Jan and Klodi's Party Bus - part II **off topic discussion**

CramCycle

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I'm still not in agreement that Payroll would average out at €50k. if the lads driving the van and the call centre operatives are on more than €24k basic I'd be hugely surprised

Depends on their hours but i would expect them to be on a good bit more. Probably tops out quite low but I would have thought 30k+ minimum.

LollipopJimmy

CramCycle wrote: »

Depends on their hours but i would expect them to be on a good bit more. Probably tops out quite low but I would have thought 30k+ minimum.

Call centre jobs don't pay that much, I'm currently recruiting Call Centre agents and paying a base of €25k, this is actually 3-4K higher than our competitors.

tomasrojo

The employees aren't all call-centre employees, are they? Presumably they have management, IT people, drivers, admin people, maintenance staff ... they all would earn more than basic call-centre employees.

This is all a bit conjectural, isn't it?

LollipopJimmy

tomasrojo wrote: »

The employees aren't all call-centre employees, are they? Presumably they have management, IT people, drivers, admin people, maintenance staff ... they all would earn more than basic call-centre employees.

This is all a bit conjectural, isn't it?

Not really

I would imagine the van drivers, admin staff and maintenance staff are on small enough money given what is standard for those kind of roles. The vans are sub 3.5t so can be driven on a car licence with no CPC to be paid for.

The point I'm making is it just stinks of inefficient typical City Council spending

tomasrojo

If most people in full-time work in an institution in Dublin are on 25k (I know some people are, inevitably), then that means most of them are in very constrained circumstances from the off, given that rent alone typically comes to 18k. After tax, what do you live on? Maybe a couple of hundred a month?

Still, I can't say it isn't true, and I've certainly lived on less than that myself.

Chuchote

Apart from the wages and salaries (and how dare someone doing a job more menial than mine expect a decent wage?) there's also the question of buying and maintaining the trucks, the bikes (all with GPS tracking, I've been told), the parking bays and the central computer system.

LollipopJimmy

tomasrojo wrote: »

If most people in full-time work in an institution in Dublin are on 25k (I know some people are, inevitably), then that means most of them are in very constrained circumstances from the off, given that rent alone typically comes to 18k. After tax, what do you live on? Maybe a couple of hundred a month?

Still, I can't say it isn't true, and I've certainly lived on less than that myself.

Very few people paying 18k a year in rent alone. Take a look at job sites and the number of people on small money, it's a race to the bottom unfortunately

Chuchote

How Copenhagen is making itself into a cycling city http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/earthrise/2011/11/20111117153115771132.html

tomasrojo

Imagine a driver who's been with DublinBikes since it opened. They've been working there for about seven years, they have one child and their partner works part-time. They rent a two-bedroom apartment, which does cost about 18k a year.

If I found out that DublinBikes was paying them 25k a year, the first thing that would occur to me wouldn't be: Good for them. Getting good value for money.

(Not suggesting that LollipopJimmy is saying that, but it would be pretty crappy to be getting pay like that after seven years of reliable service.)

ThisRegard

Their job didn't get harder, or require an additional skill set over those years. Not all companies remunerate you based on your years working there, although I suppose those at the lower level would be more likely to.

Wishbone Ash

ThisRegard wrote: »

...Not all companies remunerate you based on your years working there, although I suppose those at the lower level would be more likely to.

It's quite common in my experience - usually to help alleviate a high turnover of staff. In lower paid jobs, there tends to be less allegiance to the employer so it's often beneficial to offer an increase in the hourly rate for each year of service to help retain staff. It's usually only applicable for the first few years though.

smacl

Weepsie wrote: »

2 bedrooms are now around 1500 in some places which is outrageous. You're right in the they're not on their own, but there are couples paying 18k a year in rent, close on likely 42-45 k take home pay.

As I come ever closer to renewing my lease I look at daft and despair

Rents in Dublin at record levels apparently; http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0823/811220-daft-rent-report/

Chuchote

It's not going to end until a) the Corpo starts building again, and b) the State gets serious about compulsory purchase of derelict, unused houses where people are storing their money in bricks and mortar. I can't see either happening under the current Dail.

magicbastarder

It's definitely being considered. I thought I'd heard that the plans have advanced a bit, but haven't found confirmation yet.

http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/derelict-houses-to-be-seized-by-state-34741286.html

Chuchote

My front wheel is going Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak… I've oiled the wheel and the forks, but still, Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak… Is there a mouse in there?

Edit: @magicbastarder, Fine Gael, and also Fianna Fail, are good at considering things into the distant sunset.

Actually making a decision that would cause any one Laois farmer to say "What? Compulsorily purchase my house in Dublin where I had my money all cosy? I'll never vote for them again, nor will any of my outlying family or any of my descendants" – that's what they won't do.

With the honourable exception of Donogh O'Malley and free education.

magicbastarder

btw, how do you pronounce your username? i read it as the same way you pronounce chakotay from star trek voyager.

Chuchote

magicbastarder wrote: »

btw, how do you pronounce your username? i read it as the same way you pronounce chakotay from star trek voyager.

Ah, it comes from my current obsession with reclaiming my school French. Pronunciation and meaning here:

http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/chuchote

Mind you…

CHAKOTAY: This is not a real Native American name. It is the name of a character on the science fiction show "Star Trek: Voyager." The actor who plays Chakotay is of Mayan descent, but the character is from a fictional tribe called the Anurabi and his name means something like "Man Who Walks the Earth But Who Only Sees the Sky" in that language. But of course, it's not a real Native American language. It's a Star Trek language, like Klingon.

Not altogether inaccurate!

magicbastarder

picking up the thread re signage and the conor pass here - how about a cyclist friendly sign at the bottom of any of the well known climbs with length and gradient on them? would be less of a 'careful now!' message, than a friendly implicit reminder that the road ahead may not be suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

Chuchote

magicbastarder wrote: »

picking up the thread re signage and the conor pass here - how about a cyclist friendly sign at the bottom of any of the well known climbs with length and gradient on them? would be less of a 'careful now!' message, than a friendly implicit reminder that the road ahead may not be suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

This is an excellent idea. It's like the signs that were put up all over Britain in the 1920s onwards by the Cyclists' Touring Club with advice and help for tourers.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

picking up the thread re signage and the conor pass here - how about a cyclist friendly sign at the bottom of any of the well known climbs with length and gradient on them? would be less of a 'careful now!' message, than a friendly implicit reminder that the road ahead may not be suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

Those type of signs are quite common in mountainous places in Europe. During the pro cycle races, the motorcycle camera often focuses on them for a fleeting moment while passing.

They are often accompanied by 1km 'countdown' markers as you get nearer the summit (when the 1km markers sometimes seem to be 5k apart!

Peterx

The Olympics really does take over. The Vuelta has started! I thought that was next weekend. No wonder Velogames kept rejecting my team yesterday

LollipopJimmy

Chuchote wrote: »

My front wheel is going Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak… I've oiled the wheel and the forks, but still, Squeeeeak, Squeeeeak… Is there a mouse in there?

Did you not feed the mouse? Of course it's going to squeak, poor thing must be starving

magicbastarder

Chuchote wrote: »

This is an excellent idea. It's like the signs that were put up all over Britain in the 1920s onwards by the Cyclists' Touring Club with advice and help for tourers.

problem is getting the permission for the signs. county councils have very different approaches to putting up signs.

smacl

magicbastarder wrote: »

problem is getting the permission for the signs. county councils have very different approaches to putting up signs.

They're getting much better in rural areas, with a lot of marked cycleways through more scenic parts of our extensive l-road network. Adding a bit of information such as gradient and distance to these shouldn't be much of an ask. A lot of this signage is quite new; just had a look at some of the google street photography around Doolin and none of the cycling signage which is now there was around when the shots were taken. What I couldn't find was a map with all these routes described and listed, I know that some of them (e.g. routes around Doolin) have a map at the trail head, but would have thought they were available as country wide map layer somewhere.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

problem is getting the permission for the signs. county councils have very different approaches to putting up signs.

All the old road signage in the ROI was done by the AA (the black on white pointer type signs). Their logo was on the sign also.

xxyyzz

magicbastarder wrote: »

picking up the thread re signage and the conor pass here - how about a cyclist friendly sign at the bottom of any of the well known climbs with length and gradient on them? would be less of a 'careful now!' message, than a friendly implicit reminder that the road ahead may not be suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

These signs were actually put on the Conor pass for cyclists earlier this year showing gradient and distance from the summit.

daragh_

Ordered some stuff from Chain Reaction on Sunday, dispatched yesterday and scheduled for delivery (to my work address) this morning. An Post arrived at 7:43 this morning without any advance notice. Wouldn't mind but there is usually someone here from 8. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Chuchote

Zooming down from mountain passes in Ireland there are also factors like gravel and sheep droppings that can cause slips.

magicbastarder

and sheep. happened a chap i know, a sheep ran out in front of him while descending. tore his face up pretty bad.

Chuchote

Amazing the number of bike maintenance videos there are on YouTube. Equally amazing that none of them are by Irish people. (Though I just watched one by a guy with a strange accent, sounded like Irish with a layer of rather ladylike English pronunciation smeared over it.)