# Craig Barrett - Ripped off..



## legend99 (20 Dec 2004)

Anyone else hear anything about the story of Craig Barrett (Boss of Intel)being in Dublin and going for a private meal in Peploes Restaurant where he was charged 150 euro for a meal and a glass of wine or something, which was 200 bucks so he complained and the restaurant manager told him what to do with himself and Barrett mentioned it in an interview on US telly.

fair play to the guy who told him what to do, who I'm sure has really made a positive impact on the direct boss fo 4/5000 people in Kildare and who probably sustains thousands more jobs indirectly.....


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## Brendan Burgess (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

Why did he describe it as being ripped off? Peploes is expensive. But presumably he knew that before he sat down. Or else he would have discovered it when they gave him the menu? That would have been the time to protest, or better still, to leave. 

If the meal was bad, he was right to complain, but I don't see the point in complaining about the prices. 

I don't think that high prices are themselves a rip-off. A rip-off is where you pay more than the price on display. I think that the word is bandied about too much. 

Brendan


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## setanta (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

Brendan is correct but even in Dubin could a meal for 1(?) cost €150. Has anyone dined in this establishement and if so what were the prices? I once stayed in Ashford Castle which in my opinion anyway is grossly overrated. Dinner  (2000) was £40+ service charge, which was ok. Wine ran from approx £25 to over £1000 a bottle. But nobody made you buy it.


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## CCOVICH (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*



> A rip-off is where you pay more than the price on display.



So we should come up with an alternative to rip-off Ireland?

Any suggestions?


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## piggy (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

*So we should come up with an alternative to rip-off Ireland?

Any suggestions?*

Seriously over-priced Ireland.

or how about...

stick-the-prices-up-when-there's-something-on Ireland.


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## MissRibena (21 Dec 2004)

*Or ...*

Howabout ... Can't-be-bothered-to-shop-around-but-whinge-anyway Ireland


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## ClubMan (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

*So we should come up with an alternative to rip-off Ireland?*

"Too lazy to shop around _Ireland_"?


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## Jane (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

I wonder were there no prices on the menu?  I've seen this before.  In all fairness, alarm bells should have been ringing at that point !

Jane


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## ClubMan (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

* I wonder where there no prices on the menu? I've seen this before.*

For what it's worth it's [broken link removed] for menus to omit price details.


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## legend99 (21 Dec 2004)

*.*

My reason in adding this post was really because of who it happened to, rather than the detail of the incident itself.

I'm sure many people in the IDA would like to strangle the people responsible in the restaurant for telling Craig Barrett what to do with his complaint.


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## ClubMan (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: .*

Is there any independent corroboration for this story as I can't find any record of it online at least?


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## Imperator (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: .*

I read the story in the newspaper.  Craig Barret was with his wife and they paid 200 notes for a meal in Peploes.  He did not have an altercation with the manager as far as I recall, but he did mention the price of the meal in a subsequent interview.  
Peploes manager/owner then came back and in a subsequent article mentioned a large range of prices for normal stuff (soup, sandwiches, chowders etc.) and wine (going from 4 euro a glass up to hundreds 'n' thousands).

The lunchtime prices seemed quite o.k. to me - if I remember the article I'll post it here.


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## ClubMan (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: .*

That synopsis certainly differs from the one that was posted to start this topic off.


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## Protocol (21 Dec 2004)

*very high prices*

There were two people dining, husband and wife.

They paid the equivalent of 200 dollars.

This suggests 150 euro.

They did not have a bottle of wine, the wife had a glass. She also had a starter, salad and main course. Didn't say what he had.

All from a Sunday Indo article.


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## ClubMan (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: very high prices*

Unfortunately the online version of the newspaper doesn't really say much (free registration required to read the article).


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## Marion (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: carig Barrett - Ripped off..*

Protocol let's get the story straight. He had a glass of wine. Barbara had a mineral water.

Post crossed.

Marion :hat


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## MissRibena (21 Dec 2004)

*Re: very high prices*

I don't get the problem here ...

Assuming that a restaurant displays its pricing properly, it's entitled to charge whatever its market will pay.  If this guy didn't want to pay a fortune, why didn't he go somewhere else?  I'm sure there are expensive (and cheaper) restaurants in America too - this is hardly an Irish phenomenon.  If he was daft enough not to notice the prices, then tough luck - it's happened to the best of us.

It's not up to the restaurant to grovel on behalf of the IDA/the people of Ireland/whoever to a rich American businessman for chosing to locate his business here by apologising for their prices.  I'm sure enough concessions and grants have been handed out to date, but even so, if anything it would be up to the IDA to treat this guy to lunch.

Rebecca


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## ClubMan (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: very high prices*

* Protocol let's get the story straight. *

Thanks for the link _Marion_ - the one I posted earlier just gave a two line summary with no real detail.

Whatever about the substantive issue the comments attributed to the owner of the restaurant in question certainly seem to lack the diplomacy that one might expect from an upmarket joint:



> But the owner of the restaurant has angrily hit backsaying that Mr Barrett should think about the tax breaks his company has enjoyed in Ireland.
> 
> "He can't come in here with his big swinging dick from America and say we are too expensive," said Barry Canny of Peploe's



:eek


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## legend99 (22 Dec 2004)

*..*

What exactly have tax breaks got to do with a person in a restaurant saying they felt the price was too much???

this guy in the restaurant sounds like a dick himself.


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## piggy (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

*He can't come in here with his big swinging dick from America*

How exactly did they know that?


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## ClubMan (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

*this guy in the restaurant sounds like a dick himself.*

Maybe he did his apprenticeship here?


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## Slash (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: .Craig Barrett*

Isn't it amazing how people's perceptions can differ?

My perception would be that Ireland owes Intel a lot more than Intel owes Ireland. Intel has provided employment to 3,000 for several years. Intel has made money here, but the amount of grants given by IDA when Intel set up here would be relatively small compared to the amount Intel has paid out to local suppliers and to employees. Mr Canny's perception would be completely different. 

Also, my perception would be that a restaurant's customers are pretty important. Mr Canny seems to think that his customers are privileged to eat in his mediocre establishment (yes, I have eaten there).


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## Imperator (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

I'm at a disadvantage in that I threw out the paper.  As far as I recall, Craig Barrett was talking in general terms about the high cost of living in Dublin, and with reference to the costs associated for any company working in Ireland.  He mentioned also that England, Japan and others have similar challenges to meet with regard to high costs.

The owner of Peploes was rather trenchant in his remarks, although as I stated previously, from my reading of the article, Peploes is a place where you can spend what you like.  (In fairness, Peploes mentioned some of their own business costs to justify the menu prices - insurance, daily rubbish collection with an annual cost of 50 K ) etc.


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## MissRibena (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: .Craig Barrett*

But the point is if the manager was rude, the manager was rude. It's out of order in all circumstances and it shouldn't matter who was on the receiving end.  There should be no special treatment for an Intel guy.  

The Indo article doesn't say that the guy was complaining about service or treatment but rather prices and (if I'm reading it right) the euro/dollar exchange rate.  It's not fair that the restaurant take the flack for that unless they didn't display their prices properly.

All that said, the manager's comments are amazingly stupid but they were said after the fact.  They would put me off the restaurant far more than anything else.

Rebecca


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## ClubMan (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: .Craig Barrett*

*As far as I recall, Craig Barrett was talking in general terms about the high cost of living in Dublin, and with reference to the costs associated for any company working in Ireland*

My reading of the article was that he was indeed talking about the general high/increasing costs of doing business here, particularly in relation to the strong €/weak US$, and simply mentioned the _Peploe's_ incident in passing but, since this had a nice parochial angle to it, was blown out of all proportion.


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## Rabbit (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

We owe our high standard of living now to companies like Intel, who have come here from the States, when they could have gone elsewhere.   Compared to standards in the States, the restaurant does seem poor value for money, considering the managers attitude / language.   

In a town in the west of Ireland where an American owned factory employs 900 well paid people, there has been large anti-American grafitti on the road to the Industrial estate. 
( something about end American death ports at Shannon or something ).   Lets wake up before it is too late.  Many countries would not treat their investors like that.


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## ClubMan (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Fair enough - next time I see a high flying _US_ multinational _CEO_ drinking in my local I'll invite him home for a toasted sambo - and I won't even be as rude as to mention the size of his private parts.


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Here is the full text of the article: 

*Restaurateur hits back at Intel chief's shock at bill* 

JEROME REILLY  and FRANK KHAN 

ONE of the world's most influential businessmen - and Ireland's biggest private employer - is astonished at how much dinner for two costs in a Dublin restaurant. 

US multimillionaire Craig R. Barrett, the notoriously hard-nosed chief executive of the giant Intel Corporation, which employs 4,700 people here, said he was "shocked" when the bill arrived. 

Yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Independent, Mr Barrett revealed that he had paid the equivalent of $200 for dinner with his wife Barbara at Peploe's of St Stephen's Green which included just one glass of wine. 

But the owner of the restaurant has angrily hit backsaying that Mr Barrett should think about the tax breaks his company has enjoyed in Ireland. 

"He can't come in here with his big swinging dick from America and say we are too expensive," said Barry Canny of Peploe's 

Talking to the Sunday Independent, the 64-year-old Intel chief described his dining experience in Dublin 

"It was Sunday night and the meal was in the range of $200. We did not have a bottle of wine. I had a glass of wine and Barbara had a glass of sparkling water. May I just say that it was a very good glass of wine. I could easily spend that much in an American restaurant but I think that to pay that much money US, it would have to be a much more extravagant restaurant. 

"I don't find Dublin that much more expensive than London or Munich or other spots. The real change has been what has happened in the last decade," he said. 

He did not recall what he eaten at Peploe's but said he and his wife had enjoyed a starter, followed by a salad and then a main course. "Peploe's was a very nice restaurant and we enjoyed the meal very much. It was the dollar/euro ratio that provided the sticker [price] shock to me. 

The cost of going out in Dublin is consistently atthe top of Eurozone surveys and has led to allegations of rip-off Ireland. 

Reacting to Mr Barrett's experience last night, Trevor White, publisher of The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants, said: "Unfortunately this vignette is all too typical. If the Government insists, as they do, that we don't have a problem, they are living in cloud cuckoo land. Rip-off Ireland is alive and well, it seems." 

Mr Barrett's comments suggest that the weak dollar and high prices for drink and food is harming Ireland's competitiveness, especiallyin terms of attracting UStourists. 

The owner of the restaurant, Barry Canny, angrily defended his prices and said that Mr Barrett "should think about the tax breaks he's getting, all the IDA money he's getting and the high level of education he's getting in this country. 

"America has the highest margins on booze and food in the greater part of the western world. If he was shocked at $200, he should go to other Dublin restaurants where that $200 would have been $600." 

Mr Canny said that Peploe's had a set lunch menu for €19.50 and a set dinner menu for €35. 

"We have 225 wines and 36 of them can be bought by the glass and they start at €4.50 per glass and starts at €21 for a bottle. 

"We also have very special collectors items up to €1,500 for a bottle but the majority of our business is around the €30 to €35 level for wine. 

"You can have a-la-carte option. You can have a bowl of soup for €4 or cottage pie for €9.50, which is one of our biggest sellers." 

The most expensive item on the Peploe's menu is black Dover sole on the bone with saffron, caper and shrimp butter at €34.50, while a warm grilled half lobster with garlic butter and sauce choron is €27.50. 

"I would love to sell wine for €10 a bottle but the duty and the VAT is nearly that. PRSI and PAYE is huge. My two rubbish bins, which I have collected every day, cost me €25,000 a year. My insurance for next year is €52,000 and the rates are €35,000 a year," Mr Canny said. But critical comments from Mr Barrett, who is the head of Ireland's largest private sector employer, will cause alarm at Government level. 

Mr Barrett had been out with his wife Barbara at a Dublin restaurant celebrating double awards from Irishinstitutions. 

He had received the Royal Dublin Society's (RDS) committee of science and industry gold medal, and an honorary doctorate from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). 

During what was billed by Intel as a "private visit", he was also due to meet the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, MichealMartin. 

Peploe's opened last November and has already secured a prestigious spot in Conde Nast's list of "67 Hot Tables" around the world. It's just a few minutes walk away from the five-star Westin Hotel where Mr and Mrs Barrett stayed during their Irish visit. 

Intel Corporation employs 4,700 people in Leixlip, Co Kildare, and during the course of his Irish visit he called for more money to be spent on research and development and said that Ireland would be at a competitive disadvantage if they fell behind in this critical area. 

In his subsequent US TVinterview, Mr Barrett was asked if the weaker dollar was helping or hindering the chip giant. 

He replied: "It's not a big impact as most of our investment around the world are in dollar denominations and we have hedged some expensive purchases in anticipation of the dollar weakening. 

"I don't see it being a significant impact in 2004. I was in Ireland last week with my wife and I did get a shock when I went to dinner on Sunday night. 

"If it [the weak dollar] continues, it could hurt our suppliers in terms of the cost of doing business in foreign countries," he said. 

Earlier this year, Intel announced it intends to invest another €1.6bn at its fabrication plants between Leixlip and Maynooth. 

Mr Barrett has said the decision was evidence that the corporation believed that the Republic was still a good place to do business. By 2006, Intel will have invested €5.2bn in its Irish operations. 

A recent European wide study showed that 30 per cent of Irish people are anxious about inflation and the cost of living but across the EU as a whole, it was raised by just 16 per cent of those questioned. 

Asked if the high cost of Ireland and Europe could affect Intel's future investments, Mr Barrett told the Sunday Independent: "It just makes it a continuous challenge - just as it is in US - when you are looking at the cost of doing business relative to some of the Asian countries around China. Ireland has exactly the same challenges, London has the same challenges, Japan has the same challenges. All the established economies have the same challenges. 

Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue warned tourism operators to watch their prices in the face of claims of "rip-offs". Mr O'Donoghue said he was concerned on recent visits to Britain that a mistaken mentality was developing about a "rip-off Ireland". "I cannot stress enough the need for the sector to take a long hard look at how it prices itself against ever-keener competition. 

"There is clear deterioration in our price competitiveness - for reasons beyond the control of the industry in many cases - and this has had an adverse impact on some of our traditional markets."


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## Marion (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: It's true  - believe it or not!*

Calling some one a big swinging dick is a term of respect. 

It's not as bad as we thought! Our economy is safe!

Marion :hat


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Ireland is a booming economy with full employment thanks to the likes of Intel.

We have lots of money to spend and that pushes up prices. 

Personally, I would prefer to live in an expensive country where everyone is working than to live in the Ireland of a few years ago where there was high unemployment and low prices.

Let's change the expression from Rip-off Ireland to Rich Ireland.

Brendan


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## rainyday (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*



> Personally, I would prefer to live in an expensive country where everyone is working than to live in the Ireland of a few years ago where there was high unemployment and low prices.


If you were working on minimum wage (as a substantial percentage of our workforce do) and you had a poor education and few opportunities to 'improve yourself', you might have a different point of view.


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## Brendan Burgess (23 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Hi Rainyday

I think people are better off on the minimum wage than being on unemployment assistance. Social welfare benefits have risen faster than inflation. So they are still better off. 

Brendan


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## zag (24 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

I just don't see the confusion over the issue here.

The guy paid what he was told it was going to cost.  He can afford to pay that amount - I don't think there is anyone out there who would debate that this guy couldn't affrord it, especially since it may well have been on expenses.

He had a discussion with the manager.

While discussing high cost countries he used this as an example of the high cost of living - not an essential cost, but a cost especially if you are entertaining.

The manager subsequently used language which you would complain about if the guy behind the counter in a fast food resto used.  What other way can you interpret 'big swinging" whatever it was ?

It reflects badly on the 'hospitality' industry in Ireland - no other way to look at it.

If this is the type of comment that the manager of a 'quality' resto comes out with, what are you supposed to think of the service level under that type of management ?

z


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## Rabbit (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Point well expressed zag, and I agree.  Having being fortunate enough to eat out in a lot of places in the States, I must say the service and attitude is generally just so much better and more professional over there.    Maybe it is the tipping culture, I do not know why for sure, but it is.    There would be little chance of a top quality restaurant manager over there coming out with a remark about "big swinging m...... "  or whatever, re a customer.


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## Brendan Burgess (27 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Zag said



> I just don't see the confusion over the issue here.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...



That is exactly where the confusion is. There is no mention of a discussion between Barrett and the manager in the article.  The manager was not rude to Barrett. Barrett spoke about high prices in Ireland  in a  tv interview in the US. The manager of the restaurant defended himself robustly in an interview with the Sunday Indo. There was no rudeness at all to the customer.

Brendan


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## ClubMan (27 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

*There was no rudeness at all to the customer*

Not directly but the "big swinging dick" comment to the newspaper about the customer was surely out of order, especially from somebody in the hospitality business!


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## Brendan Burgess (28 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

I don't see the remark as particularly rude. The guy's business was criticized and he reacted robustly, although indirectly. I see no problem with this. 

I was in a  group yesterday where a woman raised the subject of rip-off Ireland. She was in the Douglas Food Company in Donnybrook and saw a small packet of biscuits for €20. She wondered who would pay such a rip-off price? I politely pointed out that as the price was prominently displayed, there was no rip-off. There is plenty of choice available in the biscuit market. For once, I bit my tongue and did not point out that her husband is being paid €3,000 per day in one of the tribunals. So it takes her husband just two minutes to buy one of these packets of biscuits. 

Brendan


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## zag (29 Dec 2004)

*Re: ..*

Brendan - maybe some clarification is required here.  The term used by the owner of the restaurant "big swinging dick" directly refers to your basic male appendage.  Actually not your basic one, quite a big one.  That swings.  In my books this is not a term I would not normally expect to be used in relation to a customer in a public interview - regardless of whether the customer is known worldwide.

Where do we expect people to draw the line in interviews for publication ?

My issue is not with the whole rip-off whatever thing - it is with the language used by the guy.

The customer is entitled to complain.  The owner is entitled to rebut the claim.  I wouldn't have thought it was normal for the owner to attempt to devalue the complaint by reference to the customers physical or fiscal characteristics.

z


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