Poor auld Publicans

Sleipnir

I'm totally disgusted with these !"%)}@%{$'s
What's even worse is that people paid it.


From todays indo.


THE rising price of the pint took on a whole new meaning over the Triple Crown weekend.

Greedy pubs near Lansdowne Road raised their prices by up to €1 last Saturday during Ireland's Triple Crown win over Scotland.

But the profiteering publicans can't be prosecuted because they haven't broken any laws.

Inspectors from the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs were astounded when they discovered that six pubs in the Baggot Street area had increased their prices for the Triple Crown clash.

The worst offender was Maguires on Lower Baggot St, where the price of a pint of stout was listed as going from €3.90 to €4.90 overnight.

The famous Doheny and Nesbitts upped the price of a pint of stout and lager by 20c from €3.90 to €4.10.

Larry Murphys upped their price from €3.90 to €4, the Waterloo House and the 51 bar raised the price of a pint from €4.10 to €4.50, while in the Wellington, a pint cost €4 on Friday and €4.50 on Saturday.

Two undercover consumer watchdogs visited 10 pubs in the vicinity of the rugby stadium on Friday last, March 28, to check displayed pub prices on the windows of pubs.

When they returned on Saturday afternoon, they discovered that six of the 10 pubs had upped their drink prices for the match, and had put up new price lists in the windows.

The publicans have not broken any laws because they were displaying the price they were charging.

Consumer Affairs Director Carmel Foley said she was very angry about the raising of drink prices.

"This is nothing short of greed and exploitation. The prices were checked and double checked.

"In six out of the 10 cases the inspectors found shiny new price lists with the prices increased on the doors of the pubs when they returned on March 29.

"While there is no breach of the legislation, once they display the prices they are charging, consumers should be made aware of this practice. I fail to see the justification for such increases.

"My inspectors were astounded when they saw the blatant profiteering that went on," she said.

Maguires' owner Ted O'Sullivan denied the price increase, although he admitted the pub did put up a new price list.

"All the other pubs on the street are around €4, we went up from €3.90 to €3.95 permanently - it was just a coincidence that we went up last Saturday."

He said there was no way the pub charged €4.90 for a pint, saying punters simply would not have paid that much for the drink.

"It definitely wasn't €4.90, you wouldn't give €4.90 for champagne, nobody would pay €4.90 for a pint of Guinness," he said.

However, Ms Foley stood over the results of the survey.

"Both are very senior inspectors and are well used to gathering evidence for use in court cases, so I am absolutely positive their findings are correct," she said.

The four pubs that didn't raise their prices were Toners, Searsons, the Lansdowne House and Beggars Bush.

Ms Foley said that her office checks prices from time to time, but does not do it regularly because they are not breaking any laws

silverside

isnt that free market capitalism at its best

Maybe not so free market though - I remember someone wanted to open a new pub in Baggot Street 4 or 5 years ago - the existing licensees were able to block it on the basis that there was already a sufficient number of pubs in the area - which I think was allowed under the licensing act as a valid reason for refusal - a definite anti-competitive measure.

Sleepy

Anyone ever wondered why there's no legislation worth a damn in place?

Anyone ever counted the number of TD's that are publicans?:rolleyes:

Ripwave

Originally posted by silverside
isnt that free market capitalism at its best

Maybe not so free market though - I remember someone wanted to open a new pub in Baggot Street 4 or 5 years ago - the existing licensees were able to block it on the basis that there was already a sufficient number of pubs in the area - which I think was allowed under the licensing act as a valid reason for refusal - a definite anti-competitive measure.

There's over a 1,000 pubs in Dublin. What makes you think that adding another couple of hundred would decrease prices?

Sleepy

The same thing that's keeping Taxi prices relatively flat: competition.

alleepally

Yep, pub owners are greedy but they didn't break any law so more fool on anyone that gives them custom.

Perhaps the office of consumer affairs could do something next time there's a big international.

They employ some people to stand outside the offending pubs and let punters know that the owners are ripping them off and point the punters to those pubs that haven't put up prices.

If they have the resources to do something like that, why not be more militant next time. These toothless wonders are great for reporting things after the event, grabbing headlines and saying "ooh, it pays to know the price, shop around". Well how the hell is the average punter going to know that prices have just gone up.

Tom Dunne

What should be done here is have a group of people go in one by one and order a large round.

Wait until it is all ready, ask the barman how much it costs, tell him to stick it an walk out.

Maybe, just maybe that will get the message across.

alleepally

"Wait until it is all ready, ask the barman how much it costs, tell him to stick it an walk out.

Maybe, just maybe that will get the message across."

I like that idea!

Ripwave

Originally posted by Sleepy
The same thing that's keeping Taxi prices relatively flat: competition.

Taxi prices have increased significantly since deregulation.

netman

It's not competition. It's demand and supply.

As long as there's people willing to pay the higher price, there will be people willing to charge the higher price

I mean seriously, how many of you would say "Ah! I'm not paying 4.90 a pint, lets get a bus for half an hour, I know a pub in Phibsboro where we can get a pint for 3.50!". And even if you said it, how many of your friends would join you?

Cafe en Seine was charging over 8 euro for a pint on new year's. And that was after you payed 20 euro to get in. And it was still packed.

Irish people have too much money and too little sense

Sleepy

Originally posted by Ripwave
Taxi prices have increased significantly since deregulation.

There was a government approved price raise last year. A raise that was agreed about a year beforehand. I find that deregulation didn't affect the prices at all, it just made taxis easier to get.

Sleepy

Originally posted by netman
Irish people have too much money and too little sense

unfortunately that's entirely right.

Typedef

Chaps, nobody is forcing you to a) drink or b) pay the price asked.

Yeah, the pubs stuck up their prices, yeah, the guys running the place wanted to make money.

Shock horror, these guys are in business to make money!

You don't want to pay their prices, take your business elsewhere!

leeroybrown

I wonder if the prices at the till were the same as those that are supposed to be clearly posted for patrons entering the bars?

Of course publicans will put up their prices if they can get away with it, and people really let them get away with it.

As for taxi deregulation, I'm not sure about Dublin, but I know that in Galway after it happened a lot of Hackney's got Taxi plates, started charging taxi rates, followed shortly afterwards by a considerable (corporation approved) fare hike. Ultimately, the cost of getting a cab home after a night out went up 50% - 60% for me with no major improvement in service.

lukeUCD

publicans in cities rip ppl of down the country they dont as they cant afford to as ppl will go somewhere else. thats why competition is a good idea.

Ripwave

Originally posted by lukeUCD
publicans in cities rip ppl of down the country they dont as they cant afford to as ppl will go somewhere else. thats why competition is a good idea.

That explains why I can step outside my office and walk into 3 pubs within 3 minutes, each of which will charge me €4.50 for a pint, whereas I can walk into the only pub in a small rural village (hamlet might be more appropriate), and get the same pint for €3.70.

Where the **** would we be without competition!!!

Sleepy

What small Irish village have you ever been in that only had one pub?

bonkey

Originally posted by lukeUCD
publicans in cities rip ppl of down the country they dont as they cant afford to as ppl will go somewhere else. thats why competition is a good idea.

Err? What?

If you check this, you will notice that there is a massive discrepancy amongst the pubs in prices in the area which is being diiscussed.

This rules out the competition argument - especially if you actually know the pubs in question. They are not all jammers all the time...its a case of people being willing to ignore the price of their pint to drink in the right/trendy/company's-local/whatever pub. That is what the publicans cash in on.


jc