Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

grimm2005 · 20-02-2015 3:25pm

Random_Name wrote: »

I haven't experienced that at all.

Same, it's actually the opposite, they serve my order and then I pay

Ravelleman · 24-02-2015 3:30pm

Has anyone been to the Forty Foot recently? Going to Spoons on Saturday and trying to decide which to go to. The paradox of modern life - too much choice. Have the teething issues in Dun Laoghaire been sorted out?

jsa112 · 24-02-2015 4:00pm

Don't go there on a sat night, maybe if you are having drinks at 5/6pm

Lovely Bloke · 24-02-2015 4:49pm

yeah, my Brother-in-Law lives in DL and says it's not gotten any better since we were there just before Xmas.

He still goes in mind, but the service and selection haven't gotten better.

Creamy Goodness · 24-02-2015 6:07pm

was there on saturday, service is standard wetherspoons, slow and steady.

choice was ok too but same choice as the TTT.

the forty foot is a gorgeous pub however and definitely see myself going back in the summer. it was rammed on saturday.

Maynard · 25-02-2015 5:14pm

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

was there on saturday, service is standard wetherspoons, slow and steady.

choice was ok too but same choice as the TTT.

the forty foot is a gorgeous pub however and definitely see myself going back in the summer. it was rammed on saturday.

It certainly was.

cruasder777 · 25-02-2015 6:17pm

All we need now is more Wetherspoons followed by some harvester and toby carvery restaurants and I will be able to afford to dine out go out if I move back

Not forgetting poundland, Wilkos and some of those cheap American burger restaurants where you can get a burger, chips and a shake for $3, dont know why we dont have them this side. And more breakers yards and used tyre places to keep the car on the road for a fraction of the cost. I Get more satisfaction from not being ripped off.

Aldi is already a blessing.

Losty Dublin · 25-02-2015 8:54pm

My other half and a friend were in the 40 Foot on Saturday night.

No Smirnoff and an automatic splashed didn't impress them. They asked for a bottle of coke instead and after a few minutes of waiting for the barman's penny to drop that they wanted a fresh drink, it brought their round up to almost €10. The wait for service at the bar didn't impress them either plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink. What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Usually herself would be easy enough when out but this time, nah. And I can't be blamed for it, neither :pac: She did say it was packed but based on her experience which seem to be common enough, for how long?

MonkstownHoop · 25-02-2015 11:24pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

My other half and a friend were in the 40 Foot on Saturday night.

No Smirnoff and an automatic splashed didn't impress them. They asked for a bottle of coke instead and after a few minutes of waiting for the barman's penny to drop that they wanted a fresh drink, it brought their round up to almost €10. The wait for service at the bar didn't impress them either plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink. What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Usually herself would be easy enough when out but this time, nah. And I can't be blamed for it, neither :pac: She did say it was packed but based on her experience which seem to be common enough, for how long?

I have to laugh when people still complain about floor staff not taking orders, it's not going to change

cruhoortwunk · 25-02-2015 11:24pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

My other half and a friend were in the 40 Foot on Saturday night.

No Smirnoff and an automatic splashed didn't impress them. They asked for a bottle of coke instead and after a few minutes of waiting for the barman's penny to drop that they wanted a fresh drink, it brought their round up to almost €10. The wait for service at the bar didn't impress them either plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink. What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Usually herself would be easy enough when out but this time, nah. And I can't be blamed for it, neither :pac: She did say it was packed but based on her experience which seem to be common enough, for how long?

You'd be surprised, plenty of people willing to accept a delay for half price (and better selection) drinks

cruasder777 · 25-02-2015 11:35pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

My other half and a friend were in the 40 Foot on Saturday night.

No Smirnoff and an automatic splashed didn't impress them. They asked for a bottle of coke instead and after a few minutes of waiting for the barman's penny to drop that they wanted a fresh drink, it brought their round up to almost €10. The wait for service at the bar didn't impress them either plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink. What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Usually herself would be easy enough when out but this time, nah. And I can't be blamed for it, neither :pac: She did say it was packed but based on her experience which seem to be common enough, for how long?

Its not really a womans pub, my local spoons is a mix of blokes, old geezers, couples and students and during the day oap couples and the odd family, its always busy....Its just a pity they cant combine spoons with the bookies, be great if you could bet and watch the racing there.

Sounds like they were in the wrong place. Women like fancy bars, Italian restaurants and all that bs. I know lots of women who would never go into spoons, mostly stuck up cows, but thats beside the point.

BetterThanThou · 26-02-2015 12:40am

I made my first trip to Wetherspoons earlier today, I visited the one in Dun Laoghaire for a bit of lunch. I've heard of people complaining about the food, I ordered a burger with Jack Daniel's Glaze, bacon and onion rings, the damn thing was huge, I could barely finish it, will admit, I've had better burgers, but it was still quite delicious, on par with the likes of TGI Fridays, Eddie Rockets and Captain America's. Got a pint of Devil's Backbone with it, which is a pint which would probably cost me about 6.50 if I were lucky enough to find it on tap in another pub. This all cost me roughly 11 euro, Eddie Rockets would've cost me that for a plain burger with a soft drink. What I got at Wetherspoons I can't realistically think of finding anywhere else for less than around 17 or 18 euro. Will admit, the atmosphere isn't really your typical pub atmosphere, the place is nice, but it's simply too bright, reminds me more of a low-end restaurant than a pub, all they need to do is turn the lights down in my opinion, it's too bright, I couldn't see myself having more than a few pints there. But I'm definitely impressed with the place, somewhere I'm definitely going to try visit every time I'm in Dun Laoghaire for a bit of food and a pint or two, the beer selection is incredible,not to mention the price being impossible to beat, food is VERY good for the price, I think the atmosphere is quite nice, it's simply not a pub atmosphere, which I will admit I'd rather if I were going to have more than a few drinks.

Mynamehere · 26-02-2015 12:44am

Losty Dublin wrote: »

My other half and a friend were in the 40 Foot on Saturday night.

No Smirnoff and an automatic splashed didn't impress them. They asked for a bottle of coke instead and after a few minutes of waiting for the barman's penny to drop that they wanted a fresh drink, it brought their round up to almost €10. The wait for service at the bar didn't impress them either plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink. What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Usually herself would be easy enough when out but this time, nah. And I can't be blamed for it, neither :pac: She did say it was packed but based on her experience which seem to be common enough, for how long?

It sounds exactly like every pub in London . Closing parts of the pub to clean up and really slow service (1 customer at a time) rather than barmen multi ordering like in every pub in Ireland and the lack of trust paying for food in advance, no table service and the lights on bright etc.

Why didnt wetherspoons adapt there pubs to match the Irish pub cultural norms such as staff who can take multiple orders, basic table service and pay when your finished etc etc. Just simple things like turning the lights down.

Basically they have brought English pub culture and British norms to a country with very different pub norns/culture.

When i go home to Ireland the first thing I notice is how good the bar staff are. In the busiest of pubs the barman serves you quick, remembers your order and you can even just give him a nod and 2 mins later pints are placed in front of you. Whereas in London the same barman could ask you ten times in a night what your drinking. A night out in London can be very frustrating due to the poor staff. I hope this will never happen with the English chains moving in.

Losty Dublin · 26-02-2015 12:49am

MonkstownHoop wrote: »

I have to laugh when people still complain about floor staff not taking orders, it's not going to change

I know, I know. I am more than happy to hit the bar but it's a black mark for them given that floor service is par for the course in most pubs in and around the city; more so considering they have the staff working the floor.

Ranchu · 26-02-2015 12:51am

Most pubs don't do table service in Dublin.

cruasder777 · 26-02-2015 12:52am

Mynamehere wrote: »

It sounds exactly like every pub in London . Closing parts of the pub to clean up and really slow service (1 customer at a time) rather than barmen multi ordering like in every pub in Ireland and the lack of trust paying for food in advance, no table service and the lights on bright etc.

Why didnt wetherspoons adapt there pubs to match the Irish pub cultural norms such as staff who can take multiple orders, basic table service and pay when your finished etc etc. Just simple things like turning the lights down.

Basically they have brought English pub culture and British norms to a country with very different pub norns/culture.

When i go home to Ireland the first thing I notice is how good the bar staff are. In the busiest of pubs the barman serves you quick, remembers your order and you can even just give him a nod and 2 mins later pints are placed in front of you. Whereas in London the same barman could ask you ten times in a night what your drinking. A night out in London can be very frustrating due to the poor staff. I hope this will never happen with the English chains moving in.

Every pub in London ? You have been in all 7,000 ? They all have bright lights etc ?

Spoons is not typical English pub culture.

Mech1 · 26-02-2015 1:00am

I could now be classed as a regular at the 40ft.

Every weeknight 5.30 till about 7.30 , maybe a couple of pints also on a Sat lunchtime.

So 22 or so visits over the past 4 weeks.

I love the price, I hate the lack of stock.

I am bemused by the staff lack of experience.

Beermats are needed , but not supplied.

Too bright is right, I agree.

The skangers, (you know the type, I am not gonna discuss this) tend to stay downstairs, thats a good thing, but just tonight they opened up the upper balcony and I can see that drawing the skangers up, make it a non smoking balcony please.

Ps. Im not against smoking, check my recent posts, I am just off 40 a day!

Losty Dublin · 26-02-2015 1:05am

Mynamehere wrote: »

It sounds exactly like every pub in London . Closing parts of the pub to clean up and really slow service (1 customer at a time) rather than barmen multi ordering like in every pub in Ireland and the lack of trust paying for food in advance, no table service and the lights on bright etc.

Why didnt wetherspoons adapt there pubs to match the Irish pub cultural norms such as staff who can take multiple orders, basic table service and pay when your finished etc etc. Just simple things like turning the lights down.

Basically they have brought English pub culture and British norms to a country with very different pub norns/culture.

When i go home to Ireland the first thing I notice is how good the bar staff are. In the busiest of pubs the barman serves you quick, remembers your order and you can even just give him a nod and 2 mins later pints are placed in front of you. Whereas in London the same barman could ask you ten times in a night what your drinking. A night out in London can be very frustrating due to the poor staff. I hope this will never happen with the English chains moving in.

I'd agree with you. While they have many positives to their model, they could do worse than to embrace some of the local norms of our pubs. Some years ago on a trip to London, I got chatting to a barman and bargirl in a bar called the Paddington that became my local for a few days. She was shocked to hear that there is such a thing as a bar apprenticeship and that she had been pulling pints since her first day on the job. 5 months previously.

Believe me, I could tell

cruasder777 · 26-02-2015 1:12am

Losty Dublin wrote: »

I'd agree with you. While they have many positives to their model, they could do worse than to embrace some of the local norms of our pubs. Some years ago on a trip to London, I got chatting to a barman and bargirl in a bar called the Paddington that became my local for a few days. She was shocked to hear that there is such a thing as a bar apprenticeship and that she had been pulling pints since her first day on the job. 5 months previously.

Believe me, I could tell

Bar work is not rocket science, anyone can learn to pull a pint in no time. So called bar apprenticeships sound like a scam not to pay proper wages in the past, before the minimum wage.

The reason they serve multiple customers in Ireland in pubs is because they wait ages for the Guinness to settle.

Service in spoons is generally poor, but because its a half price pub, they know punters will keep coming back.

The punters reflect the area, spoons in poor areas are full of skangers, but that does not really bother me. Im not intimidated by the socially disadvantaged, been in pubs with pissed up football fans too, not bothered.

Idbatterim · 26-02-2015 1:13am

I agree with a lot of the observations here, BUT at that those prices, I will wait the extra minute to be served! We arent talking 40c / 50c a pint off here, which I would pay to go somewhere else, we are talking about prices less than half the price compared to other pubs in the immediate vicinity...

the_syco · 26-02-2015 1:45am

Losty Dublin wrote: »

plus the service itself was slow in general (splash aside) with cash being taken first and drinks later making things slower again

This just ensures people have the money to pay for the drink. Drunks tend to have poor math.

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The bright lights inside were off putting as was the floor service who only collect glasses and whom won't get you drink.

If you want floor staff that serve you, goto a pub that will charge enough to employ them.

Losty Dublin wrote: »

What really put them off was how, at 11:45PM, the staff rushed the patrons out of one area of the pub and into another area so they could begin to clean up. At that stage, they downed their drinks and left, both vouching not to return again.

Surprisingly, they want you to leave then. As opposed to ordering a large gaggle of drink at last orders, and expecting to be "left alone" while they drink until 1am, and often become offended when the barman doesn't serve after they've stopped serving.

Mynamehere wrote: »

the lack of trust paying for food in advance

A LOT of restaurants are having problems with people walking out lately (mainly lately, but started happening when the recession hit), and not paying for their food. Have heard of customers, after finishing their meal, decides that either they don't have enough money to pay, or refuses to pay full price because the food was sub-standard (after pretty much licking the plate clean). Pointless ringing the Gardai as nothing has been stolen, and too costly to go through the courts to reclaim the lost money.

Mynamehere wrote: »

Why didnt wetherspoons adapt there pubs to match the Irish pub cultural norms

You forgot about the "pub cultural norm" where they charge you through the nose.

Mech1 · 26-02-2015 1:50am

"You forgot about the "pub cultural norm" where they charge you through the nose. "

End of thread, you got it in one.

Lovely Bloke · 26-02-2015 10:37am

cruasder777 wrote: »

Not forgetting poundland,

Dealz is Poundland.

Look at the logos and branding

oblivious · 26-02-2015 3:45pm

Work has started on the new premises this week in Blanchardstown

Just a little Samba · 26-02-2015 5:16pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

I'd agree with you. While they have many positives to their model, they could do worse than to embrace some of the local norms of our pubs. Some years ago on a trip to London, I got chatting to a barman and bargirl in a bar called the Paddington that became my local for a few days. She was shocked to hear that there is such a thing as a bar apprenticeship and that she had been pulling pints since her first day on the job. 5 months previously.

Believe me, I could tell

Bar apprenticeship? are you mental?

I worked in a bar in 3 different towns in Ireland from the age of 15 to 23 and pulled a pint the first minute of my first shift. I've never seen anyone do an "apprenticeship". Who the hell would have an apprenticeship for a next to minimum wage paying job, you'd have to be an absolute idiot to fall for a scam like that.

Pulling a pint is the single easiest part of bar work, the only hard part is cleaning up and restocking after a long night or taking in stock on a delivery day.

irish_goat · 26-02-2015 5:35pm

Just a little Samba wrote: »

Pulling a pint is the single easiest part of bar work, the only hard part is cleaning up and restocking after a long night or taking in stock on a delivery day.

Funny, I'd put it the other way around. A shaved monkey could clean and restock the bar but I see plenty of barstaff who can't pour pints. The beer will obviously taste the same but I notice a shocking amount of wastage and inevitably the customer is left waiting for the bartender to get it right. Both problems are ultimately down to bad management though.

Just a little Samba · 26-02-2015 5:45pm

irish_goat wrote: »

Funny, I'd put it the other way around. A shaved monkey could clean and restock the bar but I see plenty of barstaff who can't pour pints. The beer will obviously taste the same but I notice a shocking amount of wastage and inevitably the customer is left waiting for the bartender to get it right. Both problems are ultimately down to bad management though.

The only time you'll get wastage is if the gas regulator is set wrong and in fairness it needs to be fiddled with as the gas pressure changes in the keg/at the end of the gas tank, but even a shaved chimp can turn a knob up or down. Or maybe if they hold the glass at a bad angle when the flow is high, but if they don't learn how to "fix" either problem within a night or two, or aren't shown how to, then like you said, it's down to bad management.
Show someone how to do it properly once and they should get it if they're not completely thick.

After that it's just paying attention. By hard I meant physically, it's tiring work carrying stuff and mopping floors, the rest is pretty much easy, even on a busy night, unless you have a stressy gombeen behind the bar with you who can't stop jumping all over the place.

It might take a few nights for people to get up to full speed, maybe a few weeks to get used to multiple orders, but that's about the height of it.

Mynamehere · 26-02-2015 10:09pm

cruasder777 wrote: »

Every pub in London ? You have been in all 7,000 ? They all have bright lights etc ?

Spoons is not typical English pub culture.

Well from the large sample of pubs in London i have been in. Not quite 7000 but slowly getting there. First year or so was trial and error regarding pubs but most if not all of them require you to pay in advance at the bar no matter what chain it is and the lights are usually bright.

Mynamehere · 26-02-2015 10:14pm

cruasder777 wrote: »

Bar work is not rocket science, anyone can learn to pull a pint in no time. So called bar apprenticeships sound like a scam not to pay proper wages in the past, before the minimum wage.

Being a good barman is a skill it takes years of practice. In England a barman/woman does it as a stop gap while their in between jobs or in college which brings down the standard.

cruasder777 · 26-02-2015 11:44pm

Mynamehere wrote: »

Well from the large sample of pubs in London i have been in. Not quite 7000 but slowly getting there. First year or so was trial and error regarding pubs but most if not all of them require you to pay in advance at the bar no matter what chain it is and the lights are usually bright.

You cant say Youngs pubs have bright lights, you pay at the bar in advance, because some people desperate for a drink would drink and walk without paying.

Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

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