A Wetherspoons branch in Merseyside has been hailed as the pub chain’s first establishment to ‘break rank’ with a queuing phenomenon that has left people across Britain furious
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Four year Wetherspoon pub crawl
A branch of Wetherspoons has been praised for “breaking rank” with a widely-criticised queuing practice that has been implemented in pubs across the country.
X (formerly Twitter) user @QueuesPub, whose profile is devoted to “campaigning to end the recent phenomenon of queuing single file in pubs”, shared a snap originally taken by @cufcmike in The Lifeboat, a boozer in Formby. It shows a sign on the bar of the Merseyside pub reading: “Please stand at the bar to be served. Thank you.”
It prompted QueuesPub to declare: “The first Wetherspoons to break ranks, a vital moment in the campaign. Formby.” Writing in response, one punter hailed: “The revolution begins!” Another claimed: “Wetherspoons was ground zero for this plague so I’m glad they’re taking responsibility and doing something about it.”
A third hit out at fellow patrons who have previously formed single file queues: “Stand at the bar, all along. Don’t queue. A proper barman can cope with that. Queuing came in post lockdown and is an abomination.”
Similarly, a fourth said: “I was in a pub on the river in London last week, queue had formed out the door. Bypassed that and went straight to bar and was served immediately. Be brave! We can fight back.” And a fifth commented: “Queuing in a pub makes it look like a coach load of tourists have just been dropped off for their pre-paid roast and pint of bitter.”
QueuesPub regularly shares snaps of customers stuck in lengthy queues, slamming pub policies that have remained in place well beyond social restrictions being lifted in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesperson for J D Wetherspoon declined to comment.
Earlier this year, meanwhile, Wetherspoons revealed it wants to have 1,000 sites. The chain now has 814 pubs across the country, down from 955 at its peak in 2015. But the firm reckons there is a thirst to grow its estate again, and aims to get to about 1,000 pubs over the next decade. Some of the locations where it plans on opening new boozers includes universities, airports and holiday parks.
