AIBU to feel annoyed about discounted attractions for benefit claimants?

[Sheldonsheher]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15721199/Benefit-claiming-families-UK-attractions-working-Brits.html

I know I’ll get slated as the origin is the daily fail but, but this kind of annoys me too! I mean as a single parent I don’t want to pay £60 to go to the zoo either.

If that was the case then why wouldn't they widen these schemes to everyone like they do with other offers?

Would a business rather have:
100 visitors paying £100 each
or
100 visitors paying £100 each
10 paying £90
20 paying £50
2 UC tickets paying £1

Why do you think they don't look to sell their additional capacity at a much lower price?
They will have run the figures and found that offering a range of discounts at various levels is worth more than selling all tickets at the same, slightly lower price.

No, it would make business sense to make as much as you can in peak and then target families that can't quite afford the higher prices with discounts etc at other times.

Expensive attractions targeting 'poor' families doesn't make business sense. This is why they aren't doing it for commercial reasons.

@Itchthescratch It is a grant funded scheme called Community Connections raised from various means including, the national lottery, local development levys, various charities, including Age UK etc.

I thought charity started at home and we were all desperate to "look after our own" these days.

Oh I guess that was all a big fat lie after all.

Get over yourself no one is "taking" anything from you.

Why do they offer half price or less tickets to NHS workers or home educators?
Because it sells tickets that wouldn't sell at full price.

Surely virtue signalling is only the case if you make a meal of doing it to improve your own profile. I only ever know about the discounts on offer for somewhere if I look for them. If Jenrick and the DM hadn't got het up about this, most people would have remained ignorant to it...not much of a virtue signal.

So if the level of UC discount was only 20% it wouldn't be being discussed?

As an adult I'm not falling over myself to get to the zoo or any other similar attraction. This type of thing really only benefits the kids and let's them be included where they otherwise wouldn't be. Employers should pay their workers a living wage and the government should sort out the private renting sector, that would allow loads of people to come off UC and have the money to pay full price for things.

27% of families claim Universal Credit so you need to work on your projections.

I agree that they have worked out that generally a high entry fee plus some limited discounts are the best commercial model rather than having more people in there who have paid less. Don't you see though that your whole argument is based on the fact that having the UC claimants is better than having noone? This is at odds with a business that has made an obvious decision that they would rather have less people and charge more.

They weren't virtue signalling to the general public. It was to specific groups including commissions and funding bodies.

I think a lower discount would be more acceptable to most people. It's the huge disparity between those on UC getting stuff for virtually free and those who have just a little bit more being charged fully price for everything that gets people's backs up. Especially when the difference between the two groups is often lifestyle choices.

I believe they would rather have the foot traffic on empty week day term times than it be empty. People on UC will also make up the people buying food, drinks and things from the gift shop etc.

There is epidemic of shoplifting in Britain. Last year its estimated cost to retailers was about 2.2bn.
It has nothing to do with us, right?
Wrong - retailers just put prices up to compensate for it. So every single one of us who pay at the till actually pay for those thieves.
The same with reduced tickets - we pay for it.

Not sure if this has been mentioned (couldn't be bothered to read the full thread) but if UC discounts annoy you op, please never go to Spain. The tarjeta familia numerosa (discounted tickets for bigger families with 3+ kids) will ruin your holiday!

Life's too short to worry about what other people get that you don't, no matter how superior to them you feel.

Well no, it's not totally capacity reasons the cheap off peak tickets for poorer families, its to maintain their charitable status - which will be part of their business plan. But they aren't going to make more money during peak times by offering cheaper tickets to all - they are going to increase costs in extra staffing, facilities. Whereas if the sell fewer, but more expensive tickets they don't. And outside of London you do have to factor in how many people have easy access to your attraction.

Those two scenarios aren't comparable at all.

The shoplifting causes a loss in profit. Offering additional, discounted tickets to a venue, doesn't cause a loss in profit as it isn't preventing anyone from paying to enter. Compare it to sneaking a 5 year old in as an under 5 and not paying - it's cost the attraction nothing.

If that were the case then why would you target UC claimants? Nobody can answer this question. Surely you would offer these big discounts to families with more disposable income who can afford to buy lots of stuff at the parks and potentially come again and pay full price.

It isn't just about using surplus capacity.

My argument is that there is no evidence that cheap tickets for UC increase the costs for anyone else, and that no one's life is going to improve by banning UC discounts.

Free money? What are you talking about?

You are aware that people who paid their taxes for years can lose their job or become ill/disabled and are perfectly entitled to claim the benefits they qualify for?

I am sure if you lose your job tomorrow I bet you will fully expect to be able to claim benefits...

Also many people claiming benefits ARE in employment but I guess people like you never think of criticising employers who pay poverty wages that force people to also claim benefits just to survive.

The staggering ignorance on this thread is mind blowing.

It does cost the attraction something and it is still stealing. What is wrong with you?

Do you go for a haircut and just leave without paying because it hasn't cost the hairdresser anything? Would you just sneak into the cinema and think it's fine?

Don't you realise that goods and services cost money you provide?

If you're right and it's pure virtue signalling...so what? It's virtue signalling that's allowed children that otherwise might not have experienced these things, to experience them.

In the same way the make a wish charity is virtue signalling I suppose? Why not offer life changing trips to all children, why only the terminally ill?

@Itchthescratch the cheaper days are literally paid by charity grant funding. It is not impacting the price of "normal" tickets why are you still upset that poor people, who are in need of charity are getting it.

I am going to quote myself because you are wilfully ignoring the answer to the question you have asked

"It is a grant funded scheme called Community Connections raised from various means including, the national lottery, local development levys, various other charities, including Age UK etc"

The program aims to make the zoo accessible to low-income families and those with additional needs or disabilities.

Yes it is unfair that attractions are so expensive that the average family might struggle to afford them. But I think the benefits discount is to avoid children being so disadvantaged that they e.g. never get to see any real life animals because smaller local attractions that average families might be able to afford are also expensive and can’t afford to give any discounts. But the government seems to have the idea that if you are working and don’t have enough money then you can just work more hours or get a better job, which obviously isn’t true for a lot of people or we’d all be fine and job hopping our way to £100k

@marcyhermit you are right it doesnt mean the full price tickets are more, the cheap tickets are funded by charity grants, I have posted this 4 times now and they don't seem to care.

The Mail hates the scheme, so I’m on board … the usually “benefit bashing” comments on there, what a bunch of snowflakes.

Who would begrudge some kids having a nice day out ? I despair at what the country has become ?? Remember in the old days, Taxi Drivers wouid take “poor kids” for a day out every year .. you know how many people begrudged it in the 70s & 80s ? None.

Life on benefits is really hard. Even when working and having to claim. I doubt many on benefits will even have the opportunity to go on these cheap trips anyway because once you factor in travel expenses and food, etc, it's still not viable. I think it's good to try and encourage engaging activities for families on benefits though. It's hard enough as it is.

They don't care about the cost of tickets, they just don't want to feel like poor children are getting something. It is irrelevant that it doesn't impact them.