Power To The People
‘We all know that people are the same wherever we go
There is good and bad in everyone
We learn to live, we learn to give
Each other what we need to survive together alive’*
Ebony and Ivory
Admit it you were singing along to this Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder classic weren’t you? When you think a little deeper you are probably wondering what this has to do with brewing. How does a pop song about living together influence how we make Palmers finest ales?
The key to all that we are about is a small inconspicuous word in the first line – People.
We are all different, all have different attributes, all have different ambitions, all have different qualities. People is a plural of Person, in fact the plural should be more correctly ‘Persons’, but because we have this unifying social interaction with those around us we become a group of people.
Power to the People!
‘Power to the People’ was Woolfie’s chant as he emerged from Tooting Tube Station in the 1970s sitcom Citizen Smith. In this day and age, it really is true that people are getting more power and if you are running a brewery, then you need to empower the right people to do the right jobs in order to be successful.
The Chairman, Directors, Brewer, Telesales, Yardman, Draymen and all people in between need to think alike and work together. We are not just Persons, we are People ‘a group with particular unifying traits, qualities, properties, or characteristics’ and the unifying factor is our passion for brewing the finest ales and running great pubs.
More importantly it’s the people that drink in our pubs that matter – you the customers that have chosen to drink Palmers’ beer rather than another product. You are the people that Woolfie was referring to, the power to vote with your feet, the power of choice.
Nice pubs...
When in a Palmers pub you will be served by more people, the tenants and their teams. Another important group of people that is passionate about Palmers, that has the ‘unifying traits and qualities’ that make your Palmers experience special.
Our traditional brewery with its long family history is important. We continue to be ambitious with a strong sense of responsibility. We are proud of being in Dorset and are involved in our local community through participation and charitable work. We’re sometimes misunderstood, but Palmers is full of people like you, passionate about what we do. Power to the People!
Nice people....
Cheers
HB
*EBONY & IVORY LYRICS copyright Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder and respective labels.
Citizen Smith photograph from BBC.CO.UK
Tags: beer, Bridport, Citizen Smith, Dorset, Palmers Brewery, Paul McCartney, Power to the People, Stevie Wonder
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Palmers Brewery 
05/09/2011 at 10:42 am
Some wise words, Darren. Palmers product and quality at point of sale has come on in leaps and bounds in the 20 years I have lived in Bridport. As a regular in a pub darts team I used to groan at away games in Palmers pubs but now it’s a delight to drink. My only gripe is the staggering prices of beer. The £4 pint of Tally Ho! now only 12 months away? Mad when you consider it’s brewed down the road and the profits that the brewery make. If you drop your margins you will sell more.
06/09/2011 at 10:07 am
Thanks for the kind comments, we all do our best to make really good beer at Palmers. As to the pricing issue, unfortunately it is an accurate reflection of the cost of using the best materials, craft brewed in the traditional way, plus the tax rises. Beer duty has gone up by 26% in the last two years, including the 20% VAT the government now levies on beer in pubs in contrast to the discounted rates enjoyed by supermarkets. We actually held our beer prices earlier this year and didn’t pass on the latest VAT increase to landlords because we believe it’s really important to keep prices down where we can. Margins are tight for everyone at present.