I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. It was my own fault, and I'll own it. I'd walked into a café I've been to several times on Saturday morning, not a favourite café, but they had a big board out the front promoting their new menu and it caught my eye. I was in the area to buy a few things before I flew interstate for work and figured eggs on toast sounded like a good idea.
Where I went wrong was that I didn't look at the menu as I figured a simple eggs on toast would be available. Yep, a dumb mistake.
I ordered scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms and relish on the side, a small flat white coffee and glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice. Sure, they were on the menu, so no worries there, but when the girl at the counter said, that's $34.50 (AUD), I just about keeled over and died right on the spot. I'd not expected that, it was a full $10 over what I'd expected to pay. I should have told her to forget it but didn't, I paid and took my seat.
What arrived was:
- Freshly squeezed orange juice (watered down)
- Scrambled eggs (made in the microwave, non-fluffy and tasteless)
- Mushrooms (they seemed lonely, there was only three, and they were cold)
- Relish (tasty, but so cold it made Antarctica seem warm)
- Toast (that was so over-toasted I could have stabbed someone with it)
- Grass (I don't know how else to describe it.)
- Small cup of flat white (which I enjoyed)
I've certainly had worse food, of that there is no doubt, but it was so over-priced; I don't mean for what I got, I mean in general. I have the financial ability to pay this sort of price for breakfast and appreciated that the coffee was good...but I sat there eating tasteless eggs, trying not to stab someone everyone with my toast, and wondering what the actual fuck was going on.
I was saying to someone just the other day that I've had to add almost $500AUD to my monthly shopping budget. I mean for food, cleaning products, toiletries and so on from the supermarket. Diesel is $2.10/L, vehicle registration and insurance, health and house insurance, council rates, water, electricity, cost of clothing, internet, phone service and much more...all have increased dramatically. Wages have not.
Along with those increases has come a decrease in quality, and this café is a perfect example. Less staff so longer wait-times, sub-standard/cheaper produce, corner-cutting in the kitchen process, smaller portions...all at an increased cost to the consumer.
I was surprised at the $10 premium I paid at the café on Saturday. I can't even say I'm out of touch with eating out as I eat at café's all the time and have done so for years. It shocked me to be honest, the cost and how bad it was, and in my head I'm like, note to self, don't come back here.
Have you noticed the cost of things rising dramatically and the decline in quality and service because of it also? I'll be honest and say I'll probably not believe you if you said no as it's a problem across the world, whether a person wants to admit it or not.
If you have an inflation story, one about declining quality or just a rant about bad service feel free to tell me in the comments below.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Any images in this post are my own
A friend of mine works at bunnings and they are noticing a lot of items are going up in price, whereas they never change much for years previously.
I've noticed this also, and when the products meet a certain (terminal) price point that's when they have to cut corners elsewhere. Less staff, turning every second light bay off, don't run the air conditioning and so on. The decline if life as we know it is in full effect.
I can feel your pain there sir. It's becoming increasingly annoying and it's becoming a general thing. Having to pay $10 over what should have been the norm to having the quality narrowed down too. In Economics, an average consumer would want to derive maximum satisfaction from the goods or services enjoyed. It's no longer the case. Quality is reducing and prices keep soaring. They all blame it on prices of raw materials but we know it's all about excessive profit for them. Same with the unreasonable hotel I stayed at for the wedding.
Inflation affects the price if everything from the fertilizer, fuel and fencing required to produce food (say, wheat) to the bread we buy at the end of the chain and everything in between. It's going to be a massive problem in the near future when things start running out; third world countries will be the worst affected. It's a big problem and goes deeper than bad eggs and toast that requires a chainsaw to cut. Many will suffer.
I absolutely agree with you on this. It doesn't bode well for the future especially underdeveloped or developing countries with struggling economies. It's scary because it doesn't look like things are getting any easier.
Things will get tough for many, especially in first-world/developed countries where they're not used to such hardships.
It's getting scary and real as the day goes by.
Here in the UK we have raging 'shrinkflation' where they make everything smaller rather than raise the price, hoping nobody will notice.
Hmm, here too, it happens. Well, I'm not sure whether the rest of the UK notices, you did though, so I'd say the cats out of the bag now. I wonder where it'll and up?
I am not so much shocked about the price.. .I AM shocked, how someone can serve such a dish decorated without any love and charm for the eye for that price !LOL
dont know how you measure diesel, here 1 litre is over 2 EUR (3 AUD ?) at the moment. Last I saw was 2,20
3 coffee, 2 cakes ... 20 EUR
1/4 kilo butter - also more than 2 EUR
probably each househould will have encrease of 150-200 EUR per month for energy and these things.
It's just crazy, an i fear a lot of people will have really problems in the next months to afford this all.
So they will stop buying stuff - so the eceonomy will earn less - so where will this lead us?
and where at the end of the line will all this money go?
Yeah, I was a little surprised at the lack of care also.
There is a lot of suffering ahead for many people all over the world.
This sums it up perfectly, you have mighty restraint.
Those mushrooms don't look happy at all and cold relish? I guess they've lost a customer. I hardly ever eat at café's but I would imagine that the same (if not worse) is happening here too. I'm sorry that it was such a shitty experience. Hopefully another café will make up for it soon.
Maybe...or maybe I stabbed someone with my toast.
Well, maybe. I had a food fail tonight though. The fridge in my hotel room froze the salad I bought yesterday solid so no salad with my cannelloni for dinner. Not a good day.
😕 Well if you didn't stab somebody then, I bet you want to now.
I'm sorry it was a bad day. Hopefully soon these will all just be bad memories best forgotten and you'll have your home comforts and a properly working thermostatted fridge. Sending you 🌻 & ☀️
The temperature adjustment knob is missing and I'd need pointy nose pliers to change the temperature so...frozen salad. I wasn't impressed.
You have same Habbit like me. Everytime when I visit a restaurant or a hotel, my abdomen started crawling. I make order mostly for fast mood. It made me fatty. How you manage your body score brother??.
Now that’s an exercise I can get under! 😛
Lol. Wouldn't mind working every day if it was like this huh?
Overpriced good food I can perhaps live with, but overpriced bad food is a SIN!
PS. That's called 'inflation' mate :) You flood the world with money, and fight wars on oil while not exploring and producing from your backyard; it will sure come and bite you!
I agree. Had that food been of a good standard this post would have read differently. But, the sub-standard rubbish we're forced to accept these days is most prevalent and getting worse.
It'll be interesting to see, when inflation really starts to penetrate, how people react. Rise in crime, decline in goods and services, corner cutting...it's all started already.
It's becoming quite a common scene over here too, prices skyrocketing, while the quality either stays the same, or mostly just gets worse.
Mostly just gets worse. Ain't that the truth.
Lol.
😲
Good gracious ! That is a terrible price for what you got. I too can and don't mind paying a good price occasionally for something truly special, but that doesn't look anywhere close to special.
Since I am old and lived back in the day where most reputable people took pride in their products, whether it was food or other things, of course I have seen the decline in the quality of nearly everything and the over pricing of extremely inferior products. It's disgusting.... .and a bit sad.
It's almost laughable to see how different companies try to hide the fact that there is less product on an existing item by the way they package it and think nobody will notice. I notice !
I also have seen the vast change in attitudes about tipping. Although the "wait" industry has always been notoriously under paid per hour for the job, use too a "tip" was for good or great service or the lack of a tip for bad service. It was not a requirement to pay the servers what their employers were being slack on, even if they gave bad service. That use to cause most servers to perform a superior job, so they could earn those tips. Now it seems most think you should tip them big, even if they do not take care of things properly and attitude?... well.... My disclaimer is that I know there are many folks that do a very good job in these positions, but even before covid, they had gotten few and far between. I also pride myself in giving great tips.... if deserved.
Seems that cafe just charged themselves out of a repeat customer. Good job !
Yep, I'll not be going back to that place, ever. The thing is, the list of places I'll not return is getting bigger than the list of places I'll use. Sign of the times. I wouldn't have minded if I paid $22 for what I got. It would have seemed about right; still high, but acceptable. $34? Well, I'll not be back, not even for a cup of their good coffee.
You make a good point about the way the smaller serves or decline in quantity or packaged items are disguised. It happens here. Great new look, in advertising is code for smaller portion, new packaging to disguise smaller portion. Assholes.
We don't tip here. A part time/casual cafe worker (wait staff/counter) earns $30/he and will generally get 20-25 hours a week. If they had to rely on tips most would go unrewarded as most don't meet my standard. Surly, lack of eye contact, zero care-factor, forgetfulness, lack of politeness, ignorance...I'll not reward that. I've little patience for bad service and usually address it.
I was surprised that you did not say you let them know what you thought of their pricing as you left, appropriately of course.
There are some items that you wouldn't think would be that big of deal for there to be less, but there is an item here called sweetened condensed milk that had been used in some baked goods for generations. It always came in the same size can and then, without notice, there was an ounce or so less and the company just slightly tapered the can on one end. It truly looked the same at a glance, however, those same generations had passed down recipes that called for "1 can of" sweetened condensed milk. I am wondering how many recipes were ruined by not coming out right, because bakers didn't notice the first time. After that you think, just buy two, but then you have the majority of the rest of the second can leftover. Now what are you going to do with that ??? So really, sometimes it matters, maybe not in the grand scheme of life, but it certainly can affect more than you would think for such a little change.
I know you wanted to know about sweetened condensed milk while on your trip.
You're welcome.
It's a fair point, but I guess my thought was to let them know in a different way, by not going back. It's interesting, businesses wonder why they go bust after the fact, when really that had all the information they needed all along. They're like, less customers, we better charge more and give less. Ok, a good business model until it's not.
Nope, they don't deserve the heads up, they'll just close eventually.
We have sweetened condensed milk here too, probably the exact brand you have. We get it in tubes and cans...I used to eat it from the tube as a kid.
It's this sort of thing, can tapering, the subtle change in packaging, that heralds the real change, the smaller quantity. It happens all over and that's just what we know about. Imagine if we knew what corners they were cutting in the ingredient and manufacturing aspects. A little alarming I'd say.
I say you should've stabbed the waiter and the girl at the counter who gave you those crappy mushroom egg toasts for $34 freaking dollars!
And fuck sakes! They couldn't even get their egg right? I mean who messes up a fucking egg? Oh well, you live you learn.
Oh yeah, and the inflation thing... Yup! Real biggy. Seems to be affecting the globe in general now I guess. Damn...
Welp, i invalidly blame Trump and Putin for this. Oh, and Amber Turd as well.
When Putin obliterates Ukraine, or at least places it under a yoke of Russian control, things won't be any better. The world is on a downward spiral and no amount of ignoring it, or pretending otherwise, will arrest the fall. Also, Trump would have been better than the leftard geriatric paedophile they have now...but again, the world is on a slippery slope lubed up with KY and there's not much to do about it...not that anyone would care to do anyway.
$34 for that rubbish the other day wasn't very good. I was pretty shocked to be honest. I'll not be going back there, so they better make that $34 last as they'll not be getting more.
Unfortunately, you are quite correct. Things just keep getting worse everyday. Let's hope for the best.
Well, that's a new one XD. I've heard of Sleepy Joe and Clown Master but never that one before XD
It's quite befitting tbh.
Hey, wanna know something cool?
I'm not sure Biden is those things I said, just a hunch.
Also, I always want to know something cool...
Of course he's not! But it's still funny to think XD
And you know what... Nevermind. It was stupid anyway.
Well, he is a geriatric.
Perfect cheap cash grab was when i went to the Maryland mall. The pizza was literally tasteless and smaller but was more expensive than the usual.The festive period was the perfect excuse to make more money from ripping people off.
I'd have lost my cool but family was around me. I had to behave myself. Lol!
This will be a familiar story moving forward. More cost, less quality and quantity.
Admittedly though, the grass adds a little flair to the eggs and the “could-stab-someone-with” toast. 😆
I like my toast a bit overdone but I wouldn't be willing to pay that amount or its equivalent in any other currency.
Just a few hours ago I went to the supermarket, picked up a few stuff and was really surprised to hear the total. Initially I thought the cashier was kidding but then I saw him moving along and preparing for the next customer. I felt like he and I needed to have a conversation.
I ranted a bit at home especially after making dinner and seeing that most of the items I bought had already “disappeared”. These days I can certainly feel like I’m paying more for less or paying more for usual quantities.
Inflation will hit third world countries hard however it's in first world countries where the population feels it the most as they are not used to shortages, over-inflated pricing and terrible service standards. The smart ones are preparing for it, the dumb ones aren't making any changes. There's going to be a whole lot of very unhappy people across the first-world countries in the years ahead.
Yes, whether countries are developed or developing, inflation hits us all. I believe some may struggle to understand the reality of it while others try to deal with and treat the blows and wounds from it. I hope we can all survive.
Not all will survive, or so I believe.
You have a point.
What?? That is equivalent to just short of $25.00 here in the US! While higher than normal, I have to agree and say that some days, it is worth the splurge for something out of the ordinary.
That is something out of the ordinary but, not in a good way.
You are too kind and honestly, it is not the waitresses' fault, however...I am shocked that you wouldn't send that back to the kitchen or ask for a refund. Since Covid, I can honestly say that unless I am traveling, or working, my eating out is pretty much confined to not eating out. But, you are in a different boat than me, and eating out is something that you have always done and you enjoy it. I wonder how good/or bad the food would be if people kept sending it back? Do you think they would get the message? I have to wonder if they would get tired of the refunds eating into their profits? Wait! Do I sound bitter or simply tired of taking less respect? If they are serving me stuff like that, they have no respect for my stomach.
All kidding aside, inflation is killing us and I understand, but I still expect to be treated like I count. I honestly haven't added what inflation has robbed me in the last six months, but it has been significant enough for me to pay more attention to everyday items.
I always enjoy your storytelling talents, even the times like this, you still make a bad thing a great read. :)
Say hello to Brisbane for me!
It's ridiculous isn't it? I really don't mind paying for good food but this was just rubbish and only barely disguised rubbish at that. I'm not a pompous twat with massively high expectations, I mean, I've eaten food covered in sand out if a can and been grateful for it, but at this sort of money, and at this sort of establishment...I expect better.
It's happening all over though. Inflation. It helps to add to the poor service, smaller sizing and sub-standard quality...and we just accept it. You're right, I should have sent it back.
Thanks for commenting.
It’s some crazy stuff man that’s all I can say! We’ve thankfully had decent luck with most of the things we do in that we’ve had occasional issues but largely not too bad. One of the worst though is the recent post office trip we did.
Having a small business like we do, we tend to ship a lot of things. This one post office near us is a pretty big one and does this 24/7 lobby and bin area where you can drop your packages in bubble mailers into a bin and they collect it at certain times. Well they used to collect it at certain times. This one was reaching an hour behind collecting and I had the little man biting my ankles to go fishing so I was knocking on the wall and stuff to get the dude in the back to come empty the thing so we could mail our damn packages. Didn’t work and we ended up luckily finding one that wasn’t full outside but it was a pain. They’ve steadily declined in service and steadily increased in prices. It’s one hell of a system I’ll tell ya! I would love to charge my work job more money for the work I do but produce less of it. Wouldn’t that be nice? Only in government can this shit happen! Lol
Yeah, the postal service is just a other thing that has declined, and will go further backwards over time, like most other things. It's the same here, everything just gets worse and worse, for many reasons, and people see incapable of recognising it, or uncaring. It's a little frightening to contemplate what things will be like in 40 years.
Just your scenario with the post...You think there's be a human to talk to when there's a problem? Forget it...Go online. You know?
Good luck to those poor fuckers that have to live like that. I'll be gone.
I'm more willing than J to pay "expensive" for decent food, that doesn't sound decent. Hope the next cafe meal is an improvement.
I know about rising prices and non-rising wages but haven't had personal experience with it lately. Probably will when I'm finally able to go visit my grandmother again and stop by our favourite place to buy lunch to take to her x_x
Everyone will know about it eventually, the hard way.
It's really bizarre, isn't it, that "upscale" cafes and restaurants charge so much more for so much less. I think the price includes a healthy dose of snark, too.
It costs as much here to get fast-food-crap for my boys than to go to an actual sit-down restaurant. $10 for a Mc-burger and fries! WTF! It's not even food!
Oh yeah, snark is the new black. Can I say though, it doesn't fly with me. I'm not the guy to allow it to go unaddressed usually and my anti-snark weapons are effective. Most regret snarling me in one way or the other.
I've not eaten at McDonalds for a long time but I assume it's only declined further from the rubbish it was already. No thanks.
Wow that's definitely pricey by Singapore standards too. Inflation yes, but bad service, not much experience at the moment. Perhaps it's because I frequent the same few places and some of the staff already recognise as a regular customer so they greet me with a bigger smile. Lol!
You're lucky you haven't experienced bad service, it'll happen though, it's a global issue.
Yeah thankfully