We?re in the holiday season now; the weather is perfect. I stroll along Torrevieja?s lovely paseo maritimo and can?t help but notice most of the cafes (I refuse to call them restaurants) are having a tough time: about 20% capacity.
I would suggest they engage a mystery shopper, who could be a family member, and to then experience the ?service? from the customer?s perspective. With the exception of one or two, I won?t touch any of them anymore.
In one caf? the staff made it obvious they were doing us a favour; the service was cursory. In another, as soon as the waiter realised we only wanted a wine each and were not ordering a meal, we were told they were closing; a lie.
In another we waited ten minutes. In two others the food was microwave production line; slapped in front of us. We even had to go to another table to get condiments: the waiter was offhand: the cost was ?22. We don?t use any of them now. I bet these silly prats are blaming the recession.
ya fine that aswell , there fall over them self try to keep us in food . not , that want to bring down there price aswell , spain now costting more that some places across EU zone . Improve the cooking aswell . we can cook at work here , wich not bad . the boss did BBQ pork . and 24 oC here to night still havnt got out work
still two more Laptop to fix to night yet .
Everywhere I’ve eaten out, or simply gone for a coffee, inland here in Granada, the staff at the restaurants and cafes have been great. That’s in places that are otherwise empty, or places that are packed to the rafters. Perhaps many of the places I go to aren’t so used to tourists as they may be in coastal areas. That said though, my most recent trips along the Costa Tropical, anywhere I’ve stopped off at for a drink or some food, has been great.
Mind you, because my “Granadino” Spanish is pretty good these days, I usually end up chatting with the staff at such places, so that probably influences my thoughts a great deal.
The unregulated ‘bank’ sector borrowed money from household name banks, again woefully unaccountable. They loaned this money to people to buy properties; people whose circumstances meant they were destined to default. A blip in the economy and you get the domino effect.
Many believe that the recession falls far short of the term as generally understood: an economic readjustment. This was opportunity for fraud on an international scale. Governments won’t admit to it. They were either directly complicit, negligent, or they allowed the banks to get away from it.
Either way, governments don’t like to be held accountable. As the head of a U.S counter fraud agency observed: “The easiest way to rob a bank is to own one.” Enough said! The biggest heist in history. Slow handclap would be in order.
I couldn’t agree more, Alan. The real culprits are the customers who shrug and pay up. If everyone boycotted .. and spread the word about poor value services; they would change their bad practice.
In the UK there’s an on-line service by which customers can leave comment, good or bad, about businesses they have patronised. Many hotels are happy to oblige. Why not others? All we would need do is go to the ‘consumers panel’ website, type in the business of interested, and check out the previous customers comments.
AlaninSpain yes 6 Euros for a pint and one Irish bar are tell people the GUINNESS is from Ireland and it 7 Euros ...... Irish GUINNESS is not exported so you been coned , Admission Euros 20 + 1 FREE DRINK one off the many nite clubs .
COME ON ? Scam
Wow… guess at those prices the “Costa” living can be much more expensive than in the sticks inland here 😉
I certainly wouldn’t pay that much for a pint!! There’s two bars in nearby Loja that serve Guinness, for no more than ?2,50 a pint.
Pint Of Irish Black (Gunniess) ?1.75 - ?2
Sprits.. Ranges from what you want around ?1.50
Coke Pint ?2.00 Small ?1.50
Beer etc? Around ?2.00….
Gran Alacant
Pint Of Irish Black (Gunniess) ?3.50
Sprits.. Ranges from what you want around ?2.50
Beer etc? Around ?3.50….
Ireland Dublin
Pint Of Irish Black (Gunniess) ?4.50 - ( ?6 late bar )
Sprits.. Ranges from what you want around ?6.50
Coke Small ?2.50
Beer etc? Around ?4.50…. (?6.50 late bar )
Ireland Galway
Pint Of Irish Black (Gunniess) ?3.80 - ?4
Sprits.. Ranges from what you want around ?6.00
Coke Small ?2.50
Beer etc? Around ?4.00…. ?4.75
They charge these inflated prices because they know enough idiots will pay them. Some of my best evenings are with friends; patio parties in which the drink flows freely at 12c a can; reasonable wine @ ?1.75 a bottle. A fraction of bar prices and the entertainment is much better.
I enjoy a great friendship with a brilliant band; two keyboard players and a percussionist. Their CV can only be marvelled at. Years on world cruises and prestigious holiday parks; London’s top clubs, theatres, and backing international choirs here in Torrevieja.
Yet, they are contemplating returning to the cruise liners. Why? Because skinflint bar owners, who charge outrageous prices, are too damned tight (and stupid) to pay these superbly talented guys a miserable ?50 each for three hours entertainment. Get wise! Bar owners are like politicians: They take a lot and give very little inreturn.
The south costa has always been cheap to eat and most of the food was cooked by the owners mother, served by the owners cousins.
Most restaurant’s are run by ex farmers or Guiri`s from England with the concept of running a bar serving english clients food cooked by inexperienced owners.
Having said that Andalucian food is either covered in Oil, Batter or Vinegar, sometimes all three.Its not culinery fine dinning you find in other med countries.
I find it so amusing goin into chiringuito`s and finding no menu, the guy just ask`s as if your supposed too know that they serve the same food as everybody else has been for the last millennium.😊
And when he does tell you, its at 3 million words a second mumbled from a mouth still recovering from the baseball attack it recieved the previous night.
In a time when most developed countries small businesses are lookin to create more income with new ideas and aiming to beat competition, most Andulucian owners couldn`t give a four x and are waiting for nirvana to return.
I feel there gonna have a long wait, then again most probably have a lot of Euro`s hidden away from the tax man.
