'Neverspoons' app

[alex397]

So they're all going to be able to take on all those extra employees, and everyone who worked a Wetherspoons will be able to get a job after it goes bust because you all boycotted it?

I doubt Wetherspoons will go bust if some boycott it. Perhaps less jobs, and they might expand less, but I think they'll always be enough people wanting a 'spoons. The cheap prices being one of the biggest draws.

But many of the smaller independent pubs are more at risk post-lockdown and the various other economic issues. If more people went to these pubs rather than a spoons, it would be easier to safeguard the jobs at those pubs, and maybe they could even employ more staff. I think many independent pubs are more at risk than before, and i'd rather not see town centres with just Wetherspoons and other chain pubs.

I shall be avoiding Wetherspoons as much as I can, and supporting independent pubs, of which there are still some decent ones left in my town. I'm not saying i'll be boycotting Wetherspoons, as sometimes they can be handy, especially in an unfamiliar town, but I'll be avoiding them as much as I can.

Wetherspoons arn't all bad - its cheap and good value for money (and their chips are divine!), and they often have some local beers, aswell as a good variety of other stuff, including craft beers. Its cheap and cheerful. But I often find them far too busy, the staff are not rude but they often seem overworked and robotic like you find in many chain pubs/shops, and I have seen plenty of fights and general rowdyness in a spoons. I also think staff are treated badly, and I found their Brexit propaganda plastered in their pubs ridiculous. The independents in my town on the other hand, have friendly staff who have the time to chat, more local beer/cider (generally), and a much friendlier atmosphere.

 

[mmh]

Meanwhile, at Wetherspoon:

Wetherspoon to slash food and drink prices by up to 28% this week due to VAT cut

WETHERSPOONS is set to slash food and drink prices by up to 28 per cent this week due to a VAT cut. Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week announced in the mini-Budget that the VAT rate for the hospitali…

www.thesun.co.uk

Up to 28% off from next week. Wonderful.

 

[LOL The Irony]

But many of the smaller independent pubs are more at risk post-lockdown and the various other economic issues. If more people went to these pubs rather than a spoons, it would be easier to safeguard the jobs at those pubs, and maybe they could even employ more staff. I think many independent pubs are more at risk than before, and i'd rather not see town centres with just Wetherspoons and other chain pubs.

And I agree with that, you should make an active effort to help out as much as you can.

 

[Ian Cunningham]

Meanwhile, at Wetherspoon:

Wetherspoon to slash food and drink prices by up to 28% this week due to VAT cut

WETHERSPOONS is set to slash food and drink prices by up to 28 per cent this week due to a VAT cut. Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week announced in the mini-Budget that the VAT rate for the hospitali…

www.thesun.co.uk

Up to 28% off from next week. Wonderful.

They've been called out by SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) and CAMRA for this misleading poster suggesting that the cut in price on their beer is directly down the the VAT reduction when alcohol sales are specifically excluded.
This implies all other pubs should be able to do the same which is not true
Both CAMRA and SIBA are not happy that JDW have used their logos on the poster and the implication of endorsement of the message

 

[John Griffiths]

I've been to some very good spoons - the Counting House in Glasgow, for example, as well as staying in a few of their hotels. I think they do what they do very well. In some places it might be the only place to get real ale, the only place to get vegan food. I accept some may be dopey, but any are not. I don't agree with Martin's views and his Brexit propaganda in the company mag, beermats etc, but that doesn't' t that I'm going to refuse to ever go to his pubs. That wouldyou of be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

 

[typefish]

I've lived opposite a Wetherspoons (the Sir Henry Segrave ) for 25 years, but have never yet been in it, though I have been in several others. This thread doesn't encourage me to try it. It looks OK from outside though, with picnic tables and umbrellas on the grass verge. It's not a noisy pub, and the only time I can hear any sound from it indoors is on occasions when there is live football, especially an England game, and someone scores. If you choose to live in a town centre, you can't complain about occasional noise, and I don't.

I've never understood Southport. It must be the only place where there's two Wetherspoons on the same street, within line of sight?

 

[NorthOxonian]

I've never understood Southport. It must be the only place where there's two Wetherspoons on the same street, within line of sight?

Carlisle is similar, and in Romford there are two virtually next door to each other!

 

[45107]

Carlisle is similar, and in Romford there are two virtually next door to each other!

Or Derby. Standing Order and Thomas Leaper are next door to each other.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Or Derby. Standing Order and Thomas Leaper are next door to each other.

Two in Nottingham are only one street apart and I can think of a few other cities to which the same applies.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Carlisle is similar

One of those is/was a Lloyd's No1 bar, which is the Wetherspoon with the loud music and all the rest.

 

[Jamesrob637]

I shall be avoiding Wetherspoons as much as I can, and supporting independent pubs, of which there are still some decent ones left in my town. I'm not saying i'll be boycotting Wetherspoons, as sometimes they can be handy, especially in an unfamiliar town, but I'll be avoiding them as much as I can.

Spot on. A good bet in "foreign" towns but support independents and local chains in towns and cities you know well.

 

[SteveM70]

So the Wetherspoons menu is now:

- a party political broadcast

- full of lies; there’s no change to VAT on beer.

Absolute abhorrent company

 

[xotGD]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

 

[Bald Rick]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

‘Loss’ leader. Albeit they’ll be buying it at about 80-90p/pint.

 

[Tetchytyke]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

Loss leader on a beer nobody in their right mind would drink.

 

[Jamesrob637]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

Because it's the 30 year old Skoda of pints.

 

[PHILIPE]

I've never understood Southport. It must be the only place where there's two Wetherspoons on the same street, within line of sight?

In Cardiff and by standing in the right spot you can see the Gatekeeper and the Prince of Wales at the same time.

 

[typefish]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

Because it's the barrels that are just about go out of date that they buy from other pubs

 

[Bald Rick]

Because it's the barrels that are just about go out of date that they buy from other pubs

I’ve heard that said, and in the days when I did go to Wetherspoons I rarely had a good pint of ale, but I’m not sure that’s true.

Particularly for Ruddles Best, because I do t recall seeing that in any other pub for the last 20years.

 

[typefish]

I’ve heard that said, and in the days when I did go to Wetherspoons I rarely had a good pint of ale, but I’m not sure that’s true.

Well, someone I know who ran a few pubs definitely did sell unused barrels on...

 

[NorthOxonian]

£1.29 a pint! How do they manage that?

Economies of scale, most likely. Because there are a huge number of Wetherspoons and almost all of these are very busy, they are in a position to negotiate deals no small independent could dream of.

It's no different to how a six pint bottle of milk in a supermarket can be cheaper than a two pint bottle in a local shop.

 

[Butts]

Economies of scale, most likely. Because there are a huge number of Wetherspoons and almost all of these are very busy, they are in a position to negotiate deals no small independent could dream of.

It's no different to how a six pint bottle of milk in a supermarket can be cheaper than a two pint bottle in a local shop.

There is however duty and vat on a Pint of Beer - how much would that equate to on a £1.29 special ?

 

[Bald Rick]

There is however duty and vat on a Pint of Beer - how much would that equate to on a £1.29 special ?

61.6p; 40.1p duty, the rest VAT.

 

[Flying Claret]

I like Wetherspoons when I'm in another town, especially on rail trips. You get what you pay for. I can't comment on their beer because I don't drink.

They are useful for a wee, despite mostly being mostly upstairs and along lots of corridors

I won't go into my local home town one though because I know too many undesirable people that use it including my ex but it's the only one I'm aware of, you actually go DOWN stairs to the loo.

'UddersField...?

 

[VauxhallandI]

I’m unlikely to spend much time in them in the future; Tim Martin is a total ,,,,,

 

[DerekC]

Because it's the 30 year old Skoda of pints.

Interesting analogy - engine in the back, poor handling. rust bucket? Doesn't really say it tastes bad!

 

[Jamesrob637]

Interesting analogy - engine in the back, poor handling. rust bucket? Doesn't really say it tastes bad!

Haha, more like nobody would have it in their right mind but its low price means it appealed to some.

 

[nlogax]

I’m unlikely to spend much time in them in the future; Tim Martin is a total ,,,,,

Same. Can't stand him or the way he treated his staff at the beginning of lockdown.

 

[WelshBluebird]

The talk of "boycotting" spoons is an interesting one for me due to a number of reasons.

• My views on Tim Martin - lets just say they are not complimentary to him.
• The fact my partner works in one.
  • Without saying too much, my partner shares my views on Tim Martin.
  • It is worth saying that the stuff going around Facebook etc about how he "sacked" his staff isn't actually true. But they were originally told they wouldn't get any furlough money until spoons got it from the gov, and he did say they could get a job in a supermarket if they didn't like it. But then they backtracked pretty quickly after the public uproar about it.
  • What it is like to work at one seems to hugely depend on the pub manager at the place you work at. Some seem great, some are awful. My partners seems to be somewhere in the middle which I expect most are tbh! The pay and hours are pretty good compared to other pub or kitchen work (more than minimum wage, minimum number of hours and she usually gets a lot more), and they do provide a potential career path from starting cleaning tables to being pub manager which is more than what can be said for other "lower wage" employers. But the job can be very physical and tiring, and potentially dangerous if you are interacting with the public (one of my partners colleagues was assaulted within a few days of their pub reopening!).
  • If it is a weekend I will sometimes meet her from work if I am in town, and sometimes I end up being early so will grab a quick drink whilst I am waiting (which I usually get a staff discount on because her colleagues know me).
• If you are meeting up as a large group of people (e.g. I have friends from different parts of the country and we often meet up to go to gigs etc and have drinks beforehand), then quite often a spoons is one of the few places you can be pretty sure you'll have no issues with.
• The fact me and my partner tend to prefer smaller independent pubs anyway, and am more than happy to spend a little more on a few drinks to support a local place. So going to a spoons is something we would usually avoid anyway in most cases, unless there was a specific reason.

In Cardiff and by standing in the right spot you can see the Gatekeeper and the Prince of Wales at the same time.

And of course, you have The Great Western just around the corner too (you can see that and the Price Of Wales at the same time too - I wonder if there is a spot from where you can see all 3 at the same time - I don't think so!).

 

[Harpers Tate]

If everyone is still spending the same amount of money as before, just in a different pub, then there will be no net effect on the employment rate.

Hmmm. I'd suggest that those people would be drinking half as much and eating (at best) a bag of crisps or nuts. Thus (aside from anything else) not generating as many jobs.

..misleading poster suggesting that the cut in price on their beer is directly down the the VAT reduction when alcohol sales are specifically excluded.....

What I suspect they have done is taken the reduction in VAT outgoings and applied it across the board i.e. with food not fully discounted, and drink partly discounted alongside. Which, of course, is their decision to make. Given that many of their menu items "Include(s) A Drink" and don't have separate pricing* it might have been difficult to do otherwise. At least they are passing it on, which is by no means true of many other places. No price reductions whatsoever at the last independent pub I ate in a few days ago. It would have been disingenuous for 'Spoons to have done otherwise, given Tim's long-running VAT reduction campaigns.

==================================
* - I'm guessing Scotland - with it's minimum per-unit pricing rules - aside