Join the battle to beat guide book tricksters

We are trained to smile a lot in this industry, and be concerned for the problems of the customer while ignoring our own. If a customer confides in the bar manager that he has had a lousy day, the response should be sympathy and concern. The fact that the bar manager has also had a lousy day is, sadly, an irrelevance. We are a secular confessional box.

Behind the gloss of how much fun we are having in hospitality, there is the private worry that for many operators, it is a struggle to make a decent profit. The financial target is not so much a return on investment as a reduction in bank borrowings.

So that makes the uncovering by Caterer & Hotelkeeper of two industry scams in the space of one week all the more galling. It is hard enough to make a living in this industry without parasites preying on unsuspecting operators with promises of wondrous awards and guide books that will have you turning customers away. Read our investigations on pages six and nine and be on your guard.

Publishing guide books is not a cheap exercise. If the publisher is honest and fair, then the fact that the hotel or restaurant has paid for an entry is not anathema. Ask any resort hotel about getting in the official holiday guide. That is a paid-for entry, and who would suggest Brighton or Blackpool tourism departments publish a meaningless guide?

What is needed is vigilance and the answers to some basic questions. If you are solicited to enter a guide and you think there is apparent value, ask for back copies and check with previous entrants for their opinion. If it is a new guide, from an unknown publisher, no matter how shrill the trumpet, ask them to ring you in year two.

If you are a restaurant and receive a note or a phone call saying you have been secretly inspected and found worthy of entry into a guild, association or award scheme, ask them two questions: if you promise never to give them any money for anything, will they still think you worthy of entry? And what are the names and addresses of the people who either recommended you for entry or made the inspection - then check your records. Believe me, you'll never hear anything again.

It is no secret how much Caterer loathes these underhand practices. We work constantly with the RAGB, the HCIMA and the BHA to root out and expose them. Wherever possible we involve the police or trading standards officers to bring prosecutions. If ever you are uncertain about any accolade or guide book, just ring us. Caterer is never too busy to expose a scam.

Bob Gledhill

Deputy Editor

Caterer & Hotelkeeper