What is the ideal public house licensee?

For many years, breweries made profits from producing beer and selling it to public houses which they owned, thus making further profits through retail sales. The government decided that this monopoly should cease, and in the 1990s most brewing and pub‐owning companies became separate entities. This, together with increasingly competitive conditions, led to a far greater emphasis on customer satisfaction, and so the training of licensees became an issue. However, the basic role of licensees has always been to ensure that the customer is treated well enough to return to their pub. This raises the question of the skills and attitudes needed by a successful licensee. Can training offer enough, or is there something else which separates the competent from the really good? This study attempts to identify the characteristics needed for success.