[Closed] Businesses that ought to fail.

+1

I think there should be a few candidates in the care homes 'business'. Have a read of this...

[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/31/who-profits-from-being-in-care ]Who profits from being in care? It's not the children[/url]

So if you look at the cases of sexual abuse recently reported in Rochdale for example, the 'care' of these children was farmed out to private companies, who then charged between £200,000 and £400,000 per child in their 'care', per year. While all the time allowing those children to be exploited and sexually abused without doing a thing to stop it!

But hey ho, someone made a big fat profit on it, so who cares? Hurray for privatisation!! Lets look forward to similar arrangements in the NHS to come. Got to love our brave new world, eh?

Amen brother! and Quikqwid, payday £oans... and all of the others...

This one already has failed...

http://www.dailyshame.co.uk/2012/10/satire/circles-hinchingbrooke-hospital-fails-bbc-buries-the-news/

i forgot wonga - shoulg be an illegal business model

Wonga are completely upfront about what they do, I've no problem with that model. Brighthouse is a worse offender than Wonga. They have similarly high interest rates but their credit is tied to their own overpriced stock and they are guilty of including unnecessary insurances with their credit, so buyers end up with loans costing far more than the value of the goods they've bought. But the blame for that lies with mainstream lenders and retailers for creating the void that Brighthouse has filled.

They can be as upfront as they like but its pure profiteering from those least able to understand the potential consequencies and then to extricate themselves from those consequencies.

But the blame for that lies with mainstream lenders and retailers for creating the void that Brighthouse has filled.

Avoiding those with bad credit scores?

What annoys me about the likes of Wonga etc etc is they dress their ads up and say things like 'car broken down- need a loan fast till payday'?

Don't people have an overdraft or can agree a loan with their bank quite quickly? Same with PPI claims- companies are there to offer a service for work the punter can do off their own fat ass but can't be bothered thinking for themselves.

Don't people have an overdraft or can agree a loan with their bank quite quickly?

Yes Hora.... ever single person in the country, in the present financial climate, can simply pop into their local branch and ask for a loan or an overdraft. A smiling bank manager will ask how much, and hand them a cheque for that amount, asking only a very reasonable interest rate in return, and a fair payments schedule.

By the way... how is the cave you've been living in for the last five years? Comfortable, I hope

[quote=hora ]
What annoys me about the likes of Wonga etc etc is they dress their ads up and say things like 'car broken down- need a loan fast till payday'?
Don't people have [s]an overdraft or can agree a loan with their bank quite quickly? Same with PPI claims- companies are there to offer a service for work the punter can do off their own fat ass but can't be bothered thinking for themselves.[/s] savings?

I'd add any and all debt collection agencies to the list. To a man, uninterested in whether you're even responsible for the "debt" you have supposedly "incurred" and all full of knobbers who don't know when to back off.

Tremendously satisfying it was, to get a small claims court judgment against one, whilst charging THEM £20 for each letter I had to write to them (that was their "admin charge"). I had to write a lot of letters.

Bar stewards, the lot.

John **** Lewis are expanding ffs! What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

presumably that other middle class shops aren't doing very well

Winston, I used to agree with you, but having thought about it, they are offering a pretty good service. If you absolutley have to have money in your account on a certain day, and have no other way of getting any, then the price they charge you may well be a lot less than any missed payment fees the company you are paying (plus any your bank might do you for) will slap on you

Plus the interest figure of 2000% is APR, so if you only borrow for a couple of days, it's fairly resonable if it gets you out of a major bind!

The worst ones are the ones that do you a loan for the full year, at 400%....

*Dons tin hat!

Any private parking company

John **** Lewis are expanding ffs! What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

That they're actualy good value for money?

I'd not buy electrical stuff anywhere else, price matched and a 5 year gaurentee!

Ohhh and they don't isnult your inteligence by making everythign £XX.99 rather than £XX+1

John **** Lewis are expanding ffs! What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

That shops with a good business model thrive?

Don't people have savings? No, many don't. If you've never experienced being on the breadline, don't pass judgement.

What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

John Lewis make the best £80 suit I've ever seen.

ohnohesback - Member
John **** Lewis are expanding ffs! What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

John Lewis (and Waitrose) expanding, heaven forbid that a successful company that is profitable and is essentially employee owned, shares it's profit among all the partners, has a maximum wage limitations on it's management and cannot have it's founders (a Quaker) constitution changed unless by act of parliament, should be seen as a place to spend the middle classes cash. Next you'll complain that they pay there suppliers on time, the fair amount for whats supplied and the queue to get a job there is undermining your attempts at providing jobs in a similar company.

edit poor spelling (went to comp school in none middle class area)
edit again sorry

Blockbuster - I just have no idea how they are still in business

I had no idea they still were in business. Do people still rent DVDs in the days of downloads and DVDs for 99p in Tesco?

lloyds TSB.

can't print a statement online, refers you to branch, so i go to the branch, but they can only request them centrally, but i can't have one as i am a 'paperless customer' and refer me online!

hmmm.

don't get me started on the security questions that cannot be answered!

I had no idea they still were in business. Do people still rent DVDs in the days of downloads and DVDs for 99p in Tesco?

There's one in prime location in the main shopping centre in Farnborough. Just to give you an idea of the class of the place 🙂

Maccy Ds.

Vodafone for dodging tax, total ineptitude and abysmal customer service in my experience.

MacDonalds DID deserve to fail at one point, but they've really begun to learn and develop and provide a decent service, for what they are.

Ok so it's not my restaurant of choice, but if you want hot food when out travelling and oyu haven't got the time or inclination to find an oh so divine little michelin starred country pub for a couple of hours then some of the food is.. edible...

I wish there was more choice in fast food though. Actually, scratch that, I wish there were Taco Bells.

mt - Member

the BBC

I disagree in the strongest terms.

Ryanair

The purveyors of mobile phone ringtones. What an utterly pointless existence for a company.

Sytner BMW - What a useless shower of wideboy tossers.

Santander - "No sir, you can't set up paperless billing for your CC online or by phone, you need to go into a branch and fill in a form" at the branch... "Sorry sir, we don't have such a form". Two weeks later after letter of complaint... "Sorry sir, it isn't possible to stop paper statement for your credit card, due to regulation we must send you a useless peice of paper every month accompained by another pile of dead tree advertising things you don't want"

Natwest - "No sir, we have no record of the online form you filled in, the only way to solve this is to open a new account" "Do one"

Don't get the hatred for John Lewis. Their prices stack up against the competition and their service is always first rate. Waitrose is expensive, but stiff like their meat and pesh veg is far superior to others, but it costs.

My fail list would include

BT
Hobby Craft (just so I never get dragged in there again by the other half)
Stratstone BMW
Daily Mail
Ryan Air
Yodel

I'm sure there are loads of other companies too.

I disagree in the strongest terms.

Are you the type to participate in a wall of silence then when you know your jobs safe pop up and say 'there were open rumours of abuse' (but we didn't say anything).

Yes, lets judge the BBC entirely by the Jimmy Saville affair? Perfectly reasonable. After all, every other organisation he came into contact with had him bang to rights, right from the off, didn't they?

Oh... wait.... hang on a minute....

hora - Member

I disagree in the strongest terms.

Are you the type to participate in a wall of silence then when you know your jobs safe pop up and say 'there were open rumours of abuse' (but we didn't say anything).

No, I enjoy the output of their website, Radio 4, 6Music, BBC2 and, occasionally, BBC1.
CBeebies (in moderation) is superior to commercial children's TV.

This does not in any way condone the actions of a phenomenally successful, but very peculiar chap with a penchant for shell suits and cigars.

It would be a shame if witch-hunting tabloid 'readers'/ITV gawpers were to have a negative effect on the corporation.

Are you the type to participate in a wall of silence then when you know your jobs safe pop up and say 'there were open rumours of abuse' (but we didn't say anything).

i don't quite know how you do it but every so often i think he can't ever say anything more stupid than that, but you have surpassed yourself again!

Hora - has it ever entered your volumous yet drafty bonce to question the motives of the people and organisations so joyously rejoicing in the BBC's present predicament, re: Jimmy Saville?

They appear to be the exact same people and organisations who were strangely silent during the whole phone hacking saga. I'm sure its purely coincidental, mind 🙄

The thing is you can't say it was decades ago as people who work there don't park their memories. Newsnight (for me) was the only redeeming attempt to address the issue at the BBC.

thomthumb- do you understand sarcasm?

Another vote for Starbucks, burnt tasting muck dished up in grotty shops.

You can keep the BBC if I get to choose if I want to pay them for their tv and radio.

Another vote for Starbucks, burnt tasting muck dished up in grotty shops.

I believe Starbucks did have an enormous wobble in the last couple of years, as they worked out that a) the coffee wasn't good enough, and b) the pervading smell in the shop wasn't coffee anyway, but cheese from the toasties.

Supposedly they've got their act together; can't say I'd noticed the difference, and as their [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19967397 ]contribution to the uk is minimal[/url] I'd rather go to Costa where the coffee is much nicer.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear: Yodel card on the mat when I got home from the bike.

Andy

You can keep the BBC if I get to choose if I want to pay them for their tv and radio.

You can chose.

But if you don't pay you also need to opt out of all of the infastructure paid by the licence fee. Seems fair to me.

Starbucks- why do people pay soooo much for hot buckets of milk?

Speak of the devil and he shall appear: Yodel card on the mat when I got home from the bike.

jfletch

Did you see the "choose" word. I like choice not dictators, so shut it and agree with me.

Any company that has a call centre in India closely followed by Tesco.

Theres a Tesco's opening up near us. Hmmmmm. Dilemma, I know when I'm merry I'll stagger down there for more amber nectar 😐

Starbucks- why do people pay soooo much for hot buckets of milk?

Cos it' not a hot bucket of milk, stop being facetious.

We pay £3 for a nice sit down and a relaxing drink.

You can reduce anything to those terms. Why would anyone pay £5 for a glass of poncy imported fermented barley? Why would anyone pay thousands for a bit of tubing and some bearings with a fancy paintjob? Etc etc.

I'd rather go to Costa where the coffee is much nicer.

See, I think the coffee in Costa is bitter burnt muck. Starbucks coffee is much smoother and easier to drink. I've taste tested espresso, americano, filter, latte, cappucino, crushed ice sweetie milkshake jobs, the lot. Only an espresso macchiato is nicer in costa.

Starbucks coffee is much smoother and easier to drink.

It's easier to drink because it doesn't taste of coffee?

I only support decent indie coffee shops. Coffee Evolution in Huddersfield knows how to make my Machiato.

... with 'special sauce'?

jfletch

Did you see the "choose" word. I like choice not dictators, so shut it and agree with me

Indeed I did. I was simply pointing out that the licence fee pays for more than Eastenders.

But you are quite within your rights to [b]choose[/b] to opt out of all of it. I'm told people find giving up the tele quite a liberating experience.

with 'special sauce'?

[b]Stand back! This could go off any second!!!!!![/b]

See, I think the coffee in Costa is bitter burnt muck. Starbucks coffee is much smoother and easier to drink

do you drink Mellow Birds too?

Starbucks- why do people pay soooo much for hot buckets of milk?

Don't forget the free cup you get with every coffee, if they aren't paying uk taxes I'm taking their cups every time I go there 🙂

No, I drink Starbucks Verona whole bean at home.

John **** Lewis are expanding ffs! What does it say about our times that such affluent middle class smugness is on the rise?

BTW, all coffee is filth.

I only support decent indie coffee shops. Coffee Evolution in Huddersfield knows how to make my Machiato

Wasnt that quite literally turned into burnt muck a couple of years ago?

I normally hate coffee, but their 'Monkey mocha' is beyond delicious! Mmmmmmmm.

But I can't choose can I, I have a telly I am forced to pay the BBC. They should make the BBC "pay as you go" or by public subscription only. If the public support and quality it there then they'll not have a problem.

White Stuff, Fat Face, and anywhere else that sells "outdoorsy" clothing that's mostly worn by twonks in ski chalets.

Harrods.

I would go to good indie coffee shops if there were any. I've only ever been to one good one, that was in Brussels.

Also, I shop at White Stuff and Fat Face 🙂 But only in the sales.

No, I drink Starbucks Verona whole bean at home.

when you have curry, do you have a korma?
do you use 'sensitive' moisturiser?
etc.

All coffee in this country is crap. So it's pointless bickering about it.
FACT.

'Independents' of any flavour that think they've a god-given right to survive.

Most chains started out as independents that did things right- that's why they were successful businesses that grew. Of course, some over reached themselves, but that's a different story

I only support decent indie coffee shops

When one opens in Rochdale/Bury, please let me know.

Costa flat white FTW. I am not unaware that my fondness for Costa may be due to there being a 24h branch in the main entrance of a large central Leeds establishment in which I worked.

Andy

when you have curry, do you have a korma?
do you use 'sensitive' moisturiser?
etc.

No, and no. Wtf?

I don't use moisturiser, and given the choice when I go for a curry I have Indian creative and/or home style food from the brilliant Mint and Mustard in Cardiff.

So there.

I know good coffee, and I know Starbucks coffee isn't the best ever but it's very drinkable and has its own character. I also know that there is a whole landscape of coffee from different parts of the world, and it's all to be appreciated on its own merits, not relative to some ideal goal. Given the choice I drink single origin coffee, and I could tell the difference between South American, Indonesian and African coffee in a blind test.

So I PREFER the taste of Starbucks to Costa, I'm allowed to, and I don't think there's any absolute measure of quality that makes one dreadful and one great. So there.

These American Candy, American Sweet shops.

Cannot help throwing a glance at the Lucky Charm cereal or Apple flavoured Dr Pepper or whatever ceap they have in the shopfront for approaching a tenner.

Never see anybody in them yet they have about half a dozen workers in them usually.

So there.

man's got a point.

so there.

hora
Are you implying a burst in there with my sexual-AK47?

binners
Stand back! This could go off any second!!!!!!

Officer I can explain, I was just cleaning it and it went off in my hand

Be careful where you point that thing

But I can't choose can I, I have a telly I am forced to pay the BBC.

See, but the licence fee doesn't just pay for programmes on the BBC does it. It also funds a large part of the infrastructure used to broadcast the tele and also subsidises some of Chanel 4 and ITV local news.

So without it there is no tele, this is a choice you already have.

They should make the BBC "pay as you go" or by public subscription only. If the public support and quality it there then they'll not have a problem.

This is the worst idea ever. Force the BBC to make a profit and you get endless ITV drivel. We only get the quality of programming we do as the beeb doesn't have to chase viewers.

I was just discussing this the other day with the Mrs. The BBC can put on controversial programmes and say things that commercial networks can't because they would be worried about upsetting people - the BBC could be considered to have an obligation to actually do such things.

Also, even 'reality TV' stuff on the BBC actually has a well thought out point, usually, along with being car crash telly. Then again there's stuff like East Enders with a sense of social responsibility to bring up difficult and controversial subjects.

If the BBC ever goes away it'll be a bad bad day.

If McDonalds went I'm sure the countryside would soon be a bit tidier, until the goons that use them found someone else's litter to chuck out of car windows.
Saw some of their crap in Swaledale a couple of weeks ago. God only knows where the nearest maccy sodding d's is to Swaledale!

Starbucks, HOW MUCH FOR A CUP OF THAT CRAP! you mugs.

Etc etc etc.

[i]I know good coffee, and I know Starbucks coffee isn't the best ever but it's very drinkable and has its own character. I also know that there is a whole landscape of coffee from different parts of the world, and it's all to be appreciated on its own merits, not relative to some ideal goal. Given the choice I drink single origin coffee, and I could tell the difference between South American, Indonesian and African coffee in a blind test.

So I PREFER the taste of Starbucks to Costa, I'm allowed to, and I don't think there's any absolute measure of quality that makes one dreadful and one great. So there.[/i]

Sorry molgrips, I don't want to have a go at you, but why does anyone feel the desperate need to have a cup of coffee in the middle of a town or city?

It's a load of old bollocks! We are a very well developed nation, with oodles of history and tradition and drinking coffee while wandering about the place is not an important part of that culture. It's bullshit, designed to take your money in return for a drink of something warm.

Stop it and they will go away; it adds nothing of any value at all to the country.

...and 'barista'....

Jesus H Christ, you make coffee, it's not a bloody career, it's being a sodding waitress, whatever you call it..

The BBC can put on controversial programmes and say things that commercial networks can't because they would be worried about upsetting people

Which is why ITV revealed the Savile story, and the BBC didn't 😕

why does anyone feel the desperate need to have a cup of coffee in the middle of a town or city?

Why ever not?

We are a very well developed nation, with oodles of history and tradition and drinking coffee while wandering about the place is not an important part of that culture.

I tell you what IS a very important part of our culture though - letting people get on with whatever they choose to do. And also integrating bits of other cultures...

And so what if they use the word 'barista'? Who the f cares? Are you going to complain about using the word 'barman' for someone in a pub? It's the same thing.

There's no difference between going to a coffee shop for a snack and going to anywhere else, pub, cafe, anything. Get over it.

PS I sit down and drink my coffee. Like people have been doing in this country (and others) since the 18th century.

I will fight you all the way on this 🙂

I will respectfully agree to disagree with you about this because I cannot see that this is anything other than a waste of money.

The same could be said of anything that one person likes and another doesn't 🙂 Beer is a good example.

I believe Starbucks did have an enormous wobble in the last couple of years, as they worked out that a) the coffee wasn't good enough, and b) the pervading smell in the shop wasn't coffee anyway, but cheese from the toasties.

Supposedly they've got their act together; can't say I'd noticed the difference, and as their contribution to the uk is minimal I'd rather go to Costa where the coffee is much nicer.

British Gas.
Apalling shower of sh!te, gave them two attempts at providing me with a service and both times they failed to turn up for their morning/afternoon appointments in the correct half of the day. Then when I phoned up to complain they asked if there was anything else the could 'help' me with. Yes, you can **** off and die you useless, pointless aholes.

At home there's a great little shop I've been using for the last decade or so, I know the girls who work there really well, and it's nice to just sit reading, using O2's wifi from next door, or just people watching on a sunny afternoon.

There was/is a cracking coffee shop on Rose Lane in Liverpool I spent hours in when we lived there. I'd far rather support an independent.

As above, if anyone has any recommendations in Rochdale/Bury...

Andy

Weren't coffee shops the original gathering points of radicals/revolutionaries many many moons ago, so if they provide a congenial space in which to further these aims then that can only be good. non ?

Andy, have you tried Coffee Cali top of Yorkshire street, or Macaroon on Bury Road, Bamford?

#Edit.. Oh, and the Norden Arms opens this month (used to be the Blue Ball Pub) and they are open from 9AM - I'm guessing they will be serving coffee!

Their coffee is very ordinary

To be honest, all the big chains are adequate in coffee terms rather than brilliant. It's the other stuff in Starbucks that makes us go there. Their vanilla syrup for instance is nicer than Costa's, and they do White Mochas and Chai Lattes that my wife likes. And the sandwiches really are good.

Currently drinking a Costa flat white - it's bigger than a Starbucks one and has less coffee I think, so it's more like a cappucino with whole milk. Ok, but I will get an extra shot next time.

The best thing for a coffee lover in Starbucks is the range of filter coffees. They have several regional coffees, some blends and the blonde roast too, usually two of them on the go at any one time. They really are full of complex flavours, well brewed and a pretty interesting drink.

I would rather support independents too, but I don't want to support mediocrity, and there's a hell of a lot of it around in coffee shops. If you think Starbucks is bad you should have tried Madison's, the alternative in Cardiff before Starbucks moved in.