'Neverspoons' app to avoid Wetherspoons

[Sampanviking]

I have spent my lockdown exploring my locale to a degree that has been impossible since I moved to Newport three years ago. I have found an area called Llantarnum, which is just between Newport and Cwmbran. I have found a couple of nice looking pubs that I intend to visit once they are reopened. They are The Three Blackbirds on Pentra Lane and the Greenhouse on Newport Rd.

If you have any knowledge of them John, feel free to share.

[papasmurf]

Returning to the point about Tim Martin playing the miserable, money-grubbing, Fagin of a business owner and employer — if he was to return to his philosophy of providing good pubs, good booze and good grub at reasonable prices, Wetherspoons might get more support.

They don't do good grub anymore and I did not renew my Camra membership because of the state of the Helston Wetherspoons.
The Camra  team who gave it a glowing report must have been pissed before they went in it.

[patman post]

Returning to the point about Tim Martin playing the miserable, money-grubbing, Fagin of a business owner and employer — if he was to return to his philosophy of providing good pubs, good booze and good grub at reasonable prices, Wetherspoons might get more support.
But by the chairman taking his eye off the business by spending too much time on various campaigns and bees-in-bonnets, the appeal of his business to the punters has dropped. From 2018 on, fewer and fewer staff seemed trained on how to behave behind a bar and how to treat customers.
Unless Tim Martin changes, I wonder how many of the good staff will return, how many punters will become regulars again, and how many brewers will treat him well in the future...

[papasmurf]

Looks like you've had a few today as well!
No, I hadn't noticed them before. The only beers we usually kept at home before lock-down were fridge-stored lagers...

I rarely drink these days, and never in the day.

[patman post]

Looks like you've had a few today as well!
No, I hadn't noticed them before. The only beers we usually kept at home before lock-down were fridge-stored lagers...

[papasmurf]

But since lock-down, I've been getting Bishops Finger, Hobgoblin, Old Speckled Hen, etc, in 500ml bottles. Don't know whether they're available as a result of lock-down or I've not noticed them before,

You've not noticed hem before, they have been available in mainstream supermarkets for a long time. (I had bottle of Hobgoblin last night.)

[patman post]

It amuses friends and family that I like warm British ale and have my favourites. So I've missed beers like Abbott, Spitfire, Pride, etc, available locally. These were available at The Rochester Castle at around £2.50/pt (Guiness: £3-something). At other local pubs, and when I visited friends in Kent and Sussex (Harveys is good), pints were between £1.50 and £2.00 more.
But since lock-down, I've been getting Bishops Finger, Hobgoblin, Old Speckled Hen, etc, in 500ml bottles. Don't know whether they're available as a result of lock-down or I've not noticed them before, but at £1.00-£1.50 a time they're an acceptable substitute. I might start to keep a couple of crates at home even after pubs return to normal...

[johnofgwent]

The Neverspoons app does seem Manchester centric at the moment. Being on iPhone I can't download it, and  I'm not going to change mobiles to get it. But perhaps it'll come soon...
https://themanc.com/news/the-neverspoons-app-that-encourages-you-to-drink-at-independent-pubs-instead-of-wetherspoons/

Wetherspoons, which says it had to pour away 18,000 pints worth of beer as a result of March's enforced closure, has generally increased the price of real ale pints by 20p. Overall all UK Wetherspoon pubs will find booze price increased by 10p. Food prices have generally increased by approximately 20p a meal.

Parhaps not so much of a game changer as might have been expected — most pub chains and brewers are hiking prices...

Right now, hardly any pubs in Newport, Cwmbran and Barry which the residents deem worth drinking in seem to be reopening on Monday because like Spoons and brains, they have worked out that they have no useful outdoor space with which to make any money.

As previously stated. Sam Smiths have infamously inflated their prices by between £1 and £2 a pint.

Ye Olde Murrenger House in Newport's High Street ................



.... is suggested on that app as an alternative to the John Wallace Linton which lies a short walk down the hill ..........



On the day before they closed, I paid nearly £3 for a pint in Ye Olde Murenger House. The equivalent Brains Cask ale down the hill was about 50p cheaper.

When they reopen, the Sam Smiths Ale that cost me almost £3 will be priced at £4.50 (ish) and the brains Ale will be about £2.75.

I think I know which establishment will survive, and which go to the wall....

[patman post]

The Neverspoons app does seem Manchester centric at the moment. Being on iPhone I can't download it, and  I'm not going to change mobiles to get it. But perhaps it'll come soon...
https://themanc.com/news/the-neverspoons-app-that-encourages-you-to-drink-at-independent-pubs-instead-of-wetherspoons/

Wetherspoons, which says it had to pour away 18,000 pints worth of beer as a result of March's enforced closure, has generally increased the price of real ale pints by 20p. Overall all UK Wetherspoon pubs will find booze price increased by 10p. Food prices have generally increased by approximately 20p a meal.

Parhaps not so much of a game changer as might have been expected — most pub chains and brewers are hiking prices...

[papasmurf]

As pointed out, round here anyway it is neither. I see no good use for it.

Fortunately there are a lot of good pubs close to the Helston Wetherspoons.

[johnofgwent]

It does have a facility for you to add pubs.

OK.

But unlike for example "waze" or "petrolprices" whose publicity / promo material actively encourage users to add new information to aid others, this is marketed as a "ready to use list of alternative independents"

As pointed out, round here anyway it is neither. I see no good use for it.

[papasmurf]

New 'Neverspoons' app encourages punters to "swerve Spoons in favour of indie boozers", ie, visit independent pubs rather than Wetherspoons.

OK so I downloaded it

It works by offering you a menu of wetherspoons apps near you, and invites you to click each to find "alternatives"

The "alternatives" shown for the one nearest me include two pubs that do no food but were shut down by the police for drugs trafficking

The "alternatives" for the next nearest are not independents (the three independent pubs i know and drink in don't even get a mention) but are managed houses for pubco chains, one of which is a sam smiths pub. Sam smiths does rather acceptable beer, but they just hiked the price between 25% and 33% "to cover their coronavirus distancing costs"

Overall opinion : one star.

It does have a facility for you to add pubs.

[johnofgwent]

New 'Neverspoons' app encourages punters to "swerve Spoons in favour of indie boozers", ie, visit independent pubs rather than Wetherspoons.

OK so I downloaded it

It works by offering you a menu of wetherspoons apps near you, and invites you to click each to find "alternatives"

The "alternatives" shown for the one nearest me include two pubs that do no food but were shut down by the police for drugs trafficking

The "alternatives" for the next nearest are not independents (the three independent pubs i know and drink in don't even get a mention) but are managed houses for pubco chains, one of which is a sam smiths pub. Sam smiths does rather acceptable beer, but they just hiked the price between 25% and 33% "to cover their coronavirus distancing costs"

Overall opinion : one star.

[papasmurf]

Sounds like a fantastic idea to me.

[patman post]

New 'Neverspoons' app encourages punters to "swerve Spoons in favour of indie boozers", ie, visit independent pubs rather than Wetherspoons.
It was developed due to chairman, Tim Martin, saying the UK's lockdown was "over the top",  publicly refusing to pay suppliers until lockdown ended, and urging his 40,000 staff to avoid taking furlough suggesting they could "get a job at Tesco".

Source: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/new-app-launched-help-drinkers-18567494
and others

These reported statements, and claims the pub chain claimed millions in govt aid during lockdown prompted major backlashes online with #neverspoons and #boycottwetherspoons trending at various points on Twitter.

app doesn't appear to be on iPhone yet...