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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Jun 27, 2019 16:25:15 GMT
...from most to least hated*
McDonalds Boots Greggs WH Smith Iceland Subway HMV Costa Starbucks Pret A Manger M&S Wilko Nandos Waterstones Tesco H&M Sports Direct Primark Currys PC World Poundland KFC Sainsburys Wetherspoons Caffe Nero Lidl Aldi
*yes I know they're all different types of things, but still...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2019 17:12:41 GMT
I honestly can't be arsed trawling through that lot.
My favourite supermarket, by a country mile actually, is Morrison's which scores highly on range, value and quality. It puts most of the others to shame. I do go in Café Nerro now and then and like their coffee. I like Waterstones and often have a browse, but probably only buy something a few times a year. I can't really afford to buy new books and tend to buy them second hand. Wilco's is useful as a store that has a lot of practical stuff you might need to buy ( "Where the fuck do I get tacks..ah of course Wilkos"!), so I find myself using it quite often. I probably don't have much good to say about the others.
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Post by tory on Jun 27, 2019 17:33:25 GMT
Pret is my chain food place of choice. The coffee is generally ok, the food is reasonably priced and they have free wifi. There are also loads of them.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Jun 27, 2019 18:02:09 GMT
Sports Direct - everything's a mess, it's all low quality anyway, and the staff are as rude as fuck WH Smith - voted the UK's worst retailer recently. It used to be a joy as a kid, now it just seems to sell things everywhere else does cheaper. And they've really gone for the 'automised checkout' in a big way Subway - always a weird smell, the food is terrible because the bread is terrible Wetherspoons - it's OK for cheap food but I don't like pubs much anyway and I get really bored with the almost-scripted defences you get of the place and that arsehole who owns them all (and goes around shaking punters' hands) Primark - awful in every conceivable way and also in ways you could not conceive until you go inside Costa - I hate them as you know. They have taken over this country to its obvious detriment. There'll be a Costa on Mars before the year's out, I'm sure.
Boots Iceland Wilko Nandos H&M Currys PC World KFC Sainsburys
Waterstones - good enough for a browse and a sit down, nobody's going to bother you, I like that they have young studenty types mostly on the tills, always friendly and helpful M&S - fucked completely for clothes in 2019, there's really nothing they do well apart from smalls and suits (but I think you could do just as well at H&M). But they still have some very nice things in the food halls, even tho' they've had the same packaging design for about 20 years now, and places like Sainsburys outdoes them in some lines. It all desperately needs a facelift Caffe Nero - the coffee is no better than anywhere else and the cakes and pastries are all fur coat and no knickers. They're OK places to sit down in tho', marginally better than Starbucks, nice big leather armchairs Lidl/Aldi - I never bother when I'm in the UK but they've both been helpful when I've been abroad (especially Lidl - I lived very close to one in Prague and it was excellent) Pret A Manger - they're OK although VERY Toby Greggs - you can get a 'Steak Bake' and a coffee for something like £2.25. It's not great food and it's average coffee but now and again I'll use them 'cos they're cheap. They're usually full of working class people too I'm out like a shot Tesco - Whitehaven Tesco at least is well-stocked and spacious, I go in probably five days a week and always come out thinking I've done OK for ten quid or whatever. The Tescos they have in the Czech Rep now are very nearly as good as ours, oddly Poundland - always worth a visit, genuinely some excellent bargains, especially food lines that aren't sold elsewhere McDonalds - it's an absolute godsend when you're abroad or in a strange town because they always have good strong wifi and you can sit down without eating anything and take a break. The coffee is as good as anywhere else on the high street now. And I like those ridiculous summer burgers they do ('Hawaiian Stack'), you can still eat for less than a tenner. The breakfasts are great HMV - they've done wonders keeping the place going, and in many ways it's improved generally as an outlet. The staff are nearly always helpful and knowledgeable, they're never crowded so you can shop easily, there are always good offers. I can't see it lasting, they've been kicked hard at least twice now...
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Post by tory on Jun 27, 2019 19:09:22 GMT
You are as bad a snob as I am!
I like the odd McDonalds breakfast now and again. Their Hash Browns are grease-tastic.
Agree on WH Smiths - what a dismal place.
Costa is appalling and agree with Nero - it looks good inside but you're being taken for a ride.
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Post by DarknessFish on Jun 27, 2019 19:28:40 GMT
I find it really weird that any adults without children choose to eat in McDonald's at any point. I've occasionally been in when desperately short of time in a strange place, but that's pretty rare. I find the lack of proper menu other than some huge pictures on the wall behind the staff unhelpful, too. Horrible places.
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toomanyhatz
god
I've met him/her. He/she's great!!
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Post by toomanyhatz on Jun 27, 2019 19:36:05 GMT
Can Americans play? I don't know most of these, though obviously some are international.
Just want to say I love Pret, though. (Apparently there are a few here now, mostly on the east coast.) Might be because the first one I went to was in Heathrow - it was good and reasonably priced! I'm used to paying $10 for a lettuce leaf at LAX.
Couldn't detect a notable difference in the UK versions of any of the US companies here, though Starbucks in the UK offered toast with bits of dried fruit in it (can't remember what they called it) which I wish they'd do here.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Jun 27, 2019 19:38:28 GMT
I find it really weird that any adults without children choose to eat in McDonald's at any point. I've occasionally been in when desperately short of time in a strange place, but that's pretty rare. I find the lack of proper menu other than some huge pictures on the wall behind the staff unhelpful, too. Horrible places. oh this is such a STANDARD response Mr. Fish I can't defend them on any level other than they're comfortable places to sit down with when you're buggling about in a city with bags of shopping. I didn't mention the air con, either. And the toilets. oooh they're SO nice
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Jun 27, 2019 19:39:53 GMT
Can Americans play? I don't know most of these, though obviously some are international. Just want to say I love Pret, though. (Apparently there are a few here now, mostly on the east coast.) Might be because the first one I went to was in Heathrow - it was good and reasonably priced! I'm used to paying $10 for a lettuce leaf at LAX. Couldn't detect a notable difference in the UK versions of any of the US companies here, though Starbucks in the UK offered toast with bits of dried fruit in it (can't remember what they called it) which I wish they'd do here. A currant bun! I'm surprised they've survived. I think they shut down a hundred or so places here a few months ago. They don't even do that 'SOY LATTE FOR BRAD!' thing any more
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Post by Half Machine Lipschitz on Jun 27, 2019 19:42:39 GMT
McDonalds was a special treat when I was a kid. My parents would take my sister and me there two or three times a year and it was always a big deal. I was only ever allowed to have a regular hamburger and small fries, while my older sister got to have a quarter-pounder which I thought was extremely unfair. I practically had to emancipate myself before I ever had a Big Mac.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2019 20:05:30 GMT
I find it really weird that any adults without children choose to eat in McDonald's at any point. I've occasionally been in when desperately short of time in a strange place, but that's pretty rare. I find the lack of proper menu other than some huge pictures on the wall behind the staff unhelpful, too. Horrible places. oh this is such a STANDARD response Mr. Fish I can't defend them on any level other than they're comfortable places to sit down with when you're buggling about in a city with bags of shopping. I didn't mention the air con, either. And the toilets. oooh they're SO nice 1 The food is rubbish and you're surrounded by fat families and teenage chavs. It's actually a pretty traumatic experience!
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Post by tory on Jun 28, 2019 6:20:21 GMT
You total snob!
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Post by The Red Heifer on Jun 28, 2019 6:34:08 GMT
The first time I went to England Sports Direct was great, loads upon loads of cheap, obscure jerseys and I just loaded up for myself and my family. The second time however they've obviously shifted away from that and only stocked a slim amount of the BIG teams, which doesn't interest me. Bought a lot of Lonsdale underpants from there on both trips though!
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Post by DarknessFish on Jun 28, 2019 8:03:21 GMT
Boots - I only really ever go in there to buy foam earplugs to help me sleep. Very 1970s hospital kind of vibe, hard floors and bright lights. Greggs - Being a Wiganer, I'm not exactly short of choice when it comes to places selling pies and pasties, so the Leeds-based megachain pails in quality comparisons towards Muffin Man or Greenalghs. But it's also not that bad, and is a far classier establishment than the Pound Bakery places that are popping up everywhere. WH Smith - Wasn't there a twitter account called WH Smith Carpet Tile? Like everyone else, I have no idea how it survives, it does a worse job, more expensively, than either card shops, stationery shops or book shops. Subway - That vile smell they pump out that's supposed to be freshly baked bread, what the fuck is that? Sandwiches are something you eat when you aren't buying food, so Subway's existence is baffling to me. HMV - I'll be sad to see it go, and I already miss the Southport one that closed down. Never a great selection, and focused on DVD/Blueray for too long, even though surely the market there is dying out faster than CDs? M&S Wigan had one of the first Marks and Spencer stores: I used to occasionally get their 2 Dine for £10 thing, but I don't even think their food is that good, let alone their clothes for pensioners range. No idea how it hasn't collapsed into oblivion yet. Wilko - The missus loves a Wilko, Range, Poundland, but I'm not a fan, other than for buying birdseed. Nandos - Shite. Waterstones - There seems to be a book snob thing of disparaging Waterstones, but I think they tend to do a fairly good job of selling mass-market titles, and highlighting more interesting things every so often. Good if you like reading contemporary fiction & pop science, anyway, and I do. Tesco - Overpriced evil overlords, who I'm pretty much forced to buy food from every day because there's bugger all else near the office.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Jun 28, 2019 8:09:38 GMT
The first time I went to England Sports Direct was great, loads upon loads of cheap, obscure jerseys and I just loaded up for myself and my family. The second time however they've obviously shifted away from that and only stocked a slim amount of the BIG teams, which doesn't interest me. Bought a lot of Lonsdale underpants from there on both trips though! They're good for band T-shirts now, it's the only reason I go in. 2 for £20 and in some branches, a really good range.
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