Gore Vidal famously said: “Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little”. He’s also attributed with the corollary “It’s not enough to succeed, others must fail”. He’s right, there’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing someone fall flat on their face, particularly if they’re in the same business as you.

This week there has been a spectacular fall, in the drubbing received by Forman’s restaurant from the press and their customers because of their disastrous decision to charge £75 for breakfast*. Forman’s wanted to take advantage of the fact that they are right next to the Olympic stadium, on the outside, going in. They knew that the only catering on offer inside was McDonalds. Now McDonald’s, as everyone knows, is unscrupulous in exploiting their customers with sugary, salty, starchy junk which tastes of nothing but cardboard. (see here)

The people at Forman’s reckoned that folk who’d paid hundreds on their tickets wouldn’t mind spending a premium on a decent alternative to a McDonald’s. The trouble is that, however much it was dressed up with extras, £75 for a full English came across as unscrupulous and exploitative, and the Great British Public decided to stay with the devil they knew.

*This article in the Telegraph and the furious reply from the owner of Formans are both equally funny.

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