One issue might be people who have had a bit too much to drink now being able to help themselves, without having the bar staff intervening and telling them they should consider going home.
Originally Posted by FusionFury: “Do we need a barmaid though who is up herself?? Or staff who serve the favourites first? Sure se can do without that..
This seems like a quick way to get beer”
It may be quicker, and great if you don't like dealing with other human beings. But it all seems very "cold" (for want of a better word).
Oh god, I hope we don't get them here. It would be SO damaging to my bank balance, at least cash machines are a challenge that you can fail after a few.
Is there actually any demand for a pub?
Most now serve and rely on food to keep the business going. And that requires a bit more skill than a vending machine.
Staff are a major cost in pubs, so things that reduce staff are good for profits. Surely higher profits are good for everyone? After all we're all primarily supported by our share holdings and not by wages, right?
You still need bar staff to get you that bag of crisps, mix your drinks, open your mixer bottle or bottle of beer, clear away the glasses, wash them, all sorts. If all you want is what's in the pump, that's fine.
You also get to use your glass again I guess, which for health & safety you can't now - so you will be putting your glass around a pump that's been around many other glasses (if you touch your glass to the pump, which is sometimes unavoidable).
A stupid idea which will obviously result in many more job losses while not reducing prices a single penny! Just as self service in supermarkets hasn't lowered prices.
My regular pub is a cocktail bar and at times service can be slow while the staff mix complex drinks, everything is from scratch with no pre-made mixers that some of the chain pubs use.
Also how is it going to be properly policed? One member of staff could perhaps be watching several pumps and serving on the standard pumps too as well as watching out for trouble, collecting and washing glasses and any other duties. What happens when some drunken idiot keeps ordering pints and is not noticed by that busy member of staff?
They will naturally be liable if anything goes wrong, whereas if they are serving in the usual way they can quite easily refuse the sale and if necessary as the person to leave.
How would 'top ups' work too? Would the unit pour exactly 568 Ml and if you had the glass at the wrong angle loose out? How would they ensure you received beer that was good quality and what would happen around barrel change time?
The pubs I drink in will pour a pint and see how poor the quality was and either draw more liquid through the lines until the quality improved or change the barrel. I've certainly seen it where the entire barrel was bad and the landlord kept changing the pint.
Originally Posted by Lyricalis: “There is already a fully automated cocktail machine available. Apparently cruise ships are very interested in installing them.
They can automate away as long as we stop pretending that there will always be enough jobs for everyone and bring in a basic income.”
Where will the money for this basic income actually come from if there are fewer jobs paying taxes in the first place?
Originally Posted by Zeropoint1: “Where will the money for this basic income actually come from if there are fewer jobs paying taxes in the first place?”
Use google and look up the many pages people have written explaining that. It's pretty much the first question people ask.
Originally Posted by Lyricalis: “Use google and look up the many pages people have written explaining that. It's pretty much the first question people ask.”
It gets a thumbs down from me. We already have many problems here associated with our drinking culture, I can only see this making it worse. Profit before the welfare of others as always.
Hopefully it would be limited to one pint per transaction otherwise you'll just get stuck behind some knobhead trying to buy a dozen pints for all his mates
Originally Posted by IJoinedInMay: “One issue might be people who have had a bit too much to drink now being able to help themselves, without having the bar staff intervening and telling them they should consider going home.”
If the machines were half as complicated as some of the self service car park machines around here, by the time the staff would have intervened they would be incapable of working it anyway!
Originally Posted by Lyricalis: “There is already a fully automated cocktail machine available. Apparently cruise ships are very interested in installing them.”
Originally Posted by David (2): “Is there actually any demand for a pub?
Most now serve and rely on food to keep the business going. And that requires a bit more skill than a vending machine.”
Does a barmaid require getting paid minimal wage for pouring a pint is that a skill worthy of minimal wage when it shoots up in a few years? that's what this will save pubs money on, staff.. so pubs can survive for longer and not close at a rate of 27 a week now.