KFC Snack Box - £2.49?!

[johntea]

I have just visited the KFC at Leeds station for a snack box and was slightly taken by surprise when they asked for £2.49 rather than £1.99!

Has it gone up across all KFCs or is it just a station tax? Either way a 25% hike is slightly ridiculous for a few chips and a small bit of chicken, I could probably get 2 whole pieces of chicken and quite a few more chips for £2.49 in the local takeaway!

 

[InterCity:125]

Come to the Bristol temple meads wh-Smith, you can pay £2 for a chocolate bar.(and the shop isn’t even within the barriers)

 

[Dentonian]

Come to the Bristol temple meads wh-Smith, you can pay £2 for a chocolate bar.(and the shop isn’t even within the barriers)

WH Smith routinely charge 3 times as much for food and drink compared to competing concessions.

 

[Mag_seven]

WH Smith routinely charge 3 times as much for food and drink compared to competing concessions.

Which is a pity because I rather like their Cheese and Ham sandwich.

 

[thejuggler]

Most fast food outlets are franchises. There maywell be greater costs in operating at railway stations.

A few years ago we were in a fast food outlet in London and at about 11.30pm all the prices went up.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If ever you're in Huddersfield and want fried chicken, Chikano's (bottom of town by the ring-road) wipes the floor with anything The Colonel can serve up. The Batley one is a bit hit and miss though.

 

[Harpers Tate]

It's because of RAT, which is variable between 25% and 100%.

(Railway Added Tax).

It's similar to AAT (Airport Added Tax) etc.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's also the reason you don't see a lot of Maccy D's in stations - at one time (though I think this may now have changed) they wouldn't allow franchisees to charge different prices, so with the extra costs it wouldn't be economic to have one in a station.

 

[Warwick]

Railway stations, airports, motorway service stations all have rip-off prices whether it be for food and drink or fuel.

 

[pdeaves]

Railway stations, airports, motorway service stations all have rip-off prices whether it be for food and drink or fuel.

Being philosophical, do they? They charge what (enough) people are prepared to pay. If it was a 'rip-off', no one (or not enough people) would pay and thus the market would force prices down.
(I personally am not prepared to pay the high prices, preferring either to look for a special offer/printed RRP or buy from elsewhere).

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Come to the Bristol temple meads wh-Smith, you can pay £2 for a chocolate bar.(and the shop isn’t even within the barriers)

We had this debate before about BTM - apart from very limited choice , all outlets are "top dollar" for price if not quality. Poor show when many other cities give decent options on station - or nearby. Even that there London Euston.

 

[johntea]

If ever you're in Huddersfield and want fried chicken, Chikano's (bottom of town by the ring-road) wipes the floor with anything The Colonel can serve up. The Batley one is a bit hit and miss though.

I think I visited their Bradford chain once actually and it was surprisingly good!

I quite like Chunky Chicken too, sadly the closest one to me is Wakefield which I don’t visit very often.

Anyway back to KFC at the station and their main box meals, including the mighty bucket for one, seem to be at a crazy £7.49 now, so looks like McDonalds in future!

 

[jon0844]

McDonald's do allow some variation in pricing I believe, but it's strictly controlled and has a very narrow range - and some items are fixed price no matter what.

Suffice to say, the chosen franchises for stations, airports, hospitals and service stations are those that have no issue ripping people off simply because the can. I'd sooner die of thirst than buy water from WH Smith and I'm not going to spend a fortune on sweets before a journey either. If I can't plan ahead and buy beforehand, I'll go without.

But my one man protest hasn't changed anything as they're still in business.

 

[InterCity:125]

Railway stations, airports, motorway service stations all have rip-off prices whether it be for food and drink or fuel.

It’s because you have little choice of where to buy it.

 

[Skymonster]

Don't know what the business model is at railway stations, but at airports the airport operator typically takes [at least] 10% of the revenue through the till at concessions in addition to a floor rent - that's one of the justifiable reasons why prices are higher.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

A mark-up at stations, airports and motorway services is one thing. What's far worse is the mark-up on items at WHSmith at hospitals, not least because in many cases they took over the operations from independent or in-house operations that previously had little if any mark-up. It does seem that they're desperately trying to cross-subsidise their failing high-street business.

 

[The_Train]

I find the WHSmith meal deal for £3.99 to be pretty reasonable to be honest

 

[Skymonster]

I find the WHSmith meal deal for £3.99 to be pretty reasonable to be honest

A £3.99 meal deal might well be fairly reasonable - except that supermarkets and even some chain convenience stores do the same for £3.00 - meaning any WHS selling at that price is making a 33.3% margin over some others on the high street.

 

[Darandio]

meaning any WHS selling at that price is making a 33.3% margin over some others on the high street.

Which is their right. People can choose not to buy but many seemingly do.

 

[cactustwirly]

I find the WHSmith meal deal for £3.99 to be pretty reasonable to be honest

Really?
It's only £3 in Tesco's or £3.40 in boots!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Being philosophical, do they? They charge what (enough) people are prepared to pay. If it was a 'rip-off', no one (or not enough people) would pay and thus the market would force prices down.
(I personally am not prepared to pay the high prices, preferring either to look for a special offer/printed RRP or buy from elsewhere).

These days it's quite easy to use sat-nav to find either the nearest 24 hour supermarket (often surrounded by fast food places or having its own cafe) or a reasonable pub should you not want to pay the prices on the motorway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We had this debate before about BTM - apart from very limited choice , all outlets are "top dollar" for price if not quality. Poor show when many other cities give decent options on station - or nearby. Even that there London Euston.

Temple Meads has a terrible selection of retail. They really should do part of the old trainshed (car park) up into a selection of outlets like they did with the old concourse at (I think) Leeds.

 

[The_Train]

A £3.99 meal deal might well be fairly reasonable - except that supermarkets and even some chain convenience stores do the same for £3.00 - meaning any WHS selling at that price is making a 33.3% margin over some others on the high street.

Really?
It's only £3 in Tesco's or £3.40 in boots!

Taking into account the fact that they are located in an area where they have a captive market in which a lot of people will buy because they simply have no alternative, yes I'd say that it's reasonable. I would go as far as saying that they could probably add an extra £1 on to the price and not see a reduction in sales.

 

[InterCity:125]

Temple Meads has a terrible selection of retail. They really should do part of the old trainshed (car park) up into a selection of outlets like they did with the old concourse at (I think) Leeds.

I thought there were plans to develop that into a set of new platforms for the London services?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I thought there were plans to develop that into a set of new platforms for the London services?

There might well be - but it definitely needs an improvement to the retail which is no way adequate for a major interchange - and unlike say Preston (which has similarly poor retail for a major interchange of a similar size and level of importance) there's not a load of stuff just outside, it's miles away.

Mind you, Crewe is pretty rubbish as well. I'm amazed that there isn't more done about this, as really improving station retail at major interchanges is likely to be highly profitable.

 

[Kite159]

Really?
It's only £3 in Tesco's or £3.40 in boots!

Boots have varied prices, with normally a premium for London (and somewhere else which I can't quite remember)

£3.69 for Boots outside London
£3.99 for Boots in London stations

---+

Likewise for WH Smith's meal deals, they vary in price for the 'basic' deal, worse I've seen was Cardiff Central where it was £4.79 for a basic meal deal (I'm using the term basic as some outlets do a 'premium' meal deal for extra)

 

[InterCity:125]

There might well be - but it definitely needs an improvement to the retail which is no way adequate for a major interchange - and unlike say Preston (which has similarly poor retail for a major interchange of a similar size and level of importance) there's not a load of stuff just outside, it's miles away.

There are only 2 or 3 brands operating at the station, absolutely no variety.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are only 2 or 3 brands operating at the station, absolutely no variety.

At the very least both it (and Preston) need an M&S Food, as that offers a fairly large variety in one store. But really both need a decent retail development and it'd be profitable.

 

[pdeaves]

At the very least both it (and Preston) need an M&S Food, as that offers a fairly large variety in one store. But really both need a decent retail development and it'd be profitable.

Temple Meads has an M&S now. It's inside WH Smith. Only been there a couple of weeks.

 

[InterCity:125]

Temple Meads has an M&S now. It's inside WH Smith. Only been there a couple of weeks.

Is that in the renovated wh-smith by the entrance?