# Cost of a Rock Shandy: <rant about the price of soft drinks in pubs>



## dewdrop (10 Dec 2009)

Last Sunday in a rural pub in co. cork i paid 4.80 Euro for a Rock Shandy ( 2 minerals in a pint glass). A pint of Beamish was 3.50. No wonder people drink.


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## BoscoTalking (10 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

old news im afraid.


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## Grizzly (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

My occasional treat of a bag of chips didn't digest too well when I had to pay €2.50 for a single. I had just purchased 10 kilos of washed Rooster potatoes earlier in the day from the local greengrocer for €3.99.
Are chippers a law on to themself?


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## sam h (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

In fairness to the chipper - they had to wash, peel & cut the potaoes, heat the oil, pay for staff, premises, equipment, insurance, bags etc.  So I don't think they are too expensive & if they are anything like my local chipper one bag is easily enough for 2 people.

Thats assuming they were "real" chips as opposed to frozen.


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## cork (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

The country has a massive problem with drink & this type of pricing is a disgrace.Buying minerals in pubs is a rip off.


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## Firefly (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



cork said:


> Buying minerals in pubs is a rip off.


 
Careful


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## Caveat (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



dewdrop said:


> No wonder people drink.


 
 what - to help them forget the price that they would otherwise be paying for min-er-dals?


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## Kine (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

The cost to Coca Cola in producing one of the small bottles of coke in a pub is....wait for it....1c. I love mark-up


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## Tinker Bell (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



Kine said:


> The cost to Coca Cola in producing one of the small bottles of coke in a pub is....wait for it....1c. I love mark-up


Any idea of the various stage margins?


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## Kine (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

Not really I'm afraid. I imagine though Coke -> Wholesaler -> Pub would be the process, so say Coke sell for 75c, wholesaler sell 150c and pub sell for 250c. Remember though, these are the highest prfoit margin items in a pub I think.


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## Sylvester3 (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

I worked for McDonalds in my youth (12 odd years ago now) and they bought coke in as a syrup. The cost of providing a drink by McD's was literally in the order of a few pence, no matter what size the customer ordered, mostly made up of the packaging involved (Or so I was informed by the manager). The margin was therefore huge, and only helped by the amount of ice thrown in as well. I imagine therefore that the margins are similar for a publican.


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## TarfHead (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

The component costs of providing a rock shandy are irrelevant. The price that the pub next door, or the one down the street, charges, is relevant and I doubt you'd find a significant difference.

If you think being a publican is a licence to print money, go ahead and do it for yourself .


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## Sylvester3 (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



TarfHead said:


> The component costs of providing a rock shandy are irrelevant. The price that the pub next door, or the one down the street, charges, is relevant and I doubt you'd find a significant difference.
> 
> If you think being a publican is a licence to print money, go ahead and do it for yourself .



Oh I agree entirely. A business owner is entitled to charge whatever they like for their goods. Its a pity they price themselves out of customers though - since I moved to Ireland I have found myself going out rarely. In the UK I went to nice country pubs where a mineral would be priced about £1 - £1.50, and a rock shandy would have been about £2 - 3 which made being the designated driver much more bearable. The last time I was out with my workmates here (I think back in April) we were given drink vouchers worth €4.50. I had to pay extra to get a rock shandy.


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## Grizzly (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



sam h said:


> In fairness to the chipper - they had to wash, peel & cut the potaoes, heat the oil, pay for staff, premises, equipment, insurance, bags etc. So I don't think they are too expensive & if they are anything like my local chipper one bag is easily enough for 2 people.
> 
> Thats assuming they were "real" chips as opposed to frozen.


 
The guy selling the roosters also had to pay for the above. Maybe he didn't have any oil to heat or cut the potatoes but still. I think that most chippers buy in the potatoes peeled?
Last time I was in the same chipper I paid €2.20 for a single. With everyone else dropping prices I wonder why the chippers aren't dropping their prices.


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## Sylvester3 (11 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

Have you factored in Carbon Taxes...?


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## Guest128 (15 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



Grizzly said:


> Last time I was in the same chipper I paid €2.20 for a single. With everyone else dropping prices I wonder why the chippers aren't dropping their prices.



Did you write the manager a letter stating your disappointment at this and indicate that you will be taking your custom elsewhere (you own kitchen!) unless the prices are returned to their original level?


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## Lak (27 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

Going out to the pub and moreso for a meal, for example on a sunday lunchtime is insanely expensive, I feel embarrassed when friends from the UK visit here and we go out.
A couple of weeks ago as a family of five our sunday lunchtime bill was €90 for a very nice lunch and drinks.
Last week in the UK we went for lunch at a Pub carveryin Nottingham... meal drinks and pretty much the same as we enjoyed in Ireland came to a grand total of €27.
I understand fully that the chain of events leads ultimately to unavoidably high prices but it still baffles me how there can in these times be such an enormous difference.

You cant argue with Value for money when you can buy a roast dinner, that you plate up yourself (and can go back for seconds) with a pint for five pounds sterling.


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## micmclo (27 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



Grizzly said:


> Last time I was in the same chipper I paid €2.20 for a single. With everyone else dropping prices I wonder why the chippers aren't dropping their prices.



Did you complain to the manager? Or just moan about it here?



legs-akimbo said:


> You cant argue with Value for money when you can buy a roast dinner, that you plate up yourself (and can go back for seconds) with a pint for five pounds sterling.



JD Wetherspoons?


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## Lak (29 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

No not wetherspoons, more good value but the beer is poor in a wetherspoons from my experience.


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## DublinTexas (29 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

Let’s face it, alcohol is so cheap (and with the lowering of the tax gets even cheaper) because it’s the drug of choice in this country and it ensures that the masses are kept under control. 

While I’m all for the right of a business owner to set his own prices (because I can vote with my feet to go where I think I can get value for money), I think that we should ensure that for example the designated driver gets the nonalcoholic drinks at least for the same price as the alcohol his friends are drowning their sorrow in.

Ireland is (according to the NCA) the most expensive country in the EU15 for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and I’m sure there is enough margin in the non-alcoholics that at least level the playing field.

At the same time we might also follow other countries and limit the drink specials. In some countries you can’t sell alcoholic beverages for less than you paid for them and free or complimentary drinks are illegal.


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## Lak (30 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

Alcohol is cheap!!!!  Is it? I hadnt noticed, but my wallet does, and thankfully I am not one who indulges in this vice (or pleasure) frequently, ask a visitor to our shores if he thinks acohol is cheap and you may be surprised at the expletive laden contradiction to your ....errrr.... contradictory above post


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## Lak (30 Dec 2009)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*

I drink in an Irish social club in Nottingham when I visit, a fiver exactly buys me two pints and a glass, now thats cheap, and could very easily be my drug of everyday choice.....I love you Ryan Air !!!


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## PyritePete (1 Jan 2010)

*Re: Cost of a Rock Shandy*



legs-akimbo said:


> Alcohol is cheap!!!! Is it? I hadnt noticed, but my wallet does, and thankfully I am not one who indulges in this vice (or pleasure) frequently, ask a visitor to our shores if he thinks acohol is cheap and you may be surprised at the expletive laden contradiction to your ....errrr.... contradictory above post


 
It depends where the visitors come from, in the Nordics they pay extortionate amounts for alcohol, so Dublin/Ireland is a lot cheaper. I Paid 55 euro for 3 bottles of Budweiser and 1 Guinness in an Irish bar in Oslo


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## DublinTexas (1 Jan 2010)

legs-akimbo said:


> Alcohol is cheap!!!! Is it? I hadnt noticed, but my wallet does, and thankfully I am not one who indulges in this vice (or pleasure) frequently, ask a visitor to our shores if he thinks acohol is cheap and you may be surprised at the expletive laden contradiction to your ....errrr.... contradictory above post


We might have the most expensive alcoholic and no-alcoholic prices in the EU15 but alcohol is cheaper in the pub than nonalcoholic drink, that is what I can’t understand. So what I argue is that there are enough margins in the non-alcoholics that at least level the playing field.



PyritePete said:


> It depends where the visitors come from, in the Nordics they pay extortionate amounts for alcohol, so Dublin/Ireland is a lot cheaper. I Paid 55 euro for 3 bottles of Budweiser and 1 Guinness in an Irish bar in Oslo


Let’s face it, the drinking culture in the Nordics is totally different than in this country. It’s more social in the Nordics and also their laws are stronger in respect of alcohol than ours. I remember when you could only buy alcohol in state run shops against providing your ID in the Nordics. The prices there are so high because the government uses taxation and licensing laws to control the alcohol consumption. And anybody who goes out in the Nordics will know how different closing time in a Nordic pub is from down here. Not to mention that they have a 0 alcohol driving limit.

While our government goes the opposite way, lowering the taxes so that we can drink our sorrows away with our favorite drug of choice.


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## PyritePete (2 Jan 2010)

DublinTexas, you are totally right, I was pointing out pricing differences only


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## quarterfloun (2 Jan 2010)

Thats why bootlegging is a national occupation. When I lived in the UK it was worth my while to drive 100 odd miles to Dover, take the Eurotunnel to Calais and drive up to Belgium (Adinkerke) and buy tobacco products for my family. I'd stop at a local hotel, have a steak meal, a couple of pints and a coffee. Less than £15.00 for the lot. We used to give the lady £20 each as we got great value and she took our sterling. From there I'd stop off in Calais and pick up 30 odd trays of 24*500ml Stella Artois for £9.75 each...for my family. There is no pricing consistency across the EU even though the currency is all the same?


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## GarBow (8 Jan 2010)

quarterfloun said:


> When I lived in the UK it was worth my while to drive 100 odd miles to Dover, take the Eurotunnel to Calais and drive up to Belgium (Adinkerke) and buy tobacco products for my family quote]
> 
> This bit put a very funny picture in my mind.
> 
> ...


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