Just saw an article on the BBC website that Wetherspoons are shutting down all the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for all of its pubs and head office.

Seems a shock move, but not one I am surprised with, I am always shocked companies persist with social media. If you read any big companies comments on a promotional message or advert you’ll find people complaining or asking for freebies!

Maybe the death of social media as we know it will come sooner than expected if other companies start to withdraw from it

I guess marketing cheap booze on social media has it’s own particular pitfalls.

I work on social media for household name companies and you’re right it’s 75% moaning – however enlightened firms will try to address legitimate complaints and turn customers’ opinions round.

Maybe the death of social media as we know it

Definitely over-egging it there.

Its target clientele are people who have trouble walking straight and making it to the toilet in time rather than the type who instagram their food. So seems like a rational move.

Don’t be a spoon licker; support your local.

Seems a shock move, but not one I am surprised with, I am always shocked companies persist with social media. If you read any big companies comments on a promotional message or advert you’ll find people complaining or asking for freebies!

Plenty use it well for comms and promotions when it’s well controlled, what it really shows it that people who manage pubs or those they let run the media for  them can’t grasp the difference between personal and business.

To be honest I was quite surprised that a company that advertises its pubs as having no music and not shoving footy or owt actually has an Instagram account.

There surely can’t be that many pensioners whipping their iphones out to post up a picture of their lunchtime baguette? Or any alcoholics snapping their mate who’s just having a little cry as he nurses his 9.30am Tuesday morning pint and full breakfast?

I love this tread, note to self, avoid spoons.

Funnily enough i sat next to a lady on a plane last week who raved about them, sort of confirmed who goes to them now.

Large corporation doesn’t understand social media, therefore doesn’t get any benefit from it.

The snobbery on this thread reeks!

Have been in spoons a couple of times recently, and the clientele was so, so different to what you lot seem to imagine it is!

The snobbery on this thread reeks!

Have been in spoons a couple of times recently, and the clientele was so, so different to what you lot seem to imagine it is!

Some are better than others, the one in Peebles was good -average food comfy seats

Others are just there for all day sessions like the ones in a few city centres

I like Weatherspoons, and I think the bad press they get is mainly unfair, and, yes… snobbery. I like the fact they spend a lot of money renovating lovely old Buildings. Love the one in Darwen, which was virtually derelict when they took it on

The one in Keswick (the old police station and courthouse) is really nice too. My point is that I doubt their target market would be the most vociferous consumers of social media. One of their main selling points is they don’t play any music, they’re not interested in showing sports of any type. So it’s not like prior to this decision they’d set off to court a market that has short attention spans and needs to feel constantly engaged. Quite the opposite

Others are just there for all day sessions like the ones in a few city centres

The one round the corner from my old place in Chorlton was an absolute hole, and had the local alkies waiting for it to open every morning. You can’t write a whole chain off on the strength of that though

My local spoons is ace, loads of really good beers at a decent price, and eggs Benedict is ace and under a fiver with all the coffee you can drink, perfect biking brekkie. As said above, peebles one is alright too.

Been the best thing that happened to our local pubs, they’ve all had to up their game, and are busier because of it.

and, yes… snobbery.

Followed by

So it’s not like prior to this decision they’d set off to court a market that has short attention spans and needs to feel constantly engaged. Quite the opposite

I’ll get my ironing on the way  out…

Like any chain outlet they vary enormously. Some are rubbish, others are just another busy pub. I wouldn’t say they are my first choice but equally they aren’t avoid at all costs, in general they reflect the local clientele.

Newsthump has this one.

Social media is bad for you, insists Wetherspoons pub serving pints for breakfast

Social media is bad for you, insists Wetherspoons pub serving pints for breakfast

our local ‘spoons is actually ok, I don’t mind it — pretty well run, great choice of beer for eye waveringly low prices, they do have TV on but it’s not a “sports” bar, fairly eclectic clientele. If you want exclusive there is an upmarket pub in the next close that sells beer and stuff for reassuringly expensive amounts of cash..

I’ll get my ironing on the way  out…

No ironing service required. All I’m saying is they make it pretty plain that they’re creating an ‘old school’ pub environment. No music, no telly’s, just cheap beer and food. And it works. So if you go in there you’re likely to find more pensioners than web developers (or Audi-driving blokes who work in IT). And there’s nowt up with that. Hence their attitude to social media not coming as any great shock to anyone

In a lot of  towns you’d opt for Spoons every time as it’d mean you’d stand less chance of getting glassed than in all the surrounding pubs 😉

oikeith

Maybe the death of social media as we know it will come sooner than expected if other companies start to withdraw from it

It certainly won’t be the death of social media. In fact, social media will never die as long as we continue to live more technologically connected, plugged in lives. It’ll probably morph and change in ways we can’t foresee but it won’t go away, it’ll just grow.

There may be some shift or segregation between personal and corporate social media, but the access to specific demographics social media provides to businesses will probably mean the smart companies stay as close to their customers as possible.

it was your categorisation of social media users while going on about snobbery..

short attention spans and needs to feel constantly engaged

Am I wrong then? (he said to the man arguing with him on an internet forum at 2pm on a Monday afternoon)

😛

Like any chain outlet they vary enormously.

Somebody told me there are actually three different types of Wetherspoon depending on the area – student type pubs, less affluent areas and normal areas. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but they do seem to vary “ambience”.

I like Spoons, you can get a decent breakfast and unlimited coffee whilst being entertained by conversations straight of out of Derek and Clive.

In a lot of  towns you’d opt for Spoons every time as it’d mean you’d stand less chance of getting glassed than in all the surrounding pubs

Ah, you’ve been to my town then?

There are an inordinately high amount of boozers, each catering to a certain niche in society.

‘Spoons is neutral ground. It’s like the Switzerland of pubs

binners wrote:

My point is that I doubt their target market would be the most vociferous consumers of social media. One of their main selling points is they don’t play any music, they’re not interested in showing sports of any type. So it’s not like prior to this decision they’d set off to court a market that has short attention spans and needs to feel constantly engaged. Quite the opposite

When I was in one last week, the majority of the other customers appeared to be of the generation which uses lots of social media – maybe some of them don’t need constant music or sports, and from what I could see they were all having normal human interactions. Despite your protestations, you’re damning people who use social media or maybe even a whole generation with your stereotypes there – I have to admit to significant social media use myself, some of which is down to socialising with a lot of younger people. When we go down the pub we usually go somewhere without music or TVs and phones are only occasionally got out to show pics to other people there as part of real life conversations – yet these people are all active on social media.

There is also as always the wonderful irony of posting negative things about social media on here 😆

I hear, everytime you go to the bar someone jumps up from behind it and shouts “Visit Wetherspoons!” until you punch him in the face. Then he only does it after the next time you’ve been to the loo.

I went to Wetherspoons in Henley recently – that’s a dichotomy surely, a ‘Spoons in the poshest part of poshville. It was very good, nice beer selection, food was OK but very well priced and service excellent and friendly.

Pretty much every other pub in the town centre was overrun with braying toffs in replica rugger tops shouting at the 6N on the TV.

binners wrote:

So if you go in there you’re likely to find more pensioners than web developers (or Audi-driving blokes who work in IT).

😆 – it gets better! When I was last in I was meeting with a web developer I’m working with (though mainly to drink beer and discuss women etc. rather than work). There was one table of pensioners I spotted, I reckon almost everybody else was under 30 (if it wasn’t for me I might not have to use “almost”!)

Though I’m still not entirely sure of the relevance of any of this to them stopping using social media themselves.

The one nearest to us (Bury) is like a retirement home.

Hang on a minute…… does this mean that lazy sweeping generalisations aren’t going to do it? And that they might all be different and the whole thing is a bit more nuanced?

MIND
BLOWN

I can’t cope with this! I’m going out on my bike 😀

No idea what it’s like during the day, but our local mega-piss-head pub has a near permanent police presence after 9pm with someone being pinned to the ground and handcuffed every Fri / Sat night.

However, I think this provides a useful service to the community by attracting all the agro-drinkers to one venue where they can just fight amongst themselves, thus sparing everyone else.

Its target clientele are people who have trouble walking straight and making it to the toilet in time rather than the type who instagram their food. So seems like a rational move.

Brexit voters ?

**** me they are atrocious.

Totally devoid of any atmosphere.

If you think the food is good then you have just outed yourself as not being qualified to discuss the quality of food.

I don’t know if all ‘spoons are the same but in my nearest one they will take half decent ales off mid-barrel to try and shift the shittier ales, so when the more popular ales are put back on they are stale and on the way out.

They also don’t clean the draught lines as often or as properly as they should as with the number and length of the lines they have there would be too much wastage, according to staff.

Half decent khazis though, I’ll give them that. Probably more of a necessity considering the shite beer and food they sell though.

Don’t be a spoon-licker.

Spoon’s boss may have some crazy ideas but I think he has a good point with this, good luck to them & hope more companies follow suit – if it means less advertising on the web I’m all for it 😉

+1 for the Catherine Wheel in Henley too

The one in Skipton isn’t bad but it’s been a while since I’ve been in town. There’s one in Keighley: unfortunately this means you have to go to Keighley (this one was scene of a murder a few years back!). Only been in the one in Shipley on a redundancy afternoon session, didn’t seem that inspiring. The one at Leeds station always seems packed, don’t think I’d go there to eat but the beer is fine.

I’ve probably been to more but can’t remember them especially if they’ve kept the original pub’s name or otherwise not used “Wetherspoons” plastered around the place.

The one in Skipton isn’t bad but it’s been a while since I’ve been in town.

Saw two ladies staggering out of there at about 10.30am today, looking slightly the worse for wear and having a vocal disagreement. I’m sure it’s still better than the Red Lion though. Or the Golden Fleece.

I suppose they at least give a few people a change of scenery from the bookies, maybe I was a bit harsh.

the one at the edge of the printworks (went in with work colleagues) had a printed magazine promoting brexit… this was about 4 months ago, made me less enthusiastic about a return to any of them

Wetherspoons has a fine history of getting done over by troll accounts so that might play a part. (they took absolutel hell over a “poppy ban” last year that was entirely because of a fake Wetherspoons account, and even though it had nothing to do with them still had to deal with headlines like “Wetherspoons will not enforce poppy ban”. So I can see why they might want shot of the whole thing

The real reason they’re shutting down their social media, was people only used it to complain, and slag them off.

Nobody looked on twitter, and then said “ooh, let’s go to wetherspoons” People went there, ate something that tasted like shit, then went on twitter.

Those of us who do all-night rides find the ‘spoons handy because they’re the only place you can get a pint and a fry-up. And they’re definitely cheap, with a good beer selection. They’re hardly the nicest pubs ever, but I’ve been in worse.

People went there, ate something that tasted like shit

If you think the food is good then you have just outed yourself as not being qualified to discuss the quality of food.

Michelin Star it isn’t but I’ve had food there that is the equal of the stuff you can get in my local pub and about half the price. I’ve eaten in both Michelin Star and Wetherspoons in my time, and you’re just snobs.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11550283/Why-Wetherspoons-are-the-best-pubs-in-Britain.html