Next time you’re in your kitchen, go to the cupboard and look through your drinking glasses. Between the branded beer tankards and comically large gin goblets, how many of them did you actually buy?
Like an estimated 37 million Brits, you’ve probably got one or two pilfered pub glasses — but for 3 million people, stolen goods make up their entire collection.
While 27% of respondents to a recent Nisbet’s survey admit they’ve robbed restaurant or pub tableware at some point, the fact that 77% of pubs have experienced this type of theft suggests the actual total is likely far higher.
The price of a pint now averages £5.17 across the country (or more than £7 in some parts of the capital) so you may feel like you’re owed a freebie. And sneaking the odd glass into your bag is very unlikely to land you in trouble with the law.
But it’s not a victimless crime, especially in the current economic climate, where one UK pub permanently shuts its doors every day.
The cost to establishment can vary massively, although some have reported spending upwards of £2,000 a year on replacing stolen glassware. Considering the price of each one can range from £1 to £6, at £3.50 a pop, the 37 million figure above equates to a massive industry-wide loss of nearly £130 million.
Jeremy Clarkson weighed in on the issue last year, after a single day at his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer’s Dog, saw the bar with 104 fewer glasses by last orders.
Listing the mounting costs of keeping the business going, the former Top Gear presenter described the situation as ‘worse than galling’, adding: ‘People seem to have it in their heads that if they come in for a pint they are entitled to go home with the glass in which it was served’.
And while they don’t have to deal with anywhere near the same scale of thefts, many other publicans agree with him.
Odette Gibson, co-owner of the Angel of Bow in East London, tells Metro: ‘I’ve been a publican for many years and the situation with light fingered Larrys and the disappearance – euphemistically put – of glassware and tableware makes me just incredulous.’
Aside from finding it ‘incredibly annoying’ when they run out in busy periods, she has less ire for those who rob branded glasses, since they’re often given to them free by the breweries.
But when it comes to replacing their own, Odette says ‘the financial implications can be extremely high,’ and ‘it’s quite easy to lose £500 worth of glasses in a little over six weeks.’
Once, she was forced to roll her wheelchair out into the street to chase a group of women who confidently walked out with their goblets — and even more brazenly, refused to give them back until Odette suggested they buy them. Punters have also made off with a number of more valuable items, from handpainted ashtrays to a memorial plaque.
‘Economically, it’s a nightmare,’ she adds. ‘Glasses and tableware are expensive and constantly having to replace them is a drain on our resources. It also leads to having to increase your prices to cover these losses… People will take anything, but someone has to pay.’
For Callum Murphy, founder of the Newman Arms in Fitzrovia and the Bull and Egret in Covent Garden, it’s an ongoing problem, to the point they factor in the cost of theft when purchasing cutlery, crockery and glassware.
At the Newman Arms, the Black Velvet is a best-selling cocktail — and the traditional metal receptacles they’re served in are a particular ‘favourite’ for light-fingered drinkers.
‘I really think people just don’t understand the cost implications to a business,’ Callum tells Metro.
‘Customers may love the novelty and taste of drinking a Black Velvet from a tankard — but it’s a jet‑black hole in the profit-and-loss ledger. Many simply don’t realise the hidden cost for a small business.’
Some owners have taken more drastic steps to try to deter thieves, including the Griet pub in Ghent, Belgium, which takes one shoe from each customer when they purchase a pint as a ‘deposit’.
Others have resigned themselves to eating the cost, with one landlord on Reddit joking: ‘Suppose it goes death, taxes, customers stealing glassware.’
Ultimately, it comes down to pub-goers’ behaviour. It’s easy to forget the industry-wide impact with a ‘one won’t matter’ mentality. But if people want to ensure their local stays open – and don’t want to pay more for their pints – leaving that glass at the bar is one small step.
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