Buckle up lads, it’s time for one of my Welcome to Friday podcast opinion rants, and luckily for you, you don’t have to put up with my voice to hear it.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll have seen that the island’s first Wetherspoon pub opened on the island yesterday.
What I would like to make crystal clear is that this is not a bashing of Wetherspoon, nor any company or franchise crossing the Irish Sea to set up on our Manx shores.
All For Competition
Competition is healthy, we should encourage it and want a strong economy where businesses are thriving, and ideally, renowned brands are throwing themselves aboard Manxman to set up here.
This rant/opinion is actually aimed at the Manx media and a fair lot of the general public.
Do you feel triggered already? Good. There is no trigger, without a wound.
What’s the Hype?
Manx media. This is where I shall start. I get it, I really do, a Wetherspoon opening is pure clickbait and brilliant for website numbers! Hell, we all do it from time to time.
What I don’t think is fair is the disproportionate amount of coverage this has received; let me explain why I feel that way:
News outlets that were drooling at the doors when it opened are no doubt the same writing articles about how awful it is when Manx businesses are closing and pleading with the public to shop local.
Ethics
It was big news when announced! Absolutely none of us can forget the shear excitement and disbelief as to whether it was truth or an April fools.
Now, I appreciate the circular economy aspect of a Wetherspoon, the franchise deal, hiring local staff, paying of taxes etc; again I support it.
However, what I don’t understand is the news outlets that were lining up on the opening day, even the state-funded radio station to line up and go on the grand tour of what is, a cheap pub.
Where Were You Then?
I would just like to know where were those reporters when the man down the road set up his bar?
Where were they when your neighbour set up their own cafe with Manx produce?
They weren’t queueing at the door and writing numerous stories a week on the impending opening and highlighting the positives it would bring to local hospitality trade.
Fairness
How about those reporters support the local business that Tommy left his corporate job for and threw his life-savings into setting up a local shop.
Or if they covered the build up of a Manx bakery opening that makes bread with Manx flour from Manx wheat employing Manx people with true sustainability at the forefront.
I know which one would mean more, for us when I heard about Smokey Sam’s opening I was there in full support as it aligned with my ethos of local.
Supporting Local
It’s over a year ago that Kellas opened and I don’t recall many other media outlets being there.
I was, and my opinion fell with the local aspect and what it could do for Port St Mary and what it would bring to the village.
There is no sense in trying our best to be a sustainable island and promote Manx business, if in the same breath you’re going to abandon Manx business at the first sight of a big name in town.
They are part of your ethics, and your ethics matter everywhere, or they matter nowhere.
I Get it
I agree, we are in a cost of living crisis and big companies are generally (but not always) more affordable than the little man down the road.
But, as we all know, all it takes is a boat to not sail and we are a bit stumped – shelves are empty and Costa no longer has toasties for sale!
“Shut up, I just want a cheap beer” I hear you say. Don’t we all! But the days of cheap products are sadly long behind us, or so they should be.
The ingredients of the beer and the running costs for smaller companies have gone up since the days of your £3 pint, so surely the product must too.
My Opinion
Whilst you’re sipping on your cheap-ish pint, or eating your cheap-ish meal, don’t forget about the bloody brilliant small businesses on the island that excel at what they do and many produce a world class product.
Next time you think that an Aldi or Lidl would be brilliant for the island, think of all the local businesses and producers that suffer at the hand of the big giants.
It doesn’t mean you don’t use the big ones, it just means don’t forget about the working man who’s busting a gut to keep a roof over his head.
Practice what you preach – it’s that simple. Once you lose them, they’re gone and the moment the competition goes, the prices creep up.
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