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00:00I've run hotels most of my working life.
00:04So we've got 23 rooms in-house tonight.
00:07Thank you very much to all of you.
00:09So I know all too well how brutal the hospitality industry can be.
00:13That is terrifying.
00:15We've put everything that we have into this.
00:17And this year the situation truly is dire.
00:20You've got me worried about that now.
00:22I have a lot of pressure to make sure that I deliver.
00:25With businesses facing spiralling energy, food and wage costs.
00:30I have a big sense of responsibility.
00:33And customers who have less money to spend.
00:36Frankly, sweet Fanny Adams.
00:38From country pubs.
00:39Careful of the dog.
00:41To seaside hotels.
00:42This is going to be done for Friday.
00:44I have somebody in here Friday night.
00:46Shepherds huts.
00:47You've got a big one.
00:49To family guest houses.
00:51Makes me think of Scarlett O'Hara.
00:53They're all in desperate need of my help.
00:55She's just pulled up and I'm terrified.
00:58I'll be getting my hands dirty.
01:00Come on, the paint work.
01:03And delivering some hard truths.
01:05I think you're bonkers.
01:07Hello.
01:08To help owners across the country get back in the black.
01:12Something has got to change.
01:14We're very silent.
01:16Why?
01:16You're the expert.
01:17Before everything comes crashing down.
01:20We're just hoping we can catch it before it's too late.
01:24That is my challenge.
01:26Should I choose to accept it?
01:27And I do.
01:31This time.
01:33Terror.
01:34Horror.
01:34I'm all at sea.
01:36I've been up all night throwing up.
01:38Trying to rescue a portside pub from sinking without a trace.
01:42They've got no customers.
01:44Spend the time tidying up.
01:46And with owners wading through mountains of debt.
01:49It's about $50,000.
01:52Have they sounded the alarm when it's already too late?
01:55I mean, I just want to know, have you given up already?
02:01On the south coast of England is the ocean city of Southampton.
02:06It was from here that Titanic set sail in 1912.
02:11Now it's the UK's busiest cruise port.
02:15With 85% of the country's cruise ships departing from here.
02:22Commanding a prime location opposite one of the ferry terminals is the Platform Tavern.
02:28This is mission control.
02:29This is the bar.
02:30It's a small mission control.
02:32But it works.
02:34For almost 30 years, landlord Stuart has been at the helm of this drinking establishment
02:39that has stood here since 1873.
02:42In every man's heart, he was his own pub.
02:45And I thought I'd give it a go.
02:48And I just relished it.
02:51Former graphic designer Stuart lives above the pub,
02:54which he shares with his eight-year-old daughter Imelda.
02:58She stays here three times a week.
03:01She keeps me young.
03:02As does his wardrobe.
03:04This is my bedroom.
03:05All my famous loud shirts that I wear in the pub.
03:09I'm infamous for my loud shirts.
03:11My daughter's favourite shirt is my quack quack shirt.
03:19And in this pub, loud shirts and sometimes loud music is the order of the day.
03:25And you come around again here.
03:28This is our kind of like stage area.
03:31Live music is what we're really, really known for.
03:34And we've had some pretty epic nights in here.
03:36And it's good fun.
03:37It's very good fun.
03:39Jeremy is Stuart's right-hand man, a former Southampton student who first worked at the pub in 2015.
03:47I did my first couple of months at uni and thought, I need a job.
03:53And I'd walked in and took my CV in.
03:55And as soon as I walked in, I thought, oh, actually, this is a lot nicer than, kind of like
04:00a hidden gem sort of thing.
04:01A hidden gem that was also making decent money.
04:07Yeah.
04:08I think my best year to date was 2015.
04:13OK.
04:14I think we made 50,000 that year, you know.
04:18By far the best year we've ever had.
04:20But the honeymoon period of 2015 came to an end.
04:25Another one bites the dust, as they say.
04:28His marriage ended.
04:30And then a devastating fire tore through the pub.
04:35Terror.
04:38Horror.
04:39Look at the blinds there.
04:40Yeah.
04:42One minute you've got a pub that's open and thriving.
04:45And the next minute it's closed and it's just everything's in.
04:48It's black.
04:49In the early hours of the 5th of October 2023, Stuart was awoken by a call to say a fire
04:55had broken out in the tavern.
04:57I think if the fire brigade had turned up, maybe 10, 15 minutes later, the whole pub would have gone.
05:04The platform survived the fire, but now faces the heat of spiralling debt.
05:11The pub itself, the business, had quite a few debts.
05:13We couldn't pay those debts.
05:16And I found myself in a position where I had to fold the business.
05:20And I needed someone to come in and set up a new business and just employ me as a living
05:27landlord, basically.
05:28If you look at this quarter, we're negative 12 grand.
05:32Really?
05:33Yep.
05:36From cutting his teeth, washing pots as a student, Jeremy was about to take on a bigger role in the
05:43running of the pub.
05:45I knew Jeremy.
05:46He'd worked here a number of times before.
05:48And so I gave him a call and asked him if he wanted the opportunity to come back and set
05:53up a new business here and get the platform back on its ground again.
05:56Together, Stuart and Jeremy have fought to stave off the tavern's execution.
06:03Stuart still owns a building.
06:05Essentially, he's the landlord.
06:06I pay him rent every month.
06:09And I also employ him on a salary.
06:13But the money worries in this pub are really mounting up.
06:20So I've got here, outstanding to HMRC in VAT and PAYE, it's about £50,000.
06:29The mortgage on the building was, unfortunately, it's interest only.
06:33And now I'm paying just over £4,000 a month from the mortgage.
06:37And time for the tavern has almost run out.
06:42Got about six months, probably, before we've got a...
06:45It's last ditch right now.
06:47It's, yeah.
06:57Southampton is noted for its cruise industry.
07:00It means that there's this incredible influx of visitors, both local and international.
07:05And so I'm expecting it to be a really vibrant scene.
07:08I always love a new project, and I love a pub.
07:11So I'm feeling pretty upbeat this morning.
07:17Hopefully, my hosts share my enthusiasm.
07:21Cut.
07:24Being sick as well, are you?
07:26I've been up all night throwing up.
07:33Well, first impressions are really not great.
07:36Outside here, it doesn't tell you if it's food, if it's booze only, what it does at all.
07:44And I think that's a bit of a mistake.
07:47Maybe they've put out A-boards or something later.
07:50I'm hoping so.
07:52Because at the moment, there's absolutely nothing to tempt me in.
07:56Not least the menu that I've finally spotted.
07:58Is it a pizza gaffe or a fish and chips gaffe?
08:03Somewhere that says,
08:05Or, you know, chimichurri prawns.
08:10Clearly a mishmash of modern-sounding food, served up in an old maritime pub.
08:16James McGrady Stewart, first cast of all the Titanic, perished in the 1912 disaster, lived here.
08:23I hope that's not a portent for the future.
08:34Hi, morning.
08:35Morning.
08:36Stuart.
08:37Hello, pleased to meet you.
08:38Hello, it's very nice to meet you.
08:39Jeremy, nice to meet you.
08:41So, who does what round here?
08:44So, I run most of the business side of things, and I am the second chef as well.
08:51And is the food side busy?
08:53No.
08:54Fine.
08:55Not, definitely not how it used to be.
08:57Okay.
08:57And, darling, what do you do?
08:59I'm the landlord, basically.
09:01I run the pub.
09:04And the drinking culture has changed so much.
09:07Have you noticed a decline in bar sales?
09:09Oh, yes.
09:10Definitely gone down, especially over the last sort of ten years, I'd say.
09:13You sound despairing.
09:15Don't worry.
09:16I'm old school, so I'm still a drinker.
09:18They're still home.
09:19They're still home.
09:20Yeah.
09:21Yeah.
09:22Clearly, I'm here to try and help me save the pub.
09:24Yeah.
09:25Yes.
09:25Yeah.
09:26We need your help.
09:27Can I have a look around?
09:28Sure, please.
09:29And then...
09:30Make yourself at home.
09:31Great.
09:31I'll come back and chat with you.
09:33Okay.
09:33Great.
09:41I mean, it's a little bit odd.
09:45It all looks...
09:47I mean, it looks a bit on its uppers, if I'm honest.
09:51It just feels like somewhere that probably looks better after dog.
09:59I'm interested to find out how she can turn the hospitality trade around and make it work
10:05for us.
10:08I'm struggling to find out what the tavern's USP really is.
10:13The lost Titanic being towed out of Belfast Harbour.
10:18Partial list of the saved.
10:21One thing that does need saving in this pub is the levels of cleanliness.
10:27A filthy kettle.
10:29A whole load of kind of condiments.
10:33You know, put the f***ing ketchup and mayonnaise in the fridge occasionally.
10:37Now, clean the kettle.
10:38Look at the state of the kettle.
10:40I mean, I wouldn't want a cup of tea, thank you very much.
10:43No.
10:45You know, they've got no customers.
10:47Spend their time tidying up.
10:49It kind of smacks of defeat, is what I don't like about it.
10:54I mean, go down by all means, but go down fighting.
11:10This is the Platform Tavern.
11:13A struggling maritime boozer in the cruise ship capital of Southampton.
11:18Run by landlord Stuart.
11:20I don't want to see the platform die.
11:22None of my customers want to see it die.
11:24And ex-Southampton Uni student, Jeremy.
11:28I just kind of plunged into it.
11:30I had no idea what I was doing.
11:31But with debts going up and customer numbers down, the tavern's future is in grave danger.
11:40In your last full financial year, what was your turnover?
11:44$502,000.
11:47Okay.
11:47And did you make a profit?
11:49No.
11:50So it was minus?
11:53£55,577.
11:55How much for mortgage do you owe?
11:57About $280 now.
11:59I owe the mortgage company $27,000 in arrears.
12:02Yeah.
12:03Now they're threatening to sell the pub at auction to get their money.
12:08It's a big load to bear at times having to...
12:14Well, it's a quite big responsibility and it's only getting worse.
12:19And I don't really know how to turn things around.
12:27I feel like they've really had the stuffing knocked out of them.
12:31They feel very piano, as you would say in Italian, which means that they're just quite subdued.
12:36I think it's been a bit searing.
12:39Obviously, this threat hanging over their head is immediate and terminal.
12:46To get the tills ringing again at the tavern, I need to find out which customer base they need to
12:51land.
12:54Last year, Southampton handled 3 million cruising customers.
12:59Could this be a captive market or local workers looking for lunch?
13:04Hi.
13:05Yeah, we'd love a table for tea for lunch, please.
13:07Which market does Stuart and Jeremy need to reel in?
13:11You know, not for the first time.
13:13I'm importing a whole load of people to come and try out the pub for me.
13:28This stress test is to show me how the pub copes with customers and, crucially, what they're choosing to eat.
13:36I'll get someone to serve you.
13:37Look at that, busy on lunchtime. What's going on?
13:40You've done it already.
13:41I'm here.
13:41High fives.
13:44Hopefully, the pub can handle the lunchtime rush.
13:48This journey.
13:50Time will tell.
13:54I have invited food writers.
13:57I do a little bit of writing about stuffing, cleaning food, and James runs a Portsmouth food guide.
14:02I want some constructive criticism to look perfect.
14:05You're pretty good at that.
14:06Yeah, but...
14:07Constructive criticism, and always with a keen eye for cleanliness.
14:12It's so good.
14:13I'm so sorry.
14:14It was sticky.
14:15It's disgusting.
14:16There you go.
14:17Thanks, darling.
14:18Alongside food writers, I've also invited students.
14:22What do you think of the prices?
14:24The lunch menu's more student prices, but the pizza menu and the other menus can be a little bit steeper.
14:30And what do the business lunch brigade think?
14:34Right.
14:35Hello.
14:36Hello.
14:36I take it that you are locals.
14:39Yep.
14:40Yep.
14:41Okay, good.
14:42Very local from across town or from nearby?
14:45We work just next door.
14:47Ketchup.
14:48Yeah, a bit of ketchup.
14:49What would make you come in here more often?
14:52Would you appreciate a local spot?
14:54Yeah.
14:55Absolutely.
14:56Yeah.
14:56I mean, with us just being a couple minutes across the way, it would definitely be a bonus.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Yeah.
15:01Last but not least, some cruise passengers from Down Under.
15:05Hello.
15:06You sound like you're not entirely from these sorts.
15:09We need to cast the net as wide as possible.
15:13Well, why are you here?
15:15We're going on a boat tomorrow.
15:17Oh, we do.
15:18Yeah.
15:18Where are you going?
15:20Oh, my gosh.
15:22Very exciting.
15:23Yeah.
15:24That should be good.
15:27Your food won't be long as it's been plated up now, okay?
15:30I mean, I'll tell you what I noticed straight away is, first of all, they're a lazy shower in there,
15:36aren't they?
15:37Jeremy's still sat on his arse.
15:39You've got a pub full of people.
15:41Surely, that is exactly what you want.
15:43Because if they're just going to sit on their arses and let me run around and do all the work,
15:46I'm not interested.
15:48Time to see if the food has piqued people's interest.
15:52So far, so good?
15:53Actually, really pleasantly surprised.
15:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:59Good.
15:59It's been all good, yeah.
16:01Well, I'm really pleased you're saying that.
16:02I wasn't expecting it either, thank you.
16:07But what do my cash-strapped students think?
16:10And was it worth the wait?
16:13You can be honest.
16:14I don't mind.
16:15It took quite a while for the food to come out.
16:17It took a long, long, long, long, long time.
16:19And we got very hungry.
16:20I felt like it wouldn't work very well for the student lifestyle.
16:23We were rushing between places.
16:24Yeah, getting to lectures.
16:26Yeah, I agree.
16:28Okay.
16:28Not quite the glowing report from the students.
16:31Thank you very much indeed.
16:34It's okay.
16:34Thanks, darling.
16:35It was a very delicious meal, I'd say.
16:37Thanks.
16:39Certainly plenty of room in this pub to raise the bar.
16:43And from what I've seen, this starts with the landlords.
16:48I suppose I want to know whether you guys have still got some vim and vigor and energy and enthusiasm.
16:54Because that was slightly lacking to my mind today.
16:59This is the hospitality industry.
17:01You had quite a few people in the pub.
17:02I didn't see either of you kind of leaping forward to energetically welcome them with a big smiling face.
17:10And I feel like there's just loads of really basic things that you guys just have gone completely blind to.
17:17I mean, I just want to know, have you given up already?
17:22Fair enough.
17:24Well, do you have an answer?
17:25Am I, am I, you know, why?
17:27Why is it like that?
17:30Why is it like this?
17:33Um, I haven't really got a good answer for you.
17:36It feels like you guys have already thought, well, this is a done deal and actually f*** it.
17:42You know, you've still got to fight.
17:45And just turning up and opening the door every day isn't fighting.
17:49It's just accepting the inevitable.
17:51And my example is always like it's turning around the Titanic.
17:54It's slow, but it's got to, so that's why it's got to start immediately.
17:58Yeah.
17:59I think we need, we need a bit of encouragements and like a, a bit of a reality check.
18:06Like this to, because you're right, I think we've, we've become a bit defeated.
18:13Well, no, I mean, we want to turn the business around and we're willing to change anything.
18:17We have to change.
18:20I feel like I'm just fighting to keep afloat and I don't feel like I can, there's like, I'm, you
18:26know.
18:26But you're not doing anything different, darling.
18:28No, I know.
18:29Think out.
18:30You know, sitting here waiting for customers is not the way to be successful.
18:36Plaster off.
18:37Time to start applying some kind of bandage.
18:41So the first thing is have a good look around, clean yourselves up.
18:45Yeah.
18:46Second thing is start thinking about the menu.
18:50Every single person wants either a meal deal or, you know, would love a discount card.
18:56Let's just be a bit more thoughtful about what it is we're offering and how we're offering it.
19:02By the time I come back, I want to see a very different place.
19:06Okay.
19:09I think Jeremy and Stuart both looked a bit stunned, but I think what I was pointing out was kind
19:16of undeniable.
19:17I feel like they're not terribly enthusiastic, proactive and energetic.
19:25It was fair, didn't expect it.
19:28We should have done a lot more before she came.
19:29We've taken on board everything she said and we definitely need to get a mojo back and, you know,
19:36and try to get customers in through the door and come up with some fresh ideas.
19:43I think, actually, they've lost confidence in their product and in the project as a whole.
19:50Yeah, it's finding the right market and the right people.
19:59That's where I come in.
20:03Southampton has a titanic-sized cruise industry worth £2.5 billion annually,
20:10a market they should be tapping into.
20:14Before I leave, I'm meeting up with Gemma from Go Southampton,
20:18an organisation that helps business in the city.
20:23Tell me everything I need to know about Southampton and the type of tourism that comes here.
20:27We have three million cruise passengers come in every year and it's only getting stronger.
20:33It's a thriving industry for the city.
20:36What are people looking for when they come off a ship?
20:38They want that quintessential British experience, fish and chips, pint poured at the pub,
20:44those kind of things that really make them feel like they've got the culture.
20:47Southampton is also intrinsically and tragically linked with the sinking
20:52of one of the world's most infamous cruise liners.
20:55Is the Titanic a massive draw?
20:58It's huge.
20:59It is?
21:00It's huge, yeah.
21:00That's one of the biggest questions we get.
21:02Some people ask for Jane Austen, but most people ask for the Titanic.
21:05So I'm trying to help the platform tavern.
21:07Yes.
21:08And the last person to be found, James McGrady, his last address was there.
21:12I'm hoping to make it a pit stop on someone who's on a Titanic trail.
21:17Fantastic.
21:18Yeah.
21:18I mean, that's golden.
21:19And we can help with building that story to make sure that it's a pit stop on the journey
21:22that they take.
21:27We have to hit kind of Titanic point.
21:30I mean, that's why lots of people come to Southampton and we ignore that at our peril.
21:36I think we just have to actually go out and start talking to people and making sure that
21:40that we remind people that the platform tavern is there.
21:55That's 6.30, mate.
22:06That's 6.30, mate.
22:09I think we have to do a lot of people.
22:11I don't know.
22:11We have to go out the way.
22:16I mean, we can do a lot of people.
22:26who i'm glad to see have responded with action and i hope enthusiasm
22:32i think it's what we both needed someone to shake us up a bit we just can't sit back and
22:37cross our fingers you know we have to do something giving the place a good scrubbing was an absolute
22:44basic hopefully it will look a lot better they did before next on my to-do list was to declutter
22:52those confusing menus so there's one two three four five six seven eight eight small bites and one
23:02two three four five six seven seven mains that was that then there was a lunch menu
23:09and then there was a pizza menu as well well this is the new reduced menu hopefully less wastage
23:19a bit of a less choice and quicker to cook and get out of the kitchen and to wash down
23:24the simpler
23:25and tastier menu well we've introduced the loyalty card which i think was a good idea buy nine pints
23:31and get your tenth pint for free free beer is always a good take-up and if the paying public
23:38prefers a
23:39nice cup of tea i hope for their sake that kettle is as clean as a whistle uh the kettle
23:45yeah i've
23:46cleaned that since and um cleaned that up i think we've done a good job i'm hoping overall she'll be
23:57happy i have to say i didn't have an enormous uplift of the heart as i woke up this morning
24:05knowing i was
24:06coming to southampton and actually faced with a general lack of enthusiasm that both jeremy and
24:12stewart seems shown before i check on progress at the tavern i've asked stewart and jeremy to meet
24:19me at one of southampton's most visited exhibitions hello how are you very well yourself very good good
24:25morning the sea city museum opened april the 10th 2012 exactly a hundred years since titanic's maiden voyage
24:37from southampton with around 2200 passengers and crew on board the liner set sail for new york
24:51four days later at 11 40 pm the ship struck an iceberg and sank taking with it over 1500 passengers
25:00and crew
25:05i think it's really clear that so many people come to southampton specifically because of the titanic story
25:12yeah and um people kind of expect there to be a bit more of a trail a bit a few
25:18more obvious places to
25:19kind of visit like on a pilgrimage so let's go and have a look okay so gosh this is all
25:27the crew on the
25:29titanic it's amazing how few faces we have to put the names james mcgrady your guy he's there already
25:39james mcgrady's last known address was the platform tavern unlike others who tragically died nobody has
25:46put a face to the name family members contributed these to put faces to the names yeah but obviously
25:55james mcgrady didn't have anyone to do that for him and it would be nice if we could in our
26:01research
26:01manage to do that they're all really young well lots of them so young onward james was one of 540
26:11crew from southampton who perished so he was in a dining saloon wasn't he first class yeah so that's
26:23six pounds a month he works hard for it my god one of hundreds of local working people simply trying
26:31to make a living so many of the crew were on it because they were desperate to be fed properly
26:38and
26:38to get some six weeks work i think it's a shame we've got the name james mcgrady on the wall
26:44but
26:44there's no portrait you know who knows why but it would be nice to fill in that little gap and
26:50feel like
26:50one is somehow contributing to history it's amazing exhibition quite airy yeah i'm glad i came it's
26:57taken 10 years but i'm glad i came yeah yeah it makes you feel realize how big of a pie
27:01it was in
27:02southampton's history it was huge you know they've got a little tiny bit of that history at the platform
27:08tavern and i'm sure that we should take advantage of it
27:15it has been a sobering afternoon at the sea city museum now it's back to the pub to check on
27:21progress
27:22with my homework top of my to-do list was reducing the menus let's see see of the day scotch
27:29egg
27:29silly fries salt and pepper squid driver gosh tiny little very clever appropriate menu good alongside
27:36the more compact menu i asked jeremy to devise a lunchtime meal deal to tempt people in this is our
27:43food deals any bap and a pint eleven quid that is a brilliant deal as people are walking past you
27:50might be able to get them with a bap and a pint i think that's a really clever idea what
27:54is this on the
27:55table ah i think these loyalty cards are they yeah and you can see they've gone down really well
28:00the regular regulars yeah i'm loving it obviously yeah we've got to try and reach out to the non-regulars
28:06that's exactly the idea with the meal deals menus and loyalty cards all in hand i'm gonna have a quick
28:12look around okay now time for a spot check on my request to keep this place clean well already
28:20this looks more fit for purpose it's all set up if a group came in the floor has clearly just
28:28been
28:28washed before i arrived but is this a reflection of the rest of the pub that one however it still
28:35leaves something to be desired i mean um let's have a look at the kettle shall we
28:44still needs cleaning
28:47you didn't quite get to the kettle stewart did you we did clean it did you i did yeah when
28:54oh about three weeks ago just after you left you know but that's the thing about cleaning darling
28:59it's like the sun rises and sets you can't just do it once and then stop
29:04i worry that men are just genetically and culturally not encouraged to clean and it irritates me
29:11have you got any glass cleaner yes we have well use it on that mirror then please
29:17my sense of bono me may be waning if we're going to try and get some lunchtime trade in here
29:22we need
29:23it to be clean thank you okay the pub must be ship-shaped before i can get people in
29:31also at the moment any kind of marketing is lacking i just can't get around the fact we're not
29:37advertising anything they don't have a local beer named on a board outside they don't have any kind
29:43of food offering showing they're just basically not doing anything at all to encourage people to come in
29:50which i really don't get
29:54despite trimming their menu and offering a meal deal without customers crossing the threshold
30:00stewart and jeremy might as well just shut up shop
30:04i'm sorry but i think you're absolutely wrong not to advertise people need to know that you're
30:09doing a meal deal i'm intending to try and market this both to tourists and people in the city
30:16i want stewart and jeremy to create a leaflet that i can use to drum up business it needs to
30:22be all
30:22singing and dancing okay flyers for the pub could be a fantastic way to get punters through the door
30:30quite a little bit ah i don't know why it's made it so bloody small this is doing right in
30:38while the boys have been busy with their flyer
30:43i've been doing my own detective work around their connections to the titanic and i have found some
30:49useful bits i have a few bits of
30:57titanic memorabilia which i think should go up on the wall fantastic we've got most importantly is
31:05the tavern as it was back in the day that's a lovely old photograph showing a sign for good
31:10rooms which is where james mcgrady would have stayed and i'm also delighted to have found a
31:19portrait of the man who once stayed here then we have the all-important portrait of mr mcgrady oh you
31:27found one yeah it's amazing this simple but powerful picture is to become the centerpiece of a wall in
31:34the tavern that commemorates the titanic and they say even a stopped clock tells the right time twice
31:41a day so i have another idea for theirs so i'm going to leave you to put up this yeah
31:48as your clock is
31:50already stopped do you not think that we could also put the hands for time the the the the titanic
31:56struck the iceberg fantastic idea yeah shouting about the pub's connections to the titanic is
32:03really key if we're to get tourists through the door with stuart on clock watch it's up to jeremy
32:11and i to drum up some trade with the flyers for the pub's lunchtime deals fantastic lovely thank you
32:17okay have fun time for some old-fashioned but very direct marketing this may be low-tech tactics in a
32:25modern digital world but meeting and greeting people can often reap rewards platform tavern live
32:32music lunchtime offers two for one pizzas friendly service
32:41hey fix just wanted to give you a leaflet to my pub excuse me can i just for a pint
32:48a glass of wine
32:49and a bap can i give you one of them uh you can thank you sir
32:54she's run off ahead i couldn't keep up i don't know where she gets the energy from
33:00can i give you one of those for our pub come on jeremy i'm winning
33:09but is stuart with his new display back at the pub i'm just playing it by ear really i'll put
33:16it up and see how they look all we can do is try and um let's see what the response
33:22we get
33:23can i give you one of those thank you i think most people that know the pub like it just
33:28need more
33:29people to come to it you're winning years of practice advertising is the basic of any hospitality business
33:40now we need to make sure the pub looks the part let's see how he's oh doing i like i
33:47like it i like
33:48it oh hello but i wouldn't be me if i didn't have to fiddle with something can i make one
33:56small
33:57comment of course you can don't know so it is all about him yeah so can we swap them around
34:03yeah go
34:04one you do that they look great good well done menus streamlined meal deals advertised served up in
34:16a clean pub with a titanic tribute in place the pub is almost ready for relaunch so the first thing
34:23is
34:24i'd like you to open on tuesday the very first day we came in and i was unfair and i
34:28got the pub full of
34:29people i didn't feel like you were not well neither of you were not leaping forward wreathed in smiles
34:36to be particularly welcoming that's all i'm saying we're not used to busy lunch times at the night so
34:41well be prepared for a busy one on tuesday yeah yeah yeah good thank you very much when i finally
34:49leave
34:49this pub behind i want to be sure it's well and truly back on the map the platform tavern is
34:55still in
34:56existence still serving fine ale and a limited but affordable menu and with a sprinkling of titanic stardust
35:22in southampton down by the docks is the platform tavern where my voyage to help save it is almost completed
35:32this has been a very very tough lot to crack general kind of lack of enthusiasm and energy has
35:38been quite a sap on me feeling better colds all gone jeremy runs the business with landlord stuart
35:47i'm always quite positive it has to be quite positive especially if you're a landlord you can't
35:52stand there moaning about things it's your job to listen to other people moaning about things
35:58what i would like to get out today is to show them that there is a market there are clients
36:04for
36:04what they're offering you know this slimmed down menu the loyalty card the titanic theme you know all
36:10of these things should help to rebuild their following stuart jeremy hello how are you sir very well
36:18hello hello i'm encouraged to see the pub already showing positive signs very nice what's on the other
36:27side what november meal deal yeah that's about the beers we have on and that's about the food can i
36:34take
36:34that out yeah take it out yeah it's a bit heavy it's all right can i go out this way
36:40yeah sure
36:41let me get out there now thanks donna okay
36:49i am pretty bloody impressed at this it looks amazing
36:56this pub grew a following for its live music but today the new look of the tavern tells guests
37:02all about its titanic links what kind of music do you play
37:10oh yeah it's basically folk based stuff
37:15some very contemporary food to sort of a couple of traditional things
37:19well we're looking to give the atmosphere of the steerage in the titanic
37:28what stewart and jeremy don't know is this time i'm not surprising them with regular pub customers
37:35hello welcome welcome welcome come in please instead i've invited representatives from southampton's
37:42tourist industry to see if the tavern could become part of the city's titanic walking trail
37:49so this is our kind host stewart hello pleased to meet you come in come in come through come through
37:57darling for stewart i know a few of these faces already yeah a chance to tell the titanic tale
38:05links to this pub basically i when i took the pub on in 1997 i didn't really know about the
38:12links
38:12with the titanic and then i gradually found out about james mcgrady and the fact that he actually
38:18lived here his last known address was the platform tavern when you think of the titanic there's an awful lot
38:24of chatter about the asters and the great and the good and the captain and you know bloody block
38:29but actually it is a real an incredibly human tale you know this is our way of paying homage to
38:36him
38:36so we're very glad that you're here and that we could introduce it to you thank you so much a
38:41bit more
38:42there about the titanic we're right in the center of the main bit of the titanic story it's just a
38:49few
38:49meters from here where the ship sailed from tour guide cheryl butler has a very personal connection
38:55to the ship's history and i do a lot of tours a lot of talks and where people get really
39:01interested
39:01is when you can drop in those stories i had three relatives on the titanic so i can sort of
39:06tell tell
39:06very specific stories about them and so having another one where you've got that personal link and
39:12you can actually say to people you can go and be in the place where he stayed
39:16a story that has resonated with jemma from go southampton because as a city we're always split
39:23between the hollywood glamorizing of titanic story but also the sensitive side i think it's really
39:29important to see his face see his eyes and see see what he looked like his person and seeing james
39:34celebrated it's just a beautiful thought that that somebody is honoring his life but what do the tour
39:40guides think about promoting this pub to potential tourists i'll certainly send them information
39:46about the platform tavern because they're always interested in new things that they can promote
39:51to the to the industry and to visitors and tour operators so i'll certainly be bringing people in
40:01it's looking like thumbs up from the tour guides right me waiting you together yeah
40:11first time in england oh welcome to england welcome to blighty with tour guides working closely with
40:19cruise ships laura breen from southampton cruise concierge could prove highly influential
40:28a lot of people will come from different countries so they just want to experience what a british
40:34probably like and i think this is a perfect example you've got the live music you've got the
40:37traditional food perfect location for the the cruise terminals um so yeah i would always recommend to come
40:44here this is music to my ears but is the pub grub hitting the right note so you have fish
40:52and chips
40:52what did you think i thought they were excellent uh the main thing from my point of view as a
40:58tour guide
40:59people like to taste the local cuisine and of course fish and chips is a big thing in england
41:07and i i'd be very pleased to recommend it to anyone thank you so much that is exactly the feedback
41:13i was
41:14looking for so i'm very grateful to you no no it's a pleasure no i'm enjoying it
41:21thank you excellent the thing that is i want you both to remember is you're both in this because
41:29it was worth it it is worth it the platform so nothing is going to be solved by you sitting
41:35about
41:35and waiting for something to happen you've got really nice product i've got the thing you've got a
41:39really nice pub you've got a nice friendship don't it up thank you thank you for everything you've done
41:46i'm really glad i had a chance to hang out with you two it's been nice great really nice to
41:51meet you
42:00we did need telling off some departments it was a bit like my mum having a go at me when
42:05i was a little
42:05boy but i'm i'm glad you've seen the pub like this because it's how it's supposed to be you know
42:12when
42:12it's busy and bubbly and that's where you think ah now i get what the platform tavern's all about
42:19i think the day has been much more positive than i expected the tour guiding groups seem very
42:25enthusiastic and very taken with the story and um really appreciative of the food offerings i've
42:32basically reminded them like i'd like to remind anybody in their shoes that there's no point just
42:37sitting there and waiting for customers to come to you you have to go out and drag them in
42:49been been good been pretty positive we've had some good uptakes on the menus and the deals
42:55um we'll be keeping the place clean she's been keeping on top of the kettle
43:00the lowly cars been very popular with the with the locals we've had a few people in looked and looked
43:06at
43:06the titanic wall but um it's all been going pretty well
43:12so
43:36so
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