Meet the PRs

pay day you would have easily have taken the order, but as its two weeks away it’ll have to wait. You’re confident you’ve done a good enough job that they’ll be back to order – but sadly today they’ve escaped the net. In a former life one of my old sales managers used to say to me “some days are for sowing and some days are for reaping”, never a truer word spoken.

Sunday on the other hand was a different matter. Again, a very full appointment diary and a few walk-ins meant footfall was as good as the Saturday. However, to quote Kevin (Paul Stride) everyone that visited us were “tyre kickers”. One of my team spent an hour and a half with a customer that had told her that they’d come for a Bugaboo Fox 3, only for them to tell her that they hadn’t brought their bank cards as she tried to close the sale! The orders we did manage to take were off the back of us slashing deposits down to very little in order to get some commitment. That brings me to the next thing I want to mention – Due to all the current financial uncertainty customers are taking significantly longer to settle their bills, some even leaving the collection and payment of their balance to a couple of days before their due date. As you will all know too well, as you’ll all be feeling this yourselves, this can have a dramatic impact upon your cash flow, the life blood of any business.

Luckily, I wasn’t in the country whilst the terrible week was happening as I was in Venice with Mrs B enjoying a much deserved break from work and the builders. Whilst I was in Venice (and just so you don’t feel that it’s your fault when times are a little slow) I got chatting to a nice fellow that owed a tie shop in the centre of the city. He was explaining to me how the effects of Covid regulations and the Ukrainian war were affecting him. Both myself and Mrs B had commented that the city felt quiet, for example you could walk in to any restaurant at 7:30pm and pick a table – no waiting, no need to book a table. He told me that the city is busier in an average, pre Covid January than it is right now! See, when you have a quiet day or week, it’s not always because of something you’ve done. It’s hard to remember the brilliant weeks when you’ve had a few bad days. Something in our heads just switches on and says “what have we done differently? Why aren’t people spending with me? They couldn’t get

Sunday on the other hand was a different matter. Again, a very full appointment diary and a few walk-ins meant footfall was as good as the Saturday. However, to quote Kevin (Paul Stride) everyone that visited us were “tyre kickers”

enough of us last month”. It’s reassuring to know that what you’re experiencing isn’t as a result of your actions or worse, lack of actions – but as a result of social and economic conditions. Over the past two years we’ve all faced some very, very challenging times, times that would have seen lesser businesses fold – yet here we all are. Ok, so the next few weeks and months may be tough as the situation in Ukraine unfolds, but we’ve faced more challenging times than a few bad days trading. It’s remarkable how consumers panic and then forget. One week, as the news breaks its baton down the hatches time, the next week it’s just normal so let’s just crack on. This week has proven that point perfectly. I’m typing this on the Wednesday morning and we’ve already managed to beat last week in two days.

So, I best end my little article there, I have finally managed to get my new gas meter fitted a couple of weeks ago and heating engineers have arrived at the store to start install the heater I can no longer afford to pay the gas bill for (ok, so that’s a slight exaggeration). The last hurdle I need to overcome before I can officially class the extension as ready for customers is getting the painters on to site. Trying to get them here is proving a little difficult to say the least; I would liken it to trying to eat a bowl of custard with a fork! Until next time, keep smiling.