Bouncers On The Door

[ROBCamra]

In another thread Sheffield Hatter states that he has a policy of never going into a pub that has a bouncer on the door.

I mention that sadly this means that he wouldn't go into The Baum on a Friday or Saturday night then. The town centre management insist that they have a bouncer on, they don't really need one, but there's no choice.

This place The Old House also has a bouncer on the door at weekends, but this is to stop the dipsticks from nearby West Street going in, rather than any problem inside the pub. This means that the experience inside the pub is better. So the bouncer is a positive in my opinion in this case.

I'd struggle to visit most pubs in Rochdale and many in Manchester/Sheffield/Leeds/Derby/Nottingham/York/Newcastle/Liverpool etc if I applied that rule.

What does everyone else think?

Does having a bouncer on the door put you off? Or is it just a fact of life these days?

[NickDavies]

It puts me off. Bouncer on the door to me is like hanging a big sign outside saying "This pub is trouble." The bigger and more threatening the bouncers look (and many in that trade look barely human) the less likely I am to go in.

[Al 10000]

It puts me off. Bouncer on the door to me is like hanging a big sign outside saying "This pub is trouble." The bigger and more threatening the bouncers look (and many in that trade look barely human) the less likely I am to go in.

I have to disagree with your post Nick,

These days they are not called bouncers that was a saying back in the 80s,they are now called doormen and have to go through proper training to do this hard and unrewarding job.
I know this because my daughter is going out with a doorman who does the doors of pubs in Nottingham city centre,this doorman has a name and is a decent human being even if he is 6 ft 7in and built like a brick sh** house.

I have to agree with Rob most pubs that have doormen only have them because the council says so, and on my many visits to lots of pubs i have only had friendly helpfull advise about what i am about to walk into.
So to sum it up i am not bothered if there are doormen or not i will still go in the pub.

[Alesonly]

Even the local Wetherspoons has door Persons on Friday & Saturday usually Two Large well built woman Ive seen them chuck out many of lippy Kids that think there it. It makes them look right Pratt's when they get thrown out by the woman. The reason they have woman on the door is they can better handle the drunken girls which seem worse than most men.

[hondo]

The majority of my drinking is based around visits to fitba and horseracing so at weekend fixtures bouncers tend to come with the flow and wouldn't put me off entering a pub.

[gillhalfpint]

As most of my drinking is during the day I haven't come across a lot of bouncers, but remember a Saturday crawl round Derby before I knew my way around when I found them useful for directions to the next pub, even letting me know if only a back door would be open.

[Farway]

Most of my drinking is in daylight hours, and I suspect my choice of pubs does not warrant one anyway, so I have not seen a bouncer on the door.

However "I agree with Nick" [ha managed to get that political one in ] and a bouncer to me would indicate possible trouble I can do without

[aleandhearty]

Does having a bouncer on the door put you off? Or is it just a fact of life these days?

Whilst part of me admires 'SHs' ideals, I agree with ROB that for most city centre pubs it's a fact of life, often based on nothing more than mere location, unfortunately being on some 'run' or other. If there was a pub I wanted to visit, with staff on the door, I'd still go ahead. Having said that, I suppose I still self regulate, by not usually drinking in town on a Friday or Saturday night, preferring teatime, or a mellow Sunday afternoon session.

[Soup Dragon]

I have always found the bouncers on the doors at the Old Joint Stock in Brum very welcoming and polite - it is the bar staff that tend to be more miserable.

If i could add - If you saw two glamorous make-up plastered ladies in skimpy clothes at the door - would that put you off?

[Pubsignman]

I understand where SH is coming from, but the need for bouncers tends to be determined by the pub's location - hence many High Street pubs of good repute will have bouncers to keep out the rowdier elements from nearby Yates/Walkabout/Reflex etc...

If I've been to a pub before or have heard good things about it from this site, the sight of bouncers would not put me off, but I can appreciate that if you turn up in a town you don't know and are faced with a choice of two pubs - one with a bouncer and one without - you would be more likely to pick the one without, due to the negative connotations associated with needing doormen.

I'd be far more likely to avoid pubs that employ toilet attendants than bouncers.