Food Outlets

[Matt A]

22 minutes ago, Zappomatic said:

It appears the Pulled Meat Co. and Peckish have both disappeared too.

Aw I really liked Pulled Meat Co. on the rare occasion it was open! Reasonable price for quite decent food, just a shame there wasn't indoor seating.

[JoshC.]

11 hours ago, Zappomatic said:

It appears the Pulled Meat Co. and Peckish have both disappeared too. Shame to have a reduced selection of food available - I miss Roast & Relish! Would also like to see a Smokehouse (as at Chessington) or a rotisserie type place.

Peckish is still around this year - on the sneak peek of the map, you can (just about!) see it.

 

Pulled Meat appears to have a bitten the dust, though I wouldn't be surprised if it returned during Fright Nights, and even summer if it's busy enough..

[RobF]

The pulled meat co is the only food option in that area, it is also one of the best in house options..... 

[pluk]

I think Roast and Relish was the best theme park fast food I've ever had. 

It was the location not the food that was the problem, shame they couldn't make it work.

[MattyMoo]

A lot of the food outlets are now Card Only - which is fine as long as the card machines are up to the job. Felt for the poor chap on Peckish, not only were most of the menu items not on his till, his Chip & Pin machine had sticky/faulty buttons, so when trying to enter £17.00, the zero was getting stuck and entering £17,000.00 for example - so he had to keep manually resetting it.

 

[StevenVig]

1 hour ago, MattyMoo said:

 the zero was getting stuck and entering £17,000.00

The budget for this season has gotta come from somewhere ??‍♂️

[TPC]

The only issue I have with no cash for everything is it makes younger people like me, who do not regularly use a credit card and would have otherwise used cash, not be able to buy anything. Quite funny though when people my age often go to thorpe without the rest of their families and are a major target audience for the park.

[ProudToServe]

5 minutes ago, TPC said:

The only issue I have with no cash for everything is it makes younger people like me, who do not regularly use a credit card and would have otherwise used cash, not be able to buy anything. Quite funny though when people my age often go to thorpe without the rest of their families and are a major target audience for the park.

that could be the reason why some of the outlets that have gone cashless could be going back to cash and card, like pizza pasta. Keep sending thorpe feedback regarding this as it'll push them to make the decision quicker

[Project LC]

Card transactions are hardly faster anyway. They are faster than cash when it's contactless but about the same for when a pin is needed. I don't see why they would make things card only for the sake of a couple of seconds. Just like the no sugary drinks at CWOA and the pizza buffet I'm sure there is another motive.

[RobF]

Tbh thorpe could introduce a cashless system, with the option of a wristband/gift card style system that can be topped up during the day and unsued credit refunded at the end of the day.

[Mark9]

Sounds like a lot of faff though. 

[Stuntman707]

Now there’s an idea; A Merlin Contactless system. The other big parks like Disney and Universal are going contactless that way with Magic Bands and Tapu Tapus.

[Project LC]

It would be a lot of money to develop unless Merlin used an existing system. But existing systems will take a cut of the money. Cash and card works fine and an alternative like Merlin money would cost too much to solve an issue that isn't really there.

[Matt 236]

Yes unfortunately Bush BBQ and Pulled Meat have bit the dust.

 

Quite a shame really as I did enjoy both in their own ways, however not surprised with things considered. Whether they lay dormant this season (and beyond) or reopen for peak season remains to be seen.

 

The card only method is an interesting one, which seems to apply to most food outlets. Is this really a way of speeding up service or is there more to this? What if it’s  Merlin’s way of trying to abolish counterfeit money?

 

[RobF]

37 minutes ago, Matt Creek said:

Yes unfortunately Bush BBQ and Pulled Meat have bit the dust.

 

Quite a shame really as I did enjoy both in their own ways, however not surprised with things considered. Whether they lay dormant this season (and beyond) or reopen for peak season remains to be seen.

 

The card only method is an interesting one, which seems to apply to most food outlets. Is this really a way of speeding up service or is there more to this? What if it’s  Merlin’s way of trying to abolish counterfeit money?

 

It reduces operational costs, less tills to get security to collect money from and escourt to the dome to cash up, less staff required to cash up, then issuing floats to tills the next day. It Will stop fraud through change scams, staff theft and ( underinging/sweethearting) 

 

It doesn’t bode well for customer service and is likely another budget cut exercise 

 

 

[Stuntman707]

Having to manage and handle money is a bit of a pain in the arse. Security issues, counterfeit issues, floats, having enough change, tills, storage, counting, discrepancies & collection can all be done away with in card only outlets.

[Charlesberg]

I will have to go with @TPC on this one and say that card only outlets isn’t entirely fair. For example, I didn’t get a debit card till I was 16 (it was one of those things I just never got round to doing) and I had done many visits before then with other cardless friends so cash was our only option.

 

As quick and efficient as it may be, we can’t just forget about the younglings that maybe just want a quick bite or souvenir.

[Inferno]

I’m not sure about this cashless system...

 

Even looking back 2 or 3 year’s ago, trying to even pay by card was a nightmare - when producing a card you got a roll of the eyes from the staff, and then got sent down to the other end of the counter where there was a single card machine...

 

I've always made an effort to get cash out when I go to Thorpe because of this - and also so I can leave all my cards and wallet in the car (hate leaving valuables in the bag storage on the station)

[JoshC.]

I think going cashless in some places is a good idea.  When I was at uni, one of the food places on campus went cashless to help speed up the paying system (people could pay by debit card or by the uni's own top-up card system, which is similar to contactless payments in terms of speed), and it worked well.  So there is potential there.

 

But as others say, it isn't a great idea for all.  Teenagers visiting in groups probably won't have cards, or be willing/allowed to take a card, severely limiting their choice.  Imagine what school trips will be like (many bring packed lunches, but a fair few don't).  And for those that only bring cash into the park, they're pretty screwed too.

 

I think they've been too forward with this.  They tried it in Fin's over Fright Nights, and that seemed to work.  But one successful trial in one place isn't enough to say they should role it out across pretty much all F&B places, especially with little advertising.

[streetmagix]

Worth looking at bpay if you don't have a debit card. Uses the same tech as contactless card but you top it up like an Oyster card: https://www.bpay.co.uk/ . I've bought a wristband to try out next time I'm at Thorpe, it should mean I can safely leave my wallet in my bag/in a locker. I'll report back in a few weeks saying how well it works.

 

It would be nice if Thorpe/Merlin had their own branded contactless payment system powered by the same technology though. How cool would it be to integrate entry tickets, fast track, digipass and payments into one card/wristband? Chances of it happening are slim/nil though.

[TPC]

Remember that Finns is a place more for families than teenagers, so that trial is less relevant for seeing if it works

[JoshuaA]

I find it funny how in the last few years Thorpe seemed to aim their additions to draw in Teenagers (Ghost Train, Walking Dead) but now they are making their food options inconvenient for that demographic that they have been targeting..

[Ringo]

1 hour ago, streetmagix said:

Worth looking at bpay if you don't have a debit card. Uses the same tech as contactless card but you top it up like an Oyster card: https://www.bpay.co.uk/ . I've bought a wristband to try out next time I'm at Thorpe, it should mean I can safely leave my wallet in my bag/in a locker. I'll report back in a few weeks saying how well it works.

 

It would be nice if Thorpe/Merlin had their own branded contactless payment system powered by the same technology though. How cool would it be to integrate entry tickets, fast track, digipass and payments into one card/wristband? Chances of it happening are slim/nil though.

Wouldn’t be so sure on that, if they can cut staff to save money they will! Turnstiles at merge points automated RAP / fastrack entry etc

[Matt 236]

Ideally, the park/Merlin could create a special park card system, which can be purchased and used at restaurants or even shops. 

 

Pre-purchase meals could be another thing, where they show a reservation number/email at food outlets and receive their pre-ordered items (meal deal?). Unless they already offer this.

 

Society is definitely gradually leaning more towards ‘Card only’ payments, but I’d still say a noticeable amount of people still use cash. Either because they prefer or have to. For the latter, peak meals could now be rather hassling.

[Marc]

It’s an interesting one - i can see why they are trying it, one of the biggest complaints from Merlins own food outlets is speed of service, there’s no doubt a contactless tap is quicker than cash 9 times out of 10.

 

As for it cutting off the parks target audience I’m not so sure - to be honest I can’t really remember how old I wasn’t when I got my first debit card but i certainly wasn’t that old, long with I’m sure the park has data on card usage to be able to work out just how successful it will be - be interesting to see in a month or so’s time if it’s it’s still a policy is as many of the parks outlets.