Beanscene, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling,
St Andrews
Beanscene, the Scotland-wide coffee house chain, has been operating as a smoke-free environment since its launch in October 1999.
Inspired by the coffee houses of 1960s Soho, Greenwich Village and the Italian quarter of San Francisco, Beanscene is designed to be a ‘home from home’, somewhere for customers to kick back and relax whist enjoying their coffee and the music.
The decision to start out smoke-free was an integral part of the company business plan and has proved to be one of the chain’s key unique selling points.
The rationale behind it is that, in a relatively small and enclosed space, you have to be either smoking or non-smoking. It would be impossible to keep smoke from drifting around the premises.
Managing Director Gordon Richardson said: “To provide what is allegedly a non-smoking area is a non win swim against the tide.”
He added that taking into account the nature of the business, the core brand values and core customer demographic, the decision to be smoke-free was an easy one to make.
Smoke-free has become one of the Beanscene brand’s key messages, demonstrated through a proactive customer feedback policy which shows that the policy in no way deters customers who smoke from enjoying the smoke-free Beanscene atmosphere.
Mr Richardson said the key to making the decision to be smoke-free effectively revolves around having a clear understanding of, and belief in, your business and your customer base – this generates a positive feeling that will have a cascading effect, encouraging staff and customers alike.