Information & Support for Door Supervisors - National Doorwatch

The coming year brings many challenges and even more opportunities. Ian Fox, the Chair of National Doorwatch explains why 2011 is going to be a great year.

National Doorwatch welcomes in the New Year in style

The coming year is going to be full of transition, transformation, and change.  This change will take many forms.  First and foremost, It is going to be a year, jam packed with opportunities for everyone working in the Door Supervision Sector.  It is a year which, will see the profession increasingly gain the recognition it deserves.  The speed at which this recognition happens will be up to us as individuals.  Only you can control your own destiny, it is your choice, and yours alone.

Already this recognition is taking place, and is moving the profession forward, and its views are being heard.  Shortly National Doorwatch will be undertaking a survey aimed at finding out exactly what you want from the industry.  In mid-March there will be a meeting in Sheffield, where all Door Supervisors will be able to come and hear the facts from the horses mouth.  

People will start to see and respect the value of our contribution to community safety in the Night-time Economy.  Work that we did in Scotland over the Xmas and New Year period were a perfect example of how working in partnership with the Police, the Door Companies and the clients, improved the safety of all.  People will start understand that we deal with millions and millions of customers enjoying themselves in our venues each week, with no incidents - and that is the norm in Anytown UK. 

We need to put out of our minds the situation regarding the SIA.  At present lots of organisations, large and small, are doing their best to make positive changes to the sector.  National Doorwatch, is one of those organisations.  National Doorwatch has made terrific strides in securing representation for you, the guys at the sharp-end.  The fantastic news is we are getting our point across, and the more times it is heard the more sucessful we become.  Consequently, over the next year we will be asking for your support to help strengthen our representations.

Finally we ask you to make an easy and do-able New Years Resolution.  We want you to stop being a "bouncer".  The label "Bouncer" de-humanises you and says its it ok for you to be badly treated, by everyone.  If you want to be abused, assaulted, arrested, and/or imprisoned, then continue to be a "Bouncer".  If you are proud of being part of our industry - if you believe you deserve to be treated with respect at work - if you want other agencies to recognise you're a professional - then it's time to call yourself a  Doorman/staff/steward, etc.