Crisis has been Kingswinford snooker club’s cue to make safety number one priority
From cues and tables being cleaned, to one-way systems – a Dudley snooker club has put a range of measures in place to keep people safe
Staff at Kingswinford Snooker Centre have spent weeks to ensure visitors are safe by enforcing a strict cleaning procedure for those wanting to play snooker or pool.
It has seen cues, pool balls, tables all cleaned – with a phone on each table where people can order from to minimise contact.
Owner Malcolm Guest said: "It was hard while it was closed because it's something no-one has ever experienced. There's no advice on how to deal with it and I thought we would be shut for three or four weeks, certainly not 15 – nobody did really.
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"But it was good in the end to get back open and see some faces coming through the door. It was difficult and it's been very strange since we've reopened.
"We've got one-way systems, freshly cleaned tables and equipment in the hall and we've installed telephones at each table so you can order through straightaway to the bar.
"When you finish, the staff clean the pool balls, the tables and the cues to ensure they're ready for the next customers."
The 66-year-old, from Wombourne, said it had been difficult to get a hold of plastic screens and signage and described it as a "rush" amid Government guidance.
Mr Guest also said there had been an air of unpredictability over customers returning to the pool bar, which reopened on July 4.
He said:"It's been very unpredictable – some of the older customers have come back but others are shielding so it's been very strange. But there's a few more people coming back in now.
"But there's not any certainty. Some days are far better than others and it used to be if there was a football match on you'd get lots of people in, but not so much now – but it's one of those things."
