Will you drink in Wetherspoons when pubs re-open?

[Alex.mc]

All you poor saps saying that Wetherspoons is the only place in the airport to get a decent pint - Edinburgh Airport has a Brewdog bar!

Yes, and when I was last there I was in it!
Sadly they're not in Gatwick, my most used airport.

 

[Tim Wilkes]

Perhaps I've been unlucky but on the odd occasion I've been in a Wetherspoons pub the beer has been poor, like end of its natural life/on the turn poor. Also, bitters and ales have been served at similar temperatures to lagers which always annoys me though Wetherspoons are not alone in that. As I say, maybe I've been unlucky.

 

[strange-steve]

I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for Wetherspoons, it was the first place I ever tasted proper beer (a pint of Abbot ale which was delicious) and that got me interested in brewing. I don't particularly like the pubs themselves or the owner, but honestly I probably will drink there again, but in my defense I live in NI where it's nigh impossible to find cask ale anywhere else, especially outside of Belfast.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for Wetherspoons, it was the first place I ever tasted proper beer (a pint of Abbot ale which was delicious) and that got me interested in brewing. I don't particularly like the pubs themselves or the owner, but honestly I probably will drink there again, but in my defense I live in NI where it's nigh impossible to find cask ale anywhere else, especially outside of Belfast.

Scotland largely the same, at least on the West Coast.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

What I like about our Wetherspoons is the crowd of shoppers that have been to Iceland for their frozen stuff and popped in for a pint...and spent the rest of the day there...

Well they wont be going in for a warm, because they never put the feckin heating on.

 

[jceg316]

I won't be going back either for pretty much all the reasons mentioned already.

 

[Arcs]

I've just spoken to a couple of staff from my local wetherspoons. They said they were paid for a whole month on full pay until they were furloughed.

They seem happy with what's going on and told me that in my local, not to believe the national media about what's been said in their case.

They are looking forward to going back to work when that happens and their jobs are very secure. Good luck to them! I will be going back to my wethy, seems to be a rather Joseph Heller catch 22 situation this in my opinion.

Boycott it, they lose their jobs because no one is spending money in their pubs. Don't and risk the so-called wrath of others. Sorry, but I enjoy the many varieties of beer in my wethy and would rather see the staff at my local keeping their jobs and enjoying my beer!

 

[foxy]

I've just spoken to a couple of staff from my local wetherspoons. They said they were paid for a whole month on full pay until they were furloughed.

They seem happy with what's going on and told me that in my local, not to believe the national media about what's been said in their case.

They are looking forward to going back to work when that happens and their jobs are very secure. Good luck to them! I will be going back to my wethy, seems to be a rather Joseph Heller catch 22 situation this in my opinion.

Boycott it, they lose their jobs because no one is spending money in their pubs. Don't and risk the so-called wrath of others. Sorry, but I enjoy the many varieties of beer in my wethy and would rather see the staff at my local keeping their jobs and enjoying my beer!

That's a very public spirited and common sense approach, far better reasoning than those reasons I have read for not frequenting a Wetherspoons hostelry. Good post.

 

[samale]

I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for Wetherspoons, it was the first place I ever tasted proper beer (a pint of Abbot ale which was delicious) and that got me interested in brewing. I don't particularly like the pubs themselves or the owner, but honestly I probably will drink there again, but in my defense I live in NI where it's nigh impossible to find cask ale anywhere else, especially outside of Belfast.

I will second that, I spent most of my student life working in bars in Derry. On tap you had calsberg, harp, Guinness, smithwicks and strong bow. Thats it I have never in my life heard of cask ale until I got into home brewing. The last time I was in weatherspoons was in Belfast I had just came out of a concert in the lime light ( DMAS). Ended up in the spoons drinking pints of shipyard. Class
Not a bad life

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I've just spoken to a couple of staff from my local wetherspoons. They said they were paid for a whole month on full pay until they were furloughed.

They seem happy with what's going on and told me that in my local, not to believe the national media about what's been said in their case.

They are looking forward to going back to work when that happens and their jobs are very secure. Good luck to them! I will be going back to my wethy, seems to be a rather Joseph Heller catch 22 situation this in my opinion.

Boycott it, they lose their jobs because no one is spending money in their pubs. Don't and risk the so-called wrath of others. Sorry, but I enjoy the many varieties of beer in my wethy and would rather see the staff at my local keeping their jobs and enjoying my beer!

Brilliant post and nice to see the other side of the story, as he said don't believe everything you read in the press.

 

[foxy]

Brilliant post and nice to see the other side of the story, as he said don't believe everything you read in the press.

Unfortunately some people see what they want to believe.

 

[terrym]

Will I be going to Wetherspoons again? Well I rarely go in there but if the opportunity arises, yes. They are just another pub. Some are better than others. Some certainly better than those on the High Street. They usually have a good selection of beer, and I have never had cause to send back any beer like I have in other pubs. And the food for that sort of thing is OK.
If it salves anyone's moral conscience to boycott institutions, I suggest there are far more worthy causes than somewhere that just sells beer and food. How about, for starters, China (human rights abuses and controversially responsible for causing this pandemic), Amazon, Google and other multinationals (tax evasion), and even Japan (WW2 atrocities). I'm sure there are lots of others to choose from. Trouble is if you have a genuine moral conscience about how you can try to right life's perceived injustices you can't be picky about how you apply it, or you are , in my view, being hypocritical.

 

[MyQul]

Unfortunately some people see what they want to believe.

Everyone does to some extent or other. It's called confirmation bias

 

[Brewed_Force]

I'm not spoiled for choice with local boozers, so will pop in to my nearest 'spoons about once a month. You can't beat the prices and the chance to try a new guest beer.

 

[DrunkDelilahBrewery]

I think it is about respect. I no longer have any for this company (not that I had much). Just another demonstration of the social divide of the Elite and the Working classes. Don't get me wrong, I am not a 100% socialist - far from it, but I do truly believe that even capitalism requires a decent dose of decency, empathy and mutual respect. This [idiotic] leader - cried for all his worth that Britain needed to leave the EU and to concentrate on Britain first; then the minute folk in Britain needed to pull together he dumped them all on the state so it didn't hurt his own back pocket. Yes, in terms of employment - Weatherspoons promotes good volumes of staff in local areas; it also provides cheap beer - relatively speaking (though it has to be said in much the same way that Supermarkets push cheaper farm foods - generally because of lording its purchasing power of the suppliers). As an All Grain Home brewer - I shall not be returning to one of his establishments; they were always cheap and crass at the best of times - throw in a staff now whom may well be rightly pissed at them knowing they can be discarded at a moments notice - isn't the recipe for a great business model. I think the modern PUB model is dead - there will be a new model coming ...

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

Maybe it is just me but I always find that W Spoons never look after there ales properly. Every pint I have had in a spoons tastes flat and nasty. I would much rather head to a decent pub. Fortunately in my home city of Bath, there are fantastic pubs in ample supply.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

This [idiotic] leader - cried for all his worth that Britain needed to leave the EU and to concentrate on Britain first; then the minute folk in Britain needed to pull together he dumped them all on the state so it didn't hurt his own back pocket.

I think you are conflating two separate points here. What has backing Brexit and putting your staff on furlough through a government scheme have to do with each other? Plenty of anti Brexit company owners will have used the same scheme? Or because he backed Brexit he has no moral right to furlough?

 

[An Ankoù]

I think you are conflating two separate points here. What has backing Brexit and putting your staff on furlough through a government scheme have to do with each other? Plenty of anti Brexit company owners will have used the same scheme? Or because he backed Brexit he has no moral right to furlough?

I thought the point DDB was making was that although the rhetoric was about putting Britain first, when push came to shove it was "put Tim Martin first". We see this again in his claim that the virus doesn't spread in pubs! So while it's true that there's no moral reason why a Brexit supporting co, a Remain supporting company or a neutral company should or shouldn't lay off or furlough staff, Martin has been such an ardent campaigner for Leave and disseminator of Brexit propaganda that we can't help wondering whether that isn't the ripe whiff of hypocrisy rising from his festering wellies.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I thought the point DDB was making was that although the rhetoric was about putting Britain first, when push came to shove it was "put Tim Martin first". We see this again in his claim that the virus doesn't spread in pubs! So while it's true that there's no moral reason why a Brexit supporting co, a Remain supporting company or a neutral company should or shouldn't lay off or furlough staff, Martin has been such an ardent campaigner for Leave and disseminator of Brexit propaganda that we can't help wondering whether that isn't the ripe whiff of hypocrisy rising from his festering wellies.

Because he is a proponent of Brexit then he is hypocritical to take advantage of government furlough scheme? I'm not sure I follow? He is looking to protect his business and in turn his staff (if he didn't wait until furlough scheme confirmed he would likely have no option to release them), and if his business went under they would all lose their jobs for sure. I think its more a case of putting his business and employees jos first. But because he is pro Brexit (which he has every right to be in a free democratic society) he is questioned over using this scheme when others don't have the same scrutiny?

Honestly I cant follow the reason of boycotting a business because they put staff on furlough, just like hundreds to companies across the country.
If you want to boycott because you don't like his stance on Brexit, then I can kind of understand. I don't share that belief and wouldn't bother with that personally, but could kind of understand it.

 

[trueblue]

The bottom line is you pay your money and take your choice. I mentioned earlier it is the quality of the beer more than any other reason I avoid them when I can. We go to a Green King pub around once a month as it has a very good carvery and the beer is always tip top now GK get a very bad press on here and a lot of beer related forums but I can't fault this place and no one tries to preach any political ideology to me. I would rather give my money to this pub, along with another pub we go to, as these are the sort of pubs I still want to use in the future. Beer is a slight obsession with me and will be the main criteria in looking for a pub and my experience with most wetherspoons pubs would normally lead me elsewhere.