Are you being dudded by your local pub?

Do you ever think that your local pub might be short-serving you when you order a glass of wine, or a shot of whisky?

Judging by a recent survey in England you might well have reason for concern.

More than half of alcoholic drinks served in Oxfordshire pubs were found to be undermeasured in a recent undercover operation by the Trading Standards Authority.

Despite mounting pressures on the hospitality industry, officials say customers are still being short-changed at many bars in the UK, the drinks business reported

The undercover operation, which assessed pubs and bars across the county set out to check whether alcoholic drinks were being served in legally required quantities.

More than half were found to be under the limit. Bbeer was discovered to be the alcoholic drink that was never underpoured by staff, perhaps because glasses are designed to be filled.

The news hits as hospitality businesses have navigated the year’s headwinds amid rising costs and nearly four in five of hospitality small business owners are feeling the effects of burnout.

Added to this, rising tax and business rate costs in the UK could force more than 70% of hospitality businesses to cut jobs, scale back investment, or reduce trading hours.

Despite these challenges, Trading Standards officers have still been cracking down and keeping a keen eye on drinks that don’t measure up.

The officials posed as members of the public and ordered alcoholic drinks at various establishments to check whether each was being served in the legally-required measures.

Of the drinks ordered, it was found that 12 out of 16 glasses of wine, or 75% of all drinks, were short pours. As well, one out of two shots of whisky were being served under the legal or advertised measure.

Image: Kapij Telwani, Scop.io