Wetherspoons

[Lord Tyrion]

Hasn't this story been debunked? At the start of the pandemic it was reported that the boss had told staff to go and find another job but I thought it subsequently came out that he'd said that he supported staff who chose to find another job in a supermarket or wherever it may be. I don't personally use my local Wetherspoons but several of their staff have posted on the local Facebook group to say the original story was nonsense.

Correct. At one point they had 37k staff on furlough. They weren't sacked, they were on furlough and the guy said if you want to stack shelves at tesco to help keep supermarkets stocked etc then go for it. Their job was safe, do your bit to help. It didn't suit the big bad wolf angle but that's the media for you.

 

[Smiffy]

Hate the places with a passion.
Would rather dine at McDonalds or Burger King.

 

[KenL]

The ones in Edinburgh I've been in all seem clean and well run.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Correct. At one point they had 37k staff on furlough. They weren't sacked, they were on furlough and the guy said if you want to stack shelves at tesco to help keep supermarkets stocked etc then go for it. Their job was safe, do your bit to help. It didn't suit the big bad wolf angle but that's the media for you.

The way I remember it was he made the comments in a video at the beginning of the lockdown, he was in response to the furlough scheme with him claiming he didn’t have the money to pay the workers while waiting for the furlough scheme to kick in.

It was only after the media storm that came his way he changed tac about 5 days later and put them all on the furlough scheme.

 

[ger147]

Would rather sit out the back in the garden with a drink that go to a Wetherspoons.

 

[Jamesbrown]

Just been for a pee


Am sorry James, but even though you once worked there and it dont fit the media's mantra or folks on here..yer opinion don't count ?
Oddly enough and I didn't know this til I went for a pee. Wetherspoons say they promote local micro breweries. Which I didn't know. I took a photo but cannot post the link.

We had many micro breweries ales and we changed every couple of weeks, we also had a “beer festival” where we changed every few days over a two week period. All spoons had the same menu. If I remember rightly we had 6 ales on at any one time, which is still more than most pubs today.

I certainly tried them all after working a late one though. No wonder I was fat in my late teens and early 20’s!

It’s a shame we didn’t do Mansfield smooth though!

Tim Martin famously goes in his pubs. You won’t know he’s there. Just strolls in looking like he does. An alcoholic with a Sainsbury’s bag and has lunch and a couple of pints.

 

[Jamesbrown]

I will admit that my old local spoons and former workplace is where I met our lass of 10 years, and two mates one engaged and one married to two old colleagues.

The Red Lion has a lot to answer for.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The way I remember it was he made the comments in a video at the beginning of the lockdown, he was in response to the furlough scheme with him claiming he didn’t have the money to pay the workers while waiting for the furlough scheme to kick in.

It was only after the media storm that came his way he changed tac about 5 days later and put them all on the furlough scheme.

I'm pretty sure that was a very public ploy to push the govt into starting the furlough straight away. If you think about it, 37-40k employees and no income at all. How long can a company survive paying staff with those sorts of numbers? I don't blame him for trying to bluff the govt.

 

[Kellfire]

I'd take it as a compliment ?

Well Thundercats was amazing!

 

[patricks148]

Please refrain from insulting other forum members, if you don't agree, do so without insults and name calling.

 

[Kellfire]

Please refrain from insulting other forum members, if you don't agree, do so without insults and name calling.

I wasn’t offended, it was a pretty mild insult in the grand scheme.

 

[bluewolf]

Will always actively avoid the places if possible. Soulless old buildings with the same tedious design characteristics inside. The food is dreadful and the service is hit and miss at best. The beers are cheap, but the ambience is effin dreadful usually... Unless you're out to get bevvied up then I just don't see the appeal of the place...

Don't like the owner either really, but that's neither here nor there...

However, it is the source of one of my favourite conversations ever with a Barman.

Was attending the "famous" beer festival several years ago. After looking through the beer list and asking for several different beers that for some reason weren't available...

Me - "What beers do you have then?"
Staff - "Can you see all these beers on my T Shirt?"
Me - "Yep"
Staff - "We don't have any of those........"
Me - "Cheers.........................................................."

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If anyone thinks all Wetherspoons are unpleasant and devoid of character, something I would challenge for most sites although if you have enough then some are bound to be, then google The Winter Gardens Wetherspoons, Harrogate. Just a fabulous building, interior and sympathetically kept.

This article is old but worth reading https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/tims-...onds-to-journalist-owen-jones-of-the-guardian

For all of the criticism, they currently employ 43,000 people. Think about that, that is a huge number. People employed, taxes paid. They are a success story, they should be celebrated.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I'm pretty sure that was a very public ploy to push the govt into starting the furlough straight away. If you think about it, 37-40k employees and no income at all. How long can a company survive paying staff with those sorts of numbers? I don't blame him for trying to bluff the govt.

It had been announced mate, other Companies told their employees not to worry as they’d cover it and in some cases top it up to 100% until the Government scheme kicked in.

The Government had introduced a fantastic, imo, scheme to protect people and jobs, the Chancellor stated it would be up and running by end of April (he made his video at the end of March and we were at the beginning of a great unknown.

So maybe he should think more before trying to play games with peoples lives etc.

I know it’s not simple, but this is a Company that had made millions upon millions in profits the year before.

 

[Orikoru]

I don't quite live in London, but close enough to London that all the pubs think they're in London and can charge London prices. Subsequently, the prices at non-Wetherspoons pubs are so daft that we would always start a night out with drinks at Wetherspoons. It's the difference between paying £3.50 a pint and £6 a pint sometimes. Similarly with spirits, it might be 4 or 5 quid for a double + mixer, versus 8 or 9 elsewhere. That makes it a no-brainer really. Personally when I go for a drink I only care about the people I'm with and not being bankrupt at the end of it - don't particularly care what building I'm in.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It had been announced mate, other Companies told their employees not to worry as they’d cover it and in some cases top it up to 100% until the Government scheme kicked in.

The Government had introduced a fantastic, imo, scheme to protect people and jobs, the Chancellor stated it would be up and running by end of April (he made his video at the end of March and we were at the beginning of a great unknown.

So maybe he should think more before trying to play games with peoples lives etc.

I know it’s not simple, but this is a Company that had made millions upon millions in profits the year before.

Those profits would have gone to shareholders so no longer around (many of which will be pension holders), earmarked for future investments, some squirreled away for a rainy day. Any time with no income could have drained reserves in no time. All that good work, poof gone. His comments were clumsy but I could see why he made them. Don't forget, he doesn't have the luxury of the public sector, a blank cheque. If the companies money runs out they are done for. He was probably in panic mode.

 

[Fade and Die]

If anyone thinks all Wetherspoons are unpleasant and devoid of character, something I would challenge for most sites although if you have enough then some are bound to be, then google The Winter Gardens Wetherspoons, Harrogate. Just a fabulous building, interior and sympathetically kept.

This article is old but worth reading https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/tims-...onds-to-journalist-owen-jones-of-the-guardian

For all of the criticism, they currently employ 43,000 people. Think about that, that is a huge number. People employed, taxes paid. They are a success story, it is a shame that people feel the need to put the boot into what is a positive story.

Agree the Half moon in Mile end and the Mossy Well in Muswell Hill are fantastic places but then I sometimes drive down Dagenham Heathway at around 9.30 on a Monday morning and look through the spoons windows and see groups of blokes who look well drunk and I shudder! (Can’t imagine what sort of life that is!)

 

[rudebhoy]

The one nearest me is an absolute hellhole. Up until a couple of years ago, the lads I go for a beer with used to insist on meeting there. Sticky tables, sticky bar top, the place hadn't had a penny spent on it since it opened nearly 20 years ago. I've been in a few others which are the same, and some which are a lot nicer.

The prices are it's man attraction, but the unfortunate side effect of that has been to kill off a lot of decent pubs who didn't have the economies of scale and just couldn't compete.

 

[jim8flog]

There was a really good documentary recently on Wetherspoons and their mantra on the TV recently.

Personally I have never been in a bad one but I do not go to that many anyway.

At our local town one you certainly get the all day drinkers sitting outside which will put some off but inside you also get a lot of 'older people' enjoying their prices.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Those profits would have gone to shareholders so no longer around (many of which will be pension holders), earmarked for future investments, some squirreled away for a rainy day. Any time with no income could have drained reserves in no time. All that good work, poof gone. His comments were clumsy but I could see why he made them. Don't forget, he doesn't have the luxury of the public sector, a blank cheque. If the companies money runs out they are done for. He was probably in panic mode.

Totally agree, but still doesn’t excuse him. Hundreds of business’s were in the same predicament, but they didn’t release videos telling Staff they weren’t going to be paid.