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!

I'm a knitter and crocheter, and have found wool and craft shops are the worst for this. I try not to shop online, but my local wool shop is so unreliable - closed for sports day, closed to take someone to a hospital appointment, early closing for a birthday party etc, as well as chaos and trip hazards after they've had a delivery that makes me feel like I'm an inconvenience for being in the shop. I struggle to find any sympathy for the "use it or lose it" facebook posts. If I order online, I can browse the pattern books without being glared at and there's always enough wool to finish the garment. I'm still paying someone's wages and putting my money into the economy, just not at someone else's convenience.

Yes, there's a coffee shop near us that constantly moan about falling sales and people not coming in. They've recently started opening in the evenings so to counteract that they're closing in the afternoon when they were always busy with coffees & cakes - the stuff where you can do a decent mark up and it's quick turnover of tables compared to people having a full meal out which is more costly and time consuming. And they decided to shut on Sundays.

Another coffee shop isn't open at school drop off time or pick up time despite being 2 minutes from 2 primary schools. Half the school is in Starbucks at 3.30pm because there's no where else to go.

We've got a local bookshop that has got it spot on with opening hours and events, it's always busy and people are willing to support it even if it's a bit more expensive than Amazon.

Apparently it drives trade away from the local shops and towards market holders, but surely the shops themselves are driving trade away by BEING CLOSED!!! A few shops also said that the risk of shoplifting from shops was too high as it brings in 'too many people from outside the area' but what their rational for that is, I have no idea.
We also had residents complain because the road is closed and they can't get to their house (they can, they just need to go along the main road, not the high street, which is faster anyway), and it's too noisy (between the hours of 11am and 4pm on a Sunday). If they don't like it, maybe they shouldn't live in the centre of a market town?!

I agree. High streets would be more robust if the shops flexed opening hours to facilitate those who work full time.

The opening hours, never open when I can actually get there. Like a Sunday. Surely they could open for a while and see if trade picks up. One near us opens twice a week! Most are closed early. Even the coffee shop doesn’t serve sandwiches until 11.30… 🤷‍♀️

Sundays are so, so busy, they must miss out on a huge trade.

OMG so true! There’s a nice bakery near me, and they do sandwiches. They have at least 6 people behind the counter at any one time, yet theres always a queue at lunchtime.. the reason being that they have 1 point of sale, yet they organise it so that each server takes an order, then goes off to make a sandwich…I really want to tell them that if they had 1 person at the P.O.S shouting the orders back, they’d only need 2 people to do the making.
They often shut at random times “ for a rest” as it’s all “so exhausting”.

Yes, because people just love confrontation (for the benefit of the shopkeeper who wasn't there when they said they would be).

Yes I have asked several to open, and all trotted out a similar line of rights to rest and have family time. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but don’t complain in the same breath about a lack of support. The rest of us are working and only have weekends to shop!!!

They do have the right to a rest, just close on a Monday!

Two great small businesses near me with the right attitude:

One restaurant, very good food but fairly expensive and was looking empty after a first 6 months of good trade. They put leaflets through doors locally « we are struggling, here is 10% to encourage you to visit » and it worked. They were quite busy afterwards, and are still open!

Another one is a lovely toy shop ran by a husband and wife. They are always open weekends / after school. Contrarily to a lot of toy shop owners, they actually do seem to like children and will engage with them, offer a sticker at checkout, they have a black board with riddles / word games etc. They are happy to open board games boxes if customers are enquiring.
I could go on :) but the result is that they are thriving, everybody is happy to pay a little bit more to buy from them.

Oh don’t get me started on this, drives me crackers.

‘Our turnaround is 21 days’ and when you haven’t had a ‘it’s been shipped’ notification after 23 days and query it they get all offended. ‘We’re a small family run business’ yes I know, but say your turnaround is 25 days and I’d leave you alone. In fact I ordered from them 3 times (as liked their product) and never had an order ship on time so I’ve stopped using them.

They are full of the daily mail sad face on Instagram too about the perils and tribulations of small business.

The problem is they want us to shop at their own convenience between 10-2.30/3pm mid week. Our shop opens for 3 hours only on a Saturday morning. That’s it. Like the 1970s!

Agree.

The owners of a small business near me fills social media about shopping local, it being more convenient, supportive, use it or lose it. I totally agree. They are closed Sunday and Monday - us local people know this and all is well.

I shop there once a week, I go either Friday or Saturday morning - days I'm not working. They've just stuck a notice on the door, from January they will also be closed from Friday lunch time until Tuesday lunch time.

This may suit their caravan trips but it's not going to be convenient for me or other customers, so we'll end up at the big chain store a few miles away....

Saturday is the busiest day for them - all the little independent shops (grocers, bakery, deli, cafe, newsagents, pet shop etc) are heaving on Saturdays. I think they will shut down completely by the end of next year, complaining we weren't loyal locals.

This is a great point.

Ironically, feeding my own family is far cheaper and easier to do at my local supermarket than at the independent food shops near me so in terms of "feeding families", supermarkets win by a huge margin!

I was once moved to talk to an independent cafe owner about how they might improve their business. They had a fantastic location - in the middle of a popular park. But what they served was terrible - like something from the 1960s. I suggested that they could take advantage of their great location and do really well if they modernised their food and drink offer. The owner was highly affronted and angry. Talking to people direct risks this kind of response (and obviously I knew I wouldn't be welcome in that cafe again).

Monty Python's cheese shop sketch...

I totally agree. I recently found a local printers who did a great job at a decent price. Went back this week, checking online to make sure they were open. It said they were. When I got there there was a small notice inside the doorway (so not outside where passers by might see it) saying we are closed first week in December. Was gutted, so looked online and saw another place nearer my workplace..part of a chain..Went in, got the printing done, will use them in future.

I despair, how can you not value constructive, honest feedback. Why not say thank you and ask what things you would prefer to eat?! Honestly - I see that prickly response often though, as if they are above the customer and know best.

The new-ish cafe down the street from me was in the local paper, having a whinge about people going to large chains instead of local businesses.

They are open from 10am-3pm, Monday to Friday. Not even on a Saturday FFS.

I’m a teacher, so tried to go during school holidays on a Tuesday morning with my DC. There was a hand-written sign on the door just staying ‘Closed’. No indication of why, or how long they would be closed for.

I’ve given up now.

I’m a teacher, so tried to go during school holidays on a Tuesday morning with my DC. There was a hand-written sign on the door just staying ‘Closed’. No indication of why, or how long they would be closed for.

Forever I expect if thats their attitude and business practice 🤣

I'm never actually going to leave a note on the door to say, "I was here to buy something, but you were randomly closed during opening hours." Nor am I going to email or phone them about it. I might roll my eyes at a subsequent "Use it or lose it!" social media post by that shop, but I probably won't respond to that either.

I'll just stop going to the shop.

It's not my job to give them basic instructions on running a business, and I don't think it would be well received anyway. I don't honestly believe that the shopowners can be dim enough not to realise that they're losing sales (and customers) by being flaky. And if they are that clueless, then they're in the wrong line of work.

I was in a bookshop and just about to buy a book. Changed my mind when I overheard the owner describing the people who had come into the shop that day as 'waifs and strays'. It was so rude that I immediately decided that she wouldn't get any of my money.

The shop closed down a couple of years later. Wasn't surprised at all with customer service like that!

Saturday afternoons, most independent shops here and all market stalls have closed by 3pm. Absolute madness, they're missing a lot of potential business.
Cafes too, nothing open in the evening. I would use them myself if they were open, and I know I'm not alone in that.

I agree - business owners who engage in these kind of shenanigans dont really care what customers think anyway - because its clear as day to everyone in this thread why such businesses are shutting down but they cant see it, or dont want to see it.

Thats because they have entirely the wrong attitude- they have the attitude that the business is solely for their benefit and their own convenience and there is an inherent entitlement there that we should all bend to accommodate them. If they had the attitude that the business was there to serve their customers they would actually be making the profits they dreamed about before they started it