Invincible Vince Cable?

"Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving", wrote William Shakespeare in Othello.


This might have been written about Vince Cable, a policitian whose integrity towered above his colleagues matched with a razor-sharp wit; how can anyone forget the famous put-down when he compared Gordon Brown, when he was prime minister, to Mr Bean? Today, however, after revelations in the Daily Telegraph in which Vince Cable told (nay, boasted) to undercover journalists that he could topple the coalition government if he resigned from the Cabinet. He is now looking more like Mr Clumsy than the able politician that he is. However, his gaffe over tuition fees (in which he threated to vote against his own policy) seems to have started the rot.


But what can we take from this major error of judgement?  Firstly, that when you're a politician you should always keep your personal views to yourself.  You never know who you're talking to and you simply cannot risk anything leaking out that isn't government policy.  This is an area in which New Labour excelled; everyone followed the official party line and maintained strict discipline when communicating with the media.


Secondly, that as Shakespeare so eloquently put it, reputation can come and go at the whim of those who bestowed positive attributes to you in the first place.  Vince Cable's reputation is now heading south faster than a flock of migrating birds; if he were a Plc we would be selling shares and I can't see that situation changing in the near future. I would be surprised if he didn't do the decent thing and resign before or during the Christmas recess.


The same problem, of a sliding reputation, is also being visited upon Nick Clegg.  Was it only 6 months ago when, on the lawns of No. 10, we all witnessed that friendly, knock-about banter between the newly-weds, Clegg and Cameron?  Today, Clegg's reputation has been tarnished partly by his volte face on his party's position of tuition fees. 


It seem that the problem with both politicians is that they have come under the spell of power and will do anything to keep hold of power. Before the election it was all heart-felt pledges and a promise to do politics differently.  Clegg sounded convincing and Cable was his powerful right-hand man, and there was a sense that we could have witnessed a new dawn in British politics.


Of course, the electorate failed to deliver a decisive victory to any party and we now have a situation in which the Tories are getting their own way and the LibDems are having to bite their lips (or so it seems) as they agree to policies that were never in their manifesto. Perhaps Cameron should have formed a minority government, which would have given Cameron a working majority but the opposition parties would have had real power.


I am sure that Clegg enjoyed the moment when he became deputy PM, but he and his colleagues are actually part of a Tory government, which is great news for Cameron because the LibDems are being wheeled-out to take the flack for unpopular policies whilst they sit back pinching themselves, because I am sure that they can't believe they're not dreaming.

Are you being served?

If you like coffee and you haven't been on Mars for the last few years, you'll be very familiar with the changes that have taken place to the way that we consume coffee.  Over the years we have moved from being a nation that enjoys being served at a table to one where self-service is the order of the day.

The rise of the American-styled, self-service coffee chains has led to the Americanisation of yet another part of our daily lives, which has inflicted a whole new service model on the caffeine-hungry consumer.

If you visit any chain-operated coffee bar, and an increasing number of independent operators, the enjoyment all but evaporates the moment you walk in.  The sanitised process starts with a queue as you wait in line to be served; when you finally get to place your order, having had to decipher a myriad of coffee options and then select the size of the chosen beverage (why can't they just offer you "large" or "small" rather than "regular" or "tall" or "grande"?).  Then comes the "upselling" question, the one that marketeers must have been very proud of when they decided that every customer is likely to spend more if they're asked to: "would you like anything with that?".  Invariably, it's a "no" because I think I might be old enough to know whether I would like a small piece of heated dough and smidgen of chocolate, sorry pain au chocolate, which I will be asked to pay around £1.70.  What next?  "Does sir need to use the toilet?"

Once you have negotiated the ordering stage,  you then have to wait until your beverage is served.  If, when your drink emerges, you want sugar you have to take your tray to another area where milk, sugar, ridiculous wooden stirring sticks and serviettes are available.

At this point, and you could have been in the cafe for 10 or more minutes, you're still nowhere near being able to enjoy your rapidly-cooling beverage.  The next part in this consumer-unfriendly environment is being able to find a vacant table to sit at; if you're with friends or colleagues you can deploy the pincer movement on arrival: one queues for the drinks whilst the others find a table.  However, in some establishments even this forward-thinking activity is frowned upon.  If you're alone then it's every coffee-lover for themselves.

Of course, being British no one wants to have to share a table even if this means occupying a table for 4 and then spreading out newspapers and laptops to ensure that no other customer will dare to enquire if they can join you.  What did the owners expect?  That we would all lapse into Friends-esque exuberance at 8.00 in the morning (or at any time of the day for that matter)?

So, we're finally at our table and in a few short minutes we've consumed our lukewarm cappuccino (the best advice is to always go for a black coffee because at least the coffee will still be hotter than the milky alternatives).  What next?  What if you want another drink?  If you're with friends, again, no problem; if you're alone what do you do?  Do you leave all your belongings alone and exposed, and then nervously keep checking that your prize laptop is still where you left it as you endure another customer service nightmare?  Or do you pack everything up and go?

Emotionally, I packed up and left the chains behind some time ago because I think that enjoying a coffee or tea or whatever you prefer should be a pleasant experience and not a trip down memory lane to the school canteen.  I now go out of my way to avoid the chains (sometimes you have no choice: it is either a McKing burger bar or coffee chain), and always choose those places where you do get service (even a genuine smile) and a decent coffee (as opposed to a superdupersillyfrillylattefrothyccino).

Such places are out there waiting for your custom and when you do find them you won't be disappointed; you will enjoy the difference between the clinical, sausage-machine approach to selling coffee and the more personal approach where staff are generally pleased to serve you, an experience which most Europeans still enjoy.

With the chains achieving ridiculously high mark-ups on the cost of the raw ingredients (7p per espresso shot is what it costs them) they are going to be with us for some time to come, but if we want to avoid a chain-only coffee future then I suggest that we all try to seek out those coffee bars where the last thing you're asked is: "do you want anything with that?".

Give the independent coffee shops a break

With their slicker-than-slick marketing campaigns, matching equally slick interiors it is all too easy to walk past the independent coffee shops in favour of the Costa Neros of the world (or should that be Costa Small Fortune?).  The coffee chains offer much to tempt the easily-persuaded consumer that walking into one of their stores will give them the feeling that they're walking on to a set from Friends. 

However, the next time you see an independent outlet give them a go.  I was on Kennington Road in London recently waiting for a meeting.  I was looking for somewhere to wait and spotted and independent patisserie.  I initially hesitated before going in because the one thing that chains offer is consistency and it is this safety in knowing what you'll get that people are so tempted to go back time and time again.

I went in and ordered coffee and a pain au chocolat.  I was asked for £1.25 and thought that they had forgotten to add something to my bill.  The pastry was fresh out of the oven and still warm and the coffee wasn't bad (although it wasn't as good as it could have been).  It wasn't anything like as organised or as beautifully designed as the chains, but then I hadn't had to pay for the branding, marketing and design in the inflated prices they charge.

Chains and independents should live side-by-side, but as the chains take an increasing share of the market the indie sector is bound to be squeezed and that would be a shame.

The next time you have a choice between a multiple coffee bar operator and an independent give the little guy a go.

 
 




 

BA's demise?

I was just that little bit too young to remember the real impact of the striking car-workers in the 1970s, but I know exactly the outcome: a non-existent volume car manufacturing industry here in the UK.

The power of the unions in the 1970s had grown out of all proportion and you can see why Maggie decided to take them all on -- and win.  Workers in throughout the Industrial Revolution had no rights and many worked in appalling conditions, so you can see why the workers needed someone or some organisation to stand up for them.  The unions became too powerful and threatened to damage the very industries that were paying their members, in most cases, a rather good wage (boosted by bonuses, overtime and other additional payments).

Fast-forward to today and with BA we have a situation where a company losing millions is having to make cuts; the unions won't allow these cuts to be made and the cabin crew have walked out.  The result is millions of pounds in lost revenue for every day the aircraft remain on the ground.

It shouldn't take a genius to work out what will happen if the workers continue to strike.  They might win the argument but, when they're sitting filling in their unemployment payment forms, they might wonder how they managed to lose the war.  As for the unions?  They're all right, Jack.

Must fly...

Demise of the French coffee shop?

On Radio 4's Today programme there was a piece about the rise in the number of cafés that are closing in France, currently around 2 per week across the country.

In the UK we have had far higher rates of pub failures, so in the context of cafés closing perhaps two per week isn't such a tragedy. The reasons for the closures include fewer customers and rising costs, but at the end of a recession these closures should come as little surprise. The other factor was a change in French lifestyles that are affecting demand for the coffee shops.

One of the French interviewees cited the rise of the popularity of Starbucks and explained that they had taken coffee and had marketed in a way only the Americans could. The conclusion, the listener was left to draw, was that the independent operator couldn't keep up with the demands for the Friends-esque lifestyle promised in the CostaNerroBucks identikit operations that are threatening localised cultures across Europe, if not across the globe.

For the French, coffee shops are often at the heart of the local community and no matter how small the village or hamlet every place had a least one place where the people could come together and talk about the day's work over a coffee, pastis or bière.

To the visitor to the country the coffee shops are an integral part of the experience of a country that offers a very different way of life, even it's only for two weeks a year. From my perspective the independent coffee shops offer several benefits over the chains of coffee bars. The staff serve you where you sit -- there's no queueing like you're back in the school canteen; there's no pressure on having to buy anything with your drink (most bars don't do food, that's left to the restaurants); you don't have to choose from umpteen options of coffee and you can buy an alcholic drink if you so desire. Each bar has such a different feel, which adds to the experience, and you are mostly served by the owner, who has a very keen interest in keeping their customers happy.

Compare that to the mayhem of the average high street coffee bar and I can't understand why they're even popular in our country. Having said that we don't have that coffee bar culture that the French and most other European countries seem to enjoy. For us Brits it's the pub or nothing; as for getting a decent coffee -- virtually impossible away from the high street, which perhaps explains why the chains have become so popular. Even many independent tea rooms, which I would prefer to use, don't even know how to spell "coffee" let alone serve a decent espresso.

[As a note to the owners of the coffee chains, could we at least have table service? If I am out on business and want a coffee whilst I check my e-mails I have to fight to get served, I have to wait for my drink, which I then have to carry to a table if I can find one that is available. If I want another coffee what do I do? Leave the laptop and risk a quick dash to the counter? No, I leave. A waiter or waitress would be able to serve me at my seat and in so doing getting me, the customer, to spend more money. Everyone would probably spend more by being served at a table; you have time to think about what you want and you certainly have the option of buying another drink if you are on your own. Even if putting on more staff didn't increase profits, it would add much to the experience, which I currently try to avoid at all costs.]

I hope the French don't wake up one morning and find a country over-run with the multiple operators offering demi-semi-frothy-choco-frappeccinos, when all the customer really ever wants is a decent coffee. The fact that you can't buy a muffin or some other fat-laden product must also be great for the diet.

As an optimist for the French way of life and given their Gallic stubbornness it is likely that their independent operators will remain at the heart of many communities. Most French towns and cities still have mainly independent retail operators, which is a far cry from most UK high streets; in this age of global brands it is a pleasant experience to go shopping in France and have some real choice.

As we plan for our summer holiday, which will be in France (no surprises there), we look forward to a country that still has a routine that, certainly the more rural areas, still abide by. Shops do close at 12 until 2, which can be irritating to the shopaholic Brits, but it is refreshing that there is the enforced down-time.

It also means that you can enjoy a leisurely lunch in a tranquil place sit back and savour la difference.

À bientôt.