Wetherspoons has banned customers from playing music out loud or taking calls on speaker in its pubs, saying the noise from phones and tablets was an increasing problem driving people “nuts”.
The company, which runs 792 pubs and bars across the UK, said that following complaints it has asked customers to switch their devices to silent or to use earphones. Staff will use “common sense” when enforcing the ban, according to the BBC.
“We are not looking to ask anyone to leave a pub if they go against the ruling, but it is an option for managers if they refuse to do so,” the company said.
The British Beer and Pub Association, which represents Wetherspoons and several other pub companies, said a clear policy helps staff enforce rules and customers know what they can and cannot do. “We’re yet to hear of anyone who relishes having a pint against the backdrop of a speakerphone call or someone loudly playing a video, so we expect this move will be greatly welcomed,” the group added.
The decision follows a stricter, longstanding policy from rival chain Sam Smiths, which bans phone or tech use of any kind. Wetherspoons does not play music in any of its pubs, with chief executive Sir Tim Martin describing them as “an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation… in a world dominated by other people’s music and amplified sound”.
“In order to avoid customers being driven chicken jalfrezi by a cacophony of sound, we are kindly asking phone users to pipe down,” he added.
The chain does play music in the evening at its 44 Lloyds bars, and confirmed the ban on customers playing music and taking calls on speaker would also apply to those venues.
The move comes after polling suggested most Britons are annoyed by people taking calls on speakerphone or playing videos without headphones. A Transport for London survey of 1,000 people last year found 70% of respondents found loud music and phone calls without headphones a nuisance.
However, evidence also suggests a clear generational gap. In an Ofcom survey of 1,010 people in August 2022, 69% of 13-to-17-year-olds questioned said it was acceptable to make video calls, 73% to listen to music and 83% to watch videos without headphones.
The number of Wetherspoons pubs has steadily fallen over the last decade from a peak of 955 in late 2015, with the firm facing financial challenges from the Covid pandemic and inflation. Last month it told investors that profit for the year would be lower than expected because of higher costs for food, labour, repairs, energy and business rates. The Guardian reported that patrons at London branches broadly welcomed the ban, with one customer saying: “I don’t want to hear someone else’s music.”