What cut backs have you made recently?
Discussion
I got an e mail this morning from Octupus. Our monthly direct debit is going up to £273....(it was originally £130 then went to £220) We are £120 in debit with the latest meter readings.
It kind of focusses the mind as we haven't had the heating on since late April. I guess this thread will have even more legs come the autumn.
It kind of focusses the mind as we haven't had the heating on since late April. I guess this thread will have even more legs come the autumn.
vulture1 said:
Pay £12 an hour Im sure they will get some interest. If they can't make profit from the difference of 2 or 3 staff at £2 more per hour above minimum wage then they best give up tbh.
Then they'll probably be earning less than the staff. So they shut down and the staff don't have jobs. It's a fine line and unfortunately not as simple as you suggest.MaxFromage said:
Then they'll probably be earning less than the staff. So they shut down and the staff don't have jobs. It's a fine line and unfortunately not as simple as you suggest.
Sorry but surely it is as simple as, If you can't charge enough for your service to pay a reasonable wage to your staff then its not a viable business. The local pub to us closed because apparently he could not get a chef, turns out he was willing to pay minimum wage for a fully qualified chef with a good and successful background. And only expected them to run a lunch and evening service 6 days a week. You could have Tuesdays off. He still wonders why no one accepted the offers of work.
I sold my A45s plus on friday it was always the plan because the cost of running it( and just retired early ) but I was lucky and won Mk3 Focus RS a month ago on car lottery site
The plan was I was going to get an Audi S1 or Fiesta ST early 2023
I was shocked I got £ 500 more than quoted on the day which was great news from WBAC
The plan was I was going to get an Audi S1 or Fiesta ST early 2023
I was shocked I got £ 500 more than quoted on the day which was great news from WBAC
Motorbike track days, last year they were booked up weeks if not months in advance, this year there are space right to the last day eg Brands tomorrow has spaces in all three ability groups remaining....and I'm seeing more discount codes appearing too.
Ironically this year I've done the most.
Ironically this year I've done the most.
vulture1 said:
Red9zero said:
A busy tearoom on Exmoor, near where my Mother lives, has had to close during the day as they have no staff. Not ideal in peak summer season. There are a fair few pubs in the village and they are all fighting for staff at the moment.
Pay £12 an hour Im sure they will get some interest. If they can't make profit from the difference of 2 or 3 staff at £2 more per hour above minimum wage then they best give up tbh.Many of the were reliant on cheap European short term labour. Also some people who used to do a little bit of part time work no longer fancy being in contact with so many of the charming British public since covid.
The other day I found a van selling snacks and drinks in Devon. I paid £4-odd for a can of cold drink and a cold bottle of water. Their snack prices were extortionate. If their prices had been more sensible, I'd have likely spent £10 or a bit more.
Quite a few people I know who used to use tea shops a lot, now own camper vans and make their own tea in the car park. I've bought another Thermos...
OutInTheShed said:
There seem to be about a million tea/coffee/cafe outlets in the UK now?
Many of the were reliant on cheap European short term labour. Also some people who used to do a little bit of part time work no longer fancy being in contact with so many of the charming British public since covid.
The other day I found a van selling snacks and drinks in Devon. I paid £4-odd for a can of cold drink and a cold bottle of water. Their snack prices were extortionate. If their prices had been more sensible, I'd have likely spent £10 or a bit more.
Quite a few people I know who used to use tea shops a lot, now own camper vans and make their own tea in the car park. I've bought another Thermos...
Pretty much the whole hospitality industry ran on Eastern European labour - Cafes, Bars, Restaurants. I know the remoaner types like to blame everything on Brexit, but it must be having a massive impact on cost and ability to hire. Many of the were reliant on cheap European short term labour. Also some people who used to do a little bit of part time work no longer fancy being in contact with so many of the charming British public since covid.
The other day I found a van selling snacks and drinks in Devon. I paid £4-odd for a can of cold drink and a cold bottle of water. Their snack prices were extortionate. If their prices had been more sensible, I'd have likely spent £10 or a bit more.
Quite a few people I know who used to use tea shops a lot, now own camper vans and make their own tea in the car park. I've bought another Thermos...
Networkgeek said:
I would love to find out from restaurant owners if their numbers are down?
My g/f and I used to eat out a lot, but have seriously cut back. It's not that we can't afford it, but most places near us are charging way too much for their food and most of the time, I can make a better version at home.
As for fuel, I WFH, so I rarely drive my car now. I have noticed that other drivers have slowed down a lot, so I'm finding overtaking is more common for any trip out.
I'll happily cut back on most things, apart from cars and DH/Enduro bikes. Otherwise, life is just going to become very boring and monotonous
went to hard rock cafe edinburgh last week as treat for kids and only 6 tables in use the whole time i was there and we were on gold menu as joint dungeon/hard rock voucher so they cannot be making much money at all and this is during scottish summer holidays!My g/f and I used to eat out a lot, but have seriously cut back. It's not that we can't afford it, but most places near us are charging way too much for their food and most of the time, I can make a better version at home.
As for fuel, I WFH, so I rarely drive my car now. I have noticed that other drivers have slowed down a lot, so I'm finding overtaking is more common for any trip out.
I'll happily cut back on most things, apart from cars and DH/Enduro bikes. Otherwise, life is just going to become very boring and monotonous
ARHarh said:
The local pub to us closed because apparently he could not get a chef, turns out he was willing to pay minimum wage for a fully qualified chef with a good and successful background. And only expected them to run a lunch and evening service 6 days a week. You could have Tuesdays off. He still wonders why no one accepted the offers of work.
Whilst waiting for my wife recently (as always) I was browsing a ‘jobs available’ board that was displayed at a local retail park advertising all the jobs available there.Every single job, no matter how skilled, how difficult, how unpleasant, the working hours, etc, was advertised at minimum wage.
Why would a skilled chef put up with all the stress and hassle, the hot and unpleasant environment, and the unsocial hours, when they could work in an air conditioned shop sat on the till for the same money.
Onelastattempt said:
We went to a local Thai restaurant on Sunday night, usually it is at least 75% full but yesterday was virtually empty, only two other tables occupied. All starters up by £1 and mains by £2. My wife goes swimming with one of the owners and was chatting to her, she says that if it carries on like this much longer they will have to shut the restaurant and just do takeaways. Even on a Saturday night they are only half full, before Covid hit you would have to book at least 4 weeks in advance.
Ah the old - ‘we have fewer customers, let’s increase the price’ strategy employed by pubs and restaurants.A pub near me changed ownership recently. Under the old ownership it was an old fashioned ‘no frills’ pub that did a reasonable pint and good reasonably priced pub food. On a Sunday it was impossible to get a table for lunch without pre-booking as their roast lunches were incredibly good value.
New owners have revamped the menu trying to take it upmarket, so the menu is twice as long (and so long it must be all coming out of the freezer) and the prices have doubled. But they haven’t changed the decor at all so it is still a ‘no frills’ pub inside.
Customer numbers have plummeted, and if they haven’t gone bust in 12 months I will be astonished.
OutInTheShed said:
Quite a few people I know who used to use tea shops a lot, now own camper vans and make their own tea in the car park. I've bought another Thermos...
I'm one of these people. I bought a camper van in Feb 2020 and have recently started updating it. The next thing on my list is to install a coffee machine. I take my van everywhere and I'm so sick of paying £3-4 for a terrible cup of coffee.
Granted, I'm a self confessed coffee snob, but I can't believe the crap which is served for the price at some places.
I keep hearing from friends, family etc, they / I don't mind prices going up, businesses need to make a profit, but the quality has to be there to justify the price. Unfortunately, businesses have shot their prices up and purchased the cheaper product to increase margins. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure does seem this way.
dmahon said:
Pretty much the whole hospitality industry ran on Eastern European labour - Cafes, Bars, Restaurants. I know the remoaner types like to blame everything on Brexit, but it must be having a massive impact on cost and ability to hire.
It’s something I’ve really noticed recently, mainly because of the lack of competence of their replacements! The young Brits now doing their jobs are f
king useless. PF62 said:
Ah the old - ‘we have fewer customers, let’s increase the price’ strategy employed by pubs and restaurants.
A pub near me changed ownership recently. Under the old ownership it was an old fashioned ‘no frills’ pub that did a reasonable pint and good reasonably priced pub food. On a Sunday it was impossible to get a table for lunch without pre-booking as their roast lunches were incredibly good value.
New owners have revamped the menu trying to take it upmarket, so the menu is twice as long (and so long it must be all coming out of the freezer) and the prices have doubled. But they haven’t changed the decor at all so it is still a ‘no frills’ pub inside.
Customer numbers have plummeted, and if they haven’t gone bust in 12 months I will be astonished.
The pub near us did that, so called posh chef who had worked in Michelin star restaurant (probably pot washer!) took over a thriving pub and did gastro menu - a few people from outside the village came but the locals kept away as prices had doubled but it was still the same decor - gone bust now and no one wants to take it on.A pub near me changed ownership recently. Under the old ownership it was an old fashioned ‘no frills’ pub that did a reasonable pint and good reasonably priced pub food. On a Sunday it was impossible to get a table for lunch without pre-booking as their roast lunches were incredibly good value.
New owners have revamped the menu trying to take it upmarket, so the menu is twice as long (and so long it must be all coming out of the freezer) and the prices have doubled. But they haven’t changed the decor at all so it is still a ‘no frills’ pub inside.
Customer numbers have plummeted, and if they haven’t gone bust in 12 months I will be astonished.
Crumpet said:
dmahon said:
Pretty much the whole hospitality industry ran on Eastern European labour - Cafes, Bars, Restaurants. I know the remoaner types like to blame everything on Brexit, but it must be having a massive impact on cost and ability to hire.
It’s something I’ve really noticed recently, mainly because of the lack of competence of their replacements! The young Brits now doing their jobs are fking useless. The young, and obviously brand new, waiter brought a glass of wine and a rum and a coke - a measure of rum in one glass and 1/2 pint of coke in another.
And the young waiter was then puzzled when the bloke said “that’s not what I asked for”.
classicaholic said:
PF62 said:
Ah the old - ‘we have fewer customers, let’s increase the price’ strategy employed by pubs and restaurants.
A pub near me changed ownership recently. Under the old ownership it was an old fashioned ‘no frills’ pub that did a reasonable pint and good reasonably priced pub food. On a Sunday it was impossible to get a table for lunch without pre-booking as their roast lunches were incredibly good value.
New owners have revamped the menu trying to take it upmarket, so the menu is twice as long (and so long it must be all coming out of the freezer) and the prices have doubled. But they haven’t changed the decor at all so it is still a ‘no frills’ pub inside.
Customer numbers have plummeted, and if they haven’t gone bust in 12 months I will be astonished.
The pub near us did that, so called posh chef who had worked in Michelin star restaurant (probably pot washer!) took over a thriving pub and did gastro menu - a few people from outside the village came but the locals kept away as prices had doubled but it was still the same decor - gone bust now and no one wants to take it on.A pub near me changed ownership recently. Under the old ownership it was an old fashioned ‘no frills’ pub that did a reasonable pint and good reasonably priced pub food. On a Sunday it was impossible to get a table for lunch without pre-booking as their roast lunches were incredibly good value.
New owners have revamped the menu trying to take it upmarket, so the menu is twice as long (and so long it must be all coming out of the freezer) and the prices have doubled. But they haven’t changed the decor at all so it is still a ‘no frills’ pub inside.
Customer numbers have plummeted, and if they haven’t gone bust in 12 months I will be astonished.
There's a pub over the road from us. It's opened and closed a good few times in the time we've lived here. A local developer bought the site maybe 10 years ago he sat in the background as a land lord and at least 3 separate have a go tenenats came in and did just that. For not owning the building they each spent money on improvements, one a large decking and patio area and another did extensive internal renovations turning it from a traditional pub with grub to a restaurant. Failed pretty quickly.
Current owner is doing massive renovations and an extension to provide views from the restaurant. Not sure if it will work but will have the money to sink into it. I'm in the trade, not my main job as such but it baffles me how many start ups don't seem to.do.any research in local market, what price point, and approach to come with.
a311 said:
This seems to happen all the time, plenty of people running a pub would be a good buisness venture so will 'have a go' invariably they don't do much research and don't have much of a clue with what they're doing.
I think there is a romanticism about bar ownership. I know I have often thought I would love to have my own bar, where my pals all hung out. Then you look at the financials and realise its a very bad idea. But for many, when they pay £7 for a pint and think the margins must be huge, I can see how they are drawn to the idea when combined with the dream. Seems to be a way to earn an average fortune from a large fortune in many cases and never ceases to amaze me how often new owners have no background in the industry at all but that says a lot.Shnozz said:
a311 said:
This seems to happen all the time, plenty of people running a pub would be a good buisness venture so will 'have a go' invariably they don't do much research and don't have much of a clue with what they're doing.
I think there is a romanticism about bar ownership. I know I have often thought I would love to have my own bar, where my pals all hung out. Then you look at the financials and realise its a very bad idea. But for many, when they pay £7 for a pint and think the margins must be huge, I can see how they are drawn to the idea when combined with the dream. Seems to be a way to earn an average fortune from a large fortune in many cases and never ceases to amaze me how often new owners have no background in the industry at all but that says a lot.
I have family who took on a pub and it was a nightmare, their pub was in a dodgy area and they had no end of aggro, and i don't know the detail but it was a pain to get out of too.
I couldn't think of anything worse, turning a hobby into a job
and as for working whilst your pals are hanging out, i know which side of the bar i'd prefer to be on.ARHarh said:
Sorry but surely it is as simple as, If you can't charge enough for your service to pay a reasonable wage to your staff then its not a viable business.
The local pub to us closed because apparently he could not get a chef, turns out he was willing to pay minimum wage for a fully qualified chef with a good and successful background. And only expected them to run a lunch and evening service 6 days a week. You could have Tuesdays off. He still wonders why no one accepted the offers of work.
It depends what reasonable is defined as. Certainly in your second example, a qualified chef should be well above minimum wage. However there are plenty of businesses that can't afford to pay more than minimum wage. If they go, they go. But we shouldn't forget that employment is still below pre-covid levels and I expect hard times soon for many.The local pub to us closed because apparently he could not get a chef, turns out he was willing to pay minimum wage for a fully qualified chef with a good and successful background. And only expected them to run a lunch and evening service 6 days a week. You could have Tuesdays off. He still wonders why no one accepted the offers of work.
Was in the US a while ago and notched the same combination of rising prices and staff shortages.
The problem is that people will not work for a low enough wage to make things affordable which in turn is causing restaurants to go out of business.
I saw a Starbucks that had a note saying new opening g hours were only till 2:30pm. They told me that was when the kids got out of school.
Prices are rising fast and the old days of getting a good steak for a reasonable price seem to be over.
The problem is that people will not work for a low enough wage to make things affordable which in turn is causing restaurants to go out of business.
I saw a Starbucks that had a note saying new opening g hours were only till 2:30pm. They told me that was when the kids got out of school.
Prices are rising fast and the old days of getting a good steak for a reasonable price seem to be over.
PF62 said:
Was in a hotel bar recently and another couple was sat nearby. She ordered a glass of wine and he ordered a rum and coke.
The young, and obviously brand new, waiter brought a glass of wine and a rum and a coke - a measure of rum in one glass and 1/2 pint of coke in another.
And the young waiter was then puzzled when the bloke said “that’s not what I asked for”.
The young, and obviously brand new, waiter brought a glass of wine and a rum and a coke - a measure of rum in one glass and 1/2 pint of coke in another.
And the young waiter was then puzzled when the bloke said “that’s not what I asked for”.
That's hilarious. I remember being in the same situation when I first started summer jobs at 16. I used to make silly mistakes like this all the time, granted it was at a local pub and not a hotel bar where you expect a higher level of service.
One that springs to mind was embarrassing. A customer wanted a lemonade and lime. I thought it was weird to stipulate having lime, as we put a slice into most drinks. I just figured this person didn't like slices of lemon. I poured the lemonade and dropped in a slice of lime and made his other drinks. 2 minutes later this guy is back at the bar asking for some more lime. I'm really thinking this guy is bats
t, so I grabbed a load of slices, popped them in his drink and gave it back to him. I'm glad this was before TripAdvisor, as I would have been labelled "that thick waiter"
. Thankfully the customer laughed (a lot, from memory) and taught me the error of my ways.
He became a regular and we ended up having a lot banter.
Networkgeek said:
PF62 said:
Was in a hotel bar recently and another couple was sat nearby. She ordered a glass of wine and he ordered a rum and coke.
The young, and obviously brand new, waiter brought a glass of wine and a rum and a coke - a measure of rum in one glass and 1/2 pint of coke in another.
And the young waiter was then puzzled when the bloke said “that’s not what I asked for”.
The young, and obviously brand new, waiter brought a glass of wine and a rum and a coke - a measure of rum in one glass and 1/2 pint of coke in another.
And the young waiter was then puzzled when the bloke said “that’s not what I asked for”.
That's hilarious. I remember being in the same situation when I first started summer jobs at 16. I used to make silly mistakes like this all the time, granted it was at a local pub and not a hotel bar where you expect a higher level of service.
One that springs to mind was embarrassing. A customer wanted a lemonade and lime. I thought it was weird to stipulate having lime, as we put a slice into most drinks. I just figured this person didn't like slices of lemon. I poured the lemonade and dropped in a slice of lime and made his other drinks. 2 minutes later this guy is back at the bar asking for some more lime. I'm really thinking this guy is bats
t, so I grabbed a load of slices, popped them in his drink and gave it back to him. I'm glad this was before TripAdvisor, as I would have been labelled "that thick waiter"
. Thankfully the customer laughed (a lot, from memory) and taught me the error of my ways.
He became a regular and we ended up having a lot banter.
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