The totally off-topic thread

[Mal]

Oh .. And the same thing happens in Australia. With Coles and woolies owning many pubs now, the menus and specials are being homogonised. You may not realise it yet, but I definitely saw it during my last few months there.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Good comment. I posted about this in one of the AFF London meet up threads. The real issue is that particularly in central London the vast majority of pubs are locked to a brewery or a pub chain owner. It is surprising how many places around the touristy parts of London have exactly the same menu. And generally I despise those places. But sometimes they have to be used.

You can find well cooked and tasty meals in London pubs... Just when you are in the centre of London it does become a challenge.

I do recall being surprised at how every pub had the same menu when I was there for the first time just under a year ago - I figured it must have been a chain thing. Quite disappointing really, but I guess that's the way of the world...

Next time I shall have to investigate and go far and wide...like we did in Berlin, actually, and found the most awesome little pub with the biggest and best schnitzel you would find on this earth!

Patience and persistence pays off in many facets of life just as JohnK hinted at above.

 

[JohnK]

If at first you don't succeed try and try again but I will be damned if I can get the routing I want without the price going through the roof.

Back to the drawing board....

 

[Must...Fly!]

If at first you don't succeed try and try again but I will be damned if I can get the routing I want without the price going through the roof.

Back to the drawing board....

If you want someone to bounce ideas off/another set of eyes, feel free to PM me...I'll be up for a while "studying"

 

[Flashback]

Oh .. And the same thing happens in Australia. With Coles and woolies owning many pubs now, the menus and specials are being homogonised. You may not realise it yet, but I definitely saw it during my last few months there.

Hang on .. Coles and Woolies say what? Since when did they get into pub ownership :shock:

 

[Boeta]

Hang on .. Coles and Woolies say what? Since when did they get into pub ownership :shock:

I only know about the ALH group which is 75% owned by Woolies.

 

[Flashback]

I only know about the ALH group which is 75% owned by Woolies.

Interesting! That covers just about every pub I used to go to.

 

[whatmeworry]

Hang on .. Coles and Woolies say what? Since when did they get into pub ownership :shock:

For quite awhile.

Coles and Woolworths receive almost 40 per cent of Australian retail spending | News.com.au

 

[markis10]

Hang on .. Coles and Woolies say what? Since when did they get into pub ownership :shock:

Especially so in Queensland where every pub comes with the right to operate four bottle shops.

 

[medhead]

ALH group is a spin off from CUB/fosters I think. So those pubs were pretty much always grouped together. (Give or take)

Especially so in Queensland where every pub comes with the right to operate four bottle shops.

And owning a pub is basically the only way to open a bottle shop.

 

[Major]

It's easy to see who owns the local pub when BWS or Liquorland bottle shops suddenly open up in the nearest 4 shopping centres. Some are quite small with a Liquorland near us is a shop with a staff of 1 and 6 other shops nearby

 

[Pushka]

Speaking of tipping. At Cibos coffee shop there is a dish of coins right next to the cash register. I've never seen anyone put money into it and its always full of coins. Do people really tip for a coffee? Or is it a case of chucking in the loose change? Although I've never seen anyone do that. It isn't like Cibos serve anything other than pre packaged food put on a plate. So what's the deal here?

 

[cove]

Go Socceroos!
I heard the Stadium is a sell out so I think that is about 80,000 attending.
My eldest son headed off this morning to catch up with the other three Sandgropers for the game.
It took them more than a day to get their voices back after the last two games.

 

[markis10]

Darwin now has its own Pig - one of the few that saw action

THE AUSTRALIAN AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE

Took 6 days to get to Darwin by road, by Air it had done it in 1 hour when flying ex Amberley.

 

[anat0l]

Speaking of tipping. At Cibos coffee shop there is a dish of coins right next to the cash register. I've never seen anyone put money into it and its always full of coins. Do people really tip for a coffee? Or is it a case of chucking in the loose change? Although I've never seen anyone do that. It isn't like Cibos serve anything other than pre packaged food put on a plate. So what's the deal here?

I don't think people really tip for coffee service unless they really get along with the barista or they were really served well.

Sometimes it's a sympathy vote thing.

Mostly, it's a dump for loose change people don't want to pocket.

Finally, who is to say that the store didn't "prime" the tip jar to make it look like they're raking in all that?

 

[JessicaTam]

I don't think people really tip for coffee service unless they really get along with the barista or they were really served well.

Sometimes it's a sympathy vote thing.

Mostly, it's a dump for loose change people don't want to pocket.

Finally, who is to say that the store didn't "prime" the tip jar to make it look like they're raking in all that?

It's the same as buskers. Have a look at one setting up and you will see them putting some coins and maybe a note in the hat/guitar case. It is a prompt so we think that someone else has put money in so they must be good, we will too.

 

[Pushka]

I don't think people really tip for coffee service unless they really get along with the barista or they were really served well.

Sometimes it's a sympathy vote thing.

Mostly, it's a dump for loose change people don't want to pocket.

Finally, who is to say that the store didn't "prime" the tip jar to make it look like they're raking in all that?

It's the same as buskers. Have a look at one setting up and you will see them putting some coins and maybe a note in the hat/guitar case. It is a prompt so we think that someone else has put money in so they must be good, we will too.

Yes, given their staff turnover I can't see any great relationships happening so I think it is more of a prompt thing. Maybe in some areas of town the pile gets smaller rather than larger!

 

[docjames]

Nothing much. Played golf on Saturday and Sunday. A little windy and cold on Saturday but yesterday was really nice.

So it wasn't too bad then?

 

[The Rok]

Speaking of tipping. At Cibos coffee shop there is a dish of coins right next to the cash register. I've never seen anyone put money into it and its always full of coins. Do people really tip for a coffee? Or is it a case of chucking in the loose change? Although I've never seen anyone do that. It isn't like Cibos serve anything other than pre packaged food put on a plate. So what's the deal here?

It's quite common to have a dish of coins. Not a tip jar, but the idea is if you have spare loose small change, and someone else needs some it's a give and take thing.,

 

[Hvr]

It's quite common to have a dish of coins. Not a tip jar, but the idea is if you have spare loose small change, and someone else needs some it's a give and take thing.,

I saw penny saucers quite a lot in the USA where if you needed a penny to cover the last cent it was there, alternatively if you had an extra penny you put it there for someone else.