Why do some people hate chains so much?

completedit

I know a fella he acts as if Lidl and Witherspoon's are the Third Reich. It seems like his hatred only extends towards clothing, food and hospitality establishments because he is more than happy to drive cars of foreign produced global manufacturers or use a phone devised by foreign companies and produced abroad.

I notice a growing number of people who criticise globalisation but seem incapable of taking it through to its logical conclusion. Do they want autarky?

SuperSean11

Your run of the mill muppet

RandRuns

completedit wrote: »

I know a fella he acts as if Lidl and Witherspoon's are the Third Reich. It seems like his hatred only extends towards clothing, food and hospitality establishments because he is more than happy to drive cars of foreign produced global manufacturers or use a phone made abroad.

Does he pretend to love obscure bands as well? I've a friend like that, has an image he tries to maintain where he's cool and different.

biko

Some people support local shops over UK chains.
Some people don't give a toss until their local shops are gone and every Irish town has the same UK shops.

If your friend had the option of buying an Irish competitively made car or phone he would probably do that.

Rodney Bathgate

RandRuns wrote: »

Does he pretend to love obscure bands as well? I've a friend like that, has an imagine he tries to maintain where he's cool and different.

Probably a Mumford and Sons fan from before the became mainstream.

xzanti

Yep, the "shop local, shop small" brigade.

If I did my weeks shopping in my local small shop it would cost me a small fortune :rolleyes:

Anyway, I do shop local. In my local Aldi.

ShatterAlan

completedit wrote: »

I know a fella he acts as if Lidl and Witherspoon's are the Third Reich. It seems like his hatred only extends towards clothing, food and hospitality establishments because he is more than happy to drive cars of foreign produced global manufacturers or use a phone made abroad.

Does he hate chains/franchises that are foreign or does he hate Irish ones as well like Dunnes, Supermacs, ?


Chains are pretty unavoidable these days. I don't like McDonald's. Haven't been in years but I'll grab a whopper meal if I get the cravings or a Supermacs when in Ireland..


Very hard to find independent shops anymore that sell the clothes you might want. I wanted a pair of Adidas Beckenbauer and JD was the place to get them. I don't do Starbucks. Can't stand the place. But Insomnia for a cup of coffee in Spar is just as "chainy"


You want a good burger? Bobo and Gourmet Burger are chains
You want a good kebab? Zaytoon is a chain
You want good sushi? Musashi is a chain.

completedit

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Does he hate chains/franchises that are foreign or does he hate Irish ones as well like Dunnes, Supermacs, ?


Chains are pretty unavoidable these days. I don't like McDonald's. Haven't been in years but I'll grab a whopper meal if I get the cravings or a Supermacs when in Ireland..


Very hard to find independent shops anymore that sell the clothes you might want. I wanted a pair of Adidas Beckenbauer and JD was the place to get them. I don't do Starbucks. Can't stand the place. But Insomnia for a cup of coffee in Spar is just as "chainy"


You want a good burger? Bobo and Gourmet Burger are chains
You want a good kebab? Zaytoon is a chain
You want good sushi? Musashi is a chain.

He's a good lad and I respect him for having a passion about the issue of climate change ut he's quite contradictory with regards who and who he doesn't support. Certain Irish chains are good but he has this grá for the "real Ireland" which will never be found in Dublin, only out west.
He also doesn't these lifestyle decisions for fellow humans but more for the approval of some sort of sentient earth.

Btw Zaytoon 😋

ohnonotgmail

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thought this was going to be BDSM related.

murpho999

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Does he hate chains/franchises that are foreign or does he hate Irish ones as well like Dunnes, Supermacs, ?


Chains are pretty unavoidable these days. I don't like McDonald's. Haven't been in years but I'll grab a whopper meal if I get the cravings or a Supermacs when in Ireland..


Very hard to find independent shops anymore that sell the clothes you might want. I wanted a pair of Adidas Beckenbauer and JD was the place to get them. I don't do Starbucks. Can't stand the place. But Insomnia for a cup of coffee in Spar is just as "chainy"


You want a good burger? Bobo and Gourmet Burger are chains
You want a good kebab? Zaytoon is a chain
You want good sushi? Musashi is a chain.

Good luck getting a whopper meal in McDonald's.

murpho999

I don't mind chains at all as they're a part of modern commerce and they have advantages with standards, uniformity and pricing.

However, I do agree with the person on Wetherspoons. I can't stand the UK pub chain model.

Terrible microwaved food, sterile atmosphere in pubs. Terrible service with untrained kids behind the bar.

It's the very opposite of a good Irish pub and I just wish they were not in Ireland at all. I don't care how much there pints are cheaper by.

Also the CEO's Brexit attitude turns me off them and I find it contradictory they are here thanks to EU open market.

completedit

Love the Spoons type bar. Much better than Irish pub. Irish pubs make me depressed. Too dark and grim. And way too formal.

*I do like them when am in the mood for that type of vibe but don't like them as a general place to go for pints.

biko

ShatterAlan wrote: »

You want a good burger? Bobo and Gourmet Burger are chains
You want a good kebab? Zaytoon is a chain
You want good sushi? Musashi is a chain.

Don't you also have local restaurants for all of those?
In Galway we do, still.

biko

completedit wrote: »

Irish pubs make me depressed. Too dark and grim. And way too formal.

We can't be friends.

completedit

biko wrote: »

We can't be friends.

Hahaha.
Well see neither of my parents were drinkers. So pubs just never had that appeal. My dad despised guiness and whiskey even more so.
But spoons reminds me of quaint English towns which in retrospect, were probably ****e but at the time, they seemed so cool.

CalamariFritti

There's good and bad about chains.

There is buying power and often quality standards and consistency in the product range and often there is good value too. But there is also that thing where every city center all across Europe looks the exact same. Zara, adidas, starbucks etc no matter where you are. You get the idea. I don't like that bit.

Americans seem mad into it. Once you have a shop or a restaurant that works it seems you must start building an empire. Crazy stuff.

KiKi III

Every English city is the same, if it’s not Wetherspoons it’s the Slug and Lettuce or All Bar One.

Same menus, same layout, it’s so boring to go to a completely new city and go out and find essentially the exact same pubs.

Obviously there are exceptions but chain pubs are very common.

completedit

CalamariFritti wrote: »

There's good and bad about chains.

There is buying power and often quality standards and consistency in the product range and often there is good value too. But there is also that thing where every city center all across Europe looks the exact same. Zara, adidas, starbucks etc no matter where you are. You get the idea,

Definitely. In that respect I hate it. It would be nice if there was some sort of middle ground. So where maybe global chains adapted to their host country. We are grand with McDonald's being Irish but I saw in Russia KFC is called something that's more suited to their culture.

That's the cool thing about southern italy, obviously has the chains but there definitely is a more individual and unique feel to the place which more and more in NW and central Europe you just don't get.

CrankyHaus

Comparing a chain service to a chain product is misleading.
Most of us couldn't afford a well made bespoke version of most products we use ; which is why only the rich could afford them before mass production. Think of watches for example.
In contrast we can afford bespoke services, and are willing to pay for them because they offer several advantages.
I don't dislike McDonalds or even a cheap pint in Spoonies, but if they were the only choice you had life would be grim. And anyone who honestly can't see this has to be a bit dim.

AllForIt

Well, it's that sorta drug dealer look that puts me off.

biko

I suppose there is some sort of comfort in going to a new town and they have a Halfords there too.
Once Halfords have squeezed out all the small competitors you just need one recession before they pack up, and suddenly there are no motor factors at all.


Local shops are like relationships.
You need to nurture them, or they will leave you.

CrankyHaus

biko wrote: »

I suppose there is some sort of comfort in going to a new town and they have a Halfords there too.
Once Halfords have squeezed out all the small competitors you just need one recession before they pack up, and suddenly there are no motor factors at all.


Local shops are like relationships.
You need to nurture them, or they will leave you.

That's a two way street though. Plenty of customers can remember being treated like dirt during the good times because if they don't like there's a whole queue of people behind them.
Conversely plenty of "good local businesses" were happy to take Jobbridge "interns" for the likes of stacking shelves during the recession, and just replace them every 6 months, so I'd take their claims about local employment with a pinch of salt

nj27

Because man is born free but everywhere he is in chains.

completedit

I just don't like this idea that we are compelled to shop local and put money into the pocket of somebody just because they decided to open up a business for PROFIT, just like any other business. They didn't set up for the benefit of me or the community so I'll support them if their service, product and price aligns with my preferences. But I'm not going to swan around buying local as some sort of badge of honour.

I get that localisation has its place. But reconciling that in a globalised world is hard to do. Globalisation gives us so much. Maybe we can just pick and choose when it suits us to be nativist or globalists. But when people.lecture about BUYING LOCAL, I feel they should face up to their own spending and habits.

completedit

CrankyHaus wrote: »

Comparing a chain service to a chain product is misleading.
Most of us couldn't afford a well made bespoke version of most products we use ; which is why only the rich could afford them before mass production. Think of watches for example.
In contrast we can afford bespoke services, and are willing to pay for them because they offer several advantages.
I don't dislike McDonalds or even a cheap pint in Spoonies, but if they were the only choice you had life would be grim. And anyone who honestly can't see this has to be a bit dim.

This is all in the context of environmental damage. So I think bringing up mass produced products is pertinent to the discussion.

It depends on your POV going into the discussion.

CrankyHaus

completedit wrote: »

This is all in the context of environmental damage. So I think bringing up mass produced products is pertinent to the discussion.

It depends on your POV going into the discussion.

Any workable global environmental solution is going to require mass produced green products.
I agree that the model of varacious consumption of disposable products will also have to be scrapped.

completedit

CrankyHaus wrote: »

Any workable global environmental solution is going to require mass produced green products.
I agree that the model of varacious consumption of disposable products will also have to be scrapped.

This raises the question is it all a token gesture of we are really on a collision course in terms of catastrophe. Are these green developments for after Armageddon. I'm of the opinion that we acted too late and with still another billion or so of population growth to go, these green solutions will only kick the can down the road.

Hopefully we can find solutions though and marry economic growth(do we need to grow further in the west?) while living in harmony with the land and sea

Kylta

nj27 wrote: »

Because man is born free but everywhere he is in chains.

Only in the basement with mistress whiperoo

Kylta

completedit wrote: »

He's a good lad and I respect him for having a passion about the issue of climate change ut he's quite contradictory with regards who and who he doesn't support. Certain Irish chains are good but he has this grá for the "real Ireland" which will never be found in Dublin, only out west.
He also doesn't these lifestyle decisions for fellow humans but more for the approval of some sort of sentient earth.

Btw Zaytoon ��

Old ireland is long gone. You will find franchise shops in most big to average towns around the country. Tourist come to look at the auld sod with the leprechauns and sh!t. I'm sorry but nobody real cares about the local shops especially if they don't stock the stuff folks want. Look how much the state gave a fu¢k about small towns when the forced the closure of post offices.
Has much as I loved the idea of small folk cutting out a living the big stores like dunnes, adli, tesco etc are popping up around most towns.

murpho999

completedit wrote: »

Love the Spoons type bar. Much better than Irish pub. Irish pubs make me depressed. Too dark and grim. And way too formal.

*I do like them when am in the mood for that type of vibe but don't like them as a general place to go for pints.

Couldn't disagree with this more.

Irish pubs vary a lot. More comfortable, lots with nice decor, no annoying fruit machines and also very informal.

I don't get the attactions for Wetherspoon's at all apart from cheaper pints.

Ubbquittious

I hate chains. Horrible clunky auld things that rust. Dyneema rope ftw

looksee

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thought this was going to be BDSM related.

Well my first thought was Mr T but that works too.

CrankyHaus

murpho999 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree with this more.

Irish pubs vary a lot. More comfortable, lots with nice decor, no annoying fruit machines and also very informal.

I don't get the attactions for Wetherspoon's at all apart from cheaper pints.

The one in Dun Laoghaire is pretty nice, Great location. but it's obvious that once they get a foothold they'll be rolling out the more depressing type you'll find in the UK.

Homelander

It's not as if all Wetherspoons are grim, soulless places. I've been to plenty nice ones. Amazing prices. Would I go there every time I went out? Of course not. But it is incredibly good value which is nice every now and again.

Degag

If Wetherspoons were the only "type" of pub i'd probably give up drinking.

Horrible soulless places. Often not much cheaper than "regular" places unless you are drinking some obscure pint of pisswater with bits floating in it.

completedit

Degag wrote: »

If Wetherspoons were the only "type" of pub i'd probably give up drinking.

Horrible soulless places. Often not much cheaper than "regular" places unless you are drinking some obscure pint of pisswater with bits floating in it.

LMAO as if Heineken and Carling and all the other cookie cutter beers in your salt of the earth pub is any better

whisky_galore

murpho999 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree with this more.

Irish pubs vary a lot. More comfortable, lots with nice decor, no annoying fruit machines and also very informal.

I don't get the attactions for Wetherspoon's at all apart from cheaper pints.

Do Irish Spoons have fruit machines? I didn't think so.

Most Irish pubs aren't much to write home about; 70s lounge bars with carpets, blaring tv or crap music, perhaps some signed framed jersey hanging on a wall counting as "decor".
The odd gem is still out there that hasn't been modernised and stripped of all charm.

Leg End Reject

There's a lot to be said for independent shops, I've no experience of the likes of Wetherspoons but love Irish pubs.

Local hardware shops - staff tend to be more knowledgeable from my experience and are happy to help. I'm clueless so appreciate the time they take.

Local boutiques - again better service and over time they get to know your taste and recommend things to you, usually give a discount too. I'm not talking about very expensive boutiques either.

Local hairdresser - cheaper and better service than the likes of Peter Marks.

That's just some examples, smaller businesses are struggling now trying to get to normal and I'd rather get less and support them.

Grocery shopping is in the chains though, purely down to cost and range.

s1ippy

I don't understand why anyone would support a chain over their local businesses if it's affordable and convenient, which it increasingly is.

Wetherspoons, eh no. Only know one guy who goes to it. He widely publicises himself as some sort of expert in the chain, he has no friends and is a bit depressing. I know the regulars and the staff who work in the pubs I go to. They have good atmosphere and music. Why you'd go to a franchise instead is beyond me.

Gregor Samsa

Pretty much every chain is just a local shop that became successful.

I absolutely loathe this bull****:



What, you think when you shop in a chain, all the money goes straight to the CEO and no one else in the company or supply chain gets paid? You don’t think that all the staff there don’t have families too that they have to provide for? You think that their food magically appears on their plates?

Leg End Reject

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Pretty much every chain is just a local shop that became successful.

I absolutely loathe this bull****:



What, you think when you shop in a chain, all the money goes straight to the CEO and no one else in the store or supply chain gets paid? You don’t think that all the staff there don’t have families too that they have to provide for? You think that their food magically appears on their plates?

It's nice to have unique businesses and shop fronts, rather than endless cookie cutter towns. The owners and staff in independent shops are more interested in customers, for the likes of hardware etc. I find they're more knowledgeable.

Gregor Samsa

Leg End Reject wrote: »

It's nice to have unique businesses and shop fronts, rather than endless cookie cutter towns. The owners and staff in independent shops are more interested in customers, for the likes of hardware etc. I find they're more knowledgeable.

And that’s all fine, but that’s not what’s written on the sign. The sign, and the specific sentiment behind it, is bull****. If local shops want to differentiate themselves by added service, expertise, a personal touch - then that’s great. But don’t pretend that they’re somehow more intrinsically worthy of our money than the staff at a chain.

Strumms

completedit wrote: »

Love the Spoons type bar. Much better than Irish pub. Irish pubs make me depressed. Too dark and grim. And way too formal.

*I do like them when am in the mood for that type of vibe but don't like them as a general place to go for pints.

Spoons pubs have little atmosphere, identity or personality... like if they were dreamed up by the inventor of IKEA when he was hungover himself... just no real comfort, style or intimacy or ‘local feel’ the way they are designed. Can save a quid or two by going there 100% but otherwise, hmmmmm .

Leg End Reject

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

And that’s all fine, but that’s not what’s written on the sign. The sign, and the specific sentiment behind it, is bull****. If local shops want to differentiate themselves by added service, expertise, a personal touch - then that’s great. But don’t pretend that they’re somehow more intrinsically worthy of our money than the staff at a chain.

They're exploiting their USP, chains do that too. I suppose a business does what it needs to survive.

I Am Nobody

When I came home,I would stop at my local shop for coffee and a newspaper.And after about 4 weeks they knew my face,what coffee I had and what newspaper.You will never find that sort of intimacy for lack of a better word,in the mainstream chains.It was or is the same in the US with the likes of Walmart,how many small businesses have they destroyed by moving in?

murpho999

I Am Nobody wrote: »

When I came home,I would stop at my local shop for coffee and a newspaper.And after about 4 weeks they knew my face,what coffee I had and what newspaper.You will never find that sort of intimacy for lack of a better word,in the mainstream chains.It was or is the same in the US with the likes of Walmart,how many small businesses have they destroyed by moving in?

The most amazing thing in your story is that you still buy physical newspapers.

xzanti

xzanti wrote: »

Yep, the "shop local, shop small" brigade.

If I did my weeks shopping in my local small shop it would cost me a small fortune :rolleyes:

Anyway, I do shop local. In my local Aldi.

Reminds me of being in Donnybrook Fair once, or was it Mortons? Somewhere like that where I couldn't afford the price of bread, I was just window shopping, and some wealthy-looking child, in my memory he may have been wearing a gilet, asked his Dad if the chocolate they were buying 'was made in Ireland?'

That's no way to raise children,