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.

Can you drive ? Do you want a job ? 😂

I have a post office near me , pretty much the same. They don’t open until 10am, they close at 5…and they randomly shut anytime during those hours that they feel like.
its not easy to park, in fact hardly any parking at all. It’s frustrating to ride round for a space for it not to be open anyway.I tend to walk which is not an easy 15 mins if you got heavy parcels…to get there and then it’s shut!!!! Then walk back with the parcels…it’s just a faff…so I don’t bother. And I imagine lots of people locally feel the same. It’s on a busy traffic light junction and I’m often in my car waiting at the lights and see people waiting to cross with parcels and I just think oh you’ll learn, it’s not open!! It must put people off completely.

unfortunately most of us are time poor. We also live in a 24/7 world. I won’t use my post office now for the reasons above and more so when my local newsagents will accept dhl, evri, yodel and relay. And I can pop down there any time I like up until 11pm and park right outside 🤷‍♀️

it’s fine for businesses to moan about supporting local, but you really have to put your all into it. I understand it must be a catch 22…if people don’t come, you’re open and using resources without making any money…equally if you’re not open, people can’t come and support you.

it’s not a shop or a business on a high street so it’s an unfair comparison I know, but my husband owns his own business and the work, dedication and commitment it needs, is absolutely huge. He realises that custom won’t land his lap. It’s very hard work.

personally I find any business whining on FB as an example, really off putting. But that’s a separate issue!!

Absolutely true. Vicious circle.

Sorry wrong thread.

We have a very active Scoutgroup in a church just off the high street, they also have a Girl Guide section.

Plenty of parents drive as our Scouts come from a large area and we have Squirrels up to Explorers, 4 days a week. Parents often wait in their cars or in winter drive to the church, back home and the same 30-45 min later for pick up.

The cafes could make a mint if they would offer coffees/nice soft drinks and some nibbles. They don't need a licence, parents drive so would be happy with no alcohol.
We also have another Scout venue nearby and I think a dance company has classes in another hall.
I would have preferred this to a travel mug and sitting in the car.

It also would help with students/6th formers looking for work which is not bar work as they would be home at a more reasonable time.

Some shops are so misjudged for local market or so rarely open that I’d assume they are iffy in some way.
I live nr a northern market town. Demographic middle aged/retirees and families. There’s a shop selling agent provocateur style undies I’ve never ever seen open. Think literally 2 things in window. A gallery that sells pretty average photos blown up of local area, nothing special and silly money - my husband stops to laugh at it and again 3 things in window and never open. Dodgy or vanity projects I’m not sure.

The only hospitality businesses I’ve ever known succeed, are those who are prepared to put in a solid 12 months to build up their customer base, and open regular hours, it’s an absolute nonsense when people open three days a week. Or randomly close early when there are no customers. I just stop trusting them.

I love a good pint in a pub, but we’ll only entertain somewhere that is open at 11 am to 11 pm, no exceptions. I just lose interest if we find somewhere closed. I’d rather lose businesses like that to be honest. The ones which open 11 am to 11 pm are not big chains, just people who are prepared to put in the hard work required.

it means whenever we want to pop in, whether it’s late afternoon, last thing in the evening, or for an early lunch, they are always open. Consequently, we patronise them thoroughly!

Just to add to that, for a little local coffee shop, I would expect it to be open for either nine or 10, until 5 pm. With no exceptions of suddenly stopping serving at 3:30 to wind down for 5 pm.

My town has three highly successful, longstanding busy coffee shops which are all open 9-4, 6 days a week, unadventurous but tasty high quality food made from fresh ingredients, decent coffee, completely reliable. Almost as if there’s a formula that works or something!
It’s mildly annoying that if I want to meet someone after 4 or on a Sunday I have to go to Costa but as pps have said, I dare say they have learned that after that time there just isn’t enough trade to justify either paying more staff or taking the lifestyle hit.
The only random closure I can remember was one of them had a staff member getting married so they shut so they could all attend and it was such an exception they were warning us about for weeks in advance.

Our local shop did this. They paid no rent, the women who ran it was paid plus she had a lot of reliable help, daily volunteers. She would not open past 3pm. She bought everything from Asda anf marked it up. Never had bread. Refused to make or sell sandwiches. Had space for outside seating, unused. It was awful really, she was very bitchy I walked in there once to hear her and a volunteer, her mainly bitching about a resident. She started this club trying to get everyone to buy a ticket £25 a month to win £50. Begging constantly "use the shop". She closed and moved out, there were a gay couple before her who were much better.

As shop near me opened as a “convenience” store but lasted less than a year. It was near a local big employer so most of its business was selling pies and sandwiches to them tbh but in terms of a convenience store for us locals it was never open at convenient times. Shut at 4pm, didn’t open Sundays and after a while closed Saturdays as well as apparently it wasn’t worth their while but probably all of us who used to think “I will just nip there and not Tesco” got fed up and just never went back after them never being open. It was never a convenience store they just wanted the factory trade…
Its under new management now and its upfront about the market they want as they only sell sandwiches and jacket potatoes and open at 6am ready for the early 6.45am shift and closes at 2pm

There are a lot of cafes that close Tuesdays here and every time a new one opens they also choose to close Tuesdays! If they did their research they would understand if they did Tuesdays they would get ALL the business. I meet a friend for lunch every week and we end up at Brewers Fayre if it’s a Tuesday as it’s open! Cheap and cheerful too

I went to town to look for some nice house accessories- the shop I wanted to use had decided to only open Thursday- Sat, another was closed completely with no explanation (and jb any case never opened before 12pm ever) and one had a “back in 10 minutes” sign in the window- I didn’t go back though as I have fallen for that before with places actually closing for a full hour!

Our village shop is like this. They sell a strange mix of angel delight and cheap unbranded biscuits plus whole partridges at £50 each, £30 bottles of gin and £8 a jar honey.

It’s like cheap crap and ridiculously overpriced luxury items, nothing you actually would ever need. Like if it just sold normal food, I’d go there. Like nice normal bread and jam and butter and milk. But it’s like packets of catering style dry custard and £3 for 4 pints organic milk.

The owner is constantly ranting on Facebook about Labour and the death of small businesses. But it’s not Keir Starmer, it’s that his shop is shit and everyone drives the extra 5 minutes to the Little Waitrose for decent biscuits but not the £20 gilded in gold ones he sells.

We have an independent hardware shop in our town. I cant fault their opening hours and they are always helpful and friendly but often people (not the shop owners themselves) do a fb post reminding people its there, saying use it or lose it.

But the problem is they don't sell enough things that one uses on a regular basis.... so they must need so many small value transactions. I go in there for hoover bags, de-scaler, shower squeegee, curtain hooks, cleaning products etc....but realistically I dont need these things more than every few months. I might go in eg 5 times a year, I dont know how they get enough custom to survive, but theybe been there for 20+ years, so obviously they are doing something right....but there are frequently rumours they may have to close

There is shop in walk past on my way to work

Bright posters in the window telling me they are 'award winning!' and 'shop local'

I dont have the first idea what they sell-the door is always shut (so cant peer in) and no window display giving any hint

Next door where flogging expensive prams and pushchairs-all beautifully displayed

Why would I buy from them when I can go half a mile down the road and pay £200 less for exactly the same product?

Plus they never seemed to be open and where I live,people dont have loads of spare cash to splash on egg buggies or bugaboo prams with all the trimmings

This one shut down within 2 years

This is why I hate the guilt attached to the "shop small" campaign.

I do try to shop local where I can, but only at the businesses that are there to suit my needs. I'm the customer, I'm not going out of my way to visit you at your inconvenient and inconsistent opening times to support your livelihood. Business works by identifying a need a filling it (i.e. a coffee shop I can get coffee at on my way to work), not by someone deciding what they'd like to do (a hobby cafe opened in the middle of the day) and then guilting people to spend their money.

I walked past the cafe that complained this morning at 9.30. As usual, they did not open until 10am. The other cafes were already busy with people getting morning coffees, breakfasts etc.

A lot of small businesses don’t realise they can’t just offer the same as chains but be more expensive/more awkward opening hours, and expect to be successful.
Theres an independent bookshop near me. They put a lot of effort into developing relationships and offering extra activities, events. Anything to get people through the door. They make going there feel worthwhile for the added expense.

Theres a village I’ve been going to lately. I went into an independent coffee shop. 3 people behind the counter, no customers. They were rude and rushed me to order and then it was just okay and quite expensive. I know it’s stressful to be empty but making you feel very unwelcome isn’t going to help. Next time I went to Greggs and got a takeaway.

That’s madness?! Saturday morning and they don’t open until 10am!! No business sense there is there??!!

They'll be gone soon and it will be their own fault. Also, on a Saturday, it cant be about the school run- this just seems sheer laziness to me.

The demand is there. People are up and about early doing their shopping and want to pop into a cafe. By the time they open at 10am, a lot of people have already been to other cafes already.

My local library is like that, open 3 hours one morning then 3 hours one afternoon.

Impossible for me as a 9-5 worker to use it yet our local town is constantly shouting the use it or lose it mantra.

@KeeleyJ ssme with ours! open 10-2, Mondays to friday. And one Saturday morning a month. Loads of complaints that no children are coming….
Local leisure centre complains that there is low uptake on swimming lessons. they start at 2pm weekdays (saturdays are full we’ve been in the waiting list for 4 years as they also have a sibling rule!)

I’d agree with pps that often the types of places that do this are badly thought out businesses. There is an independent coffee place locally that does a roaring trade but they open early for the commuters and tradies, closed by three. The owner is often in the back for hours after closing as she makes a lot of her own traybakes, biscuits and cakes.

That'll be the council stripping funding, making it impossible to staff. Not a local business, which I feel is more irksome - why start a poorly thought out business and then bitch about it when it inevitably fails?

I previously mentioned the gift shop in my village. I walked past at 11am this morning and it was closed and lights off. Advertised as opening at 10am. The owner has posted on fb today complaining about temporary traffic lights having an impact on shops in the area (she has a point for other shops but not hers!)