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Decent arcticle in Money Mail today re; Hospitality price rises, all the comments seem scathing at the prices espcially that the Hospitality sector is still only paying 5% V.A.T !!!!!!!!!!!!
777jIMSTER, The comment you are refering to was bottled bilge, perhaps too strong a comment, but to my pallette there is a pronounced difference twixt bottled and cask ales. Perhaps everyone else does not percieve such especially since most casks now are Aluminium ( HaHa ) but the Ale certainly seems to mature in a state of volume rather than in a pressure sealed bottle.
Do you realise that I have to get out of bed to answer this comment - Goodnight
shaperite
Just to be clear...I don't like the current reality...and empathise with your situation
The demise of the Public Houses in the UK is the loss of a national treasure in my opinion
Just a question though
Are you suggesting that the Mars products in the supermarkets are not as good as those sold by Publicans ?
Curious is all
Kind Regards
The Jim
One last gripe from me before I retire for my afternoon nap, I pretend that I am a publican who has had a rough time over the last trading year, I have made losses that have destoyed my bottom line what can I do to redress the balance ? I know I"ll put up my prices to my customers , who by the way, have also had a rough time of it, that should solve the problem what a clever business man I am. Wait a moment why are all my customers going to the opposition, who by the way has also had a rough time of it, but is sensible to know that losses in this case are recouped gently and gradually and footfall is the answer.
The area where I live is covered by many great real ales of renoun such as Bathams, Enville,Pardoes et-al and a reasonable price should be around £ 3.05 - £ 3.10 locally, Mars could possibly touch £3.20 because of distribution costs etc, but they should all bear in mind that Supermarket bottled bilge is anything from £ 1.25 to £2.00. Off to bed now Im feeling feint!!!
Yep...as I have commented before...the pub trade has priced itself out of the market...bit like the trains...only thing is public transport gets assistance from British Public
Do you think there is a case here for public public house support ?
Dunno just an idea
Anyway...the reason I am here at all at all is that I like the brand...and I think the battle will be won in the supermarkets
Kind regards
The Jimbo
Does explain why Wetherspoons is so popular. For real ales it has a good selection at very reasonable prices. The selection is a bit pants now as they have been bitten by too many lockdowns but once that risk recedes it’ll be back to 3-5 real ales at each pub.
I recall Old Peculiar being 99p a pint pre the 2nd lockdown and I wasn’t dreaming! Must have hurt to price it at a quid rather than throw it away.
Was in London yesterday on Goswell Road we paid 4.80 for a sharps! Feeling robbed we went to one near Fleet place which is also a whiskey bar and IPA was 5.40. Happy to be sat in Rural Wiltshire supping a £3.70 61 deep!
FD
I can indeed confirm it is easy to pay £5 in a fairly ordinary pub for a pint of draught, some pubs get away with more but my local, which is £4.80 for a London beer is now reducing it to £3.80 for a week as sales have not been great.
Interesting times we live in...
@Barchid & Fairdealer.
Yes, I see your points. It's a tricky one, isn't it? I can see both sides of the argument. Definately not an easy problem to solve. It's a balancing act between running your business as cost effectively as you can, and your staff getting a wage that makes their efforts worth their time.
Maybe employing a lot of part time workers and a steady stream of overtime to those that want it might work. As I say, it's a tough problem to solve.
Shaperite, you may have had a good deal. Understand a pint in London is a fiver.
Barchid may be able to confirm or otherwise?
Had lunch today at a Mars eatery, food was fine, well presented and the young staff very tolerant of an old fart. I must confess that the final bill was probably a little on the heavy side compared to pre - covid prices which I suppose was to be expected but my concern is that you can easily kill the goose that lays the golden egg , especially when your customers are on a fixed income. In my opinion £ 3.55 for a pint of Banks s Amber Bitter is extortionate, especially when there was no other bitter on offer and Pedigree seems to have gone walkabout.
Barchid,
Understand Oxford are banning smoking per se. How it will be Policed remains to be seen.
Cannot see Mancunians and Geordie's obeying. If only outside Pubs will be surprised if someone claims discrimination.
The way things are going drinking will be curtailed?? Then where will the lost Tax come from??
Central Government must have given powers back to Local Authorities probably under the Localism Act.
Wonder how many of these New Mayors promised this before the May Election?
Fairdealer
Articles in the Grauniad and the Mail today saying 5 councils, including Manchester & Newcastle, are going to ban smoking outside pubs.
2 points here firstly do these councils want to stub pubs out altogether by making things more difficult and secondly can councils really do this, I thought where to smoke or not was a Westminster issue not the town hall, any thoughts ?
Work is good for a fit and healthy body and mind.
Many have found life comfortable to live on 80% of normal pay, which in many cases is better than funding the cost of travel to work etc. Know of many who make no secret of loving Furlough and do not wish to return to work.
You only need to look at these boards and the number of new investors that have arrived in the last year. There are many sole traders who obtained the generous grants and loans who have played the market.
Investors can and do provide the means to generate businesses and employment. The 2 go hand in glove, it only needs a weak link for it all to fail.
The staffing problems facing the Hospitality sector has similar effects on all Pubs and Hotels, Marstons included.
Yeahp...ummm...'work shy'...when you take time away from work you realise that actually we don't like work
How will we pay the bills you ask ?
Well don't like paying them either
Investing could be the way to go...but one of the hardest things to master with stocks and shares is...you need to earn the money first...before you can invest it
PS. Any positive news on Marstons ?
Reflective regards
The Jimbo
barchid, trent,
Staffing is even more complex. In the South West many hospitality businesses have limited opening not becuase of the social distancing rules but because of staff shortages. When examined staff who were furloughed do not wish to return to work ( give all manner of excuses), seasonal staff cannot find accomodation as the staycation has encouraged many Residential Landlords to let to Tourist, AirB&B etc, where returns this year have gone through the roof. Listening to Hoteliers and Publicans, they face one hell of a problem to provide a level of service required. There are Hospitality managers offering big benefits ( pay, bonuses etc) to attract staff. The problem here is they are robbing another employer who will then struggle to open.
It is incredible to see workers who have not worked for best part of a year now becoming work-shy.
Trent
When I posted Tuesday about experienced staff being in short supply I was thinking of the comment made by 'Spoons that day but I see yesterday Michel le Roux is saying the same at his high end restaurants, so this could be another headwind for the hospitality sector ?
Any business that has been closed normally has hic cups during their restart process, so perhaps this shortage might iron itself out but traditionally there were always a lot of o/seas staff working in bars & eateries, question is how many have returned home to family due to the pandemic...
This was always going to be expected. This sector is going to get rammed as soon as pubs, restaurants et al are going to get rammed as soon as they were allowed to open. We all saw that coming. After 12+ months of us all being under a virtual house arrest, it's the same as putting a child in a sweet shop and telling him/her to run riot.
Granted, the Bank Holiday and decent weather has helped enormously, and will have put a few extra Bob in our tills, but it's going to take a long time to recover a year's worth of lost revenue, with all the ramifications that comes with that.
But nonetheless, a good start.
I'm looking forward to a pint of too as well once our Kung Flu induced house arrest is confirmed to be over.
And I've re-booked our table at The Glassworks for the end of July too,so we're looking forward to that. As well as a few scoops of Hobgoblin Gold at the Premier Inn.
Shaperite
Very astute, imho, to take a somewhat cautious approach on a day when both the FTSE & Dax are up just shy of 1% and other punters are all posting like optimistic Mystic Meg's on steroids.
Personally I've always been more of a Dear Deidre fan than of MM.
But one old market saying is very much on the button, "it's never as good as it looks, it's never as bad as it looks"
One thing to be wary of is experienced staff seem to be in short supply, as we know there is always a second side to a coin, it doesn't always come up as heads !
Isnt it funny how 3 decent weather days encourages everyone with Mars shares to be optarmistic re the share price !!! Summer was going to come sooner or later, yet a word of caution, tills may be ringing but we have a long way to go to recoup losses and pay off some debts. Forecast - £1.10 by July/August.
Looking better this week...eheeeem
Kind Regards
Jimbo
All I can say is the weather is absolutely right for going down the Pub and most where we live in the Country over the last weekend were literally rammed. Hope this continues for a while yet- after all our summer was late to arrive in the UK. With weather like this who wants to risk going abroad anyway!l
SROS-Looks like you are right but I would change to ....next couple of days we will be back to over £1. Fingers crossed!
I think this week is the last we will see Marston's in the low 90's and into the next couple of months hopefully we will be into the 100's.
Good weekend Jim, as Capt Tom said tomorrow will be a better day! I have actually had a very good week overall apart from my Marstons, but these will move up fast once we get some new sales figures I am sure with the tills ringing and food being served, etc.
The warm weather should help us now too. ATB.
As I write this...price sitting below 92
Wishing I could make more money on this...but I ran out...ha ha ha
As soon as I get free elsewhere...I'm buying another block here
Thats it for the weekendy end...whatever you do...enjoy a break with your families
See you all on the flip side
Kind regards
The Original Jimster