07-12-2013, 12:23 PM
1
Trying to support local shops
We buy a lot on line very rarely visit a real life shop so when we do we are often amazed at how they treat people.Been out today and thought we should try to support our local carpet shop he is competing against the big boys in town and the out of town complex so lets support the little guy in the village.
Saw what we wanted but it was 2 foot too long so asked could he possibly cut it down for us. No, no explanation or sorry just NO !
My hands are not strong enough to cut carpet, my husbands knee means he cannot get down to do it. So we left the shop and went to carpet right (big chain out of town) where the young man was more than happy to cut a bit of carpet to the size we wanted the piece of carpet was half the price of the village shop and he carried it out and put it in our car for us.
Why do local stores not realise they have to up their game to survive ?
07-12-2013, 12:29 PM
2
Re: Trying to support local shops
This is true !They need to be better with customer service to survive, thats what is going to make them shine above the others ... We can only tell them this when we visit the shop, I never walk out withouit letting me feelings known, otherwise, they remain ignorant ....
07-12-2013, 02:56 PM
5
Re: Trying to support local shops
We always support our local shops, we know them and trust them and they are all very helpful, if they were not they would not last long in the area. I have seen traders come and go but the good ones are still here and well supported by the whole community I'm happy to say. Indeed the area was featured as an example of how it can still work in a TV documentary recently, we were all proud of that. Courtesy, value, and a smile every time pays off for the local shops.
07-12-2013, 03:04 PM
6
Re: Trying to support local shops
I support local shops whenever I can .I recently wanted a sack of King Edward potatoes (56lb) from the local greengrocers.
They didn't have a sack in stock and the assistant wasn't sure how much they would cost so she took my name and address and said they would drop a sack off at my house on the following day and if I wasn't in I could pay for them next time I was in town. There was no charge for delivery, a pretty good service.
07-12-2013, 05:10 PM
8
Re: Trying to support local shops
I will always buy locally if I can but, like Julie, I've had ones that seem to forget about customer service and they have ended up losing a sale. When people shop locally instead of online, it has to be about personal service and getting something that isn't available online.
07-12-2013, 05:20 PM
9
Re: Trying to support local shops
We use Aldi, Asda & Sainsburys for our main food shopping but local shops for just about everything else except white goods etcetera of course where they simply cannot compete.We've also found unfortunately that local retailers do not seem to appreciate that the loyalty we give them is in some ways dependent on the personal service they offer; no personal / customer service & that's your lot is the only way at times.
However, most of our local shops appreciate it and those that don't suffer the consequences - a carpet shop in town has shut after 35 years on our High Street but they were well known lately to be less than enthusiastic with their customer service and have now paid the price! stevmk2
07-12-2013, 05:33 PM
10
Re: Trying to support local shops
I'll start by disagreeing with you Steve, because on a couple of occasions I've bought white goods locally at as good a price as the best on-line deals. Even if they had cost a few pounds more, I would have bought locally for the convenience.When I moved here I was told that I should always use local tradespeople because if they did a bad job in the morning, then everyone would know by the afternoon. The good local traders here rely on reputation and word-of-mouth recommendations. They are always busy. The bad ones don't last long.
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