Harvey's introduce a cover-charge

gscully

I was out on Saturday night and we decided to head to Harveys around midnight. When we got there, they were taking money at the door. The doorman told us it was a new thing, beginning that night. If you go there after 11pm, expect to pay €10.

Now, there was no way we were paying so much for the privilige of standing in one inch of p*ss, or for overpriced drinks, so we went to Muldoons instead and it was fairly full in there.

Have Harvey's scored an own-goal, or will people still go there?

To me, it seemed a bad idea. There's a recession on, and if Harveys want to attract customers before 11pm, they should come up with more attractive ideas.

daftdave

gscully wrote: »

I was out on Saturday night and we decided to head to Harveys around midnight. When we got there, they were taking money at the door. The doorman told us it was a new thing, beginning that night. If you go there after 11pm, expect to pay €10.

Now, there was no way we were paying so much for the privilige of standing in one inch of p*ss, or for overpriced drinks, so we went to Muldoons instead and it was fairly full in there.

Have Harvey's scored an own-goal, or will people still go there?

To me, it seemed a bad idea. There's a recession on, and if Harveys want to attract customers before 11pm, they should come up with more attractive ideas.

have to agree with ya on that one , the drink in there is expensive enough without em charging ya a tenner before they start to rip you off !!!

muldoons is a stink hole and badly needs a revamp , i think ruby's lounge is gonna be that bit more packed (if thats possible) on a weekend night.

i hope people vote with their feet and dont bother going to harveys because of this , but somehow id doubt that is gonna happen.

ziedth

It's a borderline outrage,

I WILL NOT pay to go in there if they keep the prices of the drinks the same. It's nuts. I went too that new pub where baker street used to be its like a mock biker bar now and TBH I thought it was the best pub i've been in ages. No covger charge so far but there will be after june but the band was savage there and the drinks where very reasonable and staff seemed sound had a chat with a few in the drunken state i was in.

Anyway, shame on harveys and its going to be a major mistake there IMO.

abouttobebanned

A major own goal and a gift to the competition. But having been to Harveys a few times I get the sense that they weren't making a whole lot of money. Take a student night for example...they'd have no door charge and the average spend per student head was €4 euro. (that's some people spending a fiver, some people spending 8-10 and others spending nothing). They have a ton of bar staff, a lot more than needed and only getting 2-3 busy nights a week.

Now, with students gone, they're done to opening only 2 nights a week. I think the accountant came in to look at the books and said...you need to put a charge on that door. "But that will bury us!!!" "why, the accountant would ask....Rubys charges a tenner on saturday and fiver on friday and they don't even have a smoking area"

Muldoons and Ruby Lounge will benefit...but I think the real benefactor is just waiting in the wings.

baronflyguy

Heard about this yesterday and I couldn't believe it. Very disappointed with Harveys doing this. Another reason why people will stay at home longer and not go out and possibly have house parties with friends.

Saying that I ended up going to Harveys last night and paid the tenner because the group I was with wanted to go in regardless. On the way to Harveys there was a big crowd walking away from the door when they found out they had to pay 10 euros. It was a very steady flow. More people walking away than going in.

When I paid and got in I found was that the place wasn't very busy inside and reminded me of a thursday night in there. This was around 11:30pm

Then by the end of the night (approx 1.30am) it started to get really busy.
Why was it getting really busy I was wondering?
Well apparently people started to get for FREE.

Plus I learned from chatting to a few ladies in Harveys that a lot of women refused to pay and made a big deal about it to the cashier and guess what? They got in for FREE. I havent heard any guy getting in for free (I would guess a guy arguing why he should not pay to go in would see the security guys move in and lifting him out of the way). To me it looked like near the end of the night when the cashier disappeared at the door anyone could get in for me possibly because they realised that it is better than have a full pub/night club than a half full one.

So basically I'm a Muppet for paying cause I'm an easy going type of person who is not argumentative or confrontational when I go out and if people in front of me are paying 10 euros then I assume everyone who goes in there will be paying the same.

On a positive note, I went out a lot in Kilkenny over the weekend to the cat laughes festival and I really liked the buzz on the night out in Kilkenny especially the "Left Bank" pub. I will be going there again. I'll probably take a break going out in waterford for a while cause I'm not feeling the welcoming love anymore unless of course I pay a tenner

baronflyguy

gscully wrote: »

There's a recession on, and if Harveys want to attract customers before 11pm, they should come up with more attractive ideas.

I think it is free to go before 11pm, but not 100% sure, I have a vague recollection of seeing the wording displayed. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny it.

araisaris

i was one of the guys security had a problem with.

some load of hoop playing a tenor into the **** hole. over priced drink, bad music, same old crap. the uluru is the same do ya know? that ricky whelan bating out the same songs, meatloaf, dire straits and lady gaga about twenty times a night when he heads off out to smoking area for himself then.

waterford has gone to hell for nites out and in my opinion the best pub/late bar in the town is ruby lounge. by miles.

i think harveys just screwed themselves over and shot themselves in the foot. they will not be getting anymore of my business.

gscully

baronflyguy wrote: »

I think it is free to go before 11pm, but not 100% sure, I have a vague recollection of seeing the wording displayed. Maybe someone else can confirm or deny it.

Sorry, I may not have been clear enough in my opening post. It was the doorman who told me that it was €10 after 11pm, not a conclusion I jumped to

Professey Chin

araisaris wrote: »

some load of hoop playing a tenor into the **** hole.

Why would you be paying an opera singer to get into harveys

daftdave

he's playing a tenor not paying....... which leads me to believe he is playing some kind of unheard of musical instrument at the door to gain free access !!!!!

Professey Chin

daftdave wrote: »

he's playing a tenor not paying....... which leads me to believe he is playing some kind of unheard of musical instrument at the door to gain free access !!!!!

Or he could have stuck a flute up the tenors arse and is now making sweet symphonies by using the tenor as an instrument.Solved!!!!

ill stop now

floyd333

We came across this on Saturday night as well. Couldn't believe it. Like the OP said it's a recession. are they trying to commit commercial suicide???? electric avenue seem to be charging all the time lately too. This just leaves Rubys lounge which is too small and Muldoons which is full of scum.... will be interesting to see how the new place twister vicks does..

ziedth

floyd333 wrote: »

We came across this on Saturday night as well. Couldn't believe it. Like the OP said it's a recession. are they trying to commit commercial suicide???? electric avenue seem to be charging all the time lately too. This just leaves Rubys lounge which is too small and Muldoons which is full of scum.... will be interesting to see how the new place twister vicks does..

That's it i couldn't think of name, i went there sunday night and i thought it was quality, prob is i know allot of my friends won't go there because the girls prefer your lady ga ga's as agaist the pretty much 90% rock music they played there.

I'd def recommend anyone to go there, oh by the by if anyone here happened to be there sunday nignt did anyone catch the name of the band?

seanybiker

Im not saying to go in there. Only reason I like it is because of the smoking area. Not paying a tenner for that.

foxylad

but twister vics will be charging on the door too!
this weekend was only an intro offer

then again -
was in cork -- €15 in night club---
but drinks were a little cheaper

suppose we have to pat for our entertainment

gscully

I just wish pubs would use a little more imagination when it comes to attracting new customers or gaining extra revenue. The approach Harvey's are using is similar to the unimaginative government we have at the moment. Need more money? Take it from the people without offering anything in return, except for what they used to get for free.

You see pubs on the continent offering people an incentive like happy-hour, or themed nights. If Harvey's want people in before 11pm, they should put something on!

Masons, down the road, is not everyone's cup of tea, but at least they're trying to do something different by having weekly darts nights, cards nights and coyote ugly nights. I was in there on Saturday night and the place was heaving and the music excellent...oh, and the women were stunning

It has been mentioned before that Harveys increase their drink prices after 11pm. I assume there's no longer a need for that, with the cover charge? Yeah, I suspected as much!

daftdave

gscully wrote: »

I just wish pubs would use a little more imagination when it comes to attracting new customers or gaining extra revenue. The approach Harvey's are using is similar to the unimaginative government we have at the moment. Need more money? Take it from the people without offering anything in return, except for what they used to get for free.

You see pubs on the continent offering people an incentive like happy-hour, or themed nights. If Harvey's want people in before 11pm, they should put something on!

Masons, down the road, is not everyone's cup of tea, but at least they're trying to do something different by having weekly darts nights, cards nights and coyote ugly nights. I was in there on Saturday night and the place was heaving and the music excellent...oh, and the women were stunning

It has been mentioned before that Harveys increase their drink prices after 11pm. I assume there's no longer a need for that, with the cover charge? Yeah, I suspected as much!

masons used to be good on a sunday evening also with the bands they had on , its been a couple of months since i have been home in waterford , not sure if they still put music on a sunday...

Asmodean

Used to head into Harveys now and again, was a decent spot. On the drinks side of things most of the clubs in that area would want to cop on price wise.

googlefan

Pubs need to offer more value. Take 'The Brog' in Cork for example. Up to 6pm pints are €2.90 and the place is ticking over nicely.

During the week and weekends there is no cover charge and the price goes back up to €4.50 I think but its a very decent night spot with good music.

Another spot in Dungarvan is offering cheap pints recently I hear also, one friend informed me they do a bucket of 8 Corona for €20. Again the place is jointed.

hellfireie

was headin into havreys saturday nite got stopped for the 10 euros door charge , i joined the flock of other people heading to mason's . bang out of order from havreys , was in there sunday nite didnt get stung the tenner had a look in the door handful of people in there headed up town without buying a pint in harveys , i think people said F+++em plenty of good other places to by overpriced beer in this town !!

1967

I heard about this yesterday bloody joke,i dont know who are worse Harveys for charging €10 or the people stupid enough to pay it

Musicman2000

One word suicide, people don’t have the money in these tight times.
Harvey’s or more like the Kavanaghs are screwing people on the price of drink, can’t see it lasting if they are losing the many customers, but someone told me they are opening a new club or disco bar in Revolution if that’s right im not sure

anplaya

Musicman2000 wrote: »

One word suicide, people don’t have the money in these tight times.
Harvey’s or more like the Kavanaghs are screwing people on the price of drink, can’t see it lasting if they are losing the many customers, but someone told me they are opening a new club or disco bar in Revolution if that’s right im not sure

yeah thats right,think theyre adding another 2 floors above Revs, one of the lads was talking to Flash,said it should be open in August

shapez

This is absurd!! Especially with the economic downturn. What are they thinking!! The price of drink in Harveys is a disgrace as it is, even with this price freeze!!!
11.99 for 2 Coronas and 24 bottles for 15.99 in Dunnes or Tescos!!!

Big mistake IMO from Harveys. I shall be staying at home an extra hour before I go out now and I'll be going to a bar that won't be charging be to buy their expensive drink there. And lets not get started on taxi prices!!

babystrawberry

Was in harveys on sunday night, was a disgrace,they were charging to get in, think they only charged fiver each to us but the place was sooooo dead in there compared to other bank holiday weekends, it was like a quiet saturday night int here, couldnt get over it ... if they keep it up they gonna loose a LOT of business:eek:

merlante

This thread is mad. People are suggesting that Harvey's put on the cover charge because they are about to close down! Harvey's put on the cover charge because on Friday and Saturday nights they are getting in a ton of people who could be paying more. For the older crowd it's the only show in town, with Muldoons coming in a very poor second. A lot of people were drinking elsewhere and only buying a drink or two in there so naturally they're trying to making some money out of all of the people coming through.

It will making me and a lot of others think twice, but to be honest, it will still get a big crowd and if it turns out that the place seems a little bit more exclusive, you could see it get even more popular.

Whoever thinks that the place is half empty and is about to close obviously never goes there. They will make a lot of money with this, because quite frankly, unless all you want is a late drink -- when you're better off in Muldoons or the Woodman -- it has no meaningful competition.

nkay1985

If only Ruby's Lounge was a bit bigger they'd have some real competition. It's a nice spot with some decent live music (miles better thatn any of the crap they play in Harvey's IMO) but it's just too small. Even a slight remodel of the place could make it much better.

araisaris

merlante,

in my opinion your talking out of ur derriere my good man, making the place more exclusive, this isnt diceys garden or the ritz we are talking about, we are talking about a late bar that is a bit out of the way from the usual hive of activity that is now complaining that people dont spend any money in there and now reckon they will re coup their lost earnings tru charging punters now. it is a slippery slope they are on and they will in my opinion fall down the order now based on the following logic.

1. i enjoy drinking and go out 2 nites a week defo... used frequent harveys but i dont and wont out of principal any more... what they have done is essentially told previous punters we dont want you any more please take ur custom elsewhere. and i will for one and any other half whitted person should to.

2. i generally drink in the wacky apple or anywhere there is a promo on as i enjoy being in a pub more to drinking cans... the difference is marginal in cost and offset by the atmosphere of a pub.

3. when i am a bit skint i drink at home but i generally would stil lhave 20-30 spuds to my name when i go out, but ill be damned giving some gimp on the door a tenor to then be charged (as i was one night over 8 euros for cordial for 4 x vodka and blackcurrents) in harveys. also their yagermeister isnt the real deal some cheap ****e imported stuff but i think you will find that they charge full whack for it regardless.

any one familiar to the term price elasticity of demand will know as price goes up quantity demanded goes down and in most instances revenue will increase proprotionally more for an elastic good.

what i would recommend harveys to do in order to increase revenue is actually drop the bloody prices and be a bit more consumer friendly. people in waterford dont want to pay to see aslan or any other crap but what we do want is a decent dj with variation, a well policed and vetted crowd and reasonably priced drink. the cheaper or proportionally cheaper the drink the more people are likely to buy a bit more instead of going in plastered and supping on a single pint...

rant over!!

merlante

araisaris wrote: »

merlante,

in my opinion your talking out of ur derriere my good man, making the place more exclusive, this isnt diceys garden or the ritz we are talking about, we are talking about a late bar that is a bit out of the way from the usual hive of activity that is now complaining that people dont spend any money in there and now reckon they will re coup their lost earnings tru charging punters now. it is a slippery slope they are on and they will in my opinion fall down the order now based on the following logic.

1. i enjoy drinking and go out 2 nites a week defo... used frequent harveys but i dont and wont out of principal any more... what they have done is essentially told previous punters we dont want you any more please take ur custom elsewhere. and i will for one and any other half whitted person should to.

2. i generally drink in the wacky apple or anywhere there is a promo on as i enjoy being in a pub more to drinking cans... the difference is marginal in cost and offset by the atmosphere of a pub.

3. when i am a bit skint i drink at home but i generally would stil lhave 20-30 spuds to my name when i go out, but ill be damned giving some gimp on the door a tenor to then be charged (as i was one night over 8 euros for cordial for 4 x vodka and blackcurrents) in harveys. also their yagermeister isnt the real deal some cheap ****e imported stuff but i think you will find that they charge full whack for it regardless.

any one familiar to the term price elasticity of demand will know as price goes up quantity demanded goes down and in most instances revenue will increase proprotionally more for an elastic good.

what i would recommend harveys to do in order to increase revenue is actually drop the bloody prices and be a bit more consumer friendly. people in waterford dont want to pay to see aslan or any other crap but what we do want is a decent dj with variation, a well policed and vetted crowd and reasonably priced drink. the cheaper or proportionally cheaper the drink the more people are likely to buy a bit more instead of going in plastered and supping on a single pint...

rant over!!

Well, you're entitled to your opinion. In my opinion, the knacker kip that is the Wacky Apple makes Harvey's look like the Ritz, but that's opinions for ye.

The point is that Harvey's at the weekend is extremely popular. There is no doubting this. Putting a tenner on the door will probably turn out to make them a lot of money. A tenner is two drinks. That's about 50% more than I'd say the average person drinks in there. Your economic analysis is too simplistic and assumes a competitive market. Harvey's has poor competition, therefore people will pay for the better product. Also, as I said, there is a possibility that if all skint people and undesirables are kept out and the people who pay in feel more special, then the numbers could increase. It's human psychology. The proof will be in the pudding.

If Harvey's were struggling with poor demand, then I'd say drop the prices, but at the moment they are oversubscribed if anything.

araisaris

how do u reckon they are over subscribed?? i wouldnt say they are based on what was said earlier that they are looking to get more money out of people, so they want to cut out the people that come in for a pint and see who is around or do they want to just try cream more money from people.

good luck to them, if they wanted to make it exclusive why not make it 23 yo up or 21s or whatever and stick to it? that way u are generally assured off having a more cash rich age profile in the place.

not charge the already skint public a tenor in and then a pint of domestos with a heinken head on it for 5 euro and infact its not even a fiver some hungry hoor comes looking for the ten cent too on occasion.

i dont think competition is poor, ruby lounge and muldoons are always full, revolution was going well for a while there, harveys is seen i suppose as the 26 plus VAT kinda age profile, but like it is just pure hunger on their behalf trying to cream money from the public like that. aside from rubys also there is a lot of comp for harveys outside of waterford city, think of all the pubs on dunmore road, cove, uluru, becketts, oscars, then out the cork road and outskirts of town, the fellas thinking will we go to harveys and pay in for a load of expensive rotten pints taking a chance on the place being busy or will we stay here for decently priced pints? its a no brainer. so ur competition statement is bs, because a pub isnt next to them doesnt make them competition, they have priced themselves out of the market and i predict they will knock the door charge in next 2-3 weeks


failing that and if they do stick to it i personally do hope they go out of business and lose their custom, anyone that was ever a "regular" down there should boycott the place because i take it as an insult and more or less says we dont want your business anymore. it was once a decent pub which is now being over run and hasnt moved with the times the same ould music and djing no variation bar aslan (who hoo)

bit of a rant but i am mightily peeved over this and i think anyone that enjoys a few pints in waterford should be too.

Musicman2000

Merlante,Talk scene, Ireland is in a recession people barely have the money to be going out let alone be screwed by a cover charge and over priced drinks, the way you are talking about Harvey’s it’s the Ritz. The only thing going for it id the beer garden.

I’m from Waterford but im working in clubs in the UK and the majority either dropped the door charge to get customers in or either ran promos. And come on a ten euro charge make it exclusive, Its Waterford your in. and according to a person I know working there, it is very quiet on a Friday night, as I said in a previous post looks like the might get some competion from Revolution when their new area opens up.