Little Chef

[PaulWH]

I have just deleted the Little Chef at Brenzett, Kent and "The Cloud" wifi that was at the same location.

Having just checked the PGPS database I see that we still have 200 Little Chef's listed but according to Little Chefs own website there are now only 116 branches left after January's latest cull.

Can I respectfully suggest that this POI be cleaned up ASAP for the benefit of all.

Paul W. H

[DennisN]

The POI database is built and maintained from members' reports/submissions, just like this one of yours. Hopefully others will see this post and keep an eye out for changes to report.
_________________
Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

[M8TJT]

As the POIs are community run, who would you respectfully request does this?

[PaulWH]

I am not suggesting any one individual does this.

The difficulty as I see it is that for someone to do a mass delete it not an easy task using the website and would you want an ordinary member doing this, I don't think so.

I have extracted a "Current" branch list from "Little Chef" and would do it myself if it was easier.

However as Dennis says hopefully others will see this post and act accordingly.

Paul

[M8TJT]

If you have a current list, it might be a good idea to contact our user Oldboy who I believe does the admin of the POI databases. He may be able to point you in a different direction than doing it by hand. My guess would be that he will be along here in a bit anyway.

[Andy_P]

[Daggers]

I reckon the best way to do this would be to first download a list of Little Chefs from the PGPSW database (use the CSV format - it's easier to work with).
You can then look each of these up individually using a combination of Google Maps and the Little Chef web site (or their branch list). Google Maps will give you an approximate postcode which you can use to find the nearest branches on the official Little Chef list.

If you get a match, then you know that POI still exists. If not, consider using the submission page to put in a Request for Removal.
_________________
Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT-D

[M8TJT]

I think that the OP's p[roblem was that it would take forever for one person to do that.

[253]

Well I'm glad to say that the Little Waster that was at Chievley (or how you spell it) off the M4 near Maidenhead is gone from the DB. The last time I was there about 2 years ago the service (so called) took 15 mins to get a 'person' to the table and a further 20 mins for the food (?).

Do us all a favour and delete the entire POI from the data base.

Well, that's what I think.


Bob
_________________
Triumph Tbird 1700. And now a Bonnie T100.

[DennisN]

[Andy_P]

It started undergoing big changes in 2008 after Heston Blumenthal got involved (Linky), so '253' might have just caught the end of the bad old days?
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

[253]

Thanks for the link Andy.
It would appear that was about the time of my visit - and also one about 5 months previous to a LC just off the M3 / A3, I can't remember now, about 5 of us on a ride out on the bikes.

The report on the link explains a lot, especially the bit about being 'run down' and 'minimal staff' because that was exactly my experience.

May be time to give them another go.

Bob
_________________
Triumph Tbird 1700. And now a Bonnie T100.

[Privateer]

Firstly, I'll start off by saying that I like Little Chef. However it would be nice to see the price a little cheaper.

[Daggers]

In an ideal world, Robert, you would be right. However, the POIs aren't updated as frequently by members as the speed cameras for instance. Some of the PGPSW POIs are, to be honest, woefully out of date. There are some categories representing companies which have been out of business for some time, so these can't be accurate. Examples include Borders, MFI, Thresher, and possibly Q8 petrol (I'm not 100% sure about this last one). I'm sure there are more.

As a further example, I have just finished going through all the Alliance & Leicester branches and ATMs, converting them to the correct institution. Alliance & Leicester hasn't been a brand since 2010. Believe me, there were a lot of these - it was clear that they just aren't being updated by PGPSW members.

Therefore, we have to rely on other sources of data to keep these POIs up-to-date. When Little Chef announce that they are closing many branches, and their own website appears to reflect the number of branches that they are keeping open, whereas PGPSW have almost double this number, I know which site I would trust.

I completely agree that we should be doing everything we can to encourage members to update all POIs that they know about (though Richard may have something to say about the extra work!) Currently, however, it isn't being done by enough people, so they have to be updated by other methods. Using company-supplied information is another way to improve the quality of our POIs.

Finally, while creating locations from postcodes is not an exact science, I believe the problem is overstated - in the vast majority of cases, the location is in the correct road, and in the correct approximate location. Using postcodes is a good way to set up POI Categories initially, and then trust that the members will adjust the positions over the course of time. Also, if creating POIs individually from postcodes, Google StreetView can be a good way of confirming locations (as long as we bear in mind that the photos are a little out-of-date, and don't use it as a primary source of information) - it means that some of the work can be done remotely without the need to visit each POI individually.
_________________
Garmin DriveSmart 50 LMT-D

[Andy_P]

Sounds like a full time job for somebody!

If the price is right, I'm offering!
_________________
"Settling in nicely" ;-)

We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?.
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!