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OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
The
Honesty
Mirror
Most of us, including me, believe that in all aspects of life, honesty is the best policy, so why do we not always adhere to this and what are the ramifications of straying into white lies? Asking a staff member to tell someone on the phone that you are not in, promising to have that chat and then not following through may seem like minor things, but they set a precedent and it sets a tone. It leaves staff wondering if that is the way you deal with everything and that is not a good thing. If we think about more serious aspects of business, such as cash flow, how honest can you be? This is always my biggest challenge, but I now pride myself on telling people when I can and cannot pay. I believe that most companies want that level of detail and if you give them a date that you will pay them, they will usually be fine with that. You just need to make sure that you stick to it. Basically, we can’t bury our heads in the sand. I am not denying that following through on actions and being honest, like these simple examples, can be hard. It can expose you and show your weaknesses, but you will ultimately gain more respect and support. I am struggling with how I feel about lots of aspects of my life at the moment and being honest with myself about sleep, diet, time management are things that are a constant struggle. The easy option is to blame work pressures, but in reality I just need to prioritise better. This is the reason that this week I stopped posting on my personal Facebook and Instagram pages though I am still active on social media for the business as these are necessary tools. 22
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Every month I sit down to write this column looking at a blank page and ask myself: “What it is I want to say? What is it that I feel retailers like me are experiencing? What are the issues that need to be addressed?” I always do this with one word burning at the back of my mind and that word is honesty. Being honest is perhaps a given, but it is all too easy to slip into habits that may not be as clear cut as you think. Above: Don’t be a monkey, just look into the honesty mirror urges David Robertson. Right: Realising that there are others in the same boat as you, provides some comfort and helps you to face up to your challenges. Below: It is now over two years since Boris Johnson told us all to stay at home.
This may be small steps but at least it is a start. As I write this (on 23 March) we are exactly two years on since Boris gave that Churchillian address to the nation that closed our shops and plunged us all into a lockdown… “We need you to stay home…” I am not going to go into politics, but the UK people on the whole followed what he said and did what they could to protect themselves and others. In the early days in business terms, it seemed that the support was there. It seemed that they understood the difficulties that we all faced. Businesses large and
small were affected and many were offered help to survive. Yet here we are now all still suffering in retail from the long Covid tail with very little help available and many of us will have more staff off now due to the pandemic than before. Our costs have not only returned to normal, but have escalated beyond what we could have predicted. The lack of footfall being experienced across the country is partly a change in habits and partly due to everyone hurting in terms of their costs of living. Yet, knowing that doesn’t help. The April date of increased NIC (where they asked us to remind staff what it was for in their wage packets) and increase in living wage will come as more blows, following on from the rising costs and the eventual re-introduction of business rates. The mental stress of all this on so many good retailers who have found things constantly changing is enormous and many are finding that the joy is being sucked from them.