What cut backs have you made recently?
Discussion
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
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
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.
Agree on eating out. The value just isn’t there at the minute. It seems like everywhere wants the high end prices for average food. Service always seems pants too as I think everywhere is understaffed.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.
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.
dmahon said:
Agree on eating out. The value just isn’t there at the minute. It seems like everywhere wants the high end prices for average food. Service always seems pants too as I think everywhere is understaffed.
Nail on head, sir. We all know prices have risen, so I appreciate I will have to pay more when going out for food. But, the quality needs to be there and it's lacking at a lot of places. I would happily pay £20 for a burger and chips, if the burger is top notch, of a decent size and a proper portion of chips. But, now the price is £20 the portion is questionable, quality is naff and it's all served on a plank of wood.
I would love to own a restaurant to give people what they want, but I'm sure it's not as easy as that, otherwise everyone would be doing it, right?
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.
Wow, that's pretty scary for the owner. Personally, I don't think the value is there anymore when eating out. I don't mind paying for good quality food, but as I mentioned in another post, the quality has nose dived (at my usual restaurants), prices have shot up and the portion has shrunk.
I also think lockdown has made a lot more people more adventurous in the kitchen. So they might feel they can make better food at home and save a few pennies at the same time.
lrdisco said:
Is this the place where miser’s meet to see how miserable they can make their lives?
Some of the stuff on here is ridiculous. Wet tea towel on head? Surely a wind up.
I enjoy being tight! It means I can spend money on things that matter to me.... which filling the pockets of energy producers does not fill me with joy.....Some of the stuff on here is ridiculous. Wet tea towel on head? Surely a wind up.
At night, I am putting a wet t shirt on my lad so he cools down before going to sleep. Works really well!
dmahon said:
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.
Agree on eating out. The value just isn’t there at the minute. It seems like everywhere wants the high end prices for average food. Service always seems pants too as I think everywhere is understaffed.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.
What pisses me off is everywhere now charging a service fee , fine but you've got to do more than take a order then dump the food down .
The biggest issue in restaurants/pubs right now is the energy usage. Fryers, ovens, dishwashers, coffee machines etc all use huge amounts of electricity/gas especially if they're on for 12 hours + per day. Its probably cheaper for some less busy places to close on quieter days to save on the costs.
As has been alluded to further up, its better to offer good food and service now and take some costs on the chin; easier to build good will now, then when we're in a down turn.
As has been alluded to further up, its better to offer good food and service now and take some costs on the chin; easier to build good will now, then when we're in a down turn.
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.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.
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