# New Rip off republic TV Show tickets available



## Bishop (6 Jul 2005)

Hay guys,



A friend of mine let me in on the possibility for tickets for a new RTE series that is being filmed later this month. It’s called Rip off Republic and is hosted by Eddie Hobbs (He's the guy who does Show me the Money on RTE so it should be fun). In the show Eddie tells you just where and how you are being screwed in Ireland today so should be interesting and informative. Here the info for anyone who's interested in tickets:



"The show is being recorded live on the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd of July 2005 in The Helix, Glasnevein, Dublin. Tickets are free of charge and you can get them by sending an e-mail to ripoffrepublic@agtel.ie." 



I sent an email and got an auto reply with instruction for get tickets so don't worry about what you put into the first email.


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## ubiquitous (6 Jul 2005)

RTE??...Rip Off Republic...?? Remind me again? By how much did our TV licences increase in the past 1-2 years?


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## CCOVICH (6 Jul 2005)

Eerily similar to this thread


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## Bishop (6 Jul 2005)

Sorry didn't see the other post, just felt people may be interested. Not often you get to see a free show in this town especially with RTE fitting the bill ;-)


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## Humpback (6 Jul 2005)

How hard-hitting do we expect this show to be?

Given that most of the high-profile ripoff (over-charging) companies in Ireland are also the biggest advertising contributors to the coffers in RTE.

Do we really expect RTE to allow Eddie to bite the hands that feed the national broadcaster?

It will be interesting to see how closely, or not, the show is to the excellent (IMHO) BBC Watchdog, who don't have to worry about keeping advertisers sweet.


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## NOAH (6 Jul 2005)

i wonder will he cover the fact that if we want to watch RTE on the digital platform ie in widescreen we have to pay again!!! If that is NOT A RIP OFF then nothing is.  I somehow doubt that this will be mentioned.  A total and utter joke this programme. a programme about rip offs by a company that rips u off --- now if that is not Irish what is!"  I ask you.


noah


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## daltonr (6 Jul 2005)

I suppose RTE would argue that the TV licence represents Value for Money.   But then wouldn't all businesses claim that.

If Eddie is True to form it'll be De Banks that he talks about most.   But sure what would you expect from a Cork man.

Expect Pharmacies to get honorable mention.

Also the show isn't made by RTE,  they're just buying it from the production company.   I don't know how much influence RTE actually exert on production companies,   I'm sure since they're one of only two games in town they have a fair amount of influence.

-Rd


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## daltonr (22 Jul 2005)

Just back from the recording of what will be the first show to Air.
The show looks excellent. This is exactly the kind of show I've been waiting for.
All the stuff we've been talking about for about two years on AAM, the High Cost of Living in Ireland, the High Taxes for Low Services, the people who are unlucky enough to have a low to middle income job and so can't get welfare but can't afford to live here, the hidden forces that are driving the high cost of living and the lies by the government to convince us that they care. It's all here.

There are some clips with Eddie teaching children about competition, monopolies, the low tax myth etc that are superb. He's like a completely different guy to the guy who presented Show Me The Money. You can really sense some of the Anger behind the show.

Also among the highlights of the first show, watch out for the lady from Trim.

I don't often give something an unequivocal thums up but this show is top knotch.
Don't miss it.

Inicidently he recorded the show in one straight take, with no autocue that I could see. Extremely impressive. There was a bit of a Q&A session afterwards with the audience which isn't part of the show but was really interesting. Perhaps in the future they could work that into the show.

(Although some of Eddies answers couldn't have been broadcast).

The funniest moment of the evening for me was paying for the parking at the shop in the Helix.  They were selling small bottles of coke for €2.50.  A Guy beside me in the queue asked for a coke and sent it back when he heard the price.   If the show encourages that sort of attitude in consumers it will do a lot of good.

-Rd


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> Inicidently he recorded the show in one straight take, with no autocue that I could see. Extremely impressive.


 
As an FYI, rather than any criticism, autocue was centre back, underneath the balcony.

Was there last night as well. Whole thing was very well done, I agree.

As for the topics, banks haven't been targeted, nor have phone companies, nor have utilities.

As I said above, RTE aren't going to alienate their biggest advertising spenders. The target of all 4 shows was pretty much government and taxation.


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## fandango1 (22 Jul 2005)

Was at the show on Tuesday. Topic was 'having fun' i.e socialising, price of alcohol, price of coffee in 'trendy' coffee shops etc.

Agree with others that it was very good - really opens your eyes to the way in which we are being ripped off. The government did get most of the criticism but I don't think you could argue with anything that was said.


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## CCOVICH (22 Jul 2005)

Was at the show Tuesday-more of a diatribe against the government (no harm in that I guess) than anything else I thought. What the hell, I'm sure it's better than Telly Bingo or Fair City or The Panel, or The Lyrics Board, or any of the other countless hours of garbage our TV Licence money goes towards.

I think that the show focussed on a few too many areas-eating out and drinking were a good fit, but the bit about 'how much do you spend getting your hair done?' seemed kind of tacked on.

The point about trying to 'haggle' and 'shopping around' being nonsense in certain circumstances was well made, with the example of trying to find the cheapest pint of Murphy's in Cork city centre.

I was glad to see the fiasco of cafe bars run out again-a shame on McDowell and the Fianna Fail publicans lobby (incidently the FG spokesperson on whatever also spoke out against it).

I would have liked to ask Eddie what he thought about Ms. Larkin's appointment to the Board that he also serves on, given that he expressed (mild) contempt for the Government responsible for the appointment.

Yeah, there was an autocue back centre, but I have to say that Eddie is a good presenter-confident, witty, at ease with the audience etc.

But €3.50 for parking after 6 pm so far from the city centre? No complimentary drink(s) on arrival? No finger food? Bah!


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## Brendan Burgess (22 Jul 2005)

Was there any counter arguments in the show? Did anyone defend what everyone universally labels "rip-off"? 

It does sound like good fun, but is it all heat and no light? 

Brendan


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

CCOVICH said:
			
		

> I would have liked to ask Eddie what he thought about Ms. Larkin's appointment to the Board that he also serves on, given that he expressed (mild) contempt for the Government responsible for the appointment.


 
He was asked about this last night. He basically said it was unfortunate, but that the NCA would come through it and do the good work that it was proposing/planning. _[ Defamatory comments which added nothing to the post have been deleted]_



			
				Brendan said:
			
		

> Was there any counter arguments in the show? Did anyone defend what everyone universally labels "rip-off"?


 
No. There were no counter-arguments at all. The thesis of the show is that in "Show me the money" he was seeing the impact of ripoff Ireland on peoples finances, while this show would look at why this was happening, and why people were getting into debt, etc.



			
				Brendan said:
			
		

> It does sound like good fun, but is it all heat and no light?


 
It's very much modelled on the kinds of shows that Mark Thomas was behind in the past on Channel 4. So, there's opportunistic use of cuts of VT from politicians in the past, using kids as mentioned above, and observations of what our politicians are doing.

On the basis that it's, as has also been said here, stuff that is already known in smaller circles (i.e. on AAM), it's probably good that it's being brought to a larger (albeit it mid-summer) TV audience.

It has the potential to be the "tipping point" in the battle against rising prices in Ireland, but will need a concerted campaign as a follow up to the show.

Now, here's where my bit of controversy comes in.

Eddie Hobbs is on the Consumers Association. Why then, are Michael Kilcoyne and Dermott Jewell jumping up and down about not being on the NCA? Is this out of personal interest? Are the pee-ed off about not being on this themselves? Surely one representative from the CAI is enough?

However, given Eddies membership now of both organisations, can we expect to see a campaign being developed by the CAI and/or the NCA around this show when it's broadcast?

Wouldn't it make sense? I would be very doubtful myself, given the relative uselessness of the CAI.


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## ubiquitous (22 Jul 2005)

> It has the potential to be the "tipping point" in the battle against rising prices
> in Ireland, but will need a concerted campaign as a follow up to the show.



Would you include the price of labour (eg wages and salaries) and the price of property in this campaign?


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

ubiquitous said:
			
		

> Would you include the price of labour (eg wages and salaries) and the price of property in this campaign?


 
Property was the subject of the show last night - both land costs, and everything else associated such as solicitors, architects, VAT on building materials, local authority levies, etc etc.

Labour and the cost of working is tonights topic. However, IMHO, despite the propaganda from IBEC, RGDATA and the Vintners, it's not altogether the price of labour that is at the root of rising prices here.

An example on Tuesday night. Restaurant owners claim they get €3 from every €100 spent in a restaurant. Yet, they sell a €7.10 bottle of wine for €25. If we assume it takes 5mins labour to get and serve a bottle of wine to the table, it's unlikely to cost more than a couple of cents extra on this €7.10 to get the bottle to the customer.

That still leaves over €17. Yes, yes, I know, overheads etc, but there's no way in hell, or even ripoff Ireland, that you'll have anywhere close to an €17 allocation of overheads to a single bottle of wine.


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## ubiquitous (22 Jul 2005)

Ronan, 

believe it or not, waiters and other staff get paid for the duration when they on duty, not just when they are serving customers. Restaurant operators must price their output (ie food and drink sold) so as to absorb all the overheads of the business. In the restaurant sector this can be extremely difficult to do successfully, as most restaurants are busy only for limited periods of time each week, and they sell an extremely narrow range of products,(namely meals, wine other alcohol and soft drinks. (Contrast this for example to a typical Centra shop that sells a vast range of goods, some high-margin and some lower-margin and has busy periods several times daily throughout the week)

Hence in a restaurant, all weekly costs such as labour, rent, rates etc have to be recovered within a short timeframe. Otherwise the restaurant loses money and ultimately goes out of business. This is the key reason why there such a large % of restaurants (particularly at the expensive end of the market) fail and close down only a year or two after opening.


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

ubiquitous,

Many thanks for the business lesson there, but unnecessary in my case.

We all know that portions of overheads are assigned to items sold. You'll work out your total costs, your expected sales, and assign the overheads as a percentage on top of the cost of the items sold. You'll do the same when assigning profits to items sold.

Therefore, when you look at the cost of each item that you buy anywhere, it will be made up of cost of item, profit, and overhead.

My point is that with regards to a bottle of wine costing €7.10 to a restaurant, to be assigning for both profit and overhead an amount of €17 surely indicates that there is a large scope for profiteering.


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## fobs (22 Jul 2005)

> by Brendan
> Was there any counter arguments in the show? Did anyone defend what everyone universally labels "rip-off"?


 
I think that these shows need to have the counter argument or have a spokesperson from the companies on to defend their side. This is done brilliantly on BBC's Watchdog program where they name specific companies with specific cases and invite the company spokesperson on to, in some cases, defend the action or how they plan to rectify it.

People who constantly complain about the high prices of wine, coffee shops etc.. can vote with their feet and find cheaper establishments. Once the prices are displayed before you order then you can make the decision whether to purchase or not. On the otherhand if you are overcharged then THAT is a rip-off


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## ubiquitous (22 Jul 2005)

> My point is that with regards to a bottle of wine costing €7.10 to a restaurant, to be assigning for both profit and overhead an amount of €17 surely indicates that there is a large scope for profiteering.



Of course there is large scope in theory for profiteering (as there is in any trade), unless of course as fobs suggests "people... vote with their feet and find cheaper establishments". 

In reality though for restaurants in this country, high business overheads are a fact of life, and as a consequence so are high markups. If this wasn't the case, surely you would see a rash of value-for-money restaurants opening up, undercutting the established operators, and making good profits for themselves (as Lidl & Aldi have done in the supermarket sector). The fact that this hasn't happened in the restaurant sector would appear to indicate that its simply not possible - because of the high overheads involved.


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## RS2K (22 Jul 2005)

Eddie Hobbs - wasn't he the bloke who designed and launched Eagle Stars endowment mortgage product (one of the most expensive products in that already pricey market) and was also a director of T.I.P.S. Ltd - which went bust?


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## daltonr (22 Jul 2005)

> People who constantly complain about the high prices of wine, coffee shops etc.. can vote with their feet and find cheaper establishments.


 
Anyone care to tell me where I can get the following cheaper:

Electricity
TV Licence
Health Insurance
Prescription Drugs
Cinema Tickets
Tickets to a Concert
Bin Charges

I'm sure you can all add to this list where shopping around is meaningless and pointless. If I want to go out for a meal tonight in Dublin, unless I go to McDonalds I'm going to be paying between €2 and €3 for a small glass of Coke.

There was a fantastic piece on the show last night about Trim. The only supermarket in the town was a Super Value. It sold ONE Litre of water for 99c. Lidl tried to open and was blocked by the local council. When the councils decision was overturned after a fantastic campaign by the locals the arrival of Lidl forced Super Value to sell TWO Litres of water for 35c.

The councils and politicians the length and breath of the country are actively killing competition to protect their friends, or in many cases to protect their own businesses.

People who spout the "Shop Around", "Vote with your feet" mantra on this forum and tell us all that there's no ripoff are just plain wrong. You've swallowed the lie hook line and sinker.

Incidently there were dissenting voices on the Show. The Chief Executive of RG Data defended their objection to lifting the Groceries Order. Bertie was there defending his tent at the Galway races. 

-Rd


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## CCOVICH (22 Jul 2005)

fobs said:
			
		

> People who constantly complain about the high prices of wine, coffee shops etc.. can vote with their feet and find cheaper establishments. Once the prices are displayed before you order then you can make the decision whether to purchase or not. On the otherhand if you are overcharged then THAT is a rip-off


 
Yes, that's great in theory, but how much can you save in Dublin city centre on cup of coffee, or a pint of lager by 'shopping around'?

Arguing about the definition of a rip-off is pointless in my view, the media and general public have clearly taken "rip-off" to equate to high prices, not overcharging.  You can continue to correct people, but why bother?  Does anyone really believe that we are not paying over the odds for many goods and services in this country? That is the issue here, not one of what conforms to the "official" definition of a rip-off.

For the record:

Rip off (slang)
1.  To steal from
2.  To steal
3.  To _exploit_, swindle, cheat or defraud

From dictionary.com

I don't know about you, but I certainly have felt _exploited_ at times in the last few years (transport costs, insurance, mobile phones etc.), and so have felt _ripped off. _


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## ashambles (22 Jul 2005)

Sounds like a good show, I'm looking forward to it.  Thought I'd try to defend restaurants since the wine thing comes up a lot - they need to charge a certain level over the cost of goods to survive  they either need to spread that evenly over everything or load it heavily on items like drinks. 
If they spread it equally over everything then the food is more expensive than their competitors, and having more expensive food but cheaper wine isn't a great recipe for a restuarants survival. Coffee is an even more extreme example - probably around 1000% mark up.


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## daltonr (22 Jul 2005)

How about a glass of coke.  Free refills are the Norm in the US.   But Free was removed from the dictionary in Ireland after 1922.    Is it any wonder we have a drink culture.   Beer is cheaper than soft drinks.

-Rd


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> I'm sure you can all add to this list where shopping around is meaningless and pointless. If I want to go out for a meal tonight in Dublin, unless I go to McDonalds I'm going to be paying between €2 and €3 for a small glass of Coke.


 
Don't buy the coke if you don't want to be spending €2 or €3 for it.

That's the problem with this country. Leaving aside shopping around (which is possible in some areas, which will save you money to be able to afford other things), people look at the price of non-essential goods and though they don't like the price, they still won't resist the belief that they need to have something and still pay the high prices.


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## CCOVICH (22 Jul 2005)

ronan_d_john said:
			
		

> Don't buy the coke if you don't want to be spending €2 or €3 for it.


 
It's too easy to say that.  Coke is not an 'essential item', but it's far from an expensive import, scarce resource or luxury good.  Most of the time, I have tap water with my lunch or over a meal.  But sometimes it's _nice_ to have a Coke and not feel like you've been charged for a glass of champagne.  We are all entitled to have nice things every so often (without paying through the nose), aren't we?


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## daltonr (22 Jul 2005)

> Don't buy the coke if you don't want to be spending €2 or €3 for it.


 
You're absolutely right. I should deprive myself of a soft drink with my dinner, in fact deprive myself of eating out altogether. Deprive myself of a Cup of Tea and a sandwich in the City Centre, Deprive myself of going to the Cinema, etc, etc, etc.

Just how many aspects of life do you think I should deprive myself of before I'm allowed to question the value for money we're getting? Perhaps I should buy a Duvet from a charity shop and stay in bed all day. 

There's a core group on Askaboutmoney who will tolerate no criticism of value for money in Ireland. Do you people ever travel abroad? I wander around places like Dundum centre and look at the prices being charged for clothes and I wonder if there's something wrong with me.

I've luckily managed to buy all the clothes I need abroad over the past few years, thank goodness for at least some respite.   But when did Coke become a luxury item????   Did we lose a war????   Why didn't I get the memo?

Perhaps we should put you in charge of Irelands Tourism Marketing campaign.

"Ireland.   Overpriced,  but no-one is forcing you to visit."
It's catchy.

-Rd


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## ubiquitous (22 Jul 2005)

> "These days man knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing."



Oscar Wilde


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## CCOVICH (22 Jul 2005)

Quote:
"I can resist everything except temptation" 

Oscar Wilde


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## Humpback (22 Jul 2005)

Old adage.....

"A fool and his money are easily parted".


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## daltonr (22 Jul 2005)

> A fool and his money are easily parted


 
Says a lot about the intelligence of the Irish doesn't it.

-Richard


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## CCOVICH (22 Jul 2005)

I don't think there are too many fools on this site-differing opinions and positions yes, but most of the thoughts are rational. I don't think that we as a race/nation are any more foolish than any other country in the world. Is this thread going to denigrate into name-calling?

Feck this tit-for-tat quoting, one more and I'm done.

"I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted."

George Best


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## RainyDay (22 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> How about a glass of coke.  Free refills are the Norm in the US.   But Free was removed from the dictionary in Ireland after 1922.    Is it any wonder we have a drink culture.   Beer is cheaper than soft drinks.
> 
> -Rd



Just for the record, I'm pretty sure that Spurs Restaurant in Liffey Valley do free refills of soft drinks. And anyone who buys their clothes in the new Dundrum SC deserves everything they get.


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## daltonr (23 Jul 2005)

> Just for the record, I'm pretty sure that Spurs Restaurant in Liffey Valley do free refills of soft drinks.



A small handfull of restaurants do, but I've noticed the Policy seems to change from week to week in some of those that do.  Papagillo's in Stillorgan did one week, didn't the next.  Go figure!!!

Spur is off my list of restaurants after a bad experience there.   Incidently Spur's food is pretty poor if you are into Ribs.   TGI's do fine Ribs but their prices seem to have gone up again and have now gone over my limit.

-Rd


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## ubiquitous (23 Jul 2005)

Do Pizza Hut not also offer free Coke refills?


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## daltonr (23 Jul 2005)

Pizza Hut is pretty good.   I'd prefer not to go there for a "Nice" meal.   Ultimately it's fast food.   But yes they do offer free refills.

In the same Market as Pizza Hut....

I can't remember if TGI's do Free refills,  but the food has gotten so expensive there that it's only an illusion of free anyway.  

Eddie Rocket's Prices are a Joke and have been for a LONG time.

I've just learned to accept that Irish Restaurants won't do Free Refills.
I note they were quite happy to adopt the US tradition of expecting TIPS.  But didn't pass on many of the US traditions in terms of service.   Funny that isn't it???

It pisses me off more because of the price of the food than anything.    I had a fantastic meal (Grouper - Fish) in Florida with all the coke I could drink, and some Salad and fresh cut fries.  The whole lot came to $12 (about €8).   I ended up leaving a $10 Tip and still only paying $22 (€15) for the whole lot.

-Rd


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## CCOVICH (23 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> I've just learned to accept that Irish Restaurants won't do Free Refills.
> I note they were quite happy to adopt the US tradition of expecting TIPS. But didn't pass on many of the US traditions in terms of service. Funny that isn't it???



In fairness, it's the waiting staff that expect/receive tips, not the restaurant owners.


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## daltonr (23 Jul 2005)

The owners can pay the staff less on the understanding that they'll make it up on tips.
waiters in reasonably good restaurants should not be on minimum wage, but many are.

-Rd


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## CCOVICH (23 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> The owners can pay the staff less on the understanding that they'll make it up on tips.
> waiters in reasonably good restaurants should not be on minimum wage, but many are.
> 
> -Rd



Yes, the first point is interesting-this would lower their staff costs and in theory allow them to lower the price they charge the punter. 

What are you getting at with the second point-waiters in reasonably good restaurants shouldn't be getting minimum wage because they make so much in tips?


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## daltonr (24 Jul 2005)

No,  a good waiter should be on significantly MORE than the minimum wage.  From what I see (admittedly a very limited sample) there are restaurants with excellent staff and expensive menu's getting away with paying minimum wage on the understanding that the TIPS will make up the balance of the Pay.

If they pay minimum wage or close to it that takes a big chunk out of the cost of the meal.   If they passed that on to the punter the punter might be more willing to dip into their pocket to reward the staff.

E.g. my almost 100% tip in the states becaues I couldn't get over how cheap the meal was and the service was absolutely top notch.   Yes the waiter in the states was probably on minimum wage,  but the saving was passed on to me and I passed it on to the waiter.

-Rd


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## RainyDay (24 Jul 2005)

Just to share my experiences of restaurants in the 'Land of the Free' (West coast);

1) Expensive restaurant at the top of a skyscraper - No 'table for 1' available in restaurant, but I was allowed eat in the bar (where of course I had to endure the amazingly primitive environment of cigarette smoke drifting over my food) - waitress was in her 50's and dressed like an 18-year-old - had the disconcerting habit of leaning down to my table to review the menu with me - after a long delay, my main course arrived but no sign of my starter! - Bill was close to $100 for one (inc. half-bottle of local wine)
2) Cheesecake factory (US steakhouse chain, slightly up-market from TGI's) - got a table for 2 after a 20 minute wait - were unable to put bar drinks onto dinner bill - got seated and notice sideplate had an ant running across it - cutlery was noticeable sticky to touch and had to be changed - my request for fries instead of mash was ignored and the mash arrived.

Dinner on the other evening was as part of a large group and service was fine.

Not exactly 'top notch' service or great value all round.


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## CCOVICH (24 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> Yes the waiter in the states was probably on minimum wage, but the saving was passed on to me and I passed it on to the waiter.
> 
> -Rd



Yes, but there is a big difference between the minimum wage in Ireland and in the US.  When I waited tables in Boston, I think my wages came to around $100 a week (after taxes and social security) for a 60-70 hour week.  That's quite a gap vs. the €7.65 Irish waiters are making.  It would take quite a shift in culture/attitudes/legislation/whatever for waiting staff to get paid around €2 per hour and punters (not necessarily Irish, but European tourists as well) to give tips of 15-20%.


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## lynchtp (25 Jul 2005)

Petrol
105.9 for unleaded in a petrol station in my home by the lee.
Around the corner - less than 1 minute walk - not even 10 sec's in the car.
115.2 for the same Esso petrol. The 2 shops are owned by brothers.
And people go to the 115.2 shop - but it has new furnishings, minimalistic shelves and you pull your own petrol.
105.9 shop has an old timely feel to it. The shop has everything. And a 12 year old (give or take) boy/girl will fill the tank for you and make the transaction for you. its worth asking for the €34.00 and letting them keep the €1 - but you dont have to.

As the 115.2 shop is on a major road - they get the business customers who dont care how much the company is paying to fill there tank. Oh and the people that like shiny things.


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## daltonr (28 Jul 2005)

> Just to share my experiences of restaurants in the 'Land of the Free' (West coast);

Thanks for proving the point. America has everything, including bad over priced restaurants. My only point is that it's much easier in America to find excellent service at a good price than it is to find the same in Ireland.

I'm posting fom Malaysia this evening and everything is incredibly cheap, but I've just spent nearly an hour trying to sort out a mixed up Room Service order. For those who think I'm only out for value for money, I couldn't live in Malaysia regardless of value for money.

I don't know whether it's the open sewers or the lunatic drivers, but I've found a country I'd be less inclined to live in than Ireland. Great place for a holiday though. And another years worth of clothes is taken care of.

-Rd


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## maryrose (28 Jul 2005)

Any idea how much the local workforce are paid to produce the 'years worth of clothes' ?


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## daltonr (28 Jul 2005)

> Any idea how much the local workforce are paid to produce the 'years worth of clothes' ?


 
I'm getting some custom tailored shirts for about €10 so in that case I can say that the workforce (the tailor) get's about €10 per shirt.

As for the rest....since they are the same clothes I'd be buying if I were at home (Shirts, Trousers, Levi's, T-Shirts,  Socks etc.  Same brands by and large as Dublin)  I presume they are paid the same they would be paid if I paid  3 or 4 times the price in Dublin.    

Is the point of your question to suggest that If I paid more for the clothes by shopping in Dublin I'd be somehow helping sweat shop workers in Viet Nam or China?

I can assure you the premium you pay for clothes in Dublin goes straight into shiny department store displays, higher rents and rates, high VAT, TV Commercials, etc, etc, etc.

If you've found a way to cloth yourself exclusively in clothes made by people paid an excellent wage, and under good work conditions then let me know.   It's certainly something that I'd be interested in.

-Rd


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## dam099 (28 Jul 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> Anyone care to tell me where I can get the following cheaper:
> 
> Electricity
> TV Licence
> ...


 
Electricity - You are right nowhere, unless you are a commercial user.
TV Licence - I think of this as more of a tax anyway.
Health Insurance - Don't BUPA charge less than VHI? And there is now a new one VIVAS or somesuch.
Prescription Drugs - Do all pharmacys charge a standard price? I am guessing maybe they do, isn't the Competition Authority taking a look at them. 
Cinema Tickets - There are numerous cinemas in Dublin (OK maybe not in smaller towns) do they all charge the same?
Tickets to a concert - Ticketmaster have been taking the piss here. It is possible to go to non ticketmaster promoted events though you may not get to see a band you like.
Bin charges - Not much choice


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## daltonr (29 Jul 2005)

> TV Licence - I think of this as more of a tax anyway.


 
Government style competition. You might not want the Irish State Broadcaster. You may be willing to pay more to watch competing channels, but we'll charge you for our channel anyway.

I don't actually mind the TV Licence so much. Through show's like Prime Time and Rip Off Republic (How's that for a segwey back to the topic) everyone benefits from RTE even if they don't watch it. But you're right, it's a tax and like all the other regressive taxes (Bin Tax, Stamp Duty, VRT, etc.) it hits the less well off harder than the comfortably rich.



> Cinema Tickets - There are numerous cinemas in Dublin (OK maybe not in smaller towns) do they all charge the same?


 
Pretty much. There's swings and roundabouts. Some charge for Parking some don't. But either way Cinema in Ireland, Dublin in particular has gotten expensive enough that I've gone from going at least once a week, to maybe going every 2 - 3 months. Often I don't go at all for 6 - 8 months. Renting a DVD isn't an option either. It's almost as cheap to buy a DVD from the UK online than to rent it at Xtra-Vision. 

The point of that post above was not that you can't shop around, you can. But in the grand scheme of things there comes a point where you have to ask if the effect of shopping around is up against a much greater force. Ireland in general has just become too damn expnsive. This is what people mean by Rip-Off Ireland. You'll get the odd person who'll argue some dictionary definition of a RipOff. I.e. If you choose to be Ripped off then in isn't a rippoff. But that's just silly. Most people are forced to live in Ireland and if the cost of Living in Ireland is excessive then it's fair to refer to it as Ripoff Ireland.

Anyway, I'm heading back to the world of no internet access for a few days. Bye. 

-Rd


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## ubiquitous (29 Jul 2005)

You can't afford to go to the cinema and yet you can afford to go to Malaysia. Poor boy. My heart bleeds...


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## daltonr (2 Aug 2005)

I didn't say I couldn't afford to go to the cinema. I said I wasn't willing to go as often as I used to. For the record this is my first non work related trip abroad or indeed holiday of any sort since 1998. Excluding one or two weekends in London.

So whether your heart bleeds or not doesn't really concern me.

The mods round here have gotten a lot more sarkey of late.

-Rd


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## ClubMan (2 Aug 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> For the record this is my first non work related trip abroad or indeed holiday of any sort since 1998. Excluding one or two weekends in London.


[broken link removed]


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## daltonr (3 Aug 2005)

Thanks for setting me straight. My last holiday was actually 1997 not 1998.

The rest of the trips were for work related. Of course i'm lucky to be able to travel with work and i'm not stupid enough to not enjoy it. but it's nice to be on an actual holiday.

Whoever posted on here a few weeks back that i'd like Singapore, you were right.

-Rd


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## ClubMan (3 Aug 2005)

daltonr said:
			
		

> The rest of the trips were for work related.



Are you in the [broken link removed] business?


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## daltonr (3 Aug 2005)

You're not going to let this go are you. If it's that vital to you that you account fully for my time abroad...

I was in Orlando because our factory in Tampa and our hotel were evacuated for a few days due to a couple of hurricanes.

It was a work trip.

If you feel the need to dig deeper perhaps we could set up an interview when i get back.

-Rd


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## ClubMan (3 Aug 2005)

Just asking out of curiosity. Nice to see it's not just moderators who can be sarky.


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## daltonr (3 Aug 2005)

I just thought the mods job would be to moderate the sarkyness not cause it.
I'll reserve the right to be sarky when my honesty is questioned by someone who hides behind an anonymous handle.

-Rd


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## RainyDay (3 Aug 2005)

This thread has reached the end of it's useful life - thread closed.


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