Cafes are no longer pleasant experiences

[GeorgeA12]

Just that really. I used to look forward to having a drink and a bite to eat in cafes, it was nice and relaxing. But no longer, some examples and you always get at least one or two now.

The expense, its getting crazy.
People on mobile phones making noise
Elderly on mobile phones with the speaker on so you can hear the other person.
Dogs
Toddlers
Keyboard warriors
Staff attitudes
Small portions / cheap ingredients
Wobbly and dirty tables
Poor toilet hygiene
Advertising screens (yes there was one in M & S today which really bright)

Anyone else the same?

I went to my local cafe today and all the customers were sitting quietly looking at their phones. The only chatter was from the two staff talking to each other. Really quite an odd experience!

I go to a great independent one near me and always have a good experience.

Or removed. My children would be removed in no time if they were disturbing other guests.

Now come on. I did think OP was being a bit silly up until now, but surely you know it's not OK to allow children to run around screaming anywhere they like? Some places are not suitable for this and children need to know that.
And yes, if an ADHD child can not cope with a cafe environment and the social etiquette they require then no, that's not the best place to take them. And I say this as the mother of a child with ADHD who has ADHD myself.

Ideally, they should visit a soft play area or stay at home.

I have to say, I cannot remember the last time I visited a restaurant or cafe that did not have a wobbly table or chair.

I went to one recently with such a bad wobble that I spent most of my visited irritated or trying to mitigate the wobble with a folded napkin.

Or so you think.

You think that the Marks and Spencer cafes are bad, but try the Marks and Engels cafe. They don't believe in proper tea.

You clearly have absolutely no idea what it costs for that jacket potato and beans to be served.

Do you actually think the cost is just the potato or the beans? 😳

Electricity, rent, rates, wages, NI, pensions, fuel, gas, plates, cutlery, replacement of breakages, taxes, glasses, cups, disposables, uniforms, tea, coffee, milk, bread, PRS, insurance, permits, HACCP training, cleaning equipment, cleaning products, not to mention the fact that post Brexit food prices have absolutely skyrocketed.
Doubtless I've missed off loads of other items that a cafe has to pay for just to serve that jacket potato.

That all needs paying for, you don't just simply pay for the potato and beans FFS 😩

Boom tish

I charge £10 for a “spud that costs 30p”…
I lose 20% to VAT that takes me to £8
My ingredients for a chilli jacket served with side salad and dressing is (as of last months ingredients figures) £3.26

The remaining £4.74 factors in labour costs, rent, utilities including insurances, music licences, administration costs such as registering with commissioners to be allowed to use CCTV my rubbish removal costs which are hundreds a month. There are so many hidden costs and wages are literally sitting at around 70% of the income we generate.

In fact, since wages went up this year and some of my regular ingredients (the expensive chocolate I use for my bakes; olive oil, meat) went up 20% over night!

So that measly £4.74 off of £10 left over covers a hell of a lot… I tell you what it doesn’t cover though — me slaving over the stove slow cooking the chilli of an evening after the 10 hours in my cafe — because I haven’t been able to take a decent wage in months.

Hospitality is on its arse. Fortunately I’ve got some amazing regular customers who will pay £10 for a jacket spud, appreciate the time and effort it takes to run my small business in the current economy, and want to see small independents succeed so they choose to use their hard earned money to support them. These wonderful people will help tie me over until I can afford to get out of my lease and close.

Others can make their own spud at home for 30p!

If you don’t like coffee shops or cafes now, then you can always use the wonderful thing called free will and stay home!

Of course they should be behaving but no matter what toddler will be louder, more annoying, may cry etc in a cafe. I did not mean screaming or running all the time but def they will not be behaving the same way adults do!

I go to cafes several times a week and don't encounter any of those annoyances you mention. Anyone using a keyboard is unobtrusive, same for the very few people talking on phones, the staff are lovely, the food is great, the hygiene fine, and I've never seen a dog. Even the toddlers are mostly okay.

I often find that a good old fashioned pub will make me a perfectly nice coffee. Of course there will often be dogs in pubs, but I like dogs so that’s a plus for me.

What you don’t usually get in the day time, is noisy kids.

Not all the time ofc! But toddler WILL scream, run etc from time to time. Cry loudly etc. They will not behave the same way adults do.

Very sad to read re ADHD as it's a disability (I don't have any)

After Labour hiked up the wages for young people they are now priced out of jobs like that. They made young people comparatively unemployable sadly.

I was in a cafe and a teenage girl was wiping tables. I wanted to say to her that she should use gloves or her hands will get as wrinkly as mine. I didn't say anything to her though.

I did say to one girl who was clearing my table "You know when you said multi-grain earlier?" She had pointed out the different breads that they have. "I thought you said monkey brain."

I keep going to horrible toilets in cafes. It’s more problematic when males and females share - I’m guessing this is the problem. Pools of wee on the floor. Yesterday I had to pull my trouser legs up so that when I pulled my trousers down, the legs didn’t soak up all of the wee. Aside from this, it was a nice experience!

We’re In a student area and you can never get a seat in a cafe cause the cafes are full of students who buy the cheapest coffee on the menu, get their laptop out, log into the WiFi and sit there for HOURS! The most time I’d ever be in a cafe with a coffee is about 30 mins. They really ought to give you a timer that goes off after 45 mins and you get booted out when it does. I can’t work out HOW any cafes make money.

I think people do forget that if the cost of living is hurting them at home, it's very much hurting you in the hospitality trade.

That said, there are some chains that increasingly aren't providing value for money, and it's hard not to feel ripped off after you leave (the recent thread on Wagamama springs to mind).

I don't even mind Spoons but our local one is in a lovely building and I've got over the Brexit issue. I'd rather go there or to a good local independent (we have quite a few near us) than pay mid-range prices for not-great customer service or food.

Your cafe sounds lovely, I hope you survive.

Not all the time ofc! But toddler WILL scream, run etc from time to time. Cry loudly etc. They will not behave the same way adults do.

Really not a good idea to run around cafes because of people carrying hot drinks and hot food, and elderly people could be tripped up.

@TheSunBeatsDown
You’re spot on with your post.
My accountant is always telling me my wage/labour costs are too high… do you know why? It’s because I pay for the extra person to pot wash, clean the tables, and make sure the toilet is checked every hour and wiped over. I pay labour so the finer details are kept on top of to ensure a great experience. I serve premium products (I bake every single thing in house and use premium ingredients). I could cut back staff (and have dirty tables) or reduce ingredients costs (and serve low quality food) but I won’t sacrifice this. I’ve always said I’d rather close than compromise.

People comment on our high standards. I take time to get to know everyone. Mostly recognise people by name. I have a large chain next door to me and people still choose to spend their hard earned money with us. But I cannot outrun the increasing costs of tax, NI, VAT, ingredients and utilities. It has crippled us. I can’t pass on any more of the costs to customers — people cannot afford it and in absorbing those costs, we are failing.

The irony being we usually have full seat covers all day and a really decent take away element (we have a bakery counter as well as a sit down brunch). In theory it works amazingly, in practice we cannot beat the expenses. It’s a failure on paper, but I know a lot of the local community will be sad to see us go when I do eventually tell them we’re closing.