M5 Roadchef

Googlewhacker

bosseyed wrote: »

Well, here we are on this immensely quiet road that only runs for about a third of the length of the country connecting a great many major towns and cities, why if only someone would put some manner of eatery on this lonely stretch of road, but ALAS! I fear it must be financially unviable to sell edibles at the side of this barely populated stretch of road. But wait! Roadchef hath staked their claim on this barren bit of land and as its such a difficult road with barely any passing trade I shall happily pay well over the odds for a cup of tea, esepcially considering how hard it must have been for the delivery lorry to get here through the fields and that.

Convenience my bum, you pay through the nose because they know choice is limited and you'll pay it rather than stray from the motorway in search of somewhere cheaper, suckers that we are.

ummm thats the whole point, it is conveniant to stop there because there is no where else, you could go of the road into a town and find somewhere cheaper but as I say....its conveniant not to!

vikingaero

nomoneytoday wrote: »

The costs of running such a place aren't cheap.
Rents/land costs, 24 hour heating and lighting, wages+getting staff in, plumbing, VAT and other taxes, offering free WC facilities etc all have to paid for somehow. They wouldn't last long charging just the 10p cost of tea bag and some milk...

Can you imagine any other business that has to operate in the same manner as a motorway service station?

If you or I want to open a cafe/restaurant, we find a site, agree rent, bish bash bosh, and et voila we are open for business!

With motorway services you have to bid for a site and pay millions for the lease, agree to open 24/7/365, have every member of Joe Public in to use the toilets for free and have the toilets wrecked by people who probably aren't decent paying customers.

Starrystarrynight

Not sure which company runs the services, possibly Eat & Drink Co, but we stopped at Ferrybridge on the A1 recently and my OH got a 20% discount as he's in HM Forces.

Techhead_2

marleyboy wrote: »

I cant imagine a customer caring how much the overheads are when it comes to how much money a customer is paying for a brew.

You are either prepared to pay excessive costs or your not, its one of the prime reasons I choose not to go to a motorway service station, if I need a rest break, I exit at the next (or previous) turn off, and go elsewhere. I have even been known to visit a local greasy spoon, where a large mug of tea costs around 70p, and a full English breakfast costs around a couple of quid. With free toilet amenities for all.

You've obviously not been in a greasy spoon for a while. Your prices are way off the mark.

Proc

Am I the only one that sees the irony in the whole situation?

OP complains about high prices. Doesn't think the price can be justified and obviously doesn't see value and convenience in a service station. OP obviously doesn't appreciate the high costs involved. So, OP isn't happy with high price for a number of reasons, shouldn't have to pay it, this is all wrong, etc etc

So what does OP do?

Pays the high price.

ariba10

vikingaero wrote: »

Can you imagine any other business that has to operate in the same manner as a motorway service station?

If you or I want to open a cafe/restaurant, we find a site, agree rent, bish bash bosh, and et voila we are open for business!

With motorway services you have to bid for a site and pay millions for the lease, agree to open 24/7/365, have every member of Joe Public in to use the toilets for free and have the toilets wrecked by people who probably aren't decent paying customers.

So why do they want to open a service station ?

barbiedoll

No-one would mind paying the high prices if the food and drink was edible. The last time we ate at a service station, the food was stone cold. My OH complained and to be fair, the manageress did refund our money. But as OH said at the time, he just wanted food that was hot, not free. I know service stations are situated in literally the middle of nowhere, but even there, fire has still been invented! It can't be beyond their capabilities to keep food hot, surely?
We never eat in service stations anymore, we always use the roadside trailers, the food is hot, fresh, cooked in front of you and is a reasonable price. And the tea comes in a proper mug!

marleyboy

Techhead wrote: »

You've obviously not been in a greasy spoon for a while. Your prices are way off the mark.

Not so, I had a full greasy fry up only this morning at my local cafe,( bacon,eggs,beans, sausage, black pud n toast", it cost me £2.80 which included a free brew.

juno

vikingaero wrote: »

Can you imagine any other business that has to operate in the same manner as a motorway service station?

If you or I want to open a cafe/restaurant, we find a site, agree rent, bish bash bosh, and et voila we are open for business!

With motorway services you have to bid for a site and pay millions for the lease, agree to open 24/7/365, have every member of Joe Public in to use the toilets for free and have the toilets wrecked by people who probably aren't decent paying customers.

I went to one at 2am on a sunday night/monday morning and it still had to be open and staffed

ali1511

I do a lot of travelling (30k miles a year) I'm dependant on these service stations. I prefer to get a sandwich in the M&S ones where I don't seem to pay more than a normal M&S (yes I know other places are cheaper) but they are convenient and I feel I'm getting something nice and not being ripped off.

I'm also a huge Starbucks fan and only drink it when its claimable on expenses, but I have to object to paying £1 more for the same coffee/muffin in a motorway service area. I get their instant via sachets as its cheaper (than buying a coffee from them) and fill a travel cup with it, and they are £1 a pack more than in a normal Starbucks.
There's nowhere else to get a decent coffee on the motorway so they have got us coffee lovers by the short and curlies, but I can't help thinking that the amount of money that each starbucks will make (they are always packed) must pay their extortionate rents at the services?