If your patrons or members are unexpectedly delayed while on your premises, comfy club furniture can be a lifeline to help them relax until it's time to leave.
There's lots of reasons why people might decide to delay their departure, from waiting for a taxi or friend to come and pick them up, to heavy weather that seems like it might pass over within a reasonably short length of time.
And in the case of one Cambridgeshire club, members found themselves in a hostage situation after a particularly vicious fox refused to let them leave.
The BBC reports that the fox may have been an urban dweller that somehow found its way into the relatively rural setting of Alconbury, and was therefore unafraid of the club members as they tried to leave Alconbury Sports and Social Club (pictured here by J Thomas).
Club chairman Bruce Staines told the broadcaster: "None of us could get out. When we tried to use a side door, the fox heard and came haring round there."
Those who did try to leave faced an ordeal:
- One man tried to outrun the fox on his bike and was chased into a field, where he fell off and lost his glasses, being left to use his bicycle as a makeshift shield.
- One woman tried to placate the fox with food, but it bit her hand instead.
- The local pest controller arrived to 'control' the situation, but was chased back to his car.
In all, the eight hostages were trapped inside the club for about three hours at 10pm on a Saturday night, when many would no doubt have preferred to be relaxing at home.
Although the debacle is clearly an unusual one, the more common problems mentioned above - bad weather, missing taxis and so on - happen all over the country on a daily basis, and people can easily be left stranded for 30 minutes or more.
Comfy club furniture gives them somewhere to relax and de-stress during what may be a frustrating time, until the situation is resolved and they are ready to leave your premises - you might just find it makes their memories of their visit a little more positive, encouraging them to come back again despite the mishap.