Expensive food

[Richard n Ann]

Most countries in Europe a waiter is considered a decent job and they are not looked down upon like they are in the UK.

That sounds like a London thing, where the rich people live and looking down on workers

 

[Garfields]

£60 a day cash in hand that is the equivalent of over £20k for someone paying tax & NI.

Fair enough but the guy is still not running a proper business.
The rest of us end up paying more tax & NI to subsidies the guy.

I should point out I hate paying tax as much as anyone.
Other point I don't pay NI anymore

 

[Northernraider]

This is my point, you work cash in hand so your outside of the system, your being exploited,so sort yourself out.as for the take away driver job you knew the pay scale and terms of that business

Who's being exploited? It suited me just fine.

If it was an hourly wage and having to pay tax etc on it I wouldn't do it . Neither would 95% of the drivers who do it. And most likely the shops would stop delivering if they had to pay a minimum wage. ... because on quiet nights they would lose money.



My own way was quite simple ,

Every time i left the shop id have 4 or 5 deliveries, the customers that tipped were taken care of first. The ones that didn't well they were at the back of the queue

Good tippers never waited long for their deliveries on weekends. ...


Tipping has existed for decades ...its only the last one really that people have got exceptionally tight.

 

[Northernraider]

Most countries in Europe a waiter is considered a decent job and they are not looked down upon like they are in the UK.

Yep the UK still thinks of it as days when they had servants.

They have the Same view of cleaners , bin men , roadsweepers etc. And in some cases carers .

Until things like covid come along and they realise just how much they need them

 

[Langtoftlad]

the Raymond May in Bourne and the Drapers arms in Peterborough

...and they're supposedly the good ones

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotjimland]

But then what would you set the minimum wage at? If you set it high enough t support a family what does someone with higher qualifications start on and the one above that and what effect does it have on prices then what does the wage have to be.

no one should need to depend on benefits to have a reasonable standard of living,,. no one should have to hold out a begging bowl and use food banks.. !

The yawning gap between rich and poor is likely to increase....half of the world's net wealth belongs to the top 1%, top 10% of adults hold 85%, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world's total wealth, top 30% of adults hold 97% of the total wealth.

that is wrong ..

and no, I do not have all the answers... but no one wants means tested handouts .. just an honest days pay for an honest days work..

 

[Spriddler]

I was not going to reply to this but
If the guy is happy to exploit workers for £60 he should not be allowed to be in business anyway.
I'm sure there will be other car washes that can operate paying at least minimum wage and still manage a profit.

All I can say is that there seems to be plenty of guys and gals there who are happy enough to earn £60 a day.
The car wash proprietor is an E. European and has two other car wash sites. One of his foreign workers told me that he had an engineering degree and was doing that work to improve his English so that he could better his chances of getting a job using his qualifications.
The smashing guy (an Indian chap) who runs the small Spar shop there has a Western Union franchise and said that the workers send a lot of their wages home (which won't be going back into the U.K. economy).

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

just an honest days pay for an honest days work..

But you unfortunately get ones who thinks someone owes them something and don’t like working or if they are working they are not pulling their weight.
In an ideal world everyone would have a good standard of living but there are an awful lot who don’t want to work for it

 

[Northernraider]

All I can say is that there seems to be plenty of guys and gals there who are happy enough to earn £60 a day.
The car wash proprietor is an E. European and has two other car wash sites. One of his foreign workers told me that he had an engineering degree and was doing that work to improve his English so that he could better his chances of getting a job using his qualifications.
The smashing guy (an Indian chap) who runs the small Spar shop there has a Western Union franchise and said that the workers send a lot of their wages home (which won't be going back into the U.K. economy).

Yep if they worked 7 days a week that's nearly 22k a year tax free

 

[Garfields]

All I can say is that there seems to be plenty of guys and gals there who are happy enough to earn £60 a day.

I'm sure they would be happier with proper contracts and terms and conditions.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Spriddler]

I'm sure they would be happier with proper contracts and terms and conditions.

Yebbut, the bottom line is that so much of advertising and competition is price orientated and reflects the fact that a large part of the buying public want 'cheap', much the same as supermarkets screw farmers down on what they pay them. Social media is full of posts requesting or recommending where to get the cheapest this or that product or service, whether it's for AdBlue, Sunday roasts, or wine and cambelt replacement.

 

[scotjimland]

But you unfortunately get ones who thinks someone owes them something and don’t like working or if they are working they are not pulling their weight.
In an ideal world everyone would have a good standard of living but there are an awful lot who don’t want to work for it

Then they are not doing an honest days work , for an honest days pay,
I never suggested slackers get rewarded for not pulling their weight , its just excuse for not rewarding those who do

 

[Langtoftlad]

I don't know the answer but it is fundamentally wrong that the taxpayer has to supplement a worker's earnings because an employer won't / can't pay them a realistic living wage.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Have you looked at any financial statements for the big chains?

I don't go to chains as all they tend to do isnheat up freezer food and use poor quality ingredients and no they probably aren't the ones struggling as the have mas volume on their side

 

[JockandRita]

I’ve been in a couple in your neck of the woods, the Raymond May in Bourne and the Drapers arms in Peterborough, and had a similar experience to you, both OK for pre and post football at the Posh, however, wouldn’t dream of going in either to eat when there is a great pub at Thulby and a good one in Baston, probably a multiple of 3, price wise, however, we feel the overall experience is worth it even if it’s just a lunch time snack.

Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree.
Myself and a few of the boys are out most Tuesdays when I am at home, eating in one of 4 x Spoons pubs between Stamford, Bourne, and P/boro, also at the Henry Royce, (formerly Yate's) sometimes too. We don't tolerate pi@@ poor ale, nor inedible food, and only twice to my knowledge has a meal been returned, which was replaced on both occasions. It is what it is, ie, pub grub, and certainly nothing near Egon Ronay standards.

It does depend upon what time of day you order food, as often the minimal amount of staff on duty, can find themselves run off their feet.

Cheers,

Jock.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Helen Ariel]

I never went in Wetherspoons as it wasn't dog friendly but I've popped in a couple of times recently...

OMG ! The food was absolutely dire.

Beer was just about OK but not in top notch condition.

It's kids heating up freezer food for low pay. You get what you pay for sadly

 

[Helen Ariel]

The minimum wage is to prevent exploitation ... and to give people a 'living wage '

millions of people employed in the service industry, health care, shop assistants, etc, work for minimum wages.. currently £10.42 per hour ..

My wife Jan works is a senior care assistant working for minimum wages .... what she earns would not keep a family without Universal Credit .. a government benefit .. which you and I pay for in taxes..

It's not the minimum hourly UK wage that is the issue it's the much higher annual wage requirement for foreign workers coming here which is much above minimum wage. It's supposed to mean that companies hire UK workers but the problem is there aren't enough people who want to do care or hospitality work for low pay.

 

[The Wino]

I don't know the answer but it is fundamentally wrong that the taxpayer has to supplement a worker's earnings because an employer won't / can't pay them a realistic living wage.

But the question is what is a realistic living wage then? If you paid enough to support a family with say 3 kids one income what would it be? Presumably the person next to them single living with parents no education to speak of will earn the same. Their friend went to university did a masters in a science starts a job what should they expect?

 

[Helen Ariel]

But the question is what is a realistic living wage then? If you paid enough to support a family with say 3 kids one income what would it be? Presumably the person next to them single living with parents no education to speak of will earn the same. Their friend went to university did a masters in a science starts a job what should they expect?

The problem mainly comes down to unaffordable housing. It's much too high in relation to average wage so where the average family could afford a modest home on one full time wage at least whilst children were young now it needs 2 working full time and even then in many parts of the country they can't afford rent or mortgage especially with child care costs also being high.

 

[The Wino]

The problem mainly comes down to unaffordable housing. It's much too high in relation to average wage so where the average family could afford a modest home on one full time wage at least whilst children were young now it needs 2 working full time and even then in many parts of the country they can't afford rent or mortgage especially with child care costs also being high.

That's a whole extra can of worms should the minimum wage be enough to live on in areas where housing is expensive in which case it's going to be pretty generous in others? I think they went wrong in starting to aim for a living wage it's a noble aim but a very complicated thing to try and set.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Richard n Ann]

We in spoons now £18

 

[Lenny HB]

We in spoons now £18

View attachment 873600

Deepest condolences.

I prefer the Spanish bar I'm sitting outside on the sea front enjoying a beer.
But I am having to suffer Euro fizz.

 

[Richard n Ann]

We in spoons now £18

View attachment 873600

Just ate half her fish.. I am a pig gone are the days of frozen rubbish, it's freshly cooked to perfection with crispy batter

 

[Nirvanauk]

We in spoons now £18

View attachment 873600

Looks ‘orrible.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Looks ‘orrible.

Agreed
What is it supposed to be?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotjimland]

It's not the minimum hourly UK wage that is the issue it's the much higher annual wage requirement for foreign workers coming here which is much above minimum wage. It's supposed to mean that companies hire UK workers but the problem is there aren't enough people who want to do care or hospitality work for low pay.

that is contradictory .. either minimum hourly rate is the issue, or or it is not .. can't be both

In my opinion, the minimum hourly rate is the issue .. not enough people are prepared to work for it when they may get more on benefits ..

the other issue, is the terms of their employment..

a couple of examples,.
" flexible working hours " sounds ok, but what it means in reality is a zero hours contract.. which carers in residential care homes are on.. their hours can be cut if for example there is a vacant room ..

shifts and hours changed without agreement, consultation or regard to impact on the employee..

 

[oldiesontour]

Just to throw in my 2 pennyworth.
You get what you pay for...surely depends on your often unrealistic expectations but not always.
Spoons is at the end of the day chain factory catering ..and done as head office intend(wich it often isn't) is what you should expect.
Too many people expect to pay for a mini and drive off with a Rolls Royce.
But many businesses owners charge for the Rolls but deliver the mini.
I am not so bothered about perfection unless I perceive that is what I'm paying but will not return if I don't perceive fair(a 2way street) value for money.

 

[CazPaul]

pappajohn I hope you got them to take the service charge off.
I don't mind leaving a tip if the service is good but if they put a service charge on the bill I ask them to take it off & they don't get a tip.

Drakes fish and chip restaurant in York, we went with our American family who were visiting us.
They put 10% on the bill cheeky bleeders, Caz told me just to pay it as its standard in America and they would be flabbergasted if I asked it to be removed.

I never slept for a chuffing fortnight it was my turn to pay.

 

[St3v3]

It's kids heating up freezer food for low pay. You get what you pay for sadly

Go on steak night for a sirloin.

Absolutely nothing wrong with it, and the price is sensible.

 

[Spriddler]

the average family could afford a modest home on one full time wage at least whilst children were young now it needs 2 working full time and even then in many parts of the country they can't afford rent or mortgage

Here down South and without family help even couple living frugally would struggle to save a deposit, never mind repaying a mortgage; virtually impossible if in a rented property.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}