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Spoons go dark.

Started by bgmnts, April 16, 2018, 12:58:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Blinder Data on April 17, 2018, 04:06:19 PM
Humphrey Smith appears to treat his workers like absolute shit though

But I suppose all of us will find ways to justify our consumerist pursual of the finer things in life, in this case cheap beer that's nice in pleasant pub surroundings.

Whenever these ethical discussions come up, I'm forced to ask what the difference is between that and going somewhere different and simply not knowing how they treat their staff. If that's a threshold to not go somewhere then the onus is on you to research literally everywhere you go, not simply to make your ethical decisions on the off-chance you read about something no the news.

However, as that's impractical I take the view most bar workers are probably treated badly, and the responsibility for righting that wrong is through legislation and regulation. of the market I vote for and campaign for a political party founded on Labour unions currently led by a left-winger trying to restore the power of collective bargaining to improve worker's rights. I'm satisfied that is the right thing to do versus a boycott, which would withdraw my custom from a business part of whose goals I am strongly in favour of.

Sebastian Cobb

It's that sort of handwringing that gets people saying 'well if we didn't sell our weapons to them, then other people would, so we might as well profit from them.'

Blue Jam

Quote from: Blinder Data on April 17, 2018, 04:06:19 PM
Humphrey Smith appears to treat his workers like absolute shit though

QuoteAn elderly man in the pub, who everyone called the Vicar, said that the prohibition on "effing and jeffing"

Reverend Francis Seaton?

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 17, 2018, 08:19:00 PM
Whenever these ethical discussions come up, I'm forced to ask what the difference is between that and going somewhere different and simply not knowing how they treat their staff. If that's a threshold to not go somewhere then the onus is on you to research literally everywhere you go, not simply to make your ethical decisions on the off-chance you read about something no the news.

However, as that's impractical I take the view most bar workers are probably treated badly...

Well, I've boycotted all G1 Group venues ever since Mr Jam and I got some seriously shoddy treatment at Southpour in Embra and we looked them up and found out how they frequently treat customers badly and staff even worse and how owner Stefan King is a cunt and a half, but to be fair it hasn't been a difficult boycott to keep up. I just hope their planned expansion into Embra doesn't get too far, but it looks like they've been losing a lot of money lately (and not just in backpay to underpaid staff) so I'm hopeful...

...but yes, I do like to support little craft beer places, especially the ones here with loyal, happy staff who even come in to drink there on their days off.


Icehaven

Quote from: Fambo Number Mive on April 18, 2018, 04:08:51 PM
In related Wetherspoons news: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-woman-brain-injury-thrown-12385991

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's going to express surprise at hearing about Spoons staff refusing to serve then throwing out someone who seemed drunk (even though in this case she wasn't) and was even still standing upright. It's happened to me precisely once, and tbf I was absolutely off my face. In all the (literally hundreds of) other times I've been pretty mullered in Spoonses far and wide I've never been cut off. 

ASFTSN

Quote from: icehaven on April 18, 2018, 04:52:25 PM
I'm sure I'm not the only person who's going to express surprise at hearing about Spoons staff refusing to serve then throwing out someone who seemed drunk (even though in this case she wasn't)

The article doesn't say she wasn't!  I reckon she was fucking steaming mate

Shoulders?-Stomach!

#96
Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on April 17, 2018, 08:49:28 PM
It's that sort of handwringing that gets people saying 'well if we didn't sell our weapons to them, then other people would, so we might as well profit from them.'

Maybe in a world where arms sales is analogous to frequenting a pub.

I've explained my ongoing efforts to bring about better pay and conditions for staff workers by supporting and campaigning for Labour and defending workers at any given opportunity.

Sebastian Cobb

Apart from defending them with your feet you mean?

Icehaven

Quote from: ASFTSN on April 18, 2018, 05:08:52 PM
The article doesn't say she wasn't!  I reckon she was fucking steaming mate

Good point. Although if she seems pissed when she's not then it's a shame for her that being drunk doesn't make her appear totally sober. It'd be great, ''Yes I'll have a fifth pint, I've got my driving test today.''

Blue Jam

#99
Quote from: icehaven on April 18, 2018, 04:52:25 PM
I'm sure I'm not the only person who's going to express surprise at hearing about Spoons staff refusing to serve then throwing out someone who seemed drunk (even though in this case she wasn't) and was even still standing upright. It's happened to me precisely once, and tbf I was absolutely off my face. In all the (literally hundreds of) other times I've been pretty mullered in Spoonses far and wide I've never been cut off.

Southpour (AKA Pisspoor) in Embra is the only bar/restaurant where I have ever been refused entry. We were asked if we had booked, and when we said we were just in for drinks we were hastily told "Oh I'm sorry, there's a private event on!" when there clearly wasn't and the place was half-empty. Later it turned out that they were trying to court hipsters and had even held a "blogger's brunch" (urgghhhh) where they gave away free meals in the hope of buying a few positive reviews. An elderly couple behind us were also turned away and I've seen reviews where people have described them saying "the kitchen's closed for an hour" or "we don't serve food in the bar area" and other such bullshit excuses to get rid of them.

It turns out G1 Group have a major reputation for trying to filter their customers in this way- and the Polo Lounge gay bar in Glesga is even worse, with a reputation for turning stone-cold sober people away for being "too drunk" when they really mean "too old" or "too ugly". On one occasion they turned away two wheelchair users by pretending the club had no wheelchair access (they successfully sued G1 for discrimination). The one-star reviews speak for themselves:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186534-d4260527-Reviews-Polo_Lounge_Glasgow-Glasgow_Scotland.html

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 17, 2018, 03:32:01 PM
Utter nonsense, there are far too many excellent ones to say such a thing. Many look after the best preserved and historic pubs in the country, have ornate original features, fires going, often getting lavish restoration jobs. The Angel in Leeds still feels like you can imagine it would be centuries ago. That doesn't mean anything to you, fine, but when pubs are recklessly ripped up and replaced by bland shit it matters to me and many others.

Give me a Sam Smiths pub any day of the week over a fucking Greene King identikit pub, you know the ones with blackboards in gold frames advertising that shock- they serve bottled beer and spirits here!!! And hot food!

Sam Smiths isn't going to be everyone's bag but you don't have to like them to recognise how important they are.

Related to this, G1 are also notorious for buying up historic venues and leaving them empty until they start to fall apart before they end up being turned into flats. They bought the old art deco Odeon cinema in Edinburgh- the back half of the building is now "luxury student accommodation", while the actual cinema bit is still empty and crumbling two years after they promised to open what would have been the only cinema on the Southside- and which had been very much hoped-for and wanted. I suspect we'll just end up with another block of luxury student flats... They tried to buy The Cameo cinema (thankfully they failed) so I doubt they give a fuck about running a nice cinema over here.

They've got five old venues in one part of Glasgow right now and people know what they're up to:

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15596549.G1_Group_accused_of__smokescreen__as_FIVE_Shawlands_venues_left_empty/

Embra also has quite a few pubs lying empty and advertising for new landlords. Most of them seem to be owned by a company called Star Pubs, and they used to be Heineken pubs until Heineken sold all the Scottish ones to... guess who?

So yes, give me a 'spoons any day. Especially The Caley Picturehouse on Lothian Road. That's how you makeover an old art deco cinema.

bgmnts


RoadMaintenanceTycoon

Quote from: Blue Jam on April 19, 2018, 04:27:46 PM
Southpour (AKA Pisspoor) in Embra is the only bar/restaurant where I have ever been refused entry. We were asked if we had booked, and when we said we were just in for drinks we were hastily told "Oh I'm sorry, there's a private event on!" when there clearly wasn't and the place was half-empty. Later it turned out that they were trying to court hipsters and had even held a "blogger's brunch" (urgghhhh) where they gave away free meals in the hope of buying a few positive reviews. An elderly couple behind us were also turned away and I've seen reviews where people have described them saying "the kitchen's closed for an hour" or "we don't serve food in the bar area" and other such bullshit excuses to get rid of them.

It turns out G1 Group have a major reputation for trying to filter their customers in this way- and the Polo Lounge gay bar in Glesga is even worse, with a reputation for turning stone-cold sober people away for being "too drunk" when they really mean "too old" or "too ugly". On one occasion they turned away two wheelchair users by pretending the club had no wheelchair access (they successfully sued G1 for discrimination). The one-star reviews speak for themselves:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186534-d4260527-Reviews-Polo_Lounge_Glasgow-Glasgow_Scotland.html

Related to this, G1 are also notorious for buying up historic venues and leaving them empty until they start to fall apart before they end up being turned into flats. They bought the old art deco Odeon cinema in Edinburgh- the back half of the building is now "luxury student accommodation", while the actual cinema bit is still empty and crumbling two years after they promised to open what would have been the only cinema on the Southside- and which had been very much hoped-for and wanted. I suspect we'll just end up with another block of luxury student flats... They tried to buy The Cameo cinema (thankfully they failed) so I doubt they give a fuck about running a nice cinema over here.

They've got five old venues in one part of Glasgow right now and people know what they're up to:

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15596549.G1_Group_accused_of__smokescreen__as_FIVE_Shawlands_venues_left_empty/

Embra also has quite a few pubs lying empty and advertising for new landlords. Most of them seem to be owned by a company called Star Pubs, and they used to be Heineken pubs until Heineken sold all the Scottish ones to... guess who?

So yes, give me a 'spoons any day. Especially The Caley Picturehouse on Lothian Road. That's how you makeover an old art deco cinema.

I think everyone in Glasgow must have a dire story about G1, or know someone who has. I got banned from the Polo Facebook page ages ago because I asked when they were gonna install a wheelchair ramp. Also, from friends who've worked for them: massively underpaying staff/doctoring rotas, some very dodgy accounting and lots of coke-fuelled head office shenanigans -- allegedly. Lovely bunch.