch of people..... in a previous blog I wrote about the kitchen team, but now I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the gang. Firstly there is Gloria - Glo - to all and sundry. Glo is the Bar Manager and she is just fantastic........ she makes sure that all the staff are in place on the rota, that everyone knows what they are doing - but more importantly - she makes sure that staff look after customers and that our service is fantastic...! Everyone loves Glo - staff and customers alike - she always has a smile, she works incredibly hard and can always find jobs for the staff to do (great news!!). Glo is very camera shy, so if you want to see her - then you'll just have to come in and see her in person!
Working with her is Karen - she is our Princess Diana person in the nicest sense of the word - quietly spoken, given to smiling shyly from beneath her fringe and a really sweet natured person. When she gets the giggles it's really quite contagious!! Her customer service skills are first class......
Next we have Carol - a red head with a great personality and a really super young lady. Fantastic with the customers - absolutely nothing is too much trouble for her and she is a huge asset to the team. Get Carol and Karen together and you're likely to hear peals of giggles as they discuss boys and goodness knows what else......... Then we also have Fay who works just a few hours for us at the moment - and she's great as well. Lastly, but not least and hugely important is Jackie - our cleaner. We are ALWAYS complimented on the cleanliness of our pub and Jackie can be rightly proud of the work she puts in to ensure that this is the case.
So thats the team so far folks - as the Christmas season dawns upon us, we shall endeavour to give Fay a few more hours to help out and shortly we shall be having a young man join our female front of house team - more about him as and when he starts. All parts of a pub team are really important and if one bit isn't right - then it has a huge knock on effect all round - if the food isn't great, then all the best customer service in the world won't matter one bit - BUT - the front of house service is a vital part of us being a success - I always say (in my very best David Brent mode!!) you NEVER get a second chance to make a first impression.....so that first smile, that first interaction and the last good bye have always, always got to be spot on and perfect! I think we're getting it right, and we are very proud of all of our staff.
So then - what about the customers............ well they seem to be liking us and our approach! Apart from the obvious fantastic beers, fab choice of wines and of course the utterly wonderful food, there is the welcome board (from all of us - including Beth), the soft furnishings we've brought in to the bar and restaurant, the candles -loads of twinkling coloured lights - for which we have been very slightly teased by some of the locals (and which do cost us a small fortune every month!!) - but they just give a really gentle warm glow to the pub. Then lastly, the soft, very slightly jazzy, middle of the road music we have on in the background.
We have been extremely fortunate in that for a late November we are actually still quite busy and already seeing many repeat visitors such as our lovely guests in this picture: Bally, Mona, Ro & John - frequent visitors from Bristol and enjoying a couple (!) of hours in our lovely newly designed cosy seating area - just in front of the woodburner.
There we are then - 8 weeks into our new life and so far so good - the only way is onwards and upwards hopefully......... Next week, we have a big BII Christmas lunch for the South West region, for which we are fully prepared and both Tim and I are looking forward to hosting this event. But for now, a busy Saturday night beckons - so I'm off to get my gladrags on and get behind the bar to welcome our guests. See you soon with more ramblings my lovely friends..............
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