Going for a pint in Birmingham used to be rather an uninspiring experience: chain pubs, dull drinks selections and pricey cocktails. But that is changing, thanks to nightlife entrepreneur Matt Scriven - the ex-chartered accountant who runs the venue chain Bitters 'n' Twisted.
"When I first moved to Birmingham, I spent about five years expecting the independent nightlife scene to get better, and it didn't," he says. "I kept thinking: 'why is it being done so much better in other cities? Is there a gap in the market?' It kept chiselling away at me, so I thought I'd give it a go."
Still working full-time as an accountant, Scriven found a site with potential and opened Island Bar in September 2006. Seven years on, he's ditched accountancy for six thriving pubs, bars and restaurants.
Bitters 'n' Twisted is a Birmingham institution now, with about 130 staff, but Scriven says trying to get a new bar off the ground in competition with big brands coming into the city was hard work. "My concept was accessible cocktails, which was a completely new market for people here," he says.
In the first year, Island Bar lost money and Scriven learned a key lesson about the power of marketing. "We got the bar off the ground, got good-quality staff, got the money sorted out, but unfortunately we forgot to tell anyone about the bar," he recalls.
Scriven soon learned his lesson, however, and now believes: "You learn more when things are going wrong than you do if things are going right." He went on to open more bars, having spotted the potential in pubs and venues that were bankrupt or about to go under.
With each of his six venues having its own distinct character, finding managers who understand his vision for the place is crucial. "I try and get a manager who will embody the spirit of what I'm trying to create," he says. "I want to understand what kind of venue they see themselves working in. There's no point trying to put square pegs in round holes. It's difficult to find people who tick all the boxes, but it's my job to find people's strengths and weaknesses and think about how they could fit into the venue I'm trying to put together."
Great managers are also a necessity, as Scriven admits he doesn't have all the answers. "I don't come from the trade, so it would be silly for me to try and be too hands-on," he says. "I try and put a lot of control and power in the hands of the managers, and rely on their knowledge."
Innate customer service skills come top of the wish list for front-of-house and bar staff. "Drinks skills are very important, but they can be taught," says Scriven. "I want personality and the way in which you express yourself to customers - the things you can't teach."
Despite having a back office staff of just four, Bitters 'n' Twisted has recently hired a full-time training and developing manager. This move, which Scriven is confident will "pay for itself", should help the venues achieve excellent customer service and drinks knowledge. "I want our venues to be known as interesting places with great drinks and music, but I also want people to think of them as the place to go for great service," he says. "If we can get that right we can tick more boxes and attract more customers."
The aim is for the training and development manager to train an on-site supervisor, who will handle training at each venue. Scriven hopes this will mean bar staff getting involved with business decisions like developing drinks menus and dealing with wholesalers. "Giving responsibility to staff means we can develop them further," he says.
The focus on training has been a "constant learning process" for Scriven, who finds himself having to tackle more HR issues as Bitters 'n' Twisted expands. "The longer you exist and the bigger you become, the more you come across HR issues, like people on long-term sick leave, people on maternity or paternity, and things like auto-enrolment," he says.
The mission of Bitters 'n' Twisted is to "offer the best of everything", which applies to people processes as much as customer service and drinks offerings. But with so many HR regulation and employment law changes on the horizon, it can be a challenge to keep up. Ensuring managers are up to date with regulation changes can also be tricky.
"The nearer you get to a venue, the more operationally focused people are," says Scriven. "It's a challenge to get people to step back and focus on wider issues. My job is to make the lives of my managers as easy as possible by taking away some of that responsibility. There have got to be some benefits to getting bigger, and part of that is taking away some of the on-site responsibility and looking after it more centrally."
