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Brockwell Lido Breakfast Club 2010

Nanker Phelge said:
Probably infected with smug from all the smug-a-lugs using the cafe....

We popped in this morning for a quick drink, waited in the queue for ages behind one customer giving her order to some slowcoach thicko, as she finised delivering her list of meals some yummy mummy jumped in from behind us with 'Patrick, patrick, I had to pass my free Rose over to someone else, could you fix me another please.....' only for the cunt serving to start making a free drink for his knobby posh twat friend....:mad::mad::mad:

....we left. They can fuck off.

Luckily, Miss-Shelf is a good leveller of my mood because I was on the edge of eating his head!

Dunno if he was called Patrick, but he was a skinny little pale bloke with a weirdy wispy beard and he looked a bit patricky about the gills.

Anyway.

I will be heading for a swim tomorrow AM and I will cast a fart towards the cafe...
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I've just had the same feeling of mild relief I had when I realised the woman in Brixton Wholefoods is rude & grumpy to everyone & not just me :oops:.
 
Grr....Just wetsuited up, headed over to the Lido. website says opening times at weekend 7:30am....upon arrival staff tell me, 'pool not open until 10am'.

'Oh, the website says 7:30am' Says Nanker

Staff smile politely 'WE open at 7:30am, pool opens at 10am. Lots of people make this mistake'

'Do you think perhaps that your website is misleading?' Nanker enquires, not at all sarcasticly.

Staff nods 'Yes, maybe we should mention it to the managers'

Nanker 'Yes, it doesn't get any better here does it'

Staff look confused - having the IQ of a small child does not help.

Nanker walks off, all rubbered up with nowhere to swim.

I was gonna do my first mile swim outdoors today. Mission thwarted. Very sad.
 
First family day out to the lido today. We both felt quite upset by the cafe situation... don't really want to feel resentful every time I go.... :( Also I did feel a bit wierd with all these non-swimmers watching us over their lunch. There's a real them and us feel to it. :( How the fuck did this happen?? :mad:

Oh and I've not yet seen the hut open???
 
given the numbers of swimmers today, they cold easily have just served tea coffee and snacks over the fence (or opened the gate). the waiters come out to serve people at tables there anyway why can't they serve people on the other side too... :confused:

made me feel really resentful during my swim which puts me off going to the cafe or the Lido in the future - which is a pity because the i love the lido and i've enjoyed using the cafe over the winter too...
 
Yeah, I had a lengthy chat with another lido regular today. General anger all round about how the cafe has now divided the lido community. I really wanted a drink after my swim, but once I had physically left the building, it really was just as simple to go home and put the kettle on.

It is the intrusion that I feel uncomfortable with. Part of embracing lido life is the community feeling of being at ease and comfortable with yourself in an ultra safe, liberal environment. It's come down to a basic clothed / non-clothed situation. Something really isn't right about diners being able to look down on the lido lovers.

Such a shame :(

On a different front - confirmation that the closure last week was due to a "chlorine issue." :rolleyes: The pool is noticeably back to a more traditional clear Brockwell feel this weekend.
 
I too went for a swim today and literally EVERY conversation I overheard was a moan about the cafe situation. People are really unhappy about it. I noticed that they'd put a couple of tables and chairs on the poolside, and a blackboard saying tea coffee etc - but there was no way of obtaining said things.
 
oh we really hoped we'd bump into you! Orla was wearing her Rubytoogood original! She was so snug she had a little nap! :)
 
I did wonder if we'd run into each other - still there'll be other times I'm sure. Although we won't be able to sit anywhere and have a cuppa and a chat!
 
I think on days that I can't get someone to watch her while I swim during the day (price of admission in return for 30 mins with baby whilst I swim - Han? Eme? etc) we'll probably go at around 6ish so gaijinboy can help on his way home from work - so maybe see you then?!
 
Incidentally, I just looked back at daniel's previous posts and realised he was in fact the person that posted on here last year about the tendering process and asking what we wanted from the cafe. Given that lots of people posted up about wanting locally sourced food etc and one person in particular stated that they'd like decent bread and didn't mind paying for it, I think it's us that are to blame for the £3 toast etc!!!
 
As a regular pool/cafe user, and relative of the Daniel and Duncan, i have been a bit upset by the nasty comments made about a member of staff and felt i had to say something. It seems to be quite easy to abuse/insult people over the internet, but you can imagine how the person concerned must feel. All comments get taken to heart, so please think before you post.

As far as complaining about the smugness of the customers, well, this is Herne Hill, what do you expect?

Anyway, to put my 2p in:

The gate between the cafe and the pool has been open all day every day this week. Swimmers have come and go as they pleased. Its only closed on the days when its really busy and there are 1000+ swimmers. When it is closed, there is a HUT for drinks and snacks, as you know. And new chairs and tables to sit at. And of course you can still bring in whatever food/drink you like.

Daniel and Duncan have worked REALLY hard (you have no idea how hard) and put a lot of heart into turning an empty shell into something very special and sucessfull this past year. It is a year-round business, and actually one of the nicest places in herne hill (i am a bit biased). All the food is ethically sourced, all the food waste is composted, everything possible is recycled, the staff are paid decent wages and the whole place is run on renewable electricity and no gas.

But some people will really never stop moaning i guess and it will never be good enough. Sometimes that is very draining. There are lots of teething problems, and of course a major issue about access to/from the pool. Until and unless Fusion find a solution (and the money to pay for it) this is the best that the cafe can do.

Enjoy your summer,

Shabana
 
shabana said:
As a regular pool/cafe user, and relative of the Daniel and Duncan, i have been a bit upset by the nasty comments made about a member of staff and felt i had to say something. It seems to be quite easy to abuse/insult people over the internet, but you can imagine how the person concerned must feel. All comments get taken to heart, so please think before you post.

As far as complaining about the smugness of the customers, well, this is Herne Hill, what do you expect?

Anyway, to put my 2p in:

The gate between the cafe and the pool has been open all day every day this week. Swimmers have come and go as they pleased. Its only closed on the days when its really busy and there are 1000+ swimmers. When it is closed, there is a HUT for drinks and snacks, as you know. And new chairs and tables to sit at. And of course you can still bring in whatever food/drink you like.

Daniel and Duncan have worked REALLY hard (you have no idea how hard) and put a lot of heart into turning an empty shell into something very special and sucessfull this past year. It is a year-round business, and actually one of the nicest places in herne hill (i am a bit biased). All the food is ethically sourced, all the food waste is composted, everything possible is recycled, the staff are paid decent wages and the whole place is run on renewable electricity and no gas.

But some people will really never stop moaning i guess and it will never be good enough. Sometimes that is very draining. There are lots of teething problems, and of course a major issue about access to/from the pool. Until and unless Fusion find a solution (and the money to pay for it) this is the best that the cafe can do.

Enjoy your summer,

Shabana
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I agree with you that personal comments are not really necessary. I also recognise the hard work that has been put in to getting the cafe up and running. I have used it myself over the winter and it has a lot to recommend it (although imo a lot that could be improved too). I have also spoken to Daniel and Duncan on many occasions right from the start offering encouragment. As a long term user of the Lido, I was overjoyed speaking to them last summer with their plans for the future of the cafe.

However, I have been twice this week and the gate was not open to swimmers, neither was the hut open. Neither were busy days for the pool. Yesterday the cafe was clearly very busy with people having their Sunday lunch and even if the gate had been open, I wouldn't especially want to inch my way past all those tables of Sunday best in my dripping wet costume to get a cup of tea.

In line with your stance on personal comments - it's a bit unfair to say "some people will never really stop moaning". The Lido Cafe should be first and foremost what it is called - a "lido cafe". At the moment it is not, it is a cafe that happens to take advantage of a lovely viewpoint over the lido but swimmers are relegated to 2nd place when it comes to service. The cafe has the advantage of an amazing location which, for 7 months of the year is (currently) swimmer free. I only wish that for the 5 months of swimming - which is what the lido is primarily about, a better solution could be found.

You'll find that a lot of the disappointment is coming from long term users of the lido - the people who turn up to AGMs, sign petitions, spread the word, swim daily and who were very supportive of Daniel and Duncan. This is why it is so very disappointing. FWIW - I don't hold D&D solely responsible, I think Fusion should have made it a condition that the cafe be made completely accessible to swimmers and that given this was always going to be an issue it should have been planned for right from the start.

I understand that there are problems and issues - although the "glass" issue is a rubbish argument and easily overcome imo. Obviously having double entry access is a problem but this was always going to be the case and I feel a bit misled really. I know I certainly brought it up last summer in casual conversation and there was never a hint of what has now come to pass.

I remain hopeful that a solution will be found but, for me personally, it has changed the atmosphere of the Lido and I find that very sad.
 
shabana said:
i have been a bit upset by the nasty comments made about a member of staff and felt i had to say something. It seems to be quite easy to abuse/insult people over the internet
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Y'know what, I was fucked right off at having a member of staff stare right past me and take a call from his friend to get her 'free rose', only to then start pouring it infront of me without so much as a 'I'll be with you in moment'.

If the 'person concerned' feels bad about my opinion of him, then maybe he should consider his actions when faced with paying customers in future and seek to serve instead of oiling up his freeby grabbing chums.

Lastly, I would have quite happily insulted him to his face, but I couldnt get his fucking attention! :mad:
 
I can assure you that the gate was open, all day long from 7am until we closed. I am here every day of the week and I make sure it is open. I'm sorry if you thought it was not open, but it most definately was. After comments from people on this site I decided to make the cafe more accessable for swimmers. I agree with the posts that the cafe needs to supply swimmers with food and drink, this was always meant to be the case. But the hot weather recently brought a lot of problems with people gaining free access, and Fusion being unable to safely contain the amount of swimmers set out in their health and safety guidelines.
I wont be posting any more replies on here. As a last comment, this is how we are going to run the cafe for the summer.

On regular days when it is not extremely hot and full of swimmers, the cafe will be open to both pool users and non pool users. The hut will also be open on days when there are more than just a handful of swimmers, so people will have the choice of either a quick takeaway drink, ice cream of burger/panini, or they can come in and have whatever they like from the menu in the cafe. If, at any time I am asked by Fusion to stop access due to people trying to get in for free, or if any glass is found poolside, then I will do so. The hut will remain open. On those rare hot days, from 10am the gate to the cafe will be closed due to all the given reasons. The hut will then open at 10am to serve pool users. It will remain open until 5pm, when the gate will then be opened again to the cafe. Yes, it is not 100% ideal,but as far as I am concerned it is near. until we can find a completely foolproof solution this is how we will be operating. If you have an issue, come and talk to us instead of posting childish comments. We are here to serve all of you, and we want you to be happy with the service we provide. Duncan, myself and all the staff live locally and we like the area and the people around here. We are always here to chat about how we operate, what works best for everyone, what we sell and how we can make it better.
 
daniel1975 said:
I can assure you that the gate was open, all day long from 7am until we closed. I am here every day of the week and I make sure it is open. I'm sorry if you thought it was not open, but it most definately was.
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I assume this was directed at me. I could not see the gate open yesterday, nor was the hut open, but I will take your word for it and my apologies if I was mistaken.

daniel1975 said:
If you have an issue, come and talk to us instead of posting childish comments.
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I hope this is not directed at me as I feel I have been quite measured in my comments and far from "childish" in any respect.
 
shabana said:
But some people will really never stop moaning I guess and it will never be good enough. Sometimes that is very draining.
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You're right, some people will always comment that what's being done is not to their liking, not enough, which is why you try to find a balance, meet the needs of most of your customers. Not everyone will like everything, but if you can achieve good levels of customer service, an affordable range of products and set in it all in a comfortable and accessible environment then you're some way to pleasing most of the people most of the time.

Unhappy customers are not 'People who never stop moaning' they are 'people who will definately stop spending'.

Ignoring them, casting them off as 'a drain' is throwing money down the drain.

If those customers who walk away saying I'll never come back is money that the Cafe can afford to lose, then well done on creating a good business model that only needs the customers it has already.

Quite franky, having a 1000+ swimmers sat outside my cafe unable to use my services would irk me somewhat, because those 1000+ people have cash stuffed down the front of their speedos and right now that cash is going to the local supermarkets. I'd want it in my bank, not Sainsbury's.

Instead there are potential customers abandoned poolside resentful and angry that the Lido Cafe is just another Herne Hill eatery.

I will say, however, that I do wish the Cafe well, running these facilities is hard work and meeting the needs of everyone can be tiring and frustrating, even more so when you engage with a venture of this type that exists within a space which has a history of providing to large numbers of local people with a wide range of expectation, wants and needs. The Lido has no target market, just large numbers of people from varied backgrounds and with differing levels of income....pleasing all the people will never happen, pleasing most of the people can.

Best of luck.
 
daniel1975 said:
If you have an issue, come and talk to us instead of posting childish comments.
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This is an internet forum. Posting comments, childish or otherwise, is what it's here for.

What comments we post and the subjects we choose is our business, not yours.

You come here to see what people think of your business, so don't get upset if you don't like what you read.
 
But if the cafe is not permanently shut from the poolside, why is there such a universal perception that it is?

Here's the gist of one of the conversations I overheard yesterday:

A: "I could do with a cup of tea, let's go to the cafe."
B: "I don't think you can get in from this side, you have to go out and round."
A: "That's really crap, maybe we can get in round the barrier at the end there."
B: "I don't think you're meant to do that, we'll get told off."
A: "Sod it, let's go home."
 
gaijingirl said:
Hurrah! :) What sort of time do you get there at? If it's earlier than gb I won't need to hang around so late, or more importantly keep littl'un up too late.
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Oh yeah, this was why I was really looking at this thread - I don't get down there much before 6 so it might not be any advantage over gb's babysitting skills, but anyway.
 
Nanker Phelge said:
Grr....Just wetsuited up, headed over to the Lido. website says opening times at weekend 7:30am....upon arrival staff tell me, 'pool not open until 10am'.

'Oh, the website says 7:30am' Says Nanker

Staff smile politely 'WE open at 7:30am, pool opens at 10am. Lots of people make this mistake'

'Do you think perhaps that your website is misleading?' Nanker enquires, not at all sarcasticly.

Staff nods 'Yes, maybe we should mention it to the managers'
Click to expand...

Got an email from a Lido person yesterday saying they'd requested the front page is updated to highlight that pool opening times differ from actual Lido Facilities Opening times.

:cool:
 
Grrr - the lido was closed for a second morning once again earlier. The lifeguard last night was told "don't leave the pump on!"

He left the pump on :facepalm:

Early morning swimmers were turned away, and then the pool opened just before 8am. Not great :(
 
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