To wonder how some businesses stay afloat

[careeristbitchnigel]

I went into a tea room this afternoon at 3.05pm, fancied a sandwich or something, i had just missed the cut off for food at 3pm. I gestured to the homemade sausage rolls, displayed in a deli-counter set up which was served with "a spoon of coleslaw, salad and crisps". I said "can i have a sausage roll with salad instead then ?". The assistant said "yes" then changed her mind and decided that it was food and therefore i was too late. To put you in the picture, tea room was totally empty apart from myself and 3 members of staff. I left wondering why one of e three members of staff couldn't stick some coleslaw and crisps on a plate .

Went to another place in search of lunch, it had a blackboard stating "food served all day". Went in to try and order a sandwich to which the woman behind the counter (who was engaged in a conversation with member of staff from the garden centre attached) said "i'm on my own so i'm not doing food". She most certainly was on her own as she and i were the onle people in the room.

I've worked in hospitality for 20 years so i know they could quite easily have made a quick sandwich/put a sausage roll on a plate if they were minded to.

We walked out of a restaurant on Monday because they were rude, ignored us and we were in a hurry. Went across the road to a fast food chain instead. I would have much preferred to give my money to a local business but the chain are fast and polite. This was in North America BTW, land of great customer service

Terry, i wanted a nice homemade sandwich or something. The only other options on the way to the training session i'm attending are mcdonalds and tesco.

I wonder this a lot, too

One cafe by us has closed now. The last time I went in, there were 6 people working there, 6 customers and is till had to wait half an hour for a toasted sandwich and a cup of tea.

Independent shops/cafés that won't stay open past 6pm are just asking for trouble these days in my opinion.

Me too. I wanted a nice sounding sandwich, I ended up with deep-fried crap. But, I didn't miss my ferry.

I live in a small market town where lots of the shops close at 4pm. I even went into town one Saturday and the shop I really wanted to go into shut at midday! On a Saturday FFS! Plenty of them have a day shut mid week too Now the county council also charge for parking it's almost not worth the bother of going in. No wonder high streets are suffering.

Urgh. This pisses me right off. Fine if you want to run a business like that but don't throw your hands up and clutch your pearls about losing the high street/shopping local benefitting the economy etc etc.

My high street is full of this mentality. Rude staff, long waiting times etc but say anything negative and you're akin to hitler.

Livid, you must be considerably younger than I am

Shops used to have half day Wednesday so they could open the half day Saturday - a 5 day working week just like everyone else. The small market town I live in does much the same these days. Some don't open on Monday so they can open on Saturday. It still seems normal to me. Normal and fair on the staff/owner.

As for shite service... I HATE the sort of Jobsworth who will turn down money just because the hands of a clock are pointing elsewhen! Stupid and guaranteed to close down sooner rather than later!

Yes Nomama I remember half days on a Wednesday and Saturday too

I think the difference was the supermarkets and chains did that too - or at least they didn't do late night opening every night like now. Also, the likes of my mum who didn't work, would walk to her local shop and pick stuff up daily.

I dropped my son off for an activity the other night and decided to get a coffee instead of going home. The only places open were Starbucks and Costa and both were heaving.

I just think - fair or not - if businesses don't adapt to modern demands, they can't complain when customers go to chains.

I think you're right, there.

Some of ours now have 2 businesses in them. Tea shop by day with one owner, Italian Bistro by night, different owners. But that is slow growing and doesn't suit most businesses. But then we still have butchers, bakers and chandlers... so we may be a bit different to the 'normal' high street.

It is madness, isn't it.
There are two butchers near me. One now opens late a few nights a week, opens at the weekends, takes cards and has a loyalty card where you get a stamp per £xx and then a free pack of sausages or something when the card is full.

They've introduced this in stages over the last few years, but when they started accepting cards and opening on Sundays, the other butchers a few doors up responded by...bitching and moaning to every customer about how they were 'moving the goalposts' and making business to hard for them.
By installing a credit card machine. Needless to say one of them has a queue out the door on a Saturday morning and the other has a hatchet faced man in a stripey apron staring at his empty shop

Similar experience to OP - I went into a pub with a sign saying "Food served all day", about 1.45pm. No-one behind the bar, but a small group of people eating at a table. I waited at the bar for 5 minutes then went in search of some staff. Found one with her back to me, talking to someone in the kitchen, separated by a half door. I tried speaking loudly but no response, I was literally jumping up and down to attract her attention, but she was oblivious. Eventually she turned round and then almost jumped out of her skin. "Oh" she said, "I didn't see you there". And of course after all this, no, I couldn't have food because "lunchtime was over". I could however have crisps from the bar, if I wanted. I didn't.

Then of course there are the businesses which don't answer their phones during working hours, phone you back when you are busy, and the whole scenario is replayed over and over again.

Oh yes! The bank holiday locusts

Weird isn't it? I wonder what would happen if they stopped Sunday opening hours again?

Wailing, weeping, tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth...

A sandwich shop in Keswick once refused to make my dad a chicken sandwich without mayo as it said chicken sandwich with mayo on the board and she could not make it different!!!

BTW all sandwiches where made fresh!

Local butchers In leads. I buy 10 quid of chicken every sat. One week it tasted a bit funky.

I mentioned it the next week.

Another 10 quid of chicken for free with apologies

My town has SO many shabby chic style shops.

I love them but do wonder how many cushions shaped like a fox people can actually BUY?

Did you not make a comment before you left about how it's lovely that the recession has not hit them if they can afford to turn away business, business which will never set foot through their door again with this attitude?

When i got in the car i thought "why on earth did you not say something". By experience two i was annoyed and hungry and thought "well fuck you then i'll give someone else my money"

It's all very well saying half day closing on a Wednesday so the shop can open half day on a Saturday but when you run a business you can't expect to work 5 days a week - or you can but you'll be out of business soon enough! If I was running a business I'd be open every hour I could be. A couple of shops near me shut at lunchtime for an hour! They lost my trade long ago as funnily enough lunchtime is the hour I want to do my shopping so I go to somewhere I know will be open.

We turned up about 10 seconds past nine o ' clock at a restaurant in Lyme Regis.
No service- it finishes at 9.
There was NO ONE in there.
We went to the Indian up the hill.
They squeezed us in as it was packed to the rafters.Moving chairs and tables!
That first place lost eight people eating and drinking and it wasnt busy when we passed it earlier in the evening.
Madness.

Yanbu!!

Local businesses that moan about 'the competition' but do NOTHING to change and evolve theirs gets right on my wick!

annielouise, that was the norm about 30 years ago when it was illegal to open on Sunday and the half day closing had been in place for decades.

No-one is suggesting it makes sense these days. Although in the small town I live in, it is still the norm for some shops. I suspect that the elderly owners are hanging on in there for retirement.

YANBU

As a student I worked as a barmaid/waitress in a pub and the landlord was so awkward and unaccommodating it was unbelievable!

Examples include;

Telling an elderly gentleman that he couldn't have mushy peas with his pie rather than fresh veg 'because it comes with veg and we only serve mushy peas with fish'

A party of 10 made a booking. Someone rang ahead and explained that she was coeliac and wanted to discuss what could be made available. He told her 'we don't do that'

Wouldn't let someone swap peas for beans (we had loads of bloody beans!) Because, guess what? 'It comes with peas!'

I could go on and on. He couldn't understand why the place was frequently empty and ended up closing down