As talk continues to move towards getting the UK back to normal, pubs and clubs face an uphill climb not only to recover from the immediate impact of the Covid-19 closures, but to entice punters back in a climate of ongoing reluctance to socialise in enclosed spaces.

Social distancing robs the coronavirus of its ability to spread, but while that may be a sensible strategy during the peak of infection, it is not sustainable for the long term, and many people are ready to spend time with friends again.

Once you reopen, there are several things you can do to bring your old punters back and potentially benefit by adding some new long-term regulars to your customer base.

Pool tournaments

Pool tournaments are a great idea for pubs and especially for social clubs where your members are more likely to already know each other.

Our pub pool tables can easily be set to tournament mode, and you could charge an entry fee and offer a prize or trophy as an incentive for people to join in.

Remember to advertise your pool tournament well in advance – including online if your pub or club has a Facebook or Twitter profile, to reach those customers who have not yet returned to your premises.

This increases the number of participants but also raises your chance of earning revenues from people paying to practise on your pub pool tables.

On-demand discos

After weeks at home, many people will have become even more accustomed to on-demand entertainment – so why not cater for this with an on-demand disco?

Our pub jukeboxes put your punters in control of what songs are played, but you still have ultimate admin privileges to remove unsuitable songs or genres from your database.

You could go retro with a database of decades gone by, or put new chart releases front and centre for a music night that looks towards a brighter future once the current virus is vanquished for good.

Quiz nights

Finally, a lot of people have been holding amateur quiz nights via Zoom and other video conferencing apps, and even some pubs and social clubs have kept in touch with punters in this way during social distancing.

Don’t miss out on the positive sentiment you have generated – or if you haven’t held quiz nights during lockdown, make it your time to start.

Again, our pub jukeboxes make it even easier to host quiz nights and pub bingo, with a variety of built-in entertainment options played out via video screens or audio-only across your premises.

Get in touch

There’s no denying this has been a challenging period for many countries including the UK, but especially for businesses in the hospitality sector – so be ready to bounce back when the opportunity comes.

With profit-share arrangements, Manco Automatics can supply you with the equipment you need to attract punters back to your premises, without increasing your exposure to any upfront costs. Call us on 0161 870 7777 and we’ll be available to help.

Going to the pub with your mates for a game of pool, having a pint and listening to your favourite songs on a jukebox at your local social club was commonplace.

Nowadays in the wake of covid-19, places like pubs, clubs and bingo halls have become ghost-towns following the shut down of social and leisure outlets on Friday 20^th March. For us here at Manco Automatics, we have had to step up our game and do all that we can during the crisis in order to prepare for the future.

Since that Friday, we were suddenly very busy dealing with requests to empty gaming machines and pool tables so that venues can not only leave equipment empty and open, but also protect against loss and damage in the event of break ins.

By Monday, we stopped visiting sites so as to better comply with government directives. Since then, our engineers have been using up their holiday allowance, leaving just one engineer to work in isolation at our depot, making the most of a much needed opportunity for a good tidy up and putting us in a good position for when we eventually return to work.

At a managerial level, we too have been making good use of the enforced closure. Catching up on invoicing and paying bills. Having done that, we will be addressing our year-end obligations such as our Gambling Commission Regulatory Return and Financial Conduct Authority Audit.

Though the enforced closure of leisure outlets is necessary to protect the nation against the terrible threat of covid-19, it is obviously a most unwelcome business interruption from which many businesses may not survive. We welcome the great support our government is offering to people and businesses around the country.

Once the government eventually allows people to go back to their pubs, clubs and bingo halls, it is likely that there will be some significant celebrations. If so, sites will need to ensure that they are prepared to make the most of the business opportunity. Prior to the opening of leisure outlets, we hope to see a gradual increase in the amount of freedom people have to move around.

It will be during this period that we’ll be out and about, making sure that everything is working to the best of its ability and ready for use. As slot and gaming machine specialists, we have decades of experience when it comes to to maximising your machines’ performance and security. With unbeatable maintenance services provided by our friendly and professional engineers, we aim to keep you up and running as we make the transition back to normality.

We also advise people that after lockdown has ended, there is likely to be a shortage of pound coins in the rush to refloat gaming machines, change machines and till floats. So, if you still have some money reserved in safes, it is best to save it for when you re-open.

If you require maintenance checks for your gaming machines in the aftermath of covid-19, here at Manco Automatics we take pride in working closely with all customers to ensure that their machines work at the peak of their ability. Call us on 0161 870 7777 and we’ll be available to help.

We wish our customers and suppliers all the very best and to stay safe during these difficult times.