I had popped into town to purchase a few items I needed for a job I was completing, and was shocked to see the notices in the window of the shop I was visiting indicating they were closing down. This is a shop that has always provided a lovely welcome, advice, and a friendly helping hand. The people went out of their way to make sure that one went away happy. And now it was going.
It is sad that the lives of the staff were also going to change after the shop closed. I do hope that they gained good employment, in a business where they are now valued, and provide continued good service. I do hope that the taste of the their past experience has not tainted their view of helping others. I do hope that the smile and helping attitude has not been too bruised, and the real character of the person shines through again
These are big ‘asks’ but I do hope they develop rather than retreat.
I also noticed that another shop that I do visit, on a less frequent basis, had not just disappeared, but been replaced. We all know that change is inevitable, but I do wonder just how much realisation of these changing forces have reached some of the southern parts of the UK. In the Financial Times, they wrote that property prices were booming….but did not mention that this was a London focus, rather than other parts of the country. My letter to the FT was acknowledged but did not appear in print – I offered some statistics that disproved the bias of the report. They were not my statistics but those of the Office of National Statistics, but my comment did not support the ‘good story’.
This got me thinking about a range of issues though, especially when I walk past the now closed and empty property in a key position on our High Street:
- I hope the people from the shop are now back in gainful employment, rather than just a government statistic.
- When we go through a period of change, do we ‘take stock’ or just rush to keep the next plate spinning?
- Feel good stories are great to keep the message upbeat – but when is honesty the best answer?
- It takes courage to set up a business on the high street, but how often do we really think what the effort was to make this happen?
- And when we click on that online ‘buy button’, for an item that we have quizzed the high street shop owner about, at what point do we no longer feel guilty by requesting advice but not honouring and rewarding the messenger?
Tough questions, but ones that may help to ensure that our high streets are still varied, rather than just a series of coffee shops. Coffee shops where people spend more on their daily coffee than invest in their personal development. And that is a true, accurate and sad fact! But of course not for you…..
My best wishes,
Peter
