Thanks For Many Comments About The Red Lion ...

[Donnyboy]

hope (?) they get a larger screen for the world cup though? (hint, hint)

yeah esp when the All Whites (NZ) has reached the finals

[caf]

Beer! I'm guessing I'm NOT their target customer as I thought the beer Very expensive! NO large bottles,

NO local draught beer and a SMALL beer was 60/70 baht.

Are you seriously sniffing at 60 baht for a beer in a pub?!!!

It's not a case of sniffing, but questioning the statistics.

A small local beer in TRL that costs 25% of minimum daily wage in a regional city in a third world country - Yes, let's sniff a little!

that's about £1.10 sterling, a pint of local beer in the UK (London - Wetherspoons) one of the world's more expensive cities

is as low as £1.45, around 80 baht, about 3.5% of the UK daily minimum wage.

David

Sniff away, but surely those statistics only apply to working class Thais, who aren't my target customers.

For most expats or tourists 60 baht for a small beer is standard and acceptable - I wouldn't be in business otherwise. I recently paid 90 baht for a small Heiny at Inter bar (more than I charge) and was just about to sniff until I realised that they do have Live music, and I happen to know from experience how much that costs, so I reckoned it was justified, even bearing in mind the savings they make on not buying cleaning products. What surprised me was that most of the customers were back-packers, who I assumed wouldn't pay that much for a big one, never mind a small one. Good to luck to them, I say.

Using Wetherspoons as an example doesn't quite work either. There are 742 Wetherspoons in the UK, and one Red Lion in Chiang Mai. Our respective purchasing powers are not quite the same. Also, legend has it that they buy beer that is just about to expire as regards to the sell-by-date, whereas I don't.

Wetherspoons have always had to put up with "legends" like these; they emanate from the competition. They on the other hand don't make snide remarks about their competition.

And Uk margins for both wet and dry are different, the uk has a minimum wage. a thai working in food and bev receives a lot less; which is why the margins achieved here are so high. prices could be lower here.

[KevinHunt]

 There is a 50inch TV inside and a projector with a pull-down screen that was probably not in use when you came. Both of them were probably a bit too big for the Toffees fans last night.

[KevinHunt]

Wetherspoons have always had to put up with "legends" like these; they emanate from the competition. They on the other hand don't make snide remarks about their competition.

And Uk margins for both wet and dry are different, the uk has a minimum wage. a thai working in food and bev receives a lot less; which is why the margins achieved here are so high. prices could be lower here.

'Snide remarks about the competition'? Wetherspoons obviously aren't my competition so who exactly are you referring to?

'Prices could be lower here?'. Do you have any idea what you're talking about? Where lower prices are possible they exist. The laws of Supply and Demand apply to Thailand too.

[caf]

Wetherspoons have always had to put up with "legends" like these; they emanate from the competition. They on the other hand don't make snide remarks about their competition.

And Uk margins for both wet and dry are different, the uk has a minimum wage. a thai working in food and bev receives a lot less; which is why the margins achieved here are so high. prices could be lower here.

'Snide remarks about the competition'? Wetherspoons obviously aren't my competition so who exactly are you referring to?

'Prices could be lower here?'. Do you have any idea what you're talking about? Where lower prices are possible they exist. The laws of Supply and Demand apply to Thailand too.

OK. Let's take it very slowly for you.

Wetherspoon is a Uk pub chain.

Are you with us so far?

They are not in Thailand.

Still with us?

Now this may be the difficult bit for you. Their competition is - wait for it - in the UK.

They have no pubs in Thailand, no pubs in South East Asia; and none that I remember seeing in the Night Market.

It was in your post that Wetherspoon was mentioned. In your usual style. My point was that they don't make those sort of comments about their competition.

You mention supply and demand. Yes it applies here but Thai business models are not the same as in the West. House prices are probably the best example.

Though, as you realise, I was not talking of supply and demand but margins. And the point still holds, margins are higher here because wages are significantly lower. There is a wider difference in beer prices in Thailand than in the UK for comparable establishments.

And by the way, your sarcasm will be met with sarcasm. Whether it is the lowest form of wit or not

[KevinHunt]

OK. Let's take it very slowly for you.

Wetherspoon is a Uk pub chain.

Are you with us so far?

They are not in Thailand.

Still with us?

Now this may be the difficult bit for you. Their competition is - wait for it - in the UK.

They have no pubs in Thailand, no pubs in South East Asia; and none that I remember seeing in the Night Market.

It was in your post that Wetherspoon was mentioned. In your usual style. My point was that they don't make those sort of comments about their competition.

You mention supply and demand. Yes it applies here but Thai business models are not the same as in the West. House prices are probably the best example.

Though, as you realise, I was not talking of supply and demand but margins. And the point still holds, margins are higher here because wages are significantly lower. There is a wider difference in beer prices in Thailand than in the UK for comparable establishments.

And by the way, your sarcasm will be met with sarcasm. Whether it is the lowest form of wit or not

I have no interest in Wetherspoons. Davidoxon raised their name when making comparisons with Red Lion prices. I merely replied that his comparisons were inappropriate.  

I've no idea where you are going with the discussions about differences in mark-ups, margins, UK minimum wages and the prices of houses. In fact, I very rarely know what point you are trying to make. If your point is that my prices are too high for you, then I'm sorry. I fix my prices according to the basic laws of economics. I studied Economics, Accounting and Statistics as part of my Business Studies degree . My prices are hopefully fixed at a level that maximises profit (yes, I'm in it for the money). If people can't afford my prices I don't have any customers and I go out of business. The fact that I've been in business for twenty years suggests that I may be getting it right

My previous post was straight-forward and concise. I wasn't being sarcastic. You were, and it made you look rather silly. 

Edited November 30, 2009 by KevinHunt

[Mapguy]

Kevin,

How could you have possibly raised so much interest! Just a marketing fool, I guess!

But, had they watched you play tennis, well.......................!

Cheers!

[piercefilmlid]

Kevin

Out of pure interest (and no hidden agenda here) what percentage of your sales do you put down to tourists/passing trade, and what is down to "regulars"?

Thanks

Mark

[KevinHunt]

Kevin

Out of pure interest (and no hidden agenda here) what percentage of your sales do you put down to tourists/passing trade, and what is down to "regulars"?

Thanks

Mark

For me, regulars fall into two groups - people who live here and people who are frequent visitors to Thailand that return to The Red Lion every time they are in Chiang Mai. At a rough guess I would say that 20% of my business is regulars. I also have a fair amount of repeat business in respect of people who are in Chiang Mai for 4-5 days and come back every day. Ultimately, the Night Bazaar is not too appealing for locals - difficulty of parking, a general dislike of tourists, and the fact that lots of people consider us to be relatively expensive, I suppose. Under those circumstances I have what I consider to be a decent number of local customers.

For the above reason, I'd never considered Thai Visa to be a useful medium for advertising my place. The fact that everyone thought I was posting merely to promote the pub were mostly off the mark. My posts were about my daily life that basically consisted of playing tennis or being in the pub. What else could I write about? Some folk even thought that my piece about Rats was promoting my place!! I took out an ad to annoy my detractors, espescially the character that came up with the 'subliminal advertising' nugget. That is a classic. If only I were that smart. So, I only took an ad out to a). Overcome my being banned and . To annoy those idiots that were pleased that  I'd been banned.and  c). Just for the hel_l of it.

The jury is still out, but my impressions are that my ad on Thai Visa may well have been a good move, even if it was for the wrong reasons.  I hadn't  taken into account the number of views from outside of Chiang Mai, so it looks good so far. The jump in views on my web-site are an initial good sign but whether that translates into bums on seats remains to be seen. All good fun, anyway.

Edited November 30, 2009 by KevinHunt

[KevinHunt]

Kevin,

How could you have possibly raised so much interest! Just a marketing fool, I guess!

But, had they watched you play tennis, well.......................!

Cheers!

 

Have you been watching again? There's a word for that, you know.

[piercefilmlid]

Kevin

Out of pure interest (and no hidden agenda here) what percentage of your sales do you put down to tourists/passing trade, and what is down to "regulars"?

Thanks

Mark

For me, regulars fall into two groups - people who live here and people who are frequent visitors to Thailand that return to The Red Lion every time they are in Chiang Mai. At a rough guess I would say that 20% of my business is regulars. I also have a fair amount of repeat business in respect of people who are in Chiang Mai for 4-5 days and come back every day. Ultimately, the Night Bazaar is not too appealing for locals - difficulty of parking, a general dislike of tourists, and the fact that lots of people consider us to be relatively expensive, I suppose. Under those circumstances I have what I consider to be a decent number of local customers.

Thank you for your prompt response.

Regards

Edited November 30, 2009 by piercefilmlid

[Ulysses G.]

the fact that lots of people consider us to be relatively expensive

Considering the quality of your food and bigger than usual portion sizes, I would still consider you to be pretty cheap compared to other foreign restaurants.

I think that you are talking about the type of expat who is obsessed with getting everything at the lowest price possible. If they have a choice, this type will not buy anything unless they feel that they are cheating the seller and they tend to argue about prices and complain a lot. The truth is that most businesses are far better off without these negative energy suckers screwing up the vibes!

[caf]

OK. Let's take it very slowly for you.

Wetherspoon is a Uk pub chain.

Are you with us so far?

They are not in Thailand.

Still with us?

Now this may be the difficult bit for you. Their competition is - wait for it - in the UK.

They have no pubs in Thailand, no pubs in South East Asia; and none that I remember seeing in the Night Market.

It was in your post that Wetherspoon was mentioned. In your usual style. My point was that they don't make those sort of comments about their competition.

You mention supply and demand. Yes it applies here but Thai business models are not the same as in the West. House prices are probably the best example.

Though, as you realise, I was not talking of supply and demand but margins. And the point still holds, margins are higher here because wages are significantly lower. There is a wider difference in beer prices in Thailand than in the UK for comparable establishments.

And by the way, your sarcasm will be met with sarcasm. Whether it is the lowest form of wit or not

I have no interest in Wetherspoons. Davidoxon raised their name when making comparisons with Red Lion prices. I merely replied that his comparisons were inappropriate.

I've no idea where you are going with the discussions about differences in mark-ups, margins, UK minimum wages and the prices of houses. In fact, I very rarely know what point you are trying to make. If your point is that my prices are too high for you, then I'm sorry. I fix my prices according to the basic laws of economics. I studied Economics, Accounting and Statistics as part of my Business Studies degree . My prices are hopefully fixed at a level that maximises profit (yes, I'm in it for the money). If people can't afford my prices I don't have any customers and I go out of business. The fact that I've been in business for twenty years suggests that I may be getting it right

My previous post was straight-forward and concise. I wasn't being sarcastic. You were, and it made you look rather silly.

You did not merely reply that his comparisons were inappropriate. You said in your own post.

"Also, legend has it that they buy beer that is just about to expire as regards to the sell-by-date, whereas I don't. "

That is an unsubstantiated slur in anyone's book. Your business ethics in making remarks like that are what I was commenting on. But it's your business. It's up to you.

As for margins and Thai and UK wage rates you are missing their relevance. You should have paid more attention in your economic classes.

I did not say your prices are too high for me. In previous posts I said that yours was not my kind of pub. That is not a slur or criticism. As I said some like your pub and some do not.

Other pubs in Chiangmai do not seem to take on this vindictive stance that you adopt when you perceive people are having a go at you. They are not, they are expressing opinions. Chill out. You run a successful business, I don't know why you have to attack so much.

I blame the parents

[ChiangMaiFun]

There is a 50inch TV inside and a projector with a pull-down screen that was probably not in use when you came. Both of them were probably a bit too big for the Toffees fans last night.

Great - bring on 2010!

[caf]

the fact that lots of people consider us to be relatively expensive

Considering the quality of your food and bigger than usual portion sizes, I would still consider you to be pretty cheap compared to other foreign restaurants.

I think that you are talking about the type of expat who is obsessed with getting everything at the lowest price possible. If they have a choice, this type will not buy anything unless they feel that they are cheating the seller and they tend to argue about prices and complain a lot. The truth is that most businesses are far better off without these negative energy suckers screwing up the vibes!

As I said in previous posts, some like the pub, some don't. I'm pleased it suits you.

I don't think it's about some expats being cheap charlies. The posts in this thread, as far as I can see, have not proved that at all. But obviously you have a view.

There's no harm in promoting a friend's business. Kevin's derogatory remarks about Weatherspoon was a bit off though. I am surprised you support that. Quite properly, you do not make cheap remarks about other businesses in your line of trade, which is why you do well.

[Ulysses G.]

I actually did not take Kevin's remarks about Weatherspoon's as derogatory. I got the idea that they have such a high turnover that they can buy fresh beer that is close to it's expiration date for a discount price, but sell it so quickly that it still tastes perfectly fine and sells for a cheaper price than places with less business. That seems like a good idea.

I thought that Kevin was saying that because his operation is much smaller than theirs, he does not get so many discounts on prices and is forced to charge more than some discount type outlets.

As far as Kevin making "cheap" remarks about other businesses goes, I don't consider a big chain in the UK to be a competitor of his anyway, but if he were pointing out an honest flaw in competitors business, it would not bother me. It is the creeps who make up lies to trick customers into avoiding someone elses business or to frequent their business that really get my goat.

PS I have never met Kevin, although I have eaten at the Red Lion when he was not there. All I know about him is what I read on Thai Visa and that some posters enjoy watchng him play tennis in little shorts.

Edited December 1, 2009 by Ulysses G.

[caf]

I actually did not take Kevin's remarks about Weatherspoon's as derogatory. I got the idea that they have such a high turnover that they can buy fresh beer that is close to it's expiration date for a discount price, but sell it so quickly that it still tastes perfectly fine and sells for a cheaper price than places with less business. That seems like a good idea.

I thought that Kevin was saying that because his operation is much smaller than theirs, he does not get so many discounts on prices and is forced to charge more than some discount type outlets.

As far as Kevin making "cheap" remarks about other businesses goes, I don't consider a big chain in the UK to be a competitor of his anyway, but if he were pointing out an honest flaw in competitors business, it would not bother me. It is the creeps who make up lies to trick customers into avoiding someone elses business or to frequent their business that really get my goat.

PS I have never met Kevin, although I have eaten at the Red Lion when he was not there. All I know about him is what I read on Thai Visa and that some posters enjoy watchng him play tennis in little shorts.

I take your points.

There was a serious innuendo in his remarks and he does have a tendency to attack people with sarcasm and innuendo. As I said, I blame the parents.

To prove my point, have you ever posted comments that knock other businesses? No, you have not; and I suspect you never will.

[Ulysses G.]

To prove my point, have you ever posted comments that knock other businesses?

I have been the target of some very nasty smear campaigns by certain competitors long before I had a pot to piss in. Experiences like that make one very careful about damaging other people's livelihoods.

[KevinHunt]

I actually did not take Kevin's remarks about Weatherspoon's as derogatory. I got the idea that they have such a high turnover that they can buy fresh beer that is close to it's expiration date for a discount price, but sell it so quickly that it still tastes perfectly fine and sells for a cheaper price than places with less business. That seems like a good idea.

I thought that Kevin was saying that because his operation is much smaller than theirs, he does not get so many discounts on prices and is forced to charge more than some discount type outlets.

As far as Kevin making "cheap" remarks about other businesses goes, I don't consider a big chain in the UK to be a competitor of his anyway, but if he were pointing out an honest flaw in competitors business, it would not bother me. It is the creeps who make up lies to trick customers into avoiding someone elses business or to frequent their business that really get my goat.

PS I have never met Kevin, although I have eaten at the Red Lion when he was not there. All I know about him is what I read on Thai Visa and that some posters enjoy watchng him play tennis in little shorts.

   

    Obviously, Wetherspoons is not a competitor, any fool could see that. You understood  my point perfectly. Well done. The fact that I might somehow consider the largest pub chain in the UK as some kind of threat to my little one-man business here in Chiang Mai Thailand is absurd, to say the least. The problem is that caf's little rants could give the wrong impresssion. 

   Having been in business in Chiang Mai for 20 years I don't consider anyone else to be competitors or more importantly rivals. My view is that I have my own little business with my target group of customers and other pubs/restaurants have their own niche. I am on good terms with all other business owners and although we don't regularly meet, I know and enjoy the company of the owners of O'Malley's, The Olde Bell, Tuskers, Un irish..... There is room in Chiang Mai for us all. Hopefully we can all grow and prosper. Although you appear to have had some problems with competitors, fortunately I never have. Quite the opposite in fact.

   As I have said before, I'm never quite sure what caf's point is , so I try my best to take other peoples advice and just ignore him. He seems to have a bee in his bonnet about me or the pub, I'm not quite sure which one it is. I've never met him, as far as I know, but he does come across as an intereseting character, don't you think? 

  I'm working on a post with subliminal innuendo to try out on him. I bet he spots it straight away.

Edited December 1, 2009 by KevinHunt

[caf]

I actually did not take Kevin's remarks about Weatherspoon's as derogatory. I got the idea that they have such a high turnover that they can buy fresh beer that is close to it's expiration date for a discount price, but sell it so quickly that it still tastes perfectly fine and sells for a cheaper price than places with less business. That seems like a good idea.

I thought that Kevin was saying that because his operation is much smaller than theirs, he does not get so many discounts on prices and is forced to charge more than some discount type outlets.

As far as Kevin making "cheap" remarks about other businesses goes, I don't consider a big chain in the UK to be a competitor of his anyway, but if he were pointing out an honest flaw in competitors business, it would not bother me. It is the creeps who make up lies to trick customers into avoiding someone elses business or to frequent their business that really get my goat.

PS I have never met Kevin, although I have eaten at the Red Lion when he was not there. All I know about him is what I read on Thai Visa and that some posters enjoy watchng him play tennis in little shorts.

Obviously, Wetherspoons is not a competitor, any fool could see that. You understood my point perfectly. Well done. The fact that I might somehow consider the largest pub chain in the UK as some kind of threat to my little one-man business here in Chiang Mai Thailand is absurd, to say the least. The problem is that caf's little rants could give the wrong impresssion.

Having been in business in Chiang Mai for 20 years I don't consider anyone else to be competitors or more importantly rivals. My view is that I have my own little business with my target group of customers and other pubs/restaurants have their own niche. I am on good terms with all other business owners and although we don't regularly meet, I know and enjoy the company of the owners of O'Malley's, The Olde Bell, Tuskers, Un irish..... There is room in Chiang Mai for us all. Hopefully we can all grow and prosper. Although you appear to have had some problems with competitors, fortunately I never have. Quite the opposite in fact.

As I have said before, I'm never quite sure what caf's point is , so I try my best to take other peoples advice and just ignore him. He seems to have a bee in his bonnet about me or the pub, I'm not quite sure which one it is. I've never met him, as far as I know, but he does come across as an intereseting character, don't you think?

I'm working on a post with subliminal innuendo to try out on him. I bet he spots it straight away.

I've never been uncomplementary about your pub. Read my posts in context. I have said some like it and some do not. That's personal choice.

You put me on ignore, and say you ignore me but you still reply. Something is obviously needling you. Chill out.

As you rightly say there is room for everyone in the pub business here. A fact that my posts already pointed out. It is a matter of choice.

I take Ulysses point about not knocking other people's businesses and he is right. But I have not knocked yours. Different businesses have different clienteles, locations, targets. And mine hosts can be different too. Often a punter will choose a pub because of the landlord. I'm sure you have your regulars as do other pubs.

Pointless I suppose to tell you to be less vindictive.

[KevinHunt]

Kevin

Out of pure interest (and no hidden agenda here) what percentage of your sales do you put down to tourists/passing trade, and what is down to "regulars"?

Thanks

Mark

For me, regulars fall into two groups - people who live here and people who are frequent visitors to Thailand that return to The Red Lion every time they are in Chiang Mai. At a rough guess I would say that 20% of my business is regulars. I also have a fair amount of repeat business in respect of people who are in Chiang Mai for 4-5 days and come back every day. Ultimately, the Night Bazaar is not too appealing for locals - difficulty of parking, a general dislike of tourists, and the fact that lots of people consider us to be relatively expensive, I suppose. Under those circumstances I have what I consider to be a decent number of local customers.

For the above reason, I'd never considered Thai Visa to be a useful medium for advertising my place. The fact that everyone thought I was posting merely to promote the pub were mostly off the mark. My posts were about my daily life that basically consisted of playing tennis or being in the pub. What else could I write about? Some folk even thought that my piece about Rats was promoting my place!! I took out an ad to annoy my detractors, espescially the character that came up with the 'subliminal advertising' nugget. That is a classic. If only I were that smart. So, I only took an ad out to a). Overcome my being banned and . To annoy those idiots that were pleased that  I'd been banned.and  c). Just for the hel_l of it.

The jury is still out, but my impressions are that my ad on Thai Visa may well have been a good move, even if it was for the wrong reasons.  I hadn't  taken into account the number of views from outside of Chiang Mai, so it looks good so far. The jump in views on my web-site are an initial good sign but whether that translates into bums on seats remains to be seen. All good fun, anyway.

Just to clarify a few points.

The smiley appeared because I think that the combination of the letter b, a full stop and parenthesis is maybe the code for it?

When I mentioned 'bums on seats', I wasn't referring to alcoholic homeless types. Obviousy I wouldn't want their sort in the pub. 

[anonymouse]

I actually did not take Kevin's remarks about Weatherspoon's as derogatory. I got the idea that they have such a high turnover that they can buy fresh beer that is close to it's expiration date for a discount price, but sell it so quickly that it still tastes perfectly fine and sells for a cheaper price than places with less business. That seems like a good idea.

I thought that Kevin was saying that because his operation is much smaller than theirs, he does not get so many discounts on prices and is forced to charge more than some discount type outlets.

As far as Kevin making "cheap" remarks about other businesses goes, I don't consider a big chain in the UK to be a competitor of his anyway, but if he were pointing out an honest flaw in competitors business, it would not bother me. It is the creeps who make up lies to trick customers into avoiding someone elses business or to frequent their business that really get my goat.

PS I have never met Kevin, although I have eaten at the Red Lion when he was not there. All I know about him is what I read on Thai Visa and that some posters enjoy watchng him play tennis in little shorts.

   

    Obviously, Wetherspoons is not a competitor, any fool could see that. You understood  my point perfectly. Well done. The fact that I might somehow consider the largest pub chain in the UK as some kind of threat to my little one-man business here in Chiang Mai Thailand is absurd, to say the least. The problem is that caf's little rants could give the wrong impresssion. 

   Having been in business in Chiang Mai for 20 years I don't consider anyone else to be competitors or more importantly rivals. My view is that I have my own little business with my target group of customers and other pubs/restaurants have their own niche. I am on good terms with all other business owners and although we don't regularly meet, I know and enjoy the company of the owners of O'Malley's, The Olde Bell, Tuskers, Un irish..... There is room in Chiang Mai for us all. Hopefully we can all grow and prosper. Although you appear to have had some problems with competitors, fortunately I never have. Quite the opposite in fact.

   As I have said before, I'm never quite sure what caf's point is , so I try my best to take other peoples advice and just ignore him. He seems to have a bee in his bonnet about me or the pub, I'm not quite sure which one it is. I've never met him, as far as I know, but he does come across as an intereseting character, don't you think? 

  I'm working on a post with subliminal innuendo to try out on him. I bet he spots it straight away.

Well if you believe the maxim all publicity is good publicity then caf is doing you a favour in bumping this topic to the top every time he posts

[Blinky Bill]

I think that you are talking about the type of expat who is obsessed with getting everything at the lowest price possible. If they have a choice, this type will not buy anything unless they feel that they are cheating the seller and they tend to argue about prices and complain a lot. The truth is that most businesses are far better off without these negative energy suckers screwing up the vibes!

One or two come to mind UG.

cheap and fallacious

[KevinHunt]

Well if you believe the maxim all publicity is good publicity then caf is doing you a favour in bumping this topic to the top every time he posts  

Sometimes I think I'd like to go back to the days when putting the words 'Red' and 'Lion' on the same page were an instant ban.

[sticklebrick]

Wetherspoons! A nice review below, pretty much sums up my memories of that ChAin. Perhaps it's a Favourite for some!?!

"There’s really no nice way to say this. Wetherspoon’s pubs attract smelly, dirty old men in droves. On an average Sunday lunchtime, at least 60% of your average Wetherspoon’s pub’s clientele will be pensionable, if not completely revolting. So steel yourself for hours of coughing, hacking and embarrassing laughter as the Father Ted appreciation society meets for its fortnightly gathering, complete with budget of £2.50 per head. Whether the smell of their feet gets you before the smell of their pipe smoke will be debatable but you certainly wouldn’t come here to pull. Even on a Friday or Saturday night, the venues are STILL full of old men, desperate in their quest to get as many pints as possible for a fiver and it’s all completely revolting. My experience isn’t limited to one or two pubs. I’ll categorically stick to this observation in at least twenty different venues and I’d be willing to bet the rest are just as bad too. The more local the venue, the higher the likelihood that all the old soaks will be in there. So if Wetherspoon’s want young, un-thrifty consumers to fill their bars, I’m afraid they’re going to have ship out all the old gits first.

The food and drink in Wetherspoon’s is unquestionably cheap, when compared to any other pub or restaurant. The other “bonus” of course is that if you go in one Wetherspoon’s, you will be guaranteed the same choice as any other. The downside of this is that the places are generally sanitised beyond belief and have absolutely no character whatsoever. A pint can cost as little as £1 (why do you think Old Man Stinky Pants likes it here so much?) and a glass of wine will hit you for around £2.00. There are frequent offers on spirits, mixers and cocktails and in the drinks menu actually more closely resembles a supermarket advertisement than a bar tariff. Even bar snacks and crisps seem to be on a “2 for 99p” offer all the time, and whenever I’m in there I get this terrible urge to scream, “Has nobody got any bloody money?”

The food is all rather primitive, with few dishes costing more than £5.00. Cheap is not necessarily cheerful however, with lacklustre Sunday roasts and gristly steaks often adorning the table. To be fair, the food is generally hot and fresh, but there’s only so far that the £5-per-hour chef can go with a bag of frozen chips and a lump of value beef and a sprinkling of herbs simply doesn’t cut it, as far as I’m concerned. Occasionally, I’ve been tempted by a Panini or ciabatta, but the pubs’ ability to serve the fattiest bacon in town normally puts paid to that one. The all-day breakfast is OK, and strangely enough, the vegetable burger is OK too, but otherwise the food is pretty awful. "

Something for TRL to aim for

[KevinHunt]

Something for TRL to aim for

Having lived here for so long, I've obviously missed out on an interesting part of British culture - I've never been to a Wetherspoons. There were themed pubs before I left, but not ones that specifically targetted riff raff. Interesting marketing ploy. In the old days in Chiang Mai there were one or two bars that catered to the lower end of the market. Like me, Blinky Bill probably never used them, but I'm sure he remembers hearing about them.  

[Blinky Bill]

Quite right, Kevin. I did hear a few rumours over the years that mentioned the existence of such places.

[Richie1971]

I like the Red Lion, tourists and all when I visit Chiang Mai.

Been to a few of the other places and they seem a bit clicky - ie ' I sleep on a mat just like the locals do, I only eat on the street because the locals do, I am virtually Thai, oh you have a car and wear clothes that cost more than 100 baht I'm not speaking to you, I drink Chang because I like it, blah,blah.

Great Pub

Edited December 1, 2009 by Richie1971