RICHARD BELL waxes lyrical on the art of gaining customer loyalty after sampling the many attractions of Cheese at the Purple Turtle in Oxford.

Oxford is something of a small city and, as such, when going out you inevitably tend to end up drifting toward the same places.

This of course has the potential to get boring.

So the truly successful clubs build up a sense of loyalty that keeps people coming back night after night to be a part of their intimate community, to share each other’s highs and lows, their drunken indiscretions, their favourite songs, and that enormously important part of any person’s life, their nightlife.

Work and study may well contribute an enormous amount to what we do with our lives, but it’s what we do with our free time that helps inform our character and define who we are rather than what we are.

The Purple Turtle offers a range of nights that straddle the varied demands of Oxford’s student population, appealing to pretty much anyone, whether the kids are into indie, emo, metal, R & B, house, electro, pop or some terrifying combination of them all.

Whatever, they will unquestionably find a night that caters for them, at least in some small way.

The advantage this gives the club over its competitors is that it brings in many different groups, giving the crowd a diversity you won’t find anywhere else.

The best thing about the way in which the Purple Turtle welcomes this variety in its patrons is that it doesn’t only offer one option for a night out.

You see, the club is split into two halves, one offering the dance floor and thumping beats of the eclectic DJ set, and the other an Internet jukebox that allows people the chance to choose what kind of night out they want to have.

This friendly and welcoming atmosphere extends all the way to the prices at the bar.

Draught beer is available for under £3, and the deals on doubles are a force to be reckoned with.

But it’s the shots that keep people coming back.

A range of college-themed shots remind everyone that this is unquestionably a student bar, and the formidable prices on shooter liquors like Sambucca or Goldschlager help Purple-Turtlers share a drink with their with fellow clubbers.

The fact that this is a Friday night is pretty much redundant; it simply means that there is a longer wait at the bar.

The music is as great as ever and the choice offered by the jukebox ensures a good night out, no matter what night of the week you choose to go down.

But it is not the music that keeps people coming back.

What keeps people returning night after night, week after week and indeed year after year is that sense of community, the welcoming arms that clap you about the shoulder.

It could be very simply described as just another student bar, but this does the place an enormous disservice.

As anyone who has been going there for a while will tell you, the Purple Turtle is unquestionably THE student bar.