AIBU to think you cannot say use us or lose us when you barely open?

[catchingup1]

There is a local independent cafe near me that has been posting a lot on social media about how people need to support them or they will disappear. I do try to support independents where I can.

The tone of the posts is very much use us or lose us, talking about how they cannot compete with the big coffee chains and how locals need to step up.
So I made a point of going.

It is only open 10 to 3, closed Wednesdays and Sundays.

The big chains they are comparing themselves to are open early mornings, evenings, weekends, basically when people actually want coffee.

I am not saying it is easy running a small business and I do not expect them to match chain hours exactly. But they are blaming customers for not supporting them while being open very short hours.

i hate this. So many small businesses where I live are similar. Or they never have stock of the popular items so I’ve given up going

But I actually think a lot of people like the fact that they live in a lovely area full of independent shops, because it creates a certain aesthetic and can make the area feel beautiful, even if they don’t use the those shops. It’s a difficult situation because people will go to the big Tesco five miles away, or shop on Amazon, hardly ever use the local shops, and yet still talk about how much they love their local area full of local shops. Then they feel sad when these shops close down because nobody really wants empty shops on high streets.

Yes, it was surprising. I don't know what she was thinking. She's in a creative industry, and I always thought it was unwise not to have separate social media accounts for her business; I was sure you could keep it fun, informal and personal without making it political. Tbh even if I had agreed with her I think it would have put me off. It felt very performative and virtue signally.

For some places far more of their trade might be retirees. Or mums and toddlers. Depends where you are.

It's so odd. I understand people have strong views about certain things and thats fine but to say you only want customers with the exact same views as you is absolute insanity

Imagine if we all had to fill out a political questionnaire at the Tescos checkout before we could buy our food and got turned away if our answers were "wrong" and told we were a "piece of shit". Tescos would go bankrupt within a month 😂

To be fair, no matter how good some of them make themselves, the market is set up to make it very, very difficult for them to compete with global chains.

Indeed, It's a saturated market....so why hamper yourself by offering restricted opening times. I'd prefer to use an independent but they have got to offer something additional to what the chains are offering.....not less.

I think it might have been a mix of being in a bit of a bubble and forgetting just how widely her social media is seen, and how wide the net for her business customers too. And also perhaps being a bit naturally bonkers and performative.

She might have thought she'd get more business from people who admired her stance. As far as I could see, the business had been pretty solid for over ten years though. Maybe it wasn't as strong as it looked and she thought this would help. Came up an absolute turd though.

Yes it is- I agree. But this is where research comes into play. If you cannot offer something that a big chain cannot then you shouldn't spend thousands on setting up a business that is inevitably going to fail. Its one thing to have a business and be blindsided by Covid for example (noone could have realistically predicted that would happen) but its another entirely to set up a business deliberately on reduced opening hours when you have a supermarket right next door which is open 24/7.

I dont know where people ever got the idea that running their own business was an easy option- it's not and it never has been.

has anyone replied to them pointing out that they need to be open at times customers want to go there?

Personally, I have a gripe with any “small business” that guilt trips customers or the general public.

It’s a privilege to be in a position to have a small business in the first place. I’m not slaving away at my corporate job that I have to do to fund anyone else’s lifestyle but my own.

We have an amazing independent cafe near us. They have bent over backwards to deliver what customers want/need, do things that the big chains don't, adjust the business model as they go.

They are very successful. But that's because they are completely customer centred.

Its possible to take on the big chains and win (or at least carve out at market for yourself), but you have to give people good, practical reasons to come to you.

I dont know where people ever got the idea that running their own business was an easy option- it's not and it never has been.

I can see how it would seem that way, either for people who’ve worked very long hours in the city, or for people who’ve been bullied at work, or for those who can’t find a job that fits around childcare. Speaking as someone who’s been bullied at work more than once, I can absolutely see how starting a business could be imagined as a way to escape from horrible bosses, bullying colleagues, being treated as an outcast because you’re not trendy enough etc. People see it as a way of solving a major problem or sorting their life out. Obviously it doesn’t always work, but I can certainly see how the idea is attractive, and people just jump into it without having done any research because they think it’s going to solve all their problems. Several careers advisors have suggested to me that I should become self employed, and I can see why, but I’ve always said no because I know it comes with its own set of problems.

Exactly. It can be done - there’s a small cafe and bakery near me that only opens 10-2.30 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It is always busy and usually sells out, if you want a fresh loaf of bread you need to be waiting outside before they open. I do wish it was open earlier on Fridays as I walk past on my way to the station, but there are luckily several independent cafes as well as a Greggs and a Costa, and they all seem to coexist well enough.

It will never be an easy option, but it can be a flexible option. But when it's a job that must have available services at certain times, it won't be. If you're a writer or crafter or artist you can more or less do it whenever, but running a cafe, no.

I knew from your title it was going to be about coffee shops

The butchers near where i live is like this. They moan on social media that people don't use them. Yet they have random opening hours. To add insult to injury i decided to try the butchers. I wanted some sausage for a bbq. I ended up going elsewhere as they only sold garlic sausage.

For sure, it is an attractive option on the surface but thats why it needs realistic research.

Buying a house is also an attractive option but you wouldnt go into that without checking you could afford the mortgage repayments first.

Its hard to have sympathy for someone who goes into a business on a whim, only opens three times a week and starts throwing tantrums at their community for not supporting them

Well exactly. But people still love the idea of it. There’s always going to someone who wants to be the centre of the community, the place where everyone pops in and loves their local cafe etc. They just haven’t thought it through properly.

I would never want to own a cafe / coffee shop but I have often thought about a coffee van .
I live close to a very big train station and a couple of schools and a trading estate so with rocket fuel in the petrol tank and me main lining espresso I'd go
Train station 5am - 7.30 am
School 8am 9am
Trade estate 10am 2pm
School 2.30 - 4pm
Train station 4.30 6pm

What'd reckon?

One major issue, I don't drive 🥺

I strongly agree with this. I think that social media has played a part in selling self-employment as ‘freedom’ and ‘the dream’ when the reality is that it’s usually bloody hard work (especially in hospitality), often precarious, and also - you have to sell goods and/or services that people want to buy. You need to be a viable business. Not just ‘following your dreams’. I think that last bit really passes some people by.

Interesting chat. I'm on my way back from a break in the UK with lots of pretty seaside villages. We've been to 4 independent coffee shops/ cafes. Every one had a clear USP and 2 with a very active & positive online presence (great marketing of the USP). All were busy - one we had to queue for mid-week lunch.

On top of that we chatted to a couple who have a clothing/ bag shop. They are completely unique, hand-making using local wool & oilskin with an open workshop. She is actually a ceramicist to trade, but quickly realised the bags & hand-knitting was what the market demanded. She knows that the online marketing works, is very active online, & sells all over the world. They say most of their sales are repeat customers. I bought a bag, & am already thinking of who'd like one as a birthday treat from me. An utterly brilliant example of knowing your market & running with it.

YES, totally agree.

The apprentice and endless aspirational stories about the people who started a business in their bedroom with a fiver and were millionaires 3 years later etc There was a period where I was seeing these stories in the news almost daily after covid.

Of course it can happen but its rare and its not easy.

I suspect that running shops and similar small businesses is less hereditary than it used to be. Certainly a lot of people these days come to it with a romantic idea about it, as the paragraphs on the websites talking about their journeys and visions suggest.
Then some will learn and some won’t. My town has a brilliant independent cinema and the owner is quite open about how he came to it with the idea that he was going to show the quirky independent films he loved but how he quickly learned that if it was going to be viable he needed to show people the blockbusters they actually wanted to see.

My local Caffe Nero stays open until 7pm so they get a lot of trade. Always busy when I have walked past around 6-7pm.