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04-10-2023, 13:30
Visit The Pub Curmudgeon site (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2023/10/cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshsZZOWp_enMDOy-qJrTOdV-g6vk0gtKfHvby4SYNPr2-47ObirOSu_Rfr3nFlHNEBR7n1mEnQvj54TuZnZtTWyBkjqI1HG CyTQscq4WhiPoJ_6piSBqBhv7EKpyCENWr-UhPGvlfZ4wUrlaIG9V_c4_W8BTTVeYpo_frojgKn8slYAGLhyp henhyphenBZVU8r9AM/s200/card%20only.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshsZZOWp_enMDOy-qJrTOdV-g6vk0gtKfHvby4SYNPr2-47ObirOSu_Rfr3nFlHNEBR7n1mEnQvj54TuZnZtTWyBkjqI1HG CyTQscq4WhiPoJ_6piSBqBhv7EKpyCENWr-UhPGvlfZ4wUrlaIG9V_c4_W8BTTVeYpo_frojgKn8slYAGLhyp henhyphenBZVU8r9AM/s547/card%20only.jpg)
I recently spent a few days in Exeter. Researching the pubs that might be worth visiting, one that stood out was the Turk’s Head (https://whatpub.com/pubs/EXE/682/turks-head-exeter) right in the city centre close to the Guildhall. It’s a historic inn that was converted into a pizza restaurant but has now been restored to pub use, and won a CAMRA Pub Design Award for Conversion to Pub Use. It also operates its own brewery. So, it sounded like somewhere well worth a look, but I noticed on the door a sign saying that they only accepted card and phone payments.
Now, I strongly dislike this policy, and would normally give a swerve to any pubs applying it, but I took the view on this occasion that it would be interesting to see what it was like, and I didn’t really want to cut off my nose to spite my face. It’s a pub of some character, with a small historic façade on the High Street leading to a rambling interior on several different levels. They also brew their own beer, although the pint of £4.75 homebrew I sampled probably wouldn’t win any prizes. I’m also not going to be so dogmatic as to take the same view over, for example, must-visit tourist attractions.
I’m not aware of any pubs in my local area that I would routinely want to visit that won’t accept cash. But even if there were, there are plenty of others that I could give my business to, so I wouldn’t experience any hardship by avoiding them. Back in 2020, during the darkest depths of lockdown, I wrote about the importance of preserving the right to pay in cash (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-cash-machine-stops.html).
Ultimately, the continued existence of cash represents a bulwark of freedom against both governments and corporations. Yes, many people may find contactless payments for everyday transactions convenient, but if we as a society allow cash to entirely disappear, we will have also said goodbye to a large measure of our liberties.This is a theme amplified in this recent article entitled A true cashless society would be a dystopian nightmare (https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/10/02/killing-cash-will-make-us-all-poorer/).https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTbVKuzCpr7vLWEV7QPzrDNTv7tVzE0xmdugcidSGxm N_Jdod1gVzw10phebjQvsDEGV6PYh9oS3VtAjHZVFPe7ORZaWT qWqvQQIdUQTfXXB42uXTMK2fqAfyHylvbx9sQbn8MmNTRWmaMG 9MB_iCeNF2iUB6rjgyMlXxcmwr0EfPODX94JX_SqPCbVc/s200/cashless%20payments.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTbVKuzCpr7vLWEV7QPzrDNTv7tVzE0xmdugcidSGxm N_Jdod1gVzw10phebjQvsDEGV6PYh9oS3VtAjHZVFPe7ORZaWT qWqvQQIdUQTfXXB42uXTMK2fqAfyHylvbx9sQbn8MmNTRWmaMG 9MB_iCeNF2iUB6rjgyMlXxcmwr0EfPODX94JX_SqPCbVc/s607/cashless%20payments.jpg)
If paying for everyday purchases by card is more convenient for you, that’s fair enough, although personally I find it makes life more difficult. But if you venture out of the house without any cash at all, then you leave yourself very exposed, as one participant on a pub crawl recently found when he encountered a cash-only (not Sam Smith’s) pub.
A few places say they have gone cashless after experiencing burglaries, but if there are other cash businesses nearby it doesn’t entirely ring true. For most venues, not accepting cash is exercising a form of social selection. You’re saying that you don’t want the business of the old, the poor or the non-conformist. Your target market is all the people who enthusiastically support the latest thing.
Incidentally, on two previous visits to Exeter, the best pub I encountered was the Great Western Hotel next to St David’s Station, but sadly this closed down earlier this year (https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/historic-exeter-railway-pub-confirms-8385475) and it future looks uncertain. It’s an interesting and characterful city, but not really the best for pubs. I think people are spoiled by York! I also happened to visit during Freshers’ week, when many of the pubs and restaurants were thronged with students.
More... (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2023/10/cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshsZZOWp_enMDOy-qJrTOdV-g6vk0gtKfHvby4SYNPr2-47ObirOSu_Rfr3nFlHNEBR7n1mEnQvj54TuZnZtTWyBkjqI1HG CyTQscq4WhiPoJ_6piSBqBhv7EKpyCENWr-UhPGvlfZ4wUrlaIG9V_c4_W8BTTVeYpo_frojgKn8slYAGLhyp henhyphenBZVU8r9AM/s200/card%20only.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshsZZOWp_enMDOy-qJrTOdV-g6vk0gtKfHvby4SYNPr2-47ObirOSu_Rfr3nFlHNEBR7n1mEnQvj54TuZnZtTWyBkjqI1HG CyTQscq4WhiPoJ_6piSBqBhv7EKpyCENWr-UhPGvlfZ4wUrlaIG9V_c4_W8BTTVeYpo_frojgKn8slYAGLhyp henhyphenBZVU8r9AM/s547/card%20only.jpg)
I recently spent a few days in Exeter. Researching the pubs that might be worth visiting, one that stood out was the Turk’s Head (https://whatpub.com/pubs/EXE/682/turks-head-exeter) right in the city centre close to the Guildhall. It’s a historic inn that was converted into a pizza restaurant but has now been restored to pub use, and won a CAMRA Pub Design Award for Conversion to Pub Use. It also operates its own brewery. So, it sounded like somewhere well worth a look, but I noticed on the door a sign saying that they only accepted card and phone payments.
Now, I strongly dislike this policy, and would normally give a swerve to any pubs applying it, but I took the view on this occasion that it would be interesting to see what it was like, and I didn’t really want to cut off my nose to spite my face. It’s a pub of some character, with a small historic façade on the High Street leading to a rambling interior on several different levels. They also brew their own beer, although the pint of £4.75 homebrew I sampled probably wouldn’t win any prizes. I’m also not going to be so dogmatic as to take the same view over, for example, must-visit tourist attractions.
I’m not aware of any pubs in my local area that I would routinely want to visit that won’t accept cash. But even if there were, there are plenty of others that I could give my business to, so I wouldn’t experience any hardship by avoiding them. Back in 2020, during the darkest depths of lockdown, I wrote about the importance of preserving the right to pay in cash (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-cash-machine-stops.html).
Ultimately, the continued existence of cash represents a bulwark of freedom against both governments and corporations. Yes, many people may find contactless payments for everyday transactions convenient, but if we as a society allow cash to entirely disappear, we will have also said goodbye to a large measure of our liberties.This is a theme amplified in this recent article entitled A true cashless society would be a dystopian nightmare (https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/10/02/killing-cash-will-make-us-all-poorer/).https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTbVKuzCpr7vLWEV7QPzrDNTv7tVzE0xmdugcidSGxm N_Jdod1gVzw10phebjQvsDEGV6PYh9oS3VtAjHZVFPe7ORZaWT qWqvQQIdUQTfXXB42uXTMK2fqAfyHylvbx9sQbn8MmNTRWmaMG 9MB_iCeNF2iUB6rjgyMlXxcmwr0EfPODX94JX_SqPCbVc/s200/cashless%20payments.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTbVKuzCpr7vLWEV7QPzrDNTv7tVzE0xmdugcidSGxm N_Jdod1gVzw10phebjQvsDEGV6PYh9oS3VtAjHZVFPe7ORZaWT qWqvQQIdUQTfXXB42uXTMK2fqAfyHylvbx9sQbn8MmNTRWmaMG 9MB_iCeNF2iUB6rjgyMlXxcmwr0EfPODX94JX_SqPCbVc/s607/cashless%20payments.jpg)
If paying for everyday purchases by card is more convenient for you, that’s fair enough, although personally I find it makes life more difficult. But if you venture out of the house without any cash at all, then you leave yourself very exposed, as one participant on a pub crawl recently found when he encountered a cash-only (not Sam Smith’s) pub.
A few places say they have gone cashless after experiencing burglaries, but if there are other cash businesses nearby it doesn’t entirely ring true. For most venues, not accepting cash is exercising a form of social selection. You’re saying that you don’t want the business of the old, the poor or the non-conformist. Your target market is all the people who enthusiastically support the latest thing.
Incidentally, on two previous visits to Exeter, the best pub I encountered was the Great Western Hotel next to St David’s Station, but sadly this closed down earlier this year (https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/historic-exeter-railway-pub-confirms-8385475) and it future looks uncertain. It’s an interesting and characterful city, but not really the best for pubs. I think people are spoiled by York! I also happened to visit during Freshers’ week, when many of the pubs and restaurants were thronged with students.
More... (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2023/10/cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face.html)