From Facebook Licensees supporting Licensees:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/157750540945214/?notif_t=group_activity

J Mark Dodds Two fully priced refurb schemes with S&NPC that ultimately I refused to go along with. I was the client except they were incapable of listening at all. Each caused me huge distraction from day to day business and in both cases held up refurbishment that was needed fairly urgently, that I ended up doing on my own without them, by at least a year, during which time business declined. These two refurbishment schemes were years apart. I refused to sign the deal on the first one which would have taken my rent from £32K to £65K because the 'BDM' point blank refused to show me their calculations or tell me how they arrived at their rentalisation figure of double what I was already paying. I asked him to read something from the works schedule and he obliged by saying: 'forecourt: lift existing paving, level, relay and make good. Part sum £16,000.' when I pointed out that the forecourt was tarmac he was totally unphased and said he'd chosen that at random and the project team are really good and know what they are doing. I refused to sign and he told me: "you are making a big mistake, you're going to regret this bad decision".

The second time was years, and three BDMs later. That one was going to put the rent up to £109K from 54K and leave me without the roof terrace that was central to the success of the project 'because when I number crunched the costs it got to £450K before I even got to the roof and I knew that would blow the budget. What I was left with is £109K but I've included the structural spec for the roof terrace which you can fund out of casha flow next season. I told him 'without the roof terrace there won't BE a next season, The business will go down the pan - you've just eradicated the garden with an extension and the roof terrace was to add in an extra USP to substitute for lost outdoor space on the ground.

I was told 'you can't back out of this now we've spent thousands preparing this scheme you're welching out on. You'll have to pay.

As a compromise on the second scheme I proposed an alternative refurb which would radically slash costs - and rent. This suggestion has to be signed off by the regional director who is a short ignorant bully with glasses. You know who you are you twat. The build cost for this one was £147K and the rent £80K with a six to eight week closure period. I ended up doing pretty much the same job myself, except with a stainless steel bespoke bar that I designed myself to much higher spec than Scotco's. I turned it round in six days and it cost £85K. Even then I had to organise all the cellar services myself because my 'BDM' had an oversight before going on holiday and forgot to tell the tech team to do a survey. When the dozy prick came back from hold with his tan (it was November) he walked in the pub, his jaw dropped and he said: "my god you must have spent at least £250K here; this is fantastic".

They are all total fuckwits and don't know the first thing about anything.