I really don't understand why this shop is fighting to stay open

[Sparklingbrook]

In local news today. That amount of fines. It's essentially a shop that sells greetings cards, not essential.

www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19096488.watch-droitwich-shop-owners-given-fourth-fine-lockdown-opening-vow-fight/?fbclid=IwAR3ppJ6EGAtbzxTqChh_5gEFy7oYLe_NtdlTM8K5VaLIkE7yZ4tAFM-naQE

I have been using Moonpig for cards during the pandemic and getting them sent straight to the recipient, that probably makes me a bad person though!
Buying greetings cards in a shop does require a certain level of browsing/touching which isn't really in the spirit.

It’s police fines so will end up in court I imagine. If they argue unsuccessfully then the court will recover them through the bailiffs or attachment of earnings. A prison sentence could be an unlikely possibility.

How stressful to face that. More so than closure I’d imagine but maybe not for them

@MarshaBradyo

It’s police fines so will end up in court I imagine. If they argue unsuccessfully then the court will recover them through the bailiffs or attachment of earnings. A prison sentence could be an unlikely possibility.

How stressful to face that. More so than closure I’d imagine but maybe not for them

They may face that and closure. It would be such a shame to lose an independent retailer like that. But they may have access to funds to pay court costs etc and it's not a concern possibly?

Putting aside the rights and wrongs of opening and not wearing face masks I can see why they've made this stance.

When shops like B and M are taking in a fortune with families shopping for cushions at the weekend it seems fair enough to want to sell your greetings cards.

The thing they shot them self in the foot with is that they could open for click and collect. They could have out stuff in front of window for people to browse, number them and go home and select and collect.

That way they would have made money rather than paying it out on fines.

@Sparklingbrook I don’t think using Moonpig is a bad thing to do! I’m just pointing out that there’s still a market for card shops physically on the high street

This is a statement the council made last November where they spell out that they have deemed the shop to be predominantly greetings cards and not comparable to other stores.

www.wychavon.gov.uk/news-and-alerts/statement-regarding-grace-books-and-cards-droitwich

I agree the B&M/Range/Home Bargains thing is a bit confusing. they sell some essentials (cleaning stuff/medical/food/petcare and other stuff definitely not essential but the lines were drawn at some point.

[quote Cornettoninja]@Sparklingbrook I don’t think using Moonpig is a bad thing to do! I’m just pointing out that there’s still a market for card shops physically on the high street [/quote]
I do love Moonpig, when the pandemic's over I'll probably go back to a leisurely browse in a card shop. I take ages choosing.

I can see all sorts of shops bending the rules to stay open. My local card shop is open apparently because they sell some crisps out of a box.

Good on them I say - all these businesses are an integrated part of a finely woven web of community and economy. If they collapse, which they will if they can't open, we'll all feel the pain. It's a shame you're so gleeful about the bailiffs. Maybe won't be so much when you feel your share of the pain which is coming to us all. We're not still locked down because some card shops are still open, we're really not.

Same here @Cornettoninja, in fact one local gift shop owner has discovered a previously hidden talent for 'Facebook Live'. I admire her as she freely admits before the pandemic she was a 40 something who would hide as soon as a camera came out.

Fair play to her for fighting to keep her business alive, especially as she is opposite B&M and around the corner from Home Bargains!

When I went to pick up my niece's birthday gift it was heartwarming to see through the window that the entire shop floor was covered with parcels awaiting collection.

You won't be going back to a leisurely browse in a card shop, they'll have shut down and you'll be stuck with moonpig forever.

I don't have a shop but I can see click and collect in the way described above is not going to be remotely viable. It's clunky and a hassle - who's got time for that? If I can grab a card while I'm out to buy some bread, great. If you add anymore steps to that, I won't. Same for most others I expect.

I hope I don't see a lot of threads in a year's time moaning about where have all the independent shops gone.

This is close to me and it's a lovely independent shop. Such a shame. They were also open and fined during November lockdown There are a few other card shops in the town too but they're not allowed to open. I don't know why they're not applying to Worcester council for financial support so I can only assume it's a protest against forced closure. There can't be much point opening anyway there are very few people shopping. Maybe they're hoping for a crowd funding type of support

@Sparklingbrook

This is a statement the council made last November where they spell out that they have deemed the shop to be predominantly greetings cards and not comparable to other stores.

www.wychavon.gov.uk/news-and-alerts/statement-regarding-grace-books-and-cards-droitwich

I agree the B&M/Range/Home Bargains thing is a bit confusing. they sell some essentials (cleaning stuff/medical/food/petcare and other stuff definitely not essential but the lines were drawn at some point.

I walked along beach with ds at weekend and needed some painkillers and sanitary stuff so stopped at local b and m on way home. Left ds in car!

I wasn't even beyond aisle 1 before 4 families had rammed me with trolly, lent over me, or needed to share the same foot squared inch of floor I was on so I left.

I went to my local independent pharmacy and paid more for the items.

I'm definitely giving my pennies to retailers who enforce SD, mask wearing and attempt to put rules above income.

B and M was so busy the aisles were also taken up with staff and trellises trying to stack shelves. It was dire!

That's why I'm torn with this shop. If they were doing things in a covid secure way I'd much rather use them than a crowded big business as I don't believe it's less safe and therefore struggle to see why they are closed.

@PinkFondantFancy

You won't be going back to a leisurely browse in a card shop, they'll have shut down and you'll be stuck with moonpig forever.

Maybe at the supermarket in that case...

@PinkFondantFancy

I don't have a shop but I can see click and collect in the way described above is not going to be remotely viable. It's clunky and a hassle - who's got time for that? If I can grab a card while I'm out to buy some bread, great. If you add anymore steps to that, I won't. Same for most others I expect.

I hope I don't see a lot of threads in a year's time moaning about where have all the independent shops gone.

Just because you won't walk further for something different doesn't mean most others won't.

I have a lovely gift shop down the road from em and always use them for cards etc.

I did also use to use card factory but after they were crowding people in after November lockdown I won't use them anymore either.

I actually hope people vote with their feet and pennies after lockdown and use places that have out customer safety first.

It's a shame you're so gleeful about the bailiffs.

Who is that aimed at? Gleeful?

@PinkFondantFancy

I can see all sorts of shops bending the rules to stay open. My local card shop is open apparently because they sell some crisps out of a box.

Good on them I say - all these businesses are an integrated part of a finely woven web of community and economy. If they collapse, which they will if they can't open, we'll all feel the pain. It's a shame you're so gleeful about the bailiffs. Maybe won't be so much when you feel your share of the pain which is coming to us all. We're not still locked down because some card shops are still open, we're really not.

Who’s gleeful?

The question was asked and answered factually. What do you think happens if you don’t pay police issued fines?

You need to get some perspective if you’re getting this riled up over factual statements.

I'm definitely giving my pennies to retailers who enforce SD, mask wearing and attempt to put rules above income.

This lockdown it's been very variable, the attempts by shops to ensure SD and safety etc. First lockdown it was all counting people in and out and long queues, wiping baskets down between shoppers but not so much this time around, except the bigger supermarkets.

Looking at cards in a card shop 2 metres apart would be a bit difficult though IMO. They do get very busy especially around Mothers Day etc.

I can't believe it's worth their while opening up and putting the heating on every day anyway, Droitwich isn't blessed with a great shopping experience at the best of times!

@Heyha

I can't believe it's worth their while opening up and putting the heating on every day anyway, Droitwich isn't blessed with a great shopping experience at the best of times!

Even the bigger retailers there are closing. Argos which is a Click and Collect operation isn't reopening, ever. Peacocks is going and that's a large retail space. Hairdressers/coffee shops and charity shops though-definitely the place to go!

@PinkFondantFancy

I don't have a shop but I can see click and collect in the way described above is not going to be remotely viable. It's clunky and a hassle - who's got time for that? If I can grab a card while I'm out to buy some bread, great. If you add anymore steps to that, I won't. Same for most others I expect.

I hope I don't see a lot of threads in a year's time moaning about where have all the independent shops gone.

Who’s got time for that? People who can’t open their shop otherwise I imagine...

There are plenty of businesses making click and collect work for them but you’re right it does take more input and work online than simply unlocking the shop door and flicking the lights on every day.

To be fair @Sparklingbrook I think Argos and peacocks have been on the cards for a while. My local Argos closed and moved the business inside the nearest Sainsbury’s before the pandemic.

The problems with the high street aren’t new but the pandemic has certainly hastened the end of a few businesses that were relying on balancing their costs precariously.

They say they are ready to go to court and probably have legal advice already. But hard to know what the outcome would be. Very expensive if it doesn’t hold up.

If they had attempted some kind of click and collect I would have gone out of my way to support them, it is actually quite hard to choose cards at the moment as I don’t go in the big supermarkets. I’m sure they would have also have got a reasonable amount of trade on the balloons and cake making stuff which would be easier to sell than cards without browsing.
I went in there before Christmas but it was too busy with crowded aisles and none of the staff wearing masks. I want to support independent businesses but will choose the ones who follow the rules and help me to feel safer there.

I do agree on garden centres though, there is a huge one nearby that is a popular day out for older people, and sells far more non plant stuff than gardening things!

I feel sorry for them and can see why they’re making a point. In our local small town everything is closed apart from QD, the newsagents because the Post Office is in there and they sell food, Wilko and the supermarkets. I can’t buy a birthday card at the lovely card and bookshop and have to click and collect at the yarn shops which I do because I don’t want to lose them. We lost a lot of shops after lockdown 1.

If I get I my car and drive 4 miles up the road I can go to the garden centre where I can buy yarn, books, cards, toys,games,clothes, ornaments, gifts, candles, etc on top of anything I need for the garden so I can see why the local businesses are pissed off. There’s absolutely no logic to what can stay open and what can’t. And don’t get me started on the people doing B&M hauls just because they can.