Pubs and bars have to play their part

Hospitality businesses have been urged to play their part in ensuring all customers’ contact details are collected after the government made the process compulsory.

With Aberdeen now 12 days into a lockdown after a localised outbreak of coronavirus linked to the city’s pubs, and other towns and cities up and down the country hoping to avoid a similar fate, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week announced new measures in an effort to keep customers safe.

It is now mandatory for all customers’ details to be collected by hospitality businesses and there can be no background music or volume on televisions to stop people leaning in to each other to be heard.

In addition, hospitality venues are being asked to take table reservations “where possible” to eliminate queuing.

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA), which represents all sectors of the licensed trade in Scotland, has welcomed the government’s mandatory measures on the collection of details from customers, impressing upon its members the need for the stringent measures.

SLTA managing director Colin Wilkinson said: “The vast majority of responsible operators have already put in place more stringent measures to ensure the proper collection of customer details, and it is imperative that the whole industry now adheres to the new statutory guidance and the mandatory collection of customers’ details to avoid even further restrictions in operating.

“While a large number of businesses – national and independent – have chosen the provision of QR code-based systems to comply with Test and Protect, this, as has been shown in a number of reported cases, has just relied on customers using the system with no insistence or intervention from staff to ensure that contact details have been properly registered.

“Likewise, simply providing a pen and paper for customers to sign without insistence or intervention by staff is no longer acceptable.”

Mr Wilkinson said staff have a key role to play in ensuring customers’ contact details are collected.