6.20 euro for a chicken fillet roll? The Boom is Bollixed

LollipopJimmy

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Every store has different circumstances though, rent and rates are figures plucked from the sky, they have different suppliers, a chicken fillet can cost as little as 50cent or as much as €2 depending on supplier and quality. Same story with rolls and the mayo used to make the coleslaw. You can't comment on the quality because you went elsewhere.

Londis Grafton Street - about 3.50 euro
Centra Dame Street - about 4.90 euro
Londis O'Connell Street - about 4.20 euro.
Spar Camden Street - 3.49 euro exactly

You, Sir, have crossed a connoiseur!

Now if you'll excuse me, I am off to the GP, and I may be some time.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Omackeral wrote: »

Still laughing at this.

Yes, that boggled my mind. Does not compute.

antix80

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Pissing rain earlier. Went into Centra while I was waiting for a mate to finish work.
"One chicken fillet roll, please; coleslaw and cheese, no butter"

Was charged over eight euro for that, and a bottle of water at the till.

Assuming the water cost €2, and "over €8" meant €8, that's €6 for a chicken fillet roll. It's not good value but hardly outrageous either.

The recession chicken rolls had a poor quality chicken fillet, and didn't include either cheese or coleslaw for free. Those condiments could easily add €2-3 to the price of any sandwich. We don't know the quality of the chicken your roll was made with - could have been cheap ones specifically for cheap chicken rolls, or it could have been a decent one from the carvery menu.

So, not sure what your moan is about really. Was the price hiked in this particular place since your last visit? Was it an actual chicken fillet or a reformed one? Why did you order cheese AND coleslaw if you weren't willing to pay for them? Did it not occur to ask the price of the roll and the condiments prior to ordering?

So many questions.

LollipopJimmy

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Londis Grafton Street - about 3.50 euro
Centra Dame Street - about 4.90 euro
Londis O'Connell Street - about 4.20 euro.
Spar Camden Street - 3.49 euro exactly

You, Sir, have crossed a connoiseur!

Now if you'll excuse me, I am off to the GP, and I may be some time.

Thing is though there is no accounting for quality there.

antix80

antix80 wrote: »

The recession chicken rolls had a poor quality chicken fillet, and didn't include either cheese or coleslaw for free. Those condiments could easily add €2-3 to the price of any sandwich.

The price was listed on the roll.

The roll with the chicken was 5 euro (in their defence (?) it was a brown roll)
The coleslaw and cheese were 60 cent each.

You're completely correct in saying that the chicken fillet rolls of the recession days were poor quality. They still are. That's fine. But retailers ought to stay within a reasonable range of what others are charging.

I have a share in a small business down home in Tipp. I once met a wholesaler who was quoting prices to me, and I wondered, out loud, what mark-up we could apply. He looked slightly bewildered and said "100%!" In other words, he thought it would be fair to charge a consumer twice the price of producing goods. We didn't oppose this because it's morally wrong, but because it's not sustainable.

I'm all for profit, but some Irish businesses have lost the run of themselves.

LollipopJimmy

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

You're completely correct in saying that the chicken fillet rolls of the recession days were poor quality. They still are. That's fine. But retailers ought to stay within a reasonable range of what others are charging.

I get what you're saying, there are just far too many variables. Buy a chicken fillet from Deli Meats can be had for 50cent but one from Cuisine De France or whatever they are calling themselves these days is about €2.

EmmetSpiceland

It looks like they charged you for the individual items so you didn’t get the “meal deal”.

Like if someone went into McDonalds and ordered a Big Mac, chips and coke but got charged more than if they ordered a “Big Mac meal”.

The server was either stupid or sly and the shop has paid the price for whichever it was. Hopefully a lesson was learned but I doubt it was. Not many would have the same principles as your good self.

EmmetSpiceland

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Not many would have the same principles as your good self.

I can't claim principle here Emmet, just a very tight wallet.

Balanadan

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

The price was listed on the roll.

The roll with the chicken was 5 euro (in their defence (?) it was a brown roll)
The coleslaw and cheese were 60 cent each.

You're completely correct in saying that the chicken fillet rolls of the recession days were poor quality. They still are. That's fine. But retailers ought to stay within a reasonable range of what others are charging.

I have a share in a small business down home in Tipp. I once met a wholesaler who was quoting prices to me, and I wondered, out loud, what mark-up we could apply. He looked slightly bewildered and said "100%!" In other words, he thought it would be fair to charge a consumer twice the price of producing goods. We didn't oppose this because it's morally wrong, but because it's not sustainable.

I'm all for profit, but some Irish businesses have lost the run of themselves.

Markups and margins vary massively depending on what industry you're in.

Balanadan

Balanadan wrote: »

Markups and margins vary massively depending on what industry you're in.

Very true. But lets take water, for example. The markup on water is quite incredible. We only sell water by the glass-bottle, and even at that, it's very profitable. The guys selling plastics are making a fortune.

At home, it costs us about 35 cents to get a coffee from the importer, and onto the table of the consumer, which price includes labour. For that, the consumer pays almost 3 euro.

If everyone, from the wholesaler to the landlord just took a reasonable profit (25%), we could massively decrease our prices. But people are, in some cases, doubling or even trebling the costs to themselves, and passing it on.

So to go back to the chicken fillet roll (which is a nice, relatable example) and to be clear, I'm not necessarily blaming the local Spar. They probably have massive rents to contend with (although to be fair, most other convenience stores charge substantially less).

facehugger99

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I'm all for profit, but some Irish businesses have lost the run of themselves.

If you buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you're probably paying around 100% on the off license price, even more on the trade price.

Anyway, I think coffee is even worse - bit of hot water, a drop of milk and some coffee grains - €3.50.

handlemaster

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

The price isn't displayed. There's a board over the deli with 3 or 4 examples of food options, but no menu.

I don't think it was unreasonable to assume I'd be charged less than six quid.
I went and got a sandwich in an actual restaurant a few doors away, one which has won many awards for its food, for 7 quid. The water was free.

This convenience shop had wanted to charge me over 8 quid for those.

Aanyway, this is only about the chicken fillet roll to an extent. I'm trying to ask people about overcharging more broadly, and suggesting that we should refuse to pay.

Very un-Irish of you

facehugger99

facehugger99 wrote: »

If you buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you're probably paying around 100% on the off license price, even more on the trade price.

Anyway, I think coffee is even worse - bit of hot water, a drop of milk and some coffee grains - €3.50.

I don't know anything about the wine trade, but I'd share your suspicion.

We run a small village cafe, with good coffee, and most of our expense has to do with rent. If our landlord took (a reasonable) 25% profit from his rent, we could decrease the price of our coffee by up to 40%.

We need to start being reasonable, all of us. It serves nobody's interests to overcharge.

J Mysterio

Did you ever have someone refuse to pay the cost of their coffee and cake and walk out?

handlemaster

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

facehugger99 wrote: »

If you buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you're probably paying around 100% on the off license price, even more on the trade price.

Anyway, I think coffee is even worse - bit of hot water, a drop of milk and some coffee grains - €3.50.

I don't know anything about the wine trade, but I'd share your suspicion.

We run a small village cafe, with good coffee, and most of our expense has to do with rent. If our landlord took (a reasonable) 25% profit from his rent, we could decrease the price of our coffee by up to 40%.

We need to start being reasonable, all of us. It serves nobody's interests to overcharge.

That will never ever happen. Human nature and a capitalist economy.

handlemaster

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

facehugger99 wrote: »

If you buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you're probably paying around 100% on the off license price, even more on the trade price.

Anyway, I think coffee is even worse - bit of hot water, a drop of milk and some coffee grains - €3.50.

I don't know anything about the wine trade, but I'd share your suspicion.

We run a small village cafe, with good coffee, and most of our expense has to do with rent. If our landlord took (a reasonable) 25% profit from his rent, we could decrease the price of our coffee by up to 40%.

We need to start being reasonable, all of us. It serves nobody's interests to overcharge.

That will never ever happen. Human nature and a capitalist economy.

Ladyinthedark

I paid 7:50 today in subway for just a foot long hearty Italian with meat balls and pepperoni

J Mysterio

Ladyinthedark wrote: »

I paid 7:50 today in subway for just a foot long hearty Italian with meat balls and pepperoni

Meatballs & pepperoni?

EmmetSpiceland

Ladyinthedark wrote: »

I paid 7:50 today in subway for just a foot long hearty Italian with meat balls and pepperoni

Did they have “normal” drinks or was it all diet ones on sale?

J Mysterio

J Mysterio wrote: »

Did you ever have someone refuse to pay the cost of their coffee and cake and walk out?

Yes!

Everyone who's been in business longer than 6 months has. Of course!

ToddyDoody

You have to haggle.

Geuze

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I have a share in a small business down home in Tipp. I once met a wholesaler who was quoting prices to me, and I wondered, out loud, what mark-up we could apply. He looked slightly bewildered and said "100%!" In other words, he thought it would be fair to charge a consumer twice the price of producing goods. We didn't oppose this because it's morally wrong, but because it's not sustainable.

I'm all for profit, but some Irish businesses have lost the run of themselves.

100% mark-ups / 50% gross margins are very common in Ireland.

Profit margins seem to be strong in Ireland.

Booksellers typically apply 100% mark-ups, although this may have changed due to online competition.

The Louis Fitzgerald pub group make up to 400% mark-up / 80% gross margin on drinks.

Cornmarket insurance brokers make 33% net margins - this is shocking.

And the list goes on and on...........

Geuze

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Very true. But lets take water, for example. The markup on water is quite incredible. We only sell water by the glass-bottle, and even at that, it's very profitable. The guys selling plastics are making a fortune.

At home, it costs us about 35 cents to get a coffee from the importer, and onto the table of the consumer, which price includes labour. For that, the consumer pays almost 3 euro.

If everyone, from the wholesaler to the landlord just took a reasonable profit (25%), we could massively decrease our prices. But people are, in some cases, doubling or even trebling the costs to themselves, and passing it on.

So to go back to the chicken fillet roll (which is a nice, relatable example) and to be clear, I'm not necessarily blaming the local Spar. They probably have massive rents to contend with (although to be fair, most other convenience stores charge substantially less).

YES, YES, YES.

The price level in Ireland is too high, and not enough people blame one of the main reasons - excessive profit margins.

Geuze

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

We run a small village cafe, with good coffee, and most of our expense has to do with rent. If our landlord took (a reasonable) 25% profit from his rent, we could decrease the price of our coffee by up to 40%.

We need to start being reasonable, all of us. It serves nobody's interests to overcharge.

YES.

One of the main reasons for the excessive price level in Ireland is massive commercial rents.

Some commercial rents need to fall 90% to be reasonable.

Deebles McBeebles

Ladyinthedark wrote: »

I paid 7:50 today in subway for just a foot long hearty Italian with meat balls and pepperoni

Do us a favour and head over to the etiquette thread to warn everyone about doing the same. The exit cannot have been easy.

silverharp

the Spar near work seem to be charging 80 cent a chicken wing at the deli counter. what annoys me is that there is no pricing in plain view

Balanadan

Geuze wrote: »

100% mark-ups / 50% gross margins are very common in Ireland.

Profit margins seem to be strong in Ireland.

Booksellers typically apply 100% mark-ups, although this may have changed due to online competition.

The Louis Fitzgerald pub group make up to 400% mark-up / 80% gross margin on drinks.

Cornmarket insurance brokers make 33% net margins - this is shocking.

And the list goes on and on...........

100% mark-ups may be insufficient in some industries, normal in others, and excessive in others. It varies massively, it depends on the industry.

If, as a business, you want to be able to deliver value and service to customers as well as being able to pay for your staff, suppliers, rent, rates, insurance, etc. then you have to make sufficient profits to do so. This isn't an Irish thing, it's basic business.

If you buy something for €50 and sell it for €100, you have to give €18.70 to the government, €50 to the supplier, leaving you with €31.30 to pay all the above and more.

airmax87

while we're at it


...2,30 for a jambon in some spars now

facehugger99

facehugger99 wrote: »

If you buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you're probably paying around 100% on the off license price, even more on the trade price.

Anyway, I think coffee is even worse - bit of hot water, a drop of milk and some coffee grains - €3.50.

The coffee beans aren't the problem. We've paid for our own machine, our own coffee -- all of it imported -- and this pales in comparison to the amount being siphoned off by the landlord, for example. And the Council, in rates.

Balanadan wrote: »

100% mark-ups may be insufficient in some industries, normal in others, and excessive in others. It varies massively, it depends on the industry.

If, as a business, you want to be able to deliver value and service to customers as well as being able to pay for your staff, suppliers, rent, rates, insurance, etc. then you have to make sufficient profits to do so. This isn't an Irish thing, it's basic business.

If you buy something for €50 and sell it for €100, you have to give €18.70 to the government, €50 to the supplier, leaving you with €31.30 to pay all the above and more.

Yeah it is highly industry-specific.

But in the case of hospitality, we are importing our own coffee and we can get it onto the table of the consumer for 35 cents. This excludes rent, light, and heat. Those make up an unacceptable (but necessary) cost which seriously increases our price point.

Rows Grower

airmax87 wrote: »

while we're at it


...2,30 for a jambon in some spars now

The end is nigh.

Personally I think the zero f*ck's given to the over pricing of a jambon is indicative of a booming false economy having once being scared almost to death by the price of one about a dozen years ago.

It was like a moment of clarity.

I now own my own jambon factory.

Happy days.