O Briens Sandwich bars in examinership

Run_to_da_hills · 14-07-2009 03:56PM

RoadKillTs wrote: »

Suppliers, premises and brand come through O Briens.

A brand that almost 80% on this poll have a bone of contention about.

Fighting Irish · 14-07-2009 04:08PM

netwhizkid wrote: »

Because there is a thing called good business and you have to keep your customers,

Toasting that will be an extra €1
Dollop of Ketchup €0.50
Eating in Charge
Pay for the Toilets
Mineral filled with 80% ice and 20% coke etc.

Ireland was gone to the dogs and I hope every greedy business like this fecks of and goes burst. I would term it the "Ryanairization" where every single thing is charged for, what sort of a business plan is this. Good to see O'Briens crap hit the fan.

:rolleyes:

Ryanair are a great company and offer cheap flights.

DublinWriter · 14-07-2009 06:53PM

focusfan wrote: »

Good thing is we no longer have to hear Brody Sweeney hawking his rags to riches story around to any radio station .

Now we'll have to put up with his riches to rags story.

sdanseo · 14-07-2009 07:00PM

phasers wrote: »

They charge 6 euro for a feckin sandwich :mad:

...yet they're always (or should I say, were) packed to the rafters.

In my long experience of O'Brien's (I've been getting sandwiches there very reguarly for ~10 years) I've never once been dissatisfied with the service or quality. They have something that other sandwich bars don't, a more professional appearance and superior quality - small things like serving crisps with the sambos go a long, long way in today's world where €4 gets you the thinnest sambo possible forced into a plastic box by a machine - and that to me is worth the extra two quid.

For example, today I paid €6.80 for a proper snadwich and a proper bottle of coke, no messing about with "80pc ice" (that's libel btw). In comparison, I paid €6.83 yesterday for a wrap half the size with the same fillings, a coke and rolos in a spar. The wrap fell apart and was basically pure shít. Don't be so quick to slag the quality of some stuff without looking at the competition, too.

FWIW - I got talking to the manager in Stephen's green today and allegedly the ownder of the co. is sitting on ~12 properties that are empty, but still renting them at €500,000pa. Can't help, can it?

Your man reckoned their jobs were safe, though.

DR.Pepper · 14-07-2009 07:28PM

Red Alert wrote: »

So how come Tripledeckers are toasted then? Isn't there Mayonnaise in them?

only if you ask for it! and if you do we put it in afterwards just like the coleslaw!
and after reading on im seriously pissed off at ppl hoping that o'briens will go to the dogs...this is my job and 800 peoples jobs at stake here! just because you're cosy right now does not mean that you might not be on the chopping block! so get off your high horse and have some respect. also ireland used to complain how nearly everyhing is imported and how we dont have our little irish trades anymore...o'briens was an icon to the irish trade industry and even in these hard times people are hoping for it 2 f*** off? come on people!

Red Alert · 14-07-2009 07:39PM

Well that's definitely not what the O'Briens in UCD does with the Mayonnaise and Coleslaw.

DR.Pepper · 14-07-2009 07:39PM

RoadKillTs wrote: »

Well I think most people would agree that the standard does vary quite a lot between sites.

oh and i completely agree! seeing some of the o'briens branches around this country i wouldnt even go in even if you had to pay me! how they are still open is a mystery! It's just unfortunate that they are the types of branches that are giving it a bad name and they are the ones who are dragging us down with them even if there are sucsessful parts of the franchise itsself!:(

DR.Pepper · 14-07-2009 07:41PM

Red Alert wrote: »

Well that's definitely not what the O'Briens in UCD does with the Mayonnaise and Coleslaw.

oh GOD! and you have no idea how many people tell us that in the shop! and that particular o'briens has had alot of complaints about toasting the mayo! just seem to be dodging the bullet everytime?

DublinWriter · 14-07-2009 08:31PM

DR.Pepper wrote: »

oh and i completely agree! seeing some of the o'briens branches around this country i wouldnt even go in even if you had to pay me!

The one in the airport has to be the worst.

I had no problem with the one in Ashbourne toasting my chicken Tikka wrap, most others wouldn't, I like living dangerously.

14-07-2009 08:48PM

Why do places charge more for them to toast your sandwich? Would it cost more than a euro a time to operate the toaster?

Overheal · 14-07-2009 08:49PM

Examinership means Audited in Yankenology, correct?

sdanseo · 14-07-2009 09:40PM

Overheal wrote: »

Examinership means Audited in Yankenology, correct?

Basically, albeit a court appointed auditor.

My name is URL · 14-07-2009 09:43PM

Overheal wrote: »

Examinership means Audited in Yankenology, correct?

In examinership, in administration, liquidated ... they all mean the same thing really

...fcuked

You Suck! · 14-07-2009 11:17PM

Sorry that peoples jobs and livelyhoods are at stake....

Not sorry that the ****ty business model that o'briens represents is falling apart. The likes of O'Briens and many others in Irish business decided that the Boom times were not just a good time to make an honest profit, but a time to screw the consumer! Well of money economics and physics there will be a balance and for once the market is adjusting in the consumers favor and not giving sustanance to ****ty business models.

Who's fault is it that jobs are being lost?
The people here venting in frustration at 8 years of being shafted royaly or the gobshi-te who thinks its a good idea to hire empty properties and take a business for granted so badly that 80% of his customer base dislike(hate even) the product?

brettmirl · 14-07-2009 11:41PM

I used to go to O'Briens a lot when I lived in Cork. Overall, the coffee was very good, the food, was so-so. Depended on who behind the counter made your sandwich I found.

That was one of the main issues I had with O'Briens, there was NO consistency. Those Triple Decker sandwiches - the filling seemed to vary depending on who made it/what store you went to!

The O'Brien's where I live now is pure muck. The coffee is rank, place is not clean and the staff tended to grunt at you, or ask you three times what you wanted on your sandwich as they were too busy gossiping with the other staff about their personal lives.

Straw that broke the camels back for me, was when they served me some dodgy food in a breakfast bagel which made me very sick. Not been back since.

I won't be sorry to see the O'Briens brand go under. I hope the franchisee's survive and do their own thing and turn their shops into decent, good value and CLEAN deli's.

Lump wrote: »

Only had food from them a few times, been living in England for a few years. The one in Kilkenny was good I thought, grand sandwich and not too expensive. That was a few years ago though, so maybe prices have jumped and service/quality dropped.

The Kilkenny one has been closed for over a month now. Don't think it was anything to do with the current issues with O'Briens.

herya · 14-07-2009 11:49PM

brettmirl wrote: »

I won't be sorry to see the O'Briens brand go under. I hope the franchisee's survive and do their own thing and turn their shops into decent, good value and CLEAN deli's.

Well just to be fair to everyone, if the deli was not clean under O'Brien's they will not be clean as an independent deli either. O'Brien's might be to blame for the menu and prices, but cleanliness and staff issues are down to each individual franchisee. O'Brien's might have not been policing it but if there is no one to police they are not going to magically improve either.

brettmirl · 14-07-2009 11:52PM

herya wrote: »

Well just to be fair to everyone, if the deli was not clean under O'Brien's they will not be clean as an independent deli either. O'Brien's might be to blame for the menu and prices, but cleanliness and staff issues are down to each individual franchisee. O'Brien's might have not been policing it but if there is no one to police they are not going to magically improve either.

Fair point.

Red Alert · 15-07-2009 12:05AM

It seems quite a few of us have had food safety issues. I always thought that was one of the advantages of a chain - the basic standards are kept high. Look at all the centra's all over the country for an example of how to do it. Every one I've been to is spotless.

Whiskey Devil · 15-07-2009 12:32AM

DR.Pepper wrote: »

i have to say after reading this entire thread i'm pretty saddened by how many people are not hapy with o'brien's and a few who are THANKFULLY feeling bad for the employees.
I am currently an employee in O'Brien's and we are 1 of the busiest i've seen. (will not specify obviously) seeing this thread and news really scares me about my job. I have to say i love my job and the staff i work with are the friendliest staff i,ve seen (from a consumers perspective and employee) i see behind the scenes and the goings on that most people wouldnt and i have to say for our branch of the franchise there is absolutely nothing to worry about none of this "stale bread" or "tiny portions" or "left from the last few days" stuff that ppl r comming out with. Our boss does not stop stressing on how to address to the customer. And wht people ask for we bend over backwards for them! And i dont know what o'briens everyone is talking about when they say the staff r narky...some of the customers can be worse! but we smile and say our friendly "hi how can i help you?" even if it kills us. And to answer "PUNCHDRUNK's" question on why we do not toast mayo is because we have a strict letter from the irish health and saftey saying that anything containing mayo or egg CANNOT BE TOASTED due to egg being in mayo. the egg is first heated to a certain temperature to make it hard boiled and if we reheat that as out ovens are EXTREMELY HOT we could cause the customer food poisoning. so it is for your safety and it's not o'briens rule its the health boards. how other cafés get away with it i'll never know. anyways i'm holding onto this job by the last thread otherwise im screwed. now off to work. x

If you're working in one of more successful franchises (ie. a profitable business), I can't see any reason why they could not go it alone. Quite a number of franchises in the UK have gone under and a lot of their stores are still operating (some are still using the franchise name) or they have been sold on/rebranded. Judging by most of the comments here I'm not sure if the brand name is even of value, but if they've managed to be a successful franchisee (very few of those out there, in any line of business) then why bother with the hassle and expense of rebranding.

If there are enough franchisees in a similar situation, surely whoever is supplying O' Briens would be willing to supply the individual stores - not that it would be difficult to source elsewhere anyway! When you take away the huge turnover percentage & advertising fees.. it would probably be good for most of these businesses.

It doesn't sound like the group are on good enough terms to consider a co-op. :pac:

Outside of the really big names most franchises are doomed to fail.

The more people working in this country the better - regardless of what they earn or where they come from. It's depressing walking by rows of empty units everywhere.

Good luck anyway Dr. Pepper.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 02:21PM

My name is URL wrote: »

They most certainly do! I don't mean moldy bread, just stale.. ie not fresh out of its packaging. It gets hard when its left out, even for an hour.

For 6 euro it should be fresh out of the oven, let alone the bag =p

As someone who recently had to close down my own franchiseed o'briens I am amused that a comment like 6€ a sandwich has grown to be a fact - it's not. Whilst I have no love lost for O'Briens and have lost €200,000 in this venture - whilst employing 8 people who are now on the dole - there are some assertions being stated that are just not true.

As for bread going stale after been open for an hour! I don't even know where to start with that!

Run_to_da_hills · 15-07-2009 02:31PM

Midlandsbase wrote: »

As someone who recently had to close down my own franchiseed o'briens I am amused that a comment like 6€ a sandwich has grown to be a fact - it's not. Whilst I have no love lost for O'Briens and have lost €200,000 in this venture - whilst employing 8 people who are now on the dole - there are some assertions being stated that are just not true.

As for bread going stale after been open for an hour! I don't even know where to start with that!

Unless they can bake their own bread it will go off after a few hours if left out. On the other hand I get sick at the smell of fresh bread being baked at Subway.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 02:35PM

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

If you're working in one of more successful franchises (ie. a profitable business), I can't see any reason why they could not go it alone.

plenty of reasons why you can't go it alone but primary ones are O'Briens have the head lease so you can't just decide to close and re-open as something else. Secondly, you sign a franchise agreement contract which prohibits you doing this anyway - it cost one franchisee €500,000 in court costs, etc when she attempted this in the Harold's Cross shop awhile back.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 02:38PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Unless they can bake their own bread it will go off after a few hours if left out. On the other hand I get sick at the smell of fresh bread being baked in Subway.

Sorry but, speaking for my own store and several others, I don;t recall bread ever being left out.. the bread remains in the packaging and is covered up. If it goes off after a few hours of being wrapped up there must be some other problem - have you timed from opening the bread to serving the bread! Sorry if this sounds facetious but from experience this is nonsense.

toiletduck · 15-07-2009 02:40PM

I used to always go to the one in IBM out Mulhuddart while working there. Was grand, clean and eh subsidised :pac: After leaving I went a few times to various O'Briens. Found them rude, overpriced and the food was nothing to write home about.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 02:53PM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

iirc, the Franchisee has to buy their ingredients from O'Briens, for which they pay over the top, which is why they are so expensive. If they can go it alone, then the better ones may be able to survive.

Actually the ingredients are much much cheaper to buy as an O'Briens franchisee than the independent deli so if they go it alone their costs will actually go up. I was once inadvertently given an invoice from our supplier for frozen goods which our competitors were getting (independent sandwich bar) and their costs were 30% higher.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 03:06PM

Sleipnir wrote: »

If you make 100 toasted sandwiches a day that's €100. Now tell me, how much would a toaster cost to run for one day; two euro? Five?

Three words for you : Phase 3 electricity.

two - five euro a day!!! lol - nice one - you think businesses run off residential prices or something?

My name is URL · 15-07-2009 03:12PM

Midlandsbase wrote: »

Sorry but, speaking for my own store and several others, I don;t recall bread ever being left out.. the bread remains in the packaging and is covered up. If it goes off after a few hours of being wrapped up there must be some other problem - have you timed from opening the bread to serving the bread! Sorry if this sounds facetious but from experience this is nonsense.

Ehh you can only speak for your own store tbh

I've eaten in O'Briens many times and from my experience sometimes the bread doesn't be stored properly through business hours, and does be slightly hard when served.

Why are you slamming what others have posted? Look at the poll..the majority of people were not impressed by O'Briens

super_furry · 15-07-2009 03:16PM

Indeed. The figures, and O'Briens current situation, speak for themselves. Your store may be a rare exception, but by and large my, and many other people's experiences in O'Briens, leave a lot to be desired.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 03:16PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

O Briens only employed 20 people not 800. Many branches will set up independently as some have already done

Really? Many branches have set up independently??? Despite them not owning the head lease. Can you tell me which ones of the many that set up independently. I know in my case it wasnt an option and the others which I know very well havent either. Can we have a fact based discussion rather than throwing around statements which may have no bearing in fact.

Midlandsbase · 15-07-2009 03:20PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Ehh you can only speak for your own store tbh

I've eaten in O'Briens many times and from my experience sometimes the bread doesn't be stored properly through business hours, and does be slightly hard when served.

Why are you slamming what others have posted? Look at the poll..the majority of people were not impressed by O'Briens

"Ehh" i dont need to own a store to know that leaving bread in its packaging does not follow it goes stale IN AN HOUR.

I can speak for several stores actually - just as you can - unless you have visited them all and eaten in them all of course.

I am not slamming anyone on this forum - if anything I would have alot to say about O'Briens HQ and what they have cost me but some so callled facts being stated here are just incorrect.

O Briens Sandwich bars in examinership

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