A former Wetherspoon barmaid has explained a method in how the pub chain gets punters to spend more at the bar.
Sophia Nasif, who used to be a full-time worker at Wetherspoon, reveals that when she poured someone a spirit and mixer, offering the punter a "double" would be done before offering a "single".
The trick supposedly tempts those buying the drinks into buying a double, as opposed to the cheaper, single option.
Speaking about the method, she said: "You say the word double so it sticks in their head first."
Ex-bar staff at Spoons have shared some of their secrets for ramping up the bill for customers.
Clara Molden
Another ex-Spoons employee, George Andrew, concurred with the logic, adding: "If you have a gin and tonic for instance, when you came to order that, you would say ‘double or single’ in that order.
"It was something that was whispered for me to do because it did help upsell."
Sophia added: “It worked most of the time because most of the time people would go ‘do you know, why not? I’ll have a double then’.”
Ex-pub manager Craig Henry also outlined a trick used by bar workers at the popular chain in order to coax customers into paying more.
Speaking on Channel 5's Wetherspoons: How Do They Do It?, he said: “One of the best things to say to somebody is not ‘do you want’ but ‘how many?’
"You’re not really giving the person a choice of not having onion rings, you are basically saying ‘so how many onion rings would you like, six or 12?’
"You are guaranteed that will upsell. It’s part of the training, part of the criteria for members of staff to try and add an extra item onto every order."
The former workers for the chain spoke out about methods used following news that the rate of pay for staff is over £10 an hour.
Thousands of staff have been granted pay rises, with many given a 20p pay hike.
While exact hourly salaries vary, many Spoons staff are now earning above £10 an hour.
The revelations come after thousands of Spoons workers received pay rises.
Gareth Fuller
JD Wetherspoon is one of the most popular pub chains in the UK.
Fiona Hanson
