Your welcoming-space briefing

Five minutes. Read it, answer three questions, and the staff-briefing part of your welcoming-space standard is done. Share it with your team too.

Why it matters

A pub where everyone feels safe is a better pub, and a busier one. LGBTQ+ customers, and your own staff, notice how they are treated. Getting this right costs nothing and it is simply good hosting.

The basics

LGBTQ+ people are just people. Do not assume anyone's partner, pronouns or identity from how they look. Give everyone the same warm welcome you would give a regular.

Names and pronouns

Use the name and pronouns someone gives you, even if they differ from a card or an old memory. If you slip up, correct yourself, a quick "sorry", and carry on. Do not make a fuss of it.

Trans and non-binary customers

Anyone may use the toilet that matches their gender. If another customer challenges someone's right to be there, the person you deal with is the one causing the problem, not the customer minding their own business.

Handling abuse

Homophobic or transphobic abuse is not banter. Treat it with the same zero tolerance as any abuse: step in if it is safe, support the person targeted, and ask the abuser to stop or to leave.

The commitment

Displaying the welcoming mark is a promise to your customers that this is a safe space. Keep the promise, and it means something.

Three quick questions

Get all three right to complete the briefing. You can try again.

1. A regular gives a name that is different from the one on their card. You:

2. You accidentally use the wrong pronoun for a customer. Best response:

3. A customer complains that a trans customer is using the "wrong" toilet. You:

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