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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask where all those who said that WFH would be good for business are now?

489 replies

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 17:38

Sorry, sort of a rant.
I work in a small local foodie business in the South West. I know there is a cost of living crisis, but I also feel that WFH culture is killing us.
So many said that they would spend more in their local high streets now they were WFH but that seems to have stopped.
People are online food shopping and then not leaving their houses. Three local businesses announced they were closing this week, two bakeries and one restaurant. I can count five since Christmas which have folded.
I know a lot are feeling the pinch from gas and electric but a lot of people are just WFH, squirrelling their money away, saving and then saying 'oh that's a shame' on the Facebook posts when a business announces they're folding. Why not support them? I'm not talking about those on the breadline but those who are financially comfortable.
If you want a diverse high street, you have to support local businesses or we won't be here in a years time.

OP posts:
3LittleFishes · 16/02/2023 18:46

no I completely blame the government too. But I also have family in Europe and know that their high streets will never die as people value relationships and community there in a way that Brits don't.

Gio who has his cafe on the corner in Milan will not lose out all of his custom to a local Starbucks as people love Gio and love his coffee. Here, British people just care about cost, fuck Gio and his family, they'll go across the street whilst he watches just to save a few pennies.
Well you know what to do if Gio is so much happier in Europe.....I hope your anti Brit sentiment isn't so obvious when you're serving your customers 🙄

OhmygodDont · 16/02/2023 18:46

Thing is that’s a sense of community for Geo we don’t have that where as a general rule apart from for village type cafes normally.

If I went into town the odd more independent is over double the price and it’s still not Geo working there it’s Isla on a gap year.

RaininSummer · 16/02/2023 18:47

I go to work 5 days a week in a small city in the SW and never buy anything in a cafe or coffee shop. Way too expensive which isn't their fault with prices being what they are. I can't pay a tenner for something like avocado on toast and coffee. Me and partner had lunch in my hols recently and it was only fish cake and chips with a non alcoholic drink but cost over 30 pounds. Guess the times they are a-changing. Sad for business owners though.

Thebestwaytoscareatory · 16/02/2023 18:47

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:35

Ok so as a real example, in 2020/2021 plenty of people moved to our neck of the woods as they could now WFH forever. They were used to paying London prices and now were buying £60-£100 worth of groceries per week, enjoying their new disposable income and having a three bed for the price of a one bed in London.
They used to go on about the high street, how lovely it was, how unique and how all the indies made the area for them. They presumably still have the same jobs, they still pay the same rent or mortgage, but they've stopped coming, not just to us but to all the indie shops. So they will probably lose the one thing that made them love the area in the first place.
So yes you can call it a 'saving' buying a plastic cup of Starbucks from the fridge in Tesco but you cannot then moan that you're house price has gone down or that there is no local high street when things pick back up again for you.
Yes there will be those who are on the bones of their arse right now, as am I. But not all are, some are just being tight.

So in actual fact your area benefited massively from people transitioning to WFH. We're you not at all concerned for all those indie shops who lost £60-100 pw when those workers moved to your area? Did you urge them to reconsider moving as it would destroy their old High Street or did you welcome them with open arms and gladly take their cash?

Now the novelty has worn off and the cost of living had skyrocketed, so people are changing their habits. Yes, customers can help support local independents but the onus is on those local independents to offer something worth supporting (in the customers eyes).

Heynow3 · 16/02/2023 18:48

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:40

@Christmaspyjamas no I completely blame the government too. But I also have family in Europe and know that their high streets will never die as people value relationships and community there in a way that Brits don't.
Gio who has his cafe on the corner in Milan will not lose out all of his custom to a local Starbucks as people love Gio and love his coffee. Here, British people just care about cost, fuck Gio and his family, they'll go across the street whilst he watches just to save a few pennies.

Maybe you lost customers partly because of your attitude?

Oblomov23 · 16/02/2023 18:48

I do partly understand and agree. If loads of companies close their offices and people wfh then sandwich places best offices, say in Canary Wharf don't have the same clientele.
But, Plus COL may mean these people aren't now buying lunch.
Plus there are people like me, who now working hybrid, when I do go into the office I walk into my local town, but I always took a sandwich /left over dinner, so never /rarely bought a lunch anyway.

MaireadMcSweeney · 16/02/2023 18:48

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:12

@Nancydrawn thanks for getting it. I'm trying to listen but it feels like people want to have their cake and eat it too (if you'll pardon the pun). If people want to have high streets with independent businesses, their own identity, employers who pay a living wage then you have to support it. If WFH is saving you £££ on childcare and commuting then I feel you have some sort of obligation to share that wealth rather than just support Amazon or Tesco or whoever.

What by making special efforts to go into town centres just for the purpose of spending money in local businesses? Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?

MrsJBaptiste · 16/02/2023 18:50

OP, I'm not sure why you're surprised on MN of all places. Everyone on here orders everything online and barely ever sets foot out of their house, let alone onto the high street.

MaireadMcSweeney · 16/02/2023 18:51

I haven't saved anything by WFH. I got a new job in an office twice as far as my old one so my fuel costs are the same and I am now paying double cost for double the amount of heating by being home in the winter. In fact this winter I bet WFH has been more expensive than commuting.

donttellmehesalive · 16/02/2023 18:51

I'm sorry that your business is struggling and that you are worried about your job.

But if you are selling stuff that people don't want at a price they're unwilling or unable to pay, you will have to adapt or fail.

You can't argue with people about what they ought to spend their money on. They know what their family commitments and priorities are, and you are not a charity.

DogsDryWineAndCheese · 16/02/2023 18:51

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:40

@Christmaspyjamas no I completely blame the government too. But I also have family in Europe and know that their high streets will never die as people value relationships and community there in a way that Brits don't.
Gio who has his cafe on the corner in Milan will not lose out all of his custom to a local Starbucks as people love Gio and love his coffee. Here, British people just care about cost, fuck Gio and his family, they'll go across the street whilst he watches just to save a few pennies.

Is your utter disdain for the general public apparent day to day? Could it be that you’re part of the problem?

OdeToBarney · 16/02/2023 18:51

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 17:51

I suppose all I see is the advantage for those who work from home and the disadvantage for those who work out of the home.
We have to work in businesses which are struggling, pay childcare, pay travel costs and pay all the utility bills that are increasing. Those who get to work from home save on all of those, but also can't be bothered to spend money on their high streets. They don't seem to see the link between the comment 'oh no that lovely cafe has shut down' and their lack of support.

Home workers also pay childcare (well, the decent ones do) and they often have higher utilities due to being at home all day. Your anger is misplaced.

Original poster
ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:52

@MaireadMcSweeney I don't think that sounds ridiculous. I want to have choice, as a consumer, which is why I spend money in multiple small businesses rather than Amazon. We all have choices.

OP posts:
Andanotherone01 · 16/02/2023 18:53

Nothing to do with people WFH and everything to do with people having little to no disposable income

Original poster
ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:53

@OdeToBarney I refer you to @Bigbadfish comment about saving thousands on childcare since WFH.

OP posts:
LadyOfTheCanyon · 16/02/2023 18:54

Im99912 · 16/02/2023 18:17

We used to get a takeaway fish n chips once a week - 1 small cod & Large cod and 1 large bag of chips

This used to cost just under £12
it’s now just over £20

I can afford it COL hasn’t and probably won’t affect us one bit but I’m not paying £20 for fish & chips 😂

Then you must resign yourself to never having fish and chips from a chippy again, I'm afraid.

By the time this has all settled down, inflation is on an even keel and you're ready to put your hand back in your pocket to support a local business at a price you deem reasonable it will be shut.

And you'll have to buy your fish from the supermarket, which will have beaten the fisheries into submission, like the dairy farmers and bakers and the florists before them in order for them to be able to offer a 'competitive' price. And in order to match that price, the fisheries will be more intensively farmed, and possibly using unethical practises for storage and preservatives. And using the cheapest labour they can get away with in order to hack out the tiniest bit of a profit for themselves.

Running a small business is absolutely brutal. I do believe that we owe it to each other to help out where we can by spending money ( caveat: obviously only when money is available).

MaireadMcSweeney · 16/02/2023 18:54

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:52

@MaireadMcSweeney I don't think that sounds ridiculous. I want to have choice, as a consumer, which is why I spend money in multiple small businesses rather than Amazon. We all have choices.

You think people who according to you are saving money by WFH have some kind of moral duty to schlep to high streets and spend their money in indie shops. That's ridiculous.

OriginalUsername2 · 16/02/2023 18:55

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 17:38

Sorry, sort of a rant.
I work in a small local foodie business in the South West. I know there is a cost of living crisis, but I also feel that WFH culture is killing us.
So many said that they would spend more in their local high streets now they were WFH but that seems to have stopped.
People are online food shopping and then not leaving their houses. Three local businesses announced they were closing this week, two bakeries and one restaurant. I can count five since Christmas which have folded.
I know a lot are feeling the pinch from gas and electric but a lot of people are just WFH, squirrelling their money away, saving and then saying 'oh that's a shame' on the Facebook posts when a business announces they're folding. Why not support them? I'm not talking about those on the breadline but those who are financially comfortable.
If you want a diverse high street, you have to support local businesses or we won't be here in a years time.

I’d love to. I’m dying for my regular cheesecake from my local bakery, a bit of ham for my crusty rolls from the butcher next door to it.. I crave a Chinese takeaway from our lovely regular place.

Instead since new year I’m living off one meal of potatoes, beans & cheese and toast and marmalade for treats. This is purely because my energy costs have tripled and most of the food I used to buy has gone up by 1/3 to 1/2.

clairelouwho · 16/02/2023 18:56

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:12

@Nancydrawn thanks for getting it. I'm trying to listen but it feels like people want to have their cake and eat it too (if you'll pardon the pun). If people want to have high streets with independent businesses, their own identity, employers who pay a living wage then you have to support it. If WFH is saving you £££ on childcare and commuting then I feel you have some sort of obligation to share that wealth rather than just support Amazon or Tesco or whoever.

No one is obligated to support your business. It seems that many posters have explained the reasons why people aren’t eating out as much and you’re ignoring it to shame those wfh.

Even if you WFH you still have to pay for childcare. Unless you think that you can parent and work at the same time?

I WFH for some of the week and I don’t see these massive savings that you think you’re entitled to. I have to pay the same bills I would pay working in the office just slightly less on fuel.

Largely the time travelling is what I save. When I’m in the office I don’t eat out. Too expensive and times are tight. People are struggling right now and eating out when they can avoid doing so is one of the first things they’re having to cut.

Cornishsausageroll · 16/02/2023 18:56

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:52

@MaireadMcSweeney I don't think that sounds ridiculous. I want to have choice, as a consumer, which is why I spend money in multiple small businesses rather than Amazon. We all have choices.

You're so lucky that you can afford to shop local.

I actually cannot afford local prices over Amazon 😊

Apologies for being so poor! 🙏 please do forgive me for my sins.

Pirateships · 16/02/2023 18:56

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 17:44

@RebulahConundrum it's fair enough if you do. But there were so many customers who came in during lockdown, and then stopped when life 'went back to normal'. I guess it was to be expected, but businesses need support now more than they did then.

Why are you attributing all of that to working from home though? A lot of people shopping locally probably have gone back to the office and that's why they're not spending as much in their home towns, others tightening their belts because of the cost of living, or now there's more open and to do are prioritising spending their money elsewhere- something that isn't dependent on where they work.

AlmostThereMaybe · 16/02/2023 18:56

I mostly work from home. I don’t do an internet grocery shop as I like going to a shop myself. I never used to do the regular coffee/lunch buying thing as I couldn’t afford it then and still can’t afford it now. I do appreciate having local businesses and so try to use them where possible.

clairelouwho · 16/02/2023 18:57

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:53

@OdeToBarney I refer you to @Bigbadfish comment about saving thousands on childcare since WFH.

One person. You’ve based an entire assumption about those who WFH on one person.

Roundandnour · 16/02/2023 18:57

ChampagnePuppy · 16/02/2023 18:12

@Nancydrawn thanks for getting it. I'm trying to listen but it feels like people want to have their cake and eat it too (if you'll pardon the pun). If people want to have high streets with independent businesses, their own identity, employers who pay a living wage then you have to support it. If WFH is saving you £££ on childcare and commuting then I feel you have some sort of obligation to share that wealth rather than just support Amazon or Tesco or whoever.

I share my wealth with companies that deliver.
I physically and mentally cannot traipse around shops all day finding the things we need. I cannot carry everything. I cannot carry a week/month shopping up the stairs.

I am not alone.

ACynicalDad · 16/02/2023 18:58

I've saved thousands on childcare, I don't spend it on coffees but the local builder and glazier have had good money from me in the last year. You may be in the wrong business, bad luck. If several have closed how can you tempt their customers in. All closing together may be unfortunate, maybe only one or two needed to. Adapt to the market.