Comments on: Why Are Shops Closed When People Are Free? …and Contest Winners!

By: fathersez

fathersez — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:53:00 +0000

You have brought up a great point. Actually I am not very upset about these stores. They just lose their customers and will eventually fade away. I get more upset with all those Government bodies and utility bodies that have to deal with bill payments and the like.

They follow strictly office hours, and not all of them accept online payments. And we have absolutely no choice but to adapt to their rules.

Talk about being customer friendly.

By: Preet

Preet — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:37:19 +0000

@ Michael James – interesting point. Here in West Vancouver there is a local plaza that had a “closed due to weather” sign on the door one day a few years ago. But it was a gloriously sunny day and 25 degrees celsius. They had closed to go enjoy the day! As a business owner, I can imagine that if you don’t need to be open and can afford to do that then more power to you (as long as it’s only once in a while).

@ Mark Noble – Agreed – the mom and pops and public-funded enterprises seem to be behind the curve. I think I’m a victim of context – wonder if I would’ve written the same post if I was in Toronto (which I’m not at the moment). As mentioned above, I’m out west in city which has a very high percentage of small business owners, plus it’s the west coast which seems a bit more laissez-faire in general. The big boys spend lots of money on efficiency – you’re right.

By: Mark Noble

Mark Noble — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:59:04 +0000

I’m not entirely sure if this is the case anymore. Most retailers that are part of a chain or branded franchise seem to cater to their demographic of clientele. This means focusing labour costs on peak hours.

At least where I live, most of the grocery stores are now actually 24 hours with skeleton crews running them during weekdays and late-night/early morning.

The exception are publicly-funded businesses and small-family run businesses. These keep traditional hours much to the annoyance of those who need to use them. It’s a good example of how behavioural and sociological factors can get in the way of an efficient business model.

By: Michael James

Michael James — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:25:03 +0000

Most of the big box stores seem to be open late. It’s the smaller stores that are more often open just during normal business hours. Maybe it’s a quality of life issue for the owners.

A long time ago, I was on one of many business trips in Europe (can’t remember which country), and all the restaurants in this small town were closed during normal dinner hours. This seemed crazy to me, but a local thought I was nuts. He said that the restaurants were family run and everyone was home eating dinner — you can’t expect families to disrupt their dinners to run a business.