Wetherspoons bans customers playing music from phones in pubs
Wetherspoons Cracks Down on Phone Noise in Its Pubs
Ninoda.com – The UK's largest pub chain has moved to silence a growing source of irritation: customers blasting music or conducting phone conversations on speakerphone. Wetherspoons, which operates 792 pubs and bars across Britain, announced that patrons must now set their devices to silent mode or wear earphones. The chain described the racket as an escalating nuisance that was driving people "nuts."
Staff will be expected to apply "common sense" when enforcing the new rule, the company told the BBC. Managers retain the option to ask a non-compliant customer to leave, though that step is not the first resort.
"We are not looking to ask anyone to leave a pub if they go against the ruling, but it is an option for managers if they refuse to do so."
Public Opinion on Loudcasting
Research over recent years consistently shows that most Britons find unamplified phone audio in shared spaces unpleasant. A Transport for London survey of 1,000 people conducted last year revealed that 70% of respondents regarded loud music or speakerphone calls as a nuisance.
Yet the data also exposes a sharp generational divide. In an Ofcom poll of 1,010 people carried out in August 2022, younger respondents were far more permissive: among 13-to-17-year-olds, 69% considered video calls acceptable without headphones, 73% approved of listening to music that way, and 83% saw no problem with watching videos unamplified.
A Rival's Stricter Precedent
The move follows a far more restrictive, long-standing rule at rival chain Sam Smiths, which prohibits any phone or technology use on its premises — alongside a ban on swearing. Mark Evans, who manages the Black Horse Inn in Bradford, described the policy as offering a "digital detox."
"Even strangers in for the first time, within 10 or 15 minutes, they're joining in a conversation with other people."
Evans acknowledged that some visitors simply turn and walk out, which he called "fair enough." He also conceded a small inconsistency: customers remain permitted to pay by phone.
Wetherspoons' Own Sound Policy
Like Sam Smiths venues, Wetherspoons pubs do not play background music. Chief executive Sir Tim Martin has characterised them as "an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation... in a world dominated by other people's music and amplified sound." The chain does, however, play music in the evening at its 44 Lloyds' bars, and the new phone-silencing rule extends to those locations as well.
"In order to avoid customers being driven chicken jalfrezi by a cacophony of sound, we are kindly asking phone users to pipe down."
Industry Backing and Financial Context
The British Beer and Pub Association, which represents Wetherspoons and other operators, endorsed the measure, noting that a clear written policy helps staff apply rules consistently and gives customers unambiguous guidance.
"We're yet to hear of anyone who relishes having a pint against the backdrop of a speakerphone call or someone loudly playing a video, so we expect this move will be greatly welcomed."
The announcement lands amid a period of contraction for the chain. Its pub count has slipped steadily from a peak of 955 in late 2015, and the past decade has brought financial pressure from the pandemic, inflation, and rising costs in food, labour, repairs, energy, and business rates. Last month the company told investors that annual profit would come in below expectations owing to those elevated expenses.
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