Weatherspoons Pubs on the Motorway.
Discussion
treetops said:
So what are you saying.... that all supermarkets, pubs, shops and basically anywhere that sells alcohol within what a mile, 2 miles, 3 miles of a motorway should be banned from selling booze???
Wetherspoons make a big deal out of their food, teas and coffee and soft drinks - not just booze.
The difference between local services selling booze and Wetherspoons selling booze is that you're not expected or allowed to consume it on the premises at a shop. Whereas a pub on the motorway could have a beacon effect for drivers who otherwise would not seek out a pub that is a mile or two from the motorway off slip. I don't know how many people would go in there to get smashed but I would expect it to a least contribute in some way to drink driving stats, even just for those people who have one pint of lager with a burger, and have a car go into the back of them twenty minutes after they leave the services. Police arrive, they are breathalysed and arrested, despite not being at fault for the accident etc etc. Wetherspoons make a big deal out of their food, teas and coffee and soft drinks - not just booze.
I was at that services on Sunday and upon seeing the Wetherspoons I said to the wife "ahhh, this must be the infamous Wetherspoons that there was all this hoo ha about last year!!"
When I told her the issue that people had about it she just said "why is no one responsible for themselves anymore, they always have to have someone else to make sure they aren't doing the wrong thing"
When I told her the issue that people had about it she just said "why is no one responsible for themselves anymore, they always have to have someone else to make sure they aren't doing the wrong thing"
There is no issue with this at all. I cannot remmeber the last time I went to a pub for a drink and meal which was not driven to (driver not drinking of course - thats why I got married....).
Unless you live in a nice village with a great local pub, or you are on an evening out 'On the town', you will have to drive to the pub.
Big non story, with the pub getting a shed load fo free publicity from the morons with no idea why they are objecting, apart from for the sake of it.
Unless you live in a nice village with a great local pub, or you are on an evening out 'On the town', you will have to drive to the pub.
Big non story, with the pub getting a shed load fo free publicity from the morons with no idea why they are objecting, apart from for the sake of it.
yonex said:
Non story.
A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
To you and I it's a non-story as we know that. We also know there's cheap petrol before you get on the motorway / after you get off and fairly close to most exits. It doesn't stop loads and loads of people buying it at the services though.A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
So, putting a pub right where the people who can't / won't go further than a service station for their long journey sustenance is giving them the opportunity to buy beer where they didn't previously have it.
Those people will now buy bear during long journeys when previously they wouldn't.
Whether they're the driver or a passenger is open to question.
On the same services on the M40 myself and the wife purchased food from the Mexican; to drink there was the usual coke, water, fanta etc and also you could get beer, i'm pretty sure you could also get wine from the M&S and I've definately seen beer and wine at BP garages elsewhere.
It is a total non event to get the professional whiners and wingers frothing at the mouth for absolutely no reason, people are no longer allowed to have personal responsibility and this is another nail in the personal responsibility coffin.
It is a total non event to get the professional whiners and wingers frothing at the mouth for absolutely no reason, people are no longer allowed to have personal responsibility and this is another nail in the personal responsibility coffin.
Hackney said:
yonex said:
Non story.
A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
To you and I it's a non-story as we know that. We also know there's cheap petrol before you get on the motorway / after you get off and fairly close to most exits. It doesn't stop loads and loads of people buying it at the services though.A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
So, putting a pub right where the people who can't / won't go further than a service station for their long journey sustenance is giving them the opportunity to buy beer where they didn't previously have it.
Those people will now buy bear during long journeys when previously they wouldn't.
Whether they're the driver or a passenger is open to question.
andy-xr said:
I cant work out the price thing with motorway services. Is it that they know they've got you, or is it that people (ie, me) use them for a toilet break, so they have to put the prices up because there's a smaller percentage of people who'll part with their money?
Main reasons they are expensive:1. If the site is in between junctions then construction of the service area and deliveries of goods to it can be more expensive due to the extra distance they have to travel. Before 1992 the government built the sites and leased them to the operators and most were built in between junctions. In 1992 the rules were changed to allow the operator to choose where to build a new site (and fund it themselves) and most immediately opted to build services at junctions as this was significantly cheaper (you only need a single site rather than one on each side). This was changed again by the last government who ruled that services must now be built between junctions wherever possible.
2. Unlike in other countries the operator must pay for the whole site including the slip roads. Most other countries just lease the buildings to the operators and meet the rest of the costs from general taxation or road tolls.
3. The government has over the years restricted attempts by the operators to increase the number of shops (to prevent them from becoming shopping malls) or to decrease costs (operators can not build new services on one side only with a bridge over the motorway).
4. Certain facilities must be provided free of charge and 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Each site must provide fee parking up to 2 hours. Each site must provide free toilet facilities 24 hours a day. I think that there is also a requirement for them to have hot food on sale 24 hours a day too (not totally sure about that one). Full service areas have to have fuel on sale 24 hours a day.
In summary it is government regulations that have made service areas expensive to operate and it is the government that has limited the areas that operators can recover those costs to mainly food and fuel. As a result, food and fuel at service areas is expensive.
There is a cheap/ overnight hotel located at this service stop. I wonder if the Bar/ Pub part was aimed more at the people spending the night in the hotel instead of the drivers driving through.
It's in the middle of a busy road network, and not within walking distance of Beaconsfield, so this would be the only way for people staying at the hotel to enjoy a few drinks. Bearing in mind this is used quite a bit by company reps, since this area is located right at the apex of two of the busiest motorways (M40 & M25).
And it's hardly the pub's fault if a driver decides to have a few drinks and then get back in the car is it? What's happened to personal responsibility in this day and age!
It's in the middle of a busy road network, and not within walking distance of Beaconsfield, so this would be the only way for people staying at the hotel to enjoy a few drinks. Bearing in mind this is used quite a bit by company reps, since this area is located right at the apex of two of the busiest motorways (M40 & M25).
And it's hardly the pub's fault if a driver decides to have a few drinks and then get back in the car is it? What's happened to personal responsibility in this day and age!
Pothole said:
Hackney said:
yonex said:
Non story.
A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
To you and I it's a non-story as we know that. We also know there's cheap petrol before you get on the motorway / after you get off and fairly close to most exits. It doesn't stop loads and loads of people buying it at the services though.A few minutes from every Motorway exit there is a pub. Time will tell if anyone cares enough to use it.
So, putting a pub right where the people who can't / won't go further than a service station for their long journey sustenance is giving them the opportunity to buy beer where they didn't previously have it.
Those people will now buy bear during long journeys when previously they wouldn't.
Whether they're the driver or a passenger is open to question.
Theyve been selling beers at service stations on the Continents for years, in all the time i've been driving through i've never been tempted, you're in a different mindset when you're driving yourself somewhere.
I think its a good idea and if it services the hotel for people staying there then why not.
I think its a good idea and if it services the hotel for people staying there then why not.
creampuff said:
Laplace said:
Can't say I've ever been tempted to stop for a pint when I pass numerous pubs during non-motorway driving. What's the difference?
You probably not an alcoholic. Pubs on a motorway seems like one of the stupidest ideas ever.
I really don't have a problem with it, why do you?
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