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

[BeansAndNoodles]

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

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!

Exactly!

They need to cater to their prospective customers' work-life balance, not their own!

My sister's SIL was like this; set up an "antique shop" with a friend, and burned through tens of thousands of pounds on what essentially was a hobby.

I’m sick to death of trying to support small online businesses too. Ordered something a fortnight ago, told the item would be sent the next day. No tracking received nothing. Queried - oh I haven’t updated tracking. But it will be with you today (Saturday) or Monday, of course both come and go, still no tracking and no update. So I try again and say please don’t lie to me, if it’s not been sent then just say, I would understand if told there was a personal issue or problem. Of course the reply wasn’t a happy one and bleating on about being a mum of four etc and one woman band, but tracking was produced and had lied as it was not posted on the day they said. Nor is it my problem that you are a one woman business with kids. If you want a business keep your customers updated, if something hasn’t arrived check in with them. And she’s not the only one that trots out the same claptrap.

@WhitePudding ah yes I’ve had 2 like this in last few weeks- if you can’t manage then don’t take the business

Agree.

I try to shop vintage and found a really lovely man's heavy cotton sweater from the 1980s in a red/white/blue abstract nautical color block pattern. Really unique and appeared to be in pristine condition. I quickly ordered it (eBay) and it arrived the other day.

Well, it's in good shape - looks unworn - but it REEKS of cigarette smoke. I am a former smoker and it takes a lot to turn me off - but you could smell this across the room! I messaged the seller, who makes their living selling a high volume of vintage items, and they had some half-hearted excuse but ultimately refunded and told me to keep it.

I dropped it at the dry cleaners on Friday and hoping for the best. But that's additional aggravation and expense. The seller had zero consideration that it was the Christmas season (in fact I told her it was for a gift before purchasing, when she sent me the measurements) and just hoped to slip that past me!

They had their toddler wandering liberally around a cafe with all those hot drinks, glasses and sharp objects?!

I'm pretty lax compared to a lot of MN but that gives me the vapours 😬.

Exactly. The toddler used to show customers her toys etc while mum looked indulgently on. It didn't seem to occur to her that it was actually putting customers off going as they were not inclined to spend money on coffee and cake and effectively end up spending their entire time entertaing a toddler.

this reminded me of a local Italian restaurant, but for the opposite reason.

We bought my parents a voucher for a meal there. They don't actually have vouchers, so he made up a letter thing for us to give them. He put the price etc into his order book, but not on the letter.
When my parents went to have their meal, he couldn't find the listing in the order book. He knows them as regulars anyway, so he just treated them to a great meal, plus wine, dessert everything, way more than the value of the original voucher, and treated them as VIP guests for the evening.

I was in one with my dad, and they were basically sneering about us being tourists. No idea why as it was January!

My dad never says a word usually but he was that pissed off he said “see that pub? Ran that. And that pub? That one too. And her? (Points at me) she was born here. So you can stop with the tourists thing”

we don’t live there now but we’re back visiting family

Agree. We used to have an incredible local bakery in our town. Their food was honestly some of the best I have tasted anywhere they sold sausage rolls, every cake you could think of, freshly made posh sandwiches…but they were open Wednesday-Friday 9-12 and Saturday 8-10. That was it. Opened after everyone had started work and closed before lunch, then at the weekend open ridiculously early before every other shop in town and closed when the rest opened up. Of course we got the ‘support local’ posts on Facebook and another ‘unfortunately we’ve had to close due to lack of support’ - funnily enough everyone in town wanted to support them, they just couldn’t bloody get there for the 8 hours they were open per week at stupid times.

That's insane. A bakery that's closed during the commuter rush hour breakfast and lunch times, on the weekdays that it's open at all, and almost all weekend? Most people going into town for the weekend aren't there before 10. I struggle to feel sorry for them, tbh. How could they not have realised how stupid that was? If you're only going to open 11 hours in the week, at least do it during busy times. I'm surprised anyone had even tried their stuff to want to support it. Did they ever say why they had such ridiculous hours?

ETA: For hybrid workers, the start of the week is usually when they have their office days, so if you're going to close completely for nearly half the working week, it's madness to do it on the days people are most likely to be out, then open when they're probably working from home!

We’ve got a baker who at least, once a week, opens late because he slept in. And constantly makes jokes about it on social media. Not everyone is checking their social media to see if this guy has got out of bed in the morning. Promised goods are never available when you get there, and Greggs is a stones throw away so he isn’t helping himself.

Choosing to go there now is a crap gamble of whether you’ll get what you want or if it’s even open. I don’t know how he’s still going. It’s a shame because the food is brilliant

In my town there’s a coffee shop right on the corner of the bus station. It’s cycled through a number of different owners who have managed to keep it going for a year or two before throwing it the towel. Despite the location, none of them have opened before 10am, completely missing the morning commuters.

A new coffee shop opened a couple of years ago just a few minutes away. They open at 7 and are consistently busy in the morning with people getting a coffee and pastry before work.

I can’t imagine opening a coffee shop in such a commuter friendly location and being closed during the morning rush.

There’s a shop next to my office which I would like to go into, but I’ve never seen it open and the sign on the door says ‘if I’m not here phone this mobile number and I’ll be down in ten minutes’ 🤣🤣🤣

As if.

I have music playing in my gallery. Costs loads for the licence but even I get anxious if it stops playing, never mind the poor customers.

Not on the high street but some instagram and Etsy small businesses really irritate me at times as well - especially at this time of year. Taking 4 weeks to send your order out and then put a moaning post up saying ‘they are a one man band and make everything yourself and they aren’t Amazon’. Okay that’s great and why people want to support you, but if you can’t get your orders out in a timely manner, don’t take so many bloody orders in the first place. No one is expecting a one day turn around like Amazon but waiting a month for something to be sent and then another week for postage is just ridiculous. And then some have the cheek when customer make a genuine complaint about the product quality or service to plaster their comments all over their instagram and mock them. Just because you are a small business does not negate you from receiving complaints. Not everything you do is going to be perfect and customers are entitled to give you negative feedback or complain if they want too. As soon as I see people posting things like that, I unfollow and refuse to purchase.

Then you have people like my hairdresser who I’ve been going to for years and she is great but has had a baby in the last year and is returning from maternity leave. She is only going to be doing hair on a Monday 10-2. Then got shitty with me when I told her I would have to find someone else to do my hair from now on as I can’t make those hours.

The hybrid working is a very good point.

I don't know whether it's the same everywhere, but my experience (London) is that Thursday is now the busiest night for people going out to eat/drink/socialise after work. A taxi driver was telling me the other day that Thursdays are their busiest nights now, too. Used to be Fridays, but there just aren't as many people working in offices that day now.

Maybe bakeries, cafés, and other shops that serve a lot of office workers are needing to rethink their opening times and days, to account for changes in working patterns? Certainly the taxi drivers are doing it already (at least round our way).

If he doesn't think his business is worth getting up for, why would anyone else?

Also lol at the "message me and I'll be down in ten" thing. Who's going to hang around for ten minutes just to get in?

There's an independent shop in my nearest town that should be perfect for me- it's got an eco friendly ethos and sells things that I like and buy regularly but can't be found in local supermarkets. However, their standard opening hours short and even then not reliable- lots of times I've made a special journey to buy something only to find a note on the door to say they've had to close early, but pop back again tomorrow! Some of the goods are sold unpackaged (you refill your own jar) but they don't display the ingredients and when I have asked (as I have an intolerance to a couple of things) the staff make it clear that having to go in the back and check is very irritating. I also clearly don't look 'eco' enough for them- I've had one staff member very sniffily tell me that a certain product is 'for vegetarians really' (I have been vegetarian for nearly 40 years, not that it matters).
It's run by a husband and wife team, plus a couple of friends who help out occasionally. Their business facebook page is full of pleas for local people to shop with them/spend a few £more with them instead of online/visit more regularly etc. But at the same time complaining about everyone coming on Saturdays instead of in the week as they really want to spend time with their DC at the weekend but need the Saturday income (they are only open in the morning on saturday anyway).

During Covid they initially posted begging people to shop with them and not just order online from supermarkets, reminding people that they were open throughout and advertising the products they had available. Then after a few weeks they were posting complaining about people coming in just for one or 2 things (claiming they were expecting their family to risk illness for just £1 or 2). Then a few weeks later posting again how unfair it was that people stopped using them.

I know some people do everything right and work really hard and just have shit luck. But some other people really do deserve to fold.

I remember being in whitby about 5 years ago

We wandered past a shop (I think it flogged model planes) and dp said he'd like a look inside

Closed (this was a Saturday in October)

We looked at the opening times and we where amazed to see 'monday-10-12'

I mean what was the point in being open for 2 hours a week?

I love to support small businesses but there is one shop in our town that sells the most gorgeous earrings

I now refuse to step foot in there as when we went in last time,the owner kept an eye on us to the point it was uncomfortable-she was literally breathing down our necks

Everything was kept in locked cabinets (which is fair enough) but to look at us like we where shoplifters was a bit over the top

We didnt buy anything as having a look while in the shop seemed to be frowned on

Maybe we should have stood outside to have a look through the window,stood at the door and shouted which pair we wanted!

Shes all over FB moaning about small businesses and that we should be supporting them but I'm dawned if I'm going to be treated like that

It’s totally the wrong way to go about it and get peoples backs up -

@Dideon I kind of want to shop in your boutique now!

You wouldn't happen to be nesr London, would you?!

During Covid they initially posted begging people to shop with them and not just order online from supermarkets, reminding people that they were open throughout and advertising the products they had available. Then after a few weeks they were posting complaining about people coming in just for one or 2 things (claiming they were expecting their family to risk illness for just £1 or 2). Then a few weeks later posting again how unfair it was that people stopped using them.

They sound like toddlers.
Can't imagine people like this are able to run a successful business if they don't have the common sense to see how contrary they are being.

Ha ha … I’d love you to visit but it would be a 50 mile trek .

Have to agree with this. Where I live many of them also shut on Sunday, so my only possible opportunity to use them is Saturday. I suspect many of them are hobby businesses - maybe the husband earns big bucks in finance and the wife fancies having a cute shop, but they don't need the income.