Closed shops

archangel

archangel

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I find it hard to believe that some shops still closed one day mid week...... I pay rent on a place and believe me if I could open 24/7 I would.....no point in paying for a lease only to be open 4 days a week......just saying
 
I find it odd

I used to work at IKEA and they made as much money on Saturday and Sunday as they did Monday to Friday. The Entertainer is a toy shop owned by a christian family and so won't open up on Sundays. They would increase their revenue by up to 50% if they opened on Sundays.

Tradition and religion seems to be the only reason.

The only chemist near us closes for 2 hours at lunch time. How are working people supposed to get their prescriptions?
 
I can understand not opening on a Sunday because of religious believe but a Wednesday.....the high street is really busy today and 60 of the shops are closed......only cafes, charity shops and shops like wh Smith are actually open
 
Dale_tem said:
Tradition and religion seems to be the only reason.
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I think the OP is reffering to what we used to call "Half day Closing" ..It's a thurday around here BTW :) I presumed it was to make up for working on the weekend.. keeping hrs down to the norm..
 
It isn't even half day closing.....it is full day....beggars believe that in today's financial climate businesses can afford to shut up shop and piddle about the house or garden instead of trying to raise profits...
 
archangel said:
It isn't even half day closing.....it is full day....beggars believe that in today's financial climate businesses can afford to shut up shop and piddle about the house or garden instead of trying to raise profits...
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totally agree... might be a bylaw or somehting daft like that.. can only open so many hrs.. thus close a few hrs or day midweek to open weekend... thats just a guess.. otherwise as you say.. why not open ? :)
 
In Germany many shops closed half day Wednesday and Saturdays and all day on Sunday and never open on a bank holiday.
 
Im all for bringing back kep Sunday Special and shops being closed on these days.
It might promote people to actaully do better things with there life than got to shopping malls and gorge on fast food.

Personally myself and the wife would not even consider shopping on a Sunday.
Also the people that have to work get less time with their families.
 
staffing costs outweighing benefit of being open maybe?

but its generally small (one man) businesses that do it around here. i guess they need to see family and do the groceries at some point.
 
Having done some small scale retail there are days where it just isn't worth opening. You don't get the customers to cover your costs (wages, electric, security, etc etc). Plus there is nothing more depressing than sitting in an empty shop knowing you could be closed and actually saving money and using the time more productively.

If it was worth their while they would be open! There may be people around on the street, but if it is not their customers then it doesn't really matter.
 
I asked one if the other owners who were open and they said that Wednesday's were always closing day years ago......some just keep tradition.....

But personally from my point of view that even if there are slow days there are always loads to do and I usually get more done on a slow day and anyway the shop would still be costing as rent etc still needs paid wether you are open or closed
 
not necessarily..

lights/equipment not turned on = cheaper electric
staff not in = less salary cost

etc

if there really isnt anything to do then there is a just cause to close for the day.
 
I was told that the half-day closing was for stock taking/accounts and to allow for the fact that shops opened on Saturdays too.

I've no qualms with this - as long as you know when it is, you can adjust for it.
 
Seems a sensible 'tradition' to me, from an age when money was not the all-consuming god it is now, though of course it seems odd when we're told that one must be open all hours to make a living. My father ran a model shop, and in that area Wednesday was always a half-day. It gave him a chance to take a little time out to recuperate before the big build-up for Friday night (when everyone got paid & bought stuff on the way home - they'd stay open late) and Saturday, which was busy with school kids.
 
My local chemist shuts Wednesday afternoon and for a 1 hour lunch break everyday. If you turn up at lunch time the staff inside will walk to the door and point to their watches and shake their head.
 
beyond the blue said:
My local chemist shuts Wednesday afternoon and for a 1 hour lunch break everyday. If you turn up at lunch time the staff inside will walk to the door and point to their watches and shake their head.
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Good for them.
If the opening hours are clearly posted then good for them.
 
Maybe they close simply because they just want at least one day off a week like most working people in this country.
 
ecoleman said:
Some people have lives. Money is not the be all and end all. What's the point if you can't have a day or two off to enjoy it.
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I really cant see that being the reason why the whole country has half day closing on different days.. would be amazing if all those shop keepers thought the same thing.. pretty sure a lot would agree wiht the OP ... lots of people work 6 days a week..
 
My mate who ran a Take Away opened seven days a week, and I was grateful when after a few years he finally started to close one day a week, as I used to work for him ! I could understand why he did it in the early days, as it was a struggle to get the business trading profitable.
 
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Half day (Weds) still happens around here too, on a smaller scale.
Curiously the (Local) Post office is attached to a large 7/11 type store,
The store is open all hours,
but the post office shuts half day weds, half day Sat and always an hour for lunch.
 
Work less earn more is the best strategy. If you can find a way to earn what you need to in less days then you've done well.

so long as they are earning what they need to in the days they are open why would you not want them to enjoy their lives?
 
Cobra said:
Half day (Weds) still happens around here too, on a smaller scale.
Curiously the (Local) Post office is attached to a large 7/11 type store,
The store is open all hours,
but the post office shuts half day weds, half day Sat and always an hour for lunch.
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I do recall way back in the early 80s, our local Sayers cake shop closed for lunch, YES closed for lunch the locals started to complain about the insanity of it. We always had to go the chippy if you missed the cake shop, I always prefered a pasty followed by a custard slice. It seems management got called in and soon they did stay open for lunch.
 
jonbeeza said:
I do recall way back in the early 80s, our local Sayers cake shop closed for lunch, YES closed for lunch the locals started to complain about the insanity of it. We always had to go the chippy if you missed the cake shop, I always prefered a pasty followed by a custard slice. It seems management got called in and soon they did stay open for lunch.
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Yep, now that is crazy!
 
I would happily shut my shop an extra day if I could afford to. After 9 years of working 7 days a week I am grateful with Sundays.
 
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