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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think *some* independent shops really aren't helping themselves...?

649 replies

BeansAndNoodles · 05/12/2025 08:55

I'm massively supportive of small businesses, I try to use them as often as I can. We are lucky to have a high street with lots of independent shops. However, my trips to town are limited due to being short of spare time, plus parking costs a fortune unless you limit it to the free 90 mins that you get in the supermarket car park, etc.

But time and time again I go to one of the independent shops to find them randomly shut. I get that they probably only have one staff member so it's hard to stay open if anything out of the ordinary happens, but it's still so flipping frustrating.

The last few trips to town have ended with me ordering stuff online or going into one of the chains because the independent shops I wanted were closed for no apparent reason. The independent health food shop is the worst, they close for an hour at some point between 11 and 3 for lunch but it's not the same time day to day and they don't say on the closed sign what time they'll be back, so if you get there and it's shut you don't know if it's worth trekking back to that end of town in 30 mins or not. I tend not to even bother checking now and just go straight Holland & Barrat instead. Several more shops seem to rely on posting that days opening hours on their FB page, but thats hardly a reliable way to tell people if they're open or not! Last week I had an afternoon off and took a trip to a different town specifically to go to a shop that stocks work by local artists to get some cards and gifts, only to find it closed with no indication of why or if it was opening late or what. I checked their FB page while stood outside but nope nothing. Later that day (3 hours after their stated opening time) they posted that they'd decided to open later for the Christmas lights switch on and that they hoped people would come and support them Hmm

Anyway I've just seen yet another slightly passive aggressive plea from one of the owners of the worst shops for this, complaining how quiet business is and telling people to use them or lose them yada. Well yes I totally agree but more often then not when I try to use them they're not bloody open!

OP posts:
Crikeyalmighty · 05/12/2025 19:06

hamstersarse · 05/12/2025 19:01

I posted early on in the thread and tbh I am so grateful to read the honest feelings around unreliable opening hours as I am pretty new to retail and I live in a place where most urban people would not believe how fast people close up for the day with no regard for the customer, and I have always suspected it was intensely irritating.
I had always said to DH that our shop needs to be different and always open if you have made the trip to get here - and we have kept to our word, it is open 7 days a week/ 365 a year. If you make the trip to support the local produce, it will be open. That's not always easy, but we haven't messed up so far.

I think what I am saying is that it has galvanised me to keep to that commitment!

give yourself a bit of time off though lovely if you don’t have staff or you will ‘burn out’ I honestly don’t mind if places are open 4 days a week- provided it usually includes at least 1 day at weekend and people stick to opening for those hours - not just shut up coz it’s raining or it’s a nice sunbathing day or it’s a bit quiet etc etc

dynamiccactus · 05/12/2025 19:07

Heyhoitsme · 05/12/2025 18:33

Our town has a mini Christmas market. Basically six sheds along the main street. I walked through this morning and only two were open for business. If they can't put the hours in at Christmas what's the point?

Especially as they probably to have to pay a lot for their pitches, so you'd think they'd want to make the most of it.

HoneyParsnipSoup · 05/12/2025 19:08

YANBU. Our small town has a toddler play cafe which doesn’t even have opening times. Nothing on their website, in the window or on Facebook - the owner simply posts ‘Open today, hoping to see lots of you here…’. If you want to go on a certain day you have to text and ask if she’ll be open and the reply is ‘no sorry hun’ 😳

She’s done the usual ‘struggling small business’ post but seriously if she can’t make the link between reliability and custom, she doesn’t deserve to be in business.

Original poster
BeansAndNoodles · 05/12/2025 19:12

dynamiccactus · 05/12/2025 19:06

Where I live, you aren't allowed to criticise local independents in our local Facebook group because it's not considered fair. You can however slag off Aldi, M&S, the local council etc.

I can see that people shouldn't be throwing unfounded accusations around, but I think it's ok to criticise opening hours or their unreliability, if staff are rude etc. If it's true, it's fair to say it in my view.

Show quote history

Yes it's like that here. They all flock to jump on you if you are perceived to have criticised one of them 😬

Which is why I haven't replied to any of their FB posts! They tend to be as unprofessional on social media as they are about opening hours.

OP posts:
imisscashmere · 05/12/2025 19:21

So every customer you interact with HAS to buy from you?

I was chatting to a local store owner (I’m a regular customer there) and he confided in me that it made him “so mad” when people came in and browsed for ages and didn’t buy anything, or bought one thing for 50p or whatever. It has massively put me off going in there as now I will feel pressured to spend money every time!

Crikeyalmighty · 05/12/2025 19:27

One thing to mention too is the lack of variety on many high streets doesn’t help in saying to people don’t use Amazon - for instance this week I’ve bought a nice Xmas table runner, a bottle of aftershave that’s a bit of an ‘old brand’ , some cheap really handy Xmas pretty printed tie up bags you can use rather than wrap presents - all of these would be a fag to find on the high street here and we’ve got a very big retail footprint too

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/12/2025 19:33

@BatchCookBabe, I'm intrigued to know which quaint little Midlands market town you're talking about? I'm in Warwickshire and always looking for nice places nearby for daytrips etc.

Daftypants · 05/12/2025 19:34

Groundhogday2025 · 05/12/2025 09:58

I once went to an independent cafe an hour before their closing time and the look on their faces when I went in made it clear they were hoping to close early and I wasn’t welcome. They literally told me not politely “we’re closing in half an hour” when I went to order (not according to their opening times!) and clearly hoped I’d just leave. The thing is I wouldn’t mind except I’d seen their “boo hoo, business is failing if things don’t pick up in the next month” post on the local Facebook page so I was going there to support them and that’s what I was met with. I didn’t go back and when they folded I wasn’t exactly surprised or sad if that’s how they treat their customers.

Being self employed and having your own business sounds brilliant but the reality is it’s brutal. I think covid got loads of people thinking setting up their own business and working their own hours was a fluffy dream, but actually it’s harder than a lot of people realise, often longer hours and you have to have the pure grit, passion and determination for it to succeed. Even then there are no guarantees.

Oh gosh we had a cafe like that in the little town when I last lived ( moved a while ago ) she had a face like thunder if you went in half an hour before closing time .

5foot5 · 05/12/2025 19:35

Bubble678910 · 05/12/2025 10:19

Also, we have a market three days a week, and then a huge market twice a month with a big one at Christmas and Easter. Brings loads of tourists to the town, you can't get a table at pubs and restaurants for lunch because it's so busy, and they do a free park and ride scheme too.
NONE of the high street shops open - they all go on social media proudly saying they are 'boycotting' it!! It's literally the busiest day in the whole of town every time, it boggles the brain.

This is nuts!

I live in an average size market town and, like most towns, the high street is struggling and there are lots of gaps. However, one Sunday a month there is a market in the town. This has become very popular and very successful with many stalls that occupy the main streets in the town centre. It attracts lots of people, both locals and people from out of town.

We went to the last one and I noticed that, not only did most of the shops, independent and otherwise, open specially, some of them had made a special effort for the market. For example, an independent baker and cafe as well as being open for business, had also put up a table outside of their shop selling their most popular baked goods to passers by. Similarly the deli had a stall outside with some of their products on.

They would really be mad not to take advantage of the increased footfall because that market day is by far the busiest day of the month in our town

Daftypants · 05/12/2025 19:38

ThatCyanCat · 05/12/2025 13:26

Fucking hell, I'd rather just stay ugly.

Show quote history

🤣🤣 me too

Speckly · 05/12/2025 19:40

BeansAndNoodles · 05/12/2025 08:55

I'm massively supportive of small businesses, I try to use them as often as I can. We are lucky to have a high street with lots of independent shops. However, my trips to town are limited due to being short of spare time, plus parking costs a fortune unless you limit it to the free 90 mins that you get in the supermarket car park, etc.

But time and time again I go to one of the independent shops to find them randomly shut. I get that they probably only have one staff member so it's hard to stay open if anything out of the ordinary happens, but it's still so flipping frustrating.

The last few trips to town have ended with me ordering stuff online or going into one of the chains because the independent shops I wanted were closed for no apparent reason. The independent health food shop is the worst, they close for an hour at some point between 11 and 3 for lunch but it's not the same time day to day and they don't say on the closed sign what time they'll be back, so if you get there and it's shut you don't know if it's worth trekking back to that end of town in 30 mins or not. I tend not to even bother checking now and just go straight Holland & Barrat instead. Several more shops seem to rely on posting that days opening hours on their FB page, but thats hardly a reliable way to tell people if they're open or not! Last week I had an afternoon off and took a trip to a different town specifically to go to a shop that stocks work by local artists to get some cards and gifts, only to find it closed with no indication of why or if it was opening late or what. I checked their FB page while stood outside but nope nothing. Later that day (3 hours after their stated opening time) they posted that they'd decided to open later for the Christmas lights switch on and that they hoped people would come and support them Hmm

Anyway I've just seen yet another slightly passive aggressive plea from one of the owners of the worst shops for this, complaining how quiet business is and telling people to use them or lose them yada. Well yes I totally agree but more often then not when I try to use them they're not bloody open!

So just reply explaining why you aren’t using them. Seems this needs to be explained to them if you want things to change 🤔

Crikeyalmighty · 05/12/2025 19:41

@5foot5 are you in Frome?

OonaStubbs · 05/12/2025 19:55

A lot of the people running these shops are idiots with no business sense.

5foot5 · 05/12/2025 20:05

Crikeyalmighty · 05/12/2025 19:41

@5foot5 are you in Frome?

No, a lot further North.

RunningNananananananananana · 05/12/2025 20:24

There's a food van in our area that does desserts; a few months back they went to one of the local villages from 4pm to 7pm. Sandwich shop in the village posts on FB but we sell those desserts too, you should be supporting your local businesses.

Yes, but you also close at 2pm 🙄

Lovemycat2023 · 05/12/2025 20:25

RunningNananananananananana · 05/12/2025 20:24

There's a food van in our area that does desserts; a few months back they went to one of the local villages from 4pm to 7pm. Sandwich shop in the village posts on FB but we sell those desserts too, you should be supporting your local businesses.

Yes, but you also close at 2pm 🙄

A dessert van sounds like a most excellent idea!

Sennelier1 · 05/12/2025 20:28

If and when an independant shopkeeper decides to close on a day and/or time they're supposed to be open they should at least put a note on the door saying when exactly they'll be back and yes please leave a telephone number so your customers can reach you! I do understand it's hard to run a shop full time if you're on your own, nobody to help you out when you're unwell and what with also needing to order stuff in and doing the accounts etc. But by playing hide and seek with your clientele you create the impression of not being trustworthy.

Makingadecision · 05/12/2025 20:33

Agree. They are unreliable

ToeJob · 05/12/2025 20:34

A great question for business owners to ask themselves when they have a challenge is “Does the customer care?”.

If your costs as an independent are higher, the customer, for the most part, doesn’t care - it’s your problem. They will find somewhere cheaper. The customer doesn’t care if you can’t get staff or can’t find the time to get to the bank - they will find somewhere that is open when they need it, or go online. On the other hand, if your prices are higher because you are importing specialist products that other retailers don’t stock, or are offering a niche service, the customer DOES care, because they have to if they want the product or service.

Many years ago I worked for a mail order gift company. Suddenly a couple of competitors had sprung up and were offering free delivery on everything. We, on the other hand, were having trouble with stock management at that time, so many orders were having to be split into two or more deliveries. My boss’s “solution” was to charge customers for each individual delivery, with the supposed boon of a 25% discount on the fee for all subsequent deliveries.

I and others told him it was suicide to put delivery charges up when a) others in the market were dropping them altogether and b) it was our fault the orders had to be split deliveries. He got really defensive and bemused; he kept saying “But we’re a small company; people understand!!” We couldn’t make him see that they might understand, but that wouldn’t mean they cared. The business had gone bust within a few months.

TheBookShelf · 05/12/2025 20:38

I live in a market town with a relatively high number of small family-run independent shops, some of which have been there for decades. The ones who are getting it right work incredibly hard and provide consistent opening hours, open all day Saturday, positive social media engagement, great products and first class customer service. They tend to enjoy a chat with customers, offer products unique to the town, talk very knowledgeably about their stock, are community minded, and have add-on attractions such as tasting events, pop up seasonal events, etc. They also seem to network a lot to help support each other and create a thriving town centre. I love supporting this sort of small business.

A few of our local independent shops have inconsistent or minimal opening hours - they don't tend to get my business.

Holdonforsummer · 05/12/2025 20:38

I went into an independent florist shop in Rochester a few weeks ago as that had some wooden tulips in the window that I fancied. The woman in the shop was on the phone to a friend, gossiping about her night out the day before. I waited patiently for a few mins and she didn’t even look at me so I walked out. I do think some independent shops could do more.

Crikeyalmighty · 05/12/2025 20:41

TheBookShelf · 05/12/2025 20:38

I live in a market town with a relatively high number of small family-run independent shops, some of which have been there for decades. The ones who are getting it right work incredibly hard and provide consistent opening hours, open all day Saturday, positive social media engagement, great products and first class customer service. They tend to enjoy a chat with customers, offer products unique to the town, talk very knowledgeably about their stock, are community minded, and have add-on attractions such as tasting events, pop up seasonal events, etc. They also seem to network a lot to help support each other and create a thriving town centre. I love supporting this sort of small business.

A few of our local independent shops have inconsistent or minimal opening hours - they don't tend to get my business.

Yes that’s the way to do it - you have to build ‘a brand’ - one that people instantly associate with certain goods/services and you can only do that through a certain amount of consistency -

flatfootedfred · 05/12/2025 20:57

What annoys me is when the service is just rubbish for no good reason. We were in our local indie bookshop recently buying something for the kids and they completed the entire transaction without saying a word to us or even really acknowledging our presence. It would have felt more personal buying on Amazon, at least the deliver y driver usually says hello!

BrightYellowDaffodil · 05/12/2025 22:22

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/12/2025 17:23

"Several more shops seem to rely on posting that days opening hours on their FB page, but thats hardly a reliable way to tell people if they're open or not!"
Have you ever responded to their FB posts asking that they give more advance notice and/or stick to their stated opening times? Or contacted them with 'tried to shop with you today, you were closed'?

Yes, got a message back two weeks later to say “Sorry about that, we were closed to decorate the shop for Christmas! Hope you pop back soon”.

Reader, I have not been back.

BatchCookBabe · 05/12/2025 22:32

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/12/2025 19:33

@BatchCookBabe, I'm intrigued to know which quaint little Midlands market town you're talking about? I'm in Warwickshire and always looking for nice places nearby for daytrips etc.

Hi. Smile I have PMd you.