Rip-Off Ireland alive and well

Liam Byrne

Tea with scone for one at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry - 6 euro. :eek:

Price not disclosed until it was placed in front of you, so no opportunity to say "you're joking, right ?" :mad:

The opportunity to let people know about the rip-off so that they can avoid the place like the plague and let greedy, rip-off businesses like this go to the wall - priceless. :cool:

schween

Jesus :eek: .

faceman

Liam Byrne wrote:

Price not disclosed until it was placed in front of you, so no opportunity to say "you're joking, right ?" :mad:

of course you can refuse it. you're feeding the rip off culture if you dont.

Liam Byrne

faceman wrote:

of course you can refuse it. you're feeding the rip off culture if you dont.

You're right, and my need to not cause a scene or be embarrassed did contribute.

Fact is, though, that I've emailed the manager of the hotel and let them know that as a result of being put in that situation I feel that I'm perfectly entitled to let everyone know about their rip-off. My email to Fine Gael's ripoff.ie website unfortunately bounced, but I am tempted to email the consumer guy on Ray D'Arcy's show as well.

I've also pointed out (in the email to the hotel) that they lost out on custom, big-time; I was there all day at a conference and if the prices had been in any way reasonable I would have had lunch and dinner there. If they weren't so greedy, they'd have made more money from me.

Now, because of their rip-off and greed, they've lost not only that and any future custom from me, but I'll gladly highlight it here and elsewhere as well as, should a future conference be considering this as a venue, voicing my objection. No conference, particularly one like the one that was on (which was excellently run in itself) wants to be tarnished by or associated with the greed of the hotel in which it is run.

I've already told the organiser of the event, so I can't see her using the hotel again; at the very least, she'll know that I won't be attending, and I'm sure I'm not unique.

So overall, the hotel loses out.

antoinolachtnai

I don't really know the hotel myself, but it has a reputation for not being cheap. I can't really say whether what you got is bad value, but it certainly doesn't seem completely unreasonable.

You don't talk about the standard of what was offered, you only talk about the price. A scone and tea could well be worth 6 euros. The cheapest you can order from your table get a scone and tea served to you in Dublin is abut EUR 4, I would think. There are certainly places where it would run to 11 euros or more.

The things that drive the cost are

- standard of service and product. I remember ordering a cuppa in the Four Seasons. It cost around 6 euros at the time, but with the silver service and all the rest of it, it was actually worth it. Also, it depends on whether the coffee was well made or not.

- the space. A nice, comfortable big space costs money to provide. If you were to have a meeting in the hotel with two other people and and they all had the same as you, that would cost you 18 euros, and you might stay there for an hour or two. There is no way you could rent a meeting room anywhere for that.

- irregular trade. A lot of these hotel lobbies have irregular trade, and don't really make money most days. It's only there because it has to be to maintain the standard of the hotel. The convenience of having a cuppa served to your table is what you pay extra for. It isn't really a cafe you're in, you can't expect it to be cheap.

Contrast the service you received to Jury's Ballsbridge, where you cannot get a cup of coffee served to you in the lobby at any price.

Of course, they should have had their prices displayed. Was there definitely no menu on the way in to the hotel?

RuggieBear

Liam Byrne wrote:

Tea with scone for one at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry - 6 euro. :eek:

Price not disclosed until it was placed in front of you, so no opportunity to say "you're joking, right ?" :mad:

The opportunity to let people know about the rip-off so that they can avoid the place like the plague and let greedy, rip-off businesses like this go to the wall - priceless. :cool:

That's cheap. The same in "a well known hotel just off Grafton Street" is 9 euro (and that was about 5 years ago). As for that "very famous well known hotel on the Green" ....it's even higher (can't remeber the actual charge but it was something like 20+ euro for two teas and scones)!

CuppaCocoa

That's pretty acceptable to be honest. You're paying for the service. I regularly go to the Crown Plaza for a drink and a snack and I don't find them pricey. Was there not a menu card available?

mickoneill30

Liam Byrne wrote:

Price not disclosed until it was placed in front of you, so no opportunity to say "you're joking, right ?" :mad:

You mean when you asked them the price before you asked for the food they refused to give you the price? Now that is mad.

Sizzler

Arent they obliged to display prices

wyndham

How much did you expect to pay?

Was there butter/jam/milk/sugar/etc with the tea and scone?

Was it a nice scone? lol

faceman

lilybarlean wrote:

That's pretty acceptable to be honest. You're paying for the service. I regularly go to the Crown Plaza for a drink and a snack and I don't find them pricey. Was there not a menu card available?

can you clarify, do you think €6 is acceptable for the OP's order?

Liam Byrne

mickoneill30 wrote:

You mean when you asked them the price before you asked for the food they refused to give you the price? Now that is mad.

No, I mean there was no price list displayed. I'm no cheapskate, and while asking the price of a full meal might be sensible (if slightly embarrassing in company), but asking the price of a tea and scone doesn't seem necessary - or rather, didn't until Sunday!

Yeah, a price list might be an idea, but I can't help thinking that no-one would ever buy anything there then!

I've also no problem for paying for decent service or surroundings; the surroundings in question were nice, but nothing like silverware or any such thing which could have impacted on the price; even then, if someone wants a scone and a cuppa after a long drive to Dublin, I can't see how an OTT presentation would make it taste any better.

Xterminator

I find it hard ot see any defense of charging €6 eror for a scone and tea.

Consider the cost of providing someone with a scone and tea, in a hotel, where presumably they buy scones half cooked for a few cents each, add a butter and jam, and a provide a cup of tea.

It is a rip off because it bears no relation to the cost of providing the service.

X

Arathorn

Thats a blatent Rip off, anyone trying to justify this because of location or whatever is just making it easier for them to get away with it.

antoinolachtnai

Xterminator wrote:

It is a rip off because it bears no relation to the cost of providing the service.

X

I think you underestimate the cost of providing the service.

What do you think is a reasonable price?

The lease on a hotel is expensive. You can figure on 15 or 20 euros a foot at the bare minimum.

To employ 10 people to run the bar/foyer (the minimum if you are planning to run 16 hours a day will cost you 150,000 euros a year at the very least. Add another 30,000 for training and recruitment.

The bar/foyer will occupy some of your general manager's time. Figure on paying a good GM a hundred grand a year or more.

Sourcing a scone may seem like a simple thing to you, but it is not as easy as all that to get a consistent quality supply.

If you supply the butter and jam in anything other than a little plastic packet, there is considerable labour and training involved.

People just assume these things are simple and cheap to do. They aren't.

ejmaztec

I don't know why any of the hotels in Ireland have any customers at all. All of the places that I have visited up and down the country have all been OTT in all departments as regards cost. The owners all have delusions of grandeur and seem to believe that it is a great honour and a priviledge for us poor suckers to avail of their mediocre service at a vast premium. You get treated an awful lot better on mainland Europe with a more acceptable cost/service ratio.
Some of them are like "The Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome, where the status-aspirants believe that they have to be seen in some of these "fashionable" places.
Off course, that's only my opinion and I'll probably be attacked from all sides as a result.

TJJP

Liam Byrne wrote:

Tea with scone for one at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry - 6 euro. :eek:

Only six quid? Reckon you should be posting in Bargain Alerts thread. Starbucks coffee and muffin on the way to work is pushing 6 yoyos lately.

Have to say, tea and a bun at your table for that price don't seem all that bad. Its 90c for a coke and 60c for a wham bar these days...

gilroyb

The price has to be displayed, and I'd say if you were to go back you may find it is. Otherwise, get in touch with the consumer authorities and tell them about your experience.

CuppaCocoa

can you clarify, do you think €6 is acceptable for the OP's order?

Em...yes! He wasn't in some country greasy spoon. Presumably the tea came in a pot and was served at the table with some degree of manners. I find the waiting staff to be very polite and courteous. We'd all love to have our meals charged at cost price but that's not a reality!

Liam Byrne

lilybarlean wrote:

Presumably the tea came in a pot and was served at the table with some degree of manners.

Erm, no - you presume wrong. The pot of tea was passed out over the counter which I was standing at.

I'll be fair and say that there's a chance that, if I had sat down at the table first, it might have been brought out, but fact is that it wasn't (and I think I saw the next customer carry his own over to his table too).

And more importantly, expensive establishments don't have a monopoly on "some degree of manners" - many "greasy spoon" establishments have plenty of friendliness and manners, just as many up-themselves establishments don't.

Basically, across the board, there are establishments and staff with manners and those without.

It's a complete fallacy (and part of the rip-off propaganda) to suggest that expensive places have a monopoly on manners!

Finally, I cannot for the life of me figure out why you chose to prefix the "greasy spoon" comment with the word "country" ? I could be wrong, but combined with the phrase "greasy spoon", it seems to be an indication of some sort of prejudice or snobbery - an implied assumption that a rural establishment wouldn't have the same level of service or food as a city one ?

Since I'm from a city, I'll gloss over the fact that it also seemed to imply "...like the OP might be more used to", but the post certainly seemed to be heading that way.

CuppaCocoa

Right, so you were in the conference centre and not in the coffee bar in the hotel lobby where I would consider €6 to be a reasonable price for the items you ordered. Never having been in the conference centre I can't comment on the service but I still don't think that €6 is that expensive by today's standards. By all means complain if you feel that aggrieved but it's hardly a 'Joe Duffy' moment!

Liam Byrne

lilybarlean wrote:

Right, so you were in the conference centre and not in the coffee bar in the hotel lobby where I would consider €6 to be a reasonable price for the items you ordered.

Incorrect. I went into the coffee bar in the hotel.

The equivalent items would have been barely over €1 in a shop, and that's a retail price and includes some level of wages and service; €2 or €2.50 would have been fine, and in the setting even €4 or €4.50 might have been bearable and fairly acceptable; €6 was not.

The "by today's standards" is relative, since if enough places weren't making an OTT quick buck then there would be no overpriced standard to judge by.

And like I said, if it were in any way reasonably priced I would have spent more there and maybe even left a tip if the service were particularly good; as it is, I walked out afterwards in disgust.

Oryx

First off, I dont think the price was outrageous. A takeout coffee or tea in a service station is about 1.50. In a paper cup, serve yourself Afternoon tea at the Ritz is £80.00. So price is relative.

But, I do think for the price you paid the tea should have been brought to you, with proper service, which it clearly wasnt. I have paid about the same for tea and a scone in a hotel locally, but it came out freshly dusted in icing sugar, with jam and cream in their own little pots, handed to me at my seat. Good value if you ask me. I dont object to paying a price if you can see why they are charging it.

CuppaCocoa

The Inca Coffe Bar in the hotel which I presume is where you were has a price list on every table. A pot of tea holds 2 cups normally. That works out at €2 per cup + €2 for the scone! You should have sat at the table and waited for someone to take your order, that way you could have perused the price list beforehand and decided whether or not you wanted to order. In my experience customers order from their seats and don't go to the counter to do it.

pow wow

I am really trying to see why the 6 euro bothers you so much but am struggling.

What exactly is the problem? The fact it cost 6 euro at all, the fact you would have happily paid 6 euro if they'd brought it to your table, or the fact that they didn't tell you in advance it was going to cost 6 euro and you didn't think to ask?

I don't think it's that expensive, and I don't have money to throw around by any means.

Liam Byrne

ellscurr wrote:

I am really trying to see why the 6 euro bothers you so much but am struggling.

What exactly is the problem? The fact it cost 6 euro at all, the fact you would have happily paid 6 euro if they'd brought it to your table, or the fact that they didn't tell you in advance it was going to cost 6 euro and you didn't think to ask?

I only raised the fact that IMHO, €6 was extortionate for what I got - in your terms "that it cost 6 euro at all". All the other issues that you mention were raised by lilybarlean in an attempt to expand what I received in order to justify the cost, even to the point of impling that manners would cost more :rolleyes: and then incorrectly assuming that it was served at the table, and then that I was in the conference centre, etc, all in an attempt to justify the price.

I (and a few other posters, judging by the posts) think €6 is too much; if you don't, and you can afford it, then fine.

I, for one, won't be going back, and as I said I would gladly have spent more there had I not been shocked, and worried at what they'd charge for lunch or dinner!

As it was, a very nice Chinese Restaurant in Roscrea got my €21 for dinner - including prawn crackers and starters - on the way home, plus a tidy enough tip because of the fact that their price allowed ME to decide whether the manners and service were good and tip accordingly.

Liam Byrne

lilybarlean wrote:

A pot of tea holds 2 cups normally. That works out at €2 per cup + €2 for the scone!

Are you for real ? I asked for a cup of tea; whether or not they give me more is their issue.

Based on your observation, let's look at this parallel: you're in the cinema and you ask for a standard mineral. The guy gives you a large mineral. Are you expected to pay for the difference ?

And that's TOTALLY leaving aside the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NO COST involved in having the larger teapot; it's still one teabag and still one round of washing up, so that hallowed second cup of tea that you mention is surely free ?

dudara

I don't think E6 is too much at all. It might seem so, but considering the running costs of any service-based establishment these days, plus a premium for sitting in hotel space, I think that it's fairly OK. As a previous poster pointed out, Starbucks would be the bones of E6 for a muffin and coffee these days. Face it, you're always going to pay a premium for availing of hotel facilities.

I've frequently arranged conferences, and meetings in hotels, and the prices that businesses are charged for mediocre tea and coffee with scones and biscuits can make your jaw drop sometimes.

pow wow

Liam Byrne wrote:

I only raised the fact that IMHO, €6 was extortionate for what I got - in your terms "that it cost 6 euro at all". All the other issues that you mention were raised by lilybarlean in an attempt to expand what I received in order to justify the cost, even to the point of impling that manners would cost more :rolleyes: and then incorrectly assuming that it was served at the table, and then that I was in the conference centre, etc, all in an attempt to justify the price.

I (and a few other posters, judging by the posts) think €6 is too much; if you don't, and you can afford it, then fine.

I, for one, won't be going back, and as I said I would gladly have spent more there had I not been shocked, and worried at what they'd charge for lunch or dinner!

As it was, a very nice Chinese Restaurant in Roscrea got my €21 for dinner - including prawn crackers and starters - on the way home, plus a tidy enough tip because of the fact that their price allowed ME to decide whether the manners and service were good and tip accordingly.

lol why are you getting so defensive about it? For the record I am a mature student and work part time so I don't tend to eat out at hotels, but if I were to I don't think 6E is out of the way for a snack. My point came from your remarks about silverware and having to go to the counter yourself and get it, which implied that in some realm of possibility the 6E cost would have been easier to swallow if you hadn't had to trot up to the counter yourself and get the tray or whatever.

Your post was in a public forum to attract opinion and I gave you mine. 6E might be expensive compared to a petrol station scone and cup of tea, but compared to other hotels who offer the facility I am fairly sure 6E is normal. There is no need to be defensive about the fact that some other posters don't share your shock and disgust at being charged 6E for a snack.

MOH

6 euro for a cup of tea and a scone that you order yourself over a counter and carry back to your seat is a rip-off.

Just because most places that can get away with it are doing it, doesn't mean it's not a rip off.

Comparisons with city centre hotels are irrelevant, the Crowne Plaza's a long way from the city centre.

Liam Byrne

ellscurr wrote:

My point came from your remarks about silverware and having to go to the counter yourself and get it, which implied that in some realm of possibility the 6E cost would have been easier to swallow if you hadn't had to trot up to the counter yourself and get the tray or whatever.

That would be fine if those had been my comments, but again, those were other posts that other people made to try to justify the cost.

From the thread, it seems that some people think it was an OK price, and other people think it was OTT; that's fine - people's opinions vary. At least I'm not on my own in thinking that it was OTT.

mcaul

Just having a little laugh to myself - was in Harrogate on Monday and ordered tea & bikkies in the Swan. Nice hotel, probably 3 star but nothing special - good place for quiet meetings over pots of tea.

Pot of Tea £3.00
Selection of biscuits £2.50
Total £5.50 - approx €8.00

Biscuits = 6 fairly plain biscuits.

I saw nothing unusual in the price as it is about the same price charged in most hotels in UK as they are invariably used as adhoc meeting places and seats can be taken up for an hour on just a single cup of coffee. - I spent 2 hours there! So imo it was good value, if however I was just droppong in for a 10 minute break, I would have thought otherwise.



Though on the other end of the scale, a decent coffee in Sicily will cost you less than €1 in most places and a Pizza €5 - maybe that why there are no starbucks or pizza huts in Italy???

faceman

Unbelievable reading the amount of people on this thread who think €6 is acceptable for scone and tea. I guess there is no rip off ireland after all, its just punters willing to pay over the odds prices

faceman

antoinolachtnai wrote:

I think you underestimate the cost of providing the service.

What do you think is a reasonable price?

The lease on a hotel is expensive. You can figure on 15 or 20 euros a foot at the bare minimum.

To employ 10 people to run the bar/foyer (the minimum if you are planning to run 16 hours a day will cost you 150,000 euros a year at the very least. Add another 30,000 for training and recruitment.

The bar/foyer will occupy some of your general manager's time. Figure on paying a good GM a hundred grand a year or more.

Sourcing a scone may seem like a simple thing to you, but it is not as easy as all that to get a consistent quality supply.

If you supply the butter and jam in anything other than a little plastic packet, there is considerable labour and training involved.

People just assume these things are simple and cheap to do. They aren't.

Thats the worst argument ever!

I wonder how much it costs michael o'leary to buy a boeing 737-800 jet? Is he charging €6,000 to take a return trip to the UK on one of his flights? No. Is the inflight service any less courteous than any other airline? No.

mickoneill30

faceman wrote:

Thats the worst argument ever!

I wonder how much it costs michael o'leary to buy a boeing 737-800 jet? Is he charging €6,000 to take a return trip to the UK on one of his flights?

Economies of scale I think would be pretty obvious here. Was the hotel cramming 200 people into the tea room every couple of hours?

faceman wrote:

Is the inflight service any less courteous than any other airline?

Have you flown in any other airline? I know you're going to say yes. So have I. It's a different experience. If I want a cheap and functional flight I'll go Ryanair. If I want more comfort I'll pay a bit extra and choose an alternative.

Same for a coffee and scone. If I want something to just shove in my mouth I'll pay the €3 elsewhere. If I want to take it easy and relax I'll pay a bit extra for somewhere I can get a comfortable seat and have it somewhere where they're not trying to get as many customers through their doors every 5 minutes.

It doesn't mean I want to get ripped off or that I'll do it every day. It just means I'll get what I pay for. Obviously the hotel is after the more affluent part of the market (the ones that don't mind paying €6 for a coffee and scone). If they can't attract that market they'll either go bust or reduce their prices.

The issue here isn't the price charged. It's that the OP assumed it would be another price. Lesson learned (maybe). Never order something without seeing a pricelist or failing that asking what the price is. Don't be shy.

antoinolachtnai

faceman wrote:

Thats the worst argument ever!

I wonder how much it costs michael o'leary to buy a boeing 737-800 jet? Is he charging €6,000 to take a return trip to the UK on one of his flights? No. Is the inflight service any less courteous than any other airline? No.

What has that Michael O'Leary got to do with running a hotel in Santry? It's a different sort of business.

Seriously, what do you think is a reasonable price for a coffee and a bun with plenty of space around you?

Sizzler

antoinolachtnai wrote:

What has that Michael O'Leary got to do with running a hotel in Santry? It's a different sort of business.

Seriously, what do you think is a reasonable price for a coffee and a bun with plenty of space around you?

I think Faceman was trying to make a comparison. I think you will find in most punters books 6 notes for a cup of tea and a poxy scone is a tad OTT, might be more acceptable if you were say in the clarence or the shelbourne as there would be an expectation there on the customers part that the price would be dearer than most other places. Lets face it the crowne plaza is a run of the mill hotel that GAA teams use when they are up in Dublin or for the no frills business traveller. I think €4 would be more fitting for an establishment of that grade, regardless of what people believe the hotels overheads etc to be. They are in the hotel business so they should be concentrating on keeping punters happy, it would appear on the face of it their room rates might be keen but they try and screw you on the small things, which is never a good trait.

rubadub

faceman wrote:

Unbelievable reading the amount of people on this thread who think €6 is acceptable for scone and tea. I guess there is no rip off ireland after all, its just punters willing to pay over the odds prices

I would expect to pay €6 for it. I do consider it a rip off and that is why I never would pay it, but I would expect to be charged about that much. I just accept the fact that you will be charged huge amounts in hotels for stuff like that, so if I accept the fact do I therefore think it is acceptable? Depends on your definition or inferred meaning of "acceptable".

How much would tea & a scone have been to take away from dunnes? A bottle of beer is €1 and I expect to pay 5 times that in a pub. I expect the tea and scone even at €6 is less than 5 times a supermarket price.

pow wow

Liam Byrne wrote:

No, I mean there was no price list displayed. I'm no cheapskate, and while asking the price of a full meal might be sensible (if slightly embarrassing in company), but asking the price of a tea and scone doesn't seem necessary - or rather, didn't until Sunday!

Yeah, a price list might be an idea, but I can't help thinking that no-one would ever buy anything there then!

I've also no problem for paying for decent service or surroundings; the surroundings in question were nice, but nothing like silverware or any such thing which could have impacted on the price; even then, if someone wants a scone and a cuppa after a long drive to Dublin, I can't see how an OTT presentation would make it taste any better.

There.

faceman

rubadub wrote:

How much would tea & a scone have been to take away from dunnes? A bottle of beer is €1 and I expect to pay 5 times that in a pub. I expect the tea and scone even at €6 is less than 5 times a supermarket price.

and thats the problem - you accept paying that. Why do you accept it at that price? not all pubs will charge 5 times the price a supermarket does.

You are making the decision to accept the rip off culture. I bet you have never complained about price in your life directly to a retailer etc

Liam Byrne

ellscurr wrote:

There.

Go back and read the context of that post; I was responding directly to an earlier post where someone who'd paid over the odds had said they felt it was OK because of all that stuff.

So it wasn't my point (and even if it was, using silverware for a cup of tea, or using it to justify paying more, is just pretentious).

So (to quote yourself) There !

Establishments such as pubs and hotels and cafes have to charge more than a supermarket; they have staff to clear tables, they have different insurance, they have to do washing up, etc, etc.

The question is, how much more is acceptable ? How much is too much ? When do we shout stop, before we're all flat broke and we have no more tourists arriving because of the reasonable charges in other countries ? If Spain can do a full sit-down meal including starters in a nice restaurant for €15, why can't we ?

If not enough people complain or point out the fact that the profiteers are overdoing it, we are feeding the rip-off culture and making it more difficult for anyone who does point out that the Emperor has indeed no clothes - pointing it out becomes almost an embarrasment to the consumer rather than the establishment that's doing the ripping off.

CuppaCocoa

Having just returned from the Crowne Plaza for my regular drink and read of the papers, I can confirm that:

Yes, there is a menu on every table in the coffee bar and always have been

Yes, there are prices for tea and a scone. Not too hard to find! For tea, look under 'beverages' and for the scone, look under 'pastries'!

Here are the prices from the menu: Tea (11 different varieties) €2.75
Scone (WITH JAM AND WHIPPED CREAM) €3.25
Total €6

All perfectly legible if you'd bothered to take the time to read!
Don't be so quick to judge next time

Sonnenblumen

Liam Byrne wrote:

Go back and read the context of that post; I was responding directly to an earlier post where someone who'd paid over the odds had said they felt it was OK because of all that stuff.

So it wasn't my point (and even if it was, using silverware for a cup of tea, or using it to justify paying more, is just pretentious).

So (to quote yourself) There !

Establishments such as pubs and hotels and cafes have to charge more than a supermarket; they have staff to clear tables, they have different insurance, they have to do washing up, etc, etc.

The question is, how much more is acceptable ? How much is too much ? When do we shout stop, before we're all flat broke and we have no more tourists arriving because of the reasonable charges in other countries ? If Spain can do a full sit-down meal including starters in a nice restaurant for €15, why can't we ?

If not enough people complain or point out the fact that the profiteers are overdoing it, we are feeding the rip-off culture and making it more difficult for anyone who does point out that the Emperor has indeed no clothes - pointing it out becomes almost an embarrasment to the consumer rather than the establishment that's doing the ripping off.

These are delusional points, simply comparing a product+environment combo with another product+environment is not fair comparison eg tea and silver might be pretentious in your books but coffee and cake in vienna is not the same as Bewleys in Dublin, no matter what the price might be.

Profit is not the sole differentiator and cost structures will vary widely amongst markets ultimately determining price and products just look at McDonalds in Ireland, Spain and USA.

antoinolachtnai

Sizzler wrote:

I think Faceman was trying to make a comparison. I think you will find in most punters books 6 notes for a cup of tea and a poxy scone is a tad OTT, might be more acceptable if you were say in the clarence or the shelbourne as there would be an expectation there on the customers part that the price would be dearer than most other places. Lets face it the crowne plaza is a run of the mill hotel that GAA teams use when they are up in Dublin or for the no frills business traveller. I think €4 would be more fitting for an establishment of that grade, regardless of what people believe the hotels overheads etc to be. They are in the hotel business so they should be concentrating on keeping punters happy, it would appear on the face of it their room rates might be keen but they try and screw you on the small things, which is never a good trait.

Where in the Dublin area can you get a pot of tea and a scone with jam and whipped cream for 4 euros?

rubadub

faceman wrote:

Originally Posted by rubadub
How much would tea & a scone have been to take away from dunnes? A bottle of beer is €1 and I expect to pay 5 times that in a pub. I expect the tea and scone even at €6 is less than 5 times a supermarket price

and thats the problem - you accept paying that. Why do you accept it at that price? not all pubs will charge 5 times the price a supermarket does.

You are making the decision to accept the rip off culture. I bet you have never complained about price in your life directly to a retailer etc

I accept that I would have to pay that, but I do not pay for it because I do not think it is value for money. Even when the money is "free" (i.e. on company expenses) I refuse to pay over the odds for stuff.
I do not buy 330ml bottles or spirits in pubs since they are not good value. I usually drink apparently expensive beers which in actual fact are usually the best value in pubs, i.e. they are high in alcohol, good quality and very good pricewise when relatively compared to off licence prices. In my local there are no decent beers so I drink the cheapest one at €3.40 per pint, tastes as good/bad as the others. A longneck of heineken works out at €7.90 per pint in the same pub.

I have never complained about prices in shops, I would always look at the price so simply do not buy it. I have told people with items where to get them cheaper in other shops. In pubs I have commented on prices but usually I know the price beforehand, in the past I have refused to pay for overpriced drinks, the pubs have to display prices and usually don't so can say nothing.

Liam Byrne

lilybarlean wrote:

Yes, there is a menu on every table in the coffee bar and always have been

"always have been", eh ? You must be there an awful lot in order to stand over that statement ? All I can say is that when I was there, I did not see a menu near the serving area or the adjacent counter.

lilybarlean wrote:

Yes, there are prices for tea and a scone. Not too hard to find! For tea, look under 'beverages' and for the scone, look under 'pastries'!

Completely patronising and irrelevant point - I do know how to scan a menu - ASSUMING THE MENU IS AVAILABLE. In retrospect, I should have asked for a menu (essentially asking for the price list but without the embarrasment) but for tea and scone I didn't think it would be an issue. Lesson learnt - I'll know better next time.

lilybarlean wrote:

Here are the prices from the menu: Tea (11 different varieties) €2.75

Wow! That's like - so cool! I wonder which of the 11 different varieties I got ? Was it a Barry's or Lyons teabag that was in that amazing 2-cup teapot ?

lilybarlean wrote:

Scone (WITH JAM AND WHIPPED CREAM) €3.25

Wow again, because of the bits that were so important as to put them in capitals! Who asked them to include the whipped cream, which was there alright but was - to me - as relevant as a side-salad ? Next you'll be claiming that pubs are entitled to charge you more for a Coke because they decide to add the unwanted slice of lemon :rolleyes:

lilybarlean wrote:

All perfectly legible if you'd bothered to take the time to read!

And if you took the time to read my posts, you'd realise just how unfairly patronising and sarcastic that comment is. There. Was. No. Menu.

Don't be so quick to judge next time

Given some of the content of your post, which seems to condescendingly imply that I am incapable of reading the non-existent menu, that statement appears to refer to yourself in just as equal a measure.

Of course, most of your comments appear to be assuming that the main issue was the lack of the menu. True, if it had been there, I would have turned and walked out and there would have been a lot less disgust on my part; I would have been surprised, but I would have left without getting ripped off.

But that wouldn't have changed my main opinion - that the cost was too high.

CuppaCocoa

I did not see a menu near the serving area or the adjacent counter That's because they're on the tables. They are the same ones that have been there since the hotel opened! Yes, I do go on a weekly basis.

I have never seen anyone order at the counter, it's a waiter service, that's what they're there for. The waiters order at the counter not the customers.

You could have had any one of the 11 different types of tea if you'd wanted to. The choice was there.

It wasn't just a plain scone, there was jam and whipped cream as well. You may not have wanted it but other people may like it.

Get over it! If €6 means so much to you then give me your address and I'll post it on to you!

RuggieBear

lilybarlean wrote:

Get over it! If €6 means so much to you then give me your address and I'll post it on to you!

it means alot to me. pm sent!:D

Liam Byrne

lilybarlean wrote:

Get over it! If €6 means so much to you then give me your address and I'll post it on to you!

:rolleyes: I can't see how you're so defensive of the place or involved as to suggest that, but just consider the topic closed, ok ? You're not going to convince me that it's not OTT charging (actually, replying to someone saying "get over it" wouldn't convince anyone of anything, but hey!)

Like I said, you made lots of assumptions and attempted justifications, many of which you had no knowledge of; I went to the counter to see what was on offer in the display case; there were seats at the counter beside that, and there was no menu and no indication that the seats further up had menus.

But consider the topic closed; enough people agreed with me that it was a rip-off to justify my query; others disagreed, as is their right, but at least I know that I'm not the only one cringing at Irish prices.

The Crowne Plaza is a reasonably nice hotel, and you could possibly justify €4 because of the surroundings. Beyond that is a rip-off. That's what I think, and I'm glad to see that at least some other posters aren't pretentious enough to think that an unwanted and unasked for blob of cream and a second cup in the teapot is justification of the extra cost, or as other posters mentioned, an establishment using silverware; and remember too that lots of customer-focussed establishments will give you a free refill of tea or coffee since they don't have to worry about any extra washing up.

But (in the absence of any more patronising replies slagging off "country greasy spoons" or my intelligence or ability to read) that's my last word on the topic; it's already dragged on too much, despite a decent combination of posts agreeing and disagreeing, the remaining posts and points were patronising and not worth spending any more time on. You feel the need to defend the hotel, I would have recommended the hotel if it hadn't been so expensive; so we'll agree to disagree and let everyone else continue to post whether or not they think €6 is ok without having to trawl through long winded patronising posts and my equally long-winded, but by now tiresome even to me, attempts to clarify things.

antoinolachtnai

The fact that you (and many other people) do not think it is worth spending 6 euros on what you got is not disputed. But you knew that before you began.

No doubt some of the comments were unfair. At the end of the day, if you don't think it's worth it, it isn't worth it for you. You don't have to clarify anything, that's just the way it is.

However, you don't seem to accept that providing a service to a higher standard costs more because of the increased input costs and that the higher cost is the result of that.

faceman

antoinolachtnai wrote:

However, you don't seem to accept that providing a service to a higher standard costs more because of the increased input costs and that the higher cost is the result of that.

The hotel pays simliar wages to other hotels. And in some cases, not far off minimum wage. Whats the higher input cost?