20-21_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 01/10/2025 16:00 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
Inset: David making memories with his son Hudson.
Soul Searching I have never been a good holiday goer! In fact, I have never been able to jet off, switch off, relax and recover, but ever since my young lad came along life needed to be different so with that in mind we headed off for a week or so to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While the main aim was to spend time together as a family, it also prompted some soul searching about the essence of any business. As part of our recent trip, we stayed at a Warner Bros hotel which gave you access to its theme park and Seaworld. A few days earlier we had also visited the nearby Legoland. Having experienced theme parks around the world I thought I knew what to expect. What followed though was a strange, almost out of body experience as they were quiet, like they were our own personal playgrounds, you could just walk onto every ride. The restaurants were empty, but the staff were super friendly and helpful. The staging, theming and rides were all super cool, but what I quickly realised was that a theme park is more than the actual physical rides or the staging of the park. You need the crowds, the queues, the anticipation, the noise and maybe even the occasional bit of stress. Now don’t get me wrong we still had fun and made amazing memories, but sometimes these theme park experiences felt, well, a little soulless. This got me thinking about our industry, my own business and maybe yours too. Cards are just bits of folded paper, yet once we open them, read them and look at the writing they shift the feeling in that room. They shift the feeling in you. Often the words will have been carefully chosen by the sender as 20 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Above and left: Life is full of thrills and spills, just like themeparks.
they are very apt. Sometimes they may have been written by a copywriter but are wholly appropriate for what you need. Behind every card though is a thought, sentiment or care. Someone took time to pick it, to think of you, to write in it and send it/give it to you. You were in their thoughts, and they wanted you to know that. Cards have been termed as slowdown communication! This is not a dig at Royal Mail, but means that the time it takes to choose, send and then read a card is far more important than many people give them credit for. In a world where so much is instant and messages can be across the globe in seconds,
there is something still very endearing about the joy of sending a greeting card. The physical nature of cards is also super important. This is why cards remain on display in homes long after the event they were sent/given to mark. This is why we find them in drawers years after and seeing them can take you right back to that soulful moment. So how do you nurture the soul of a retail business to make it even more appealing to your customers? A great location, a cool brand, interesting product does not guarantee success, it needs to have a distinct ‘direction of travel’. The team working there, the way that you are welcomed when you enter the shop play a big part in whether that business works long term. This is undoubtably easier to get right in your own indie store. Most of the time an owner operator will be there and their fingerprints will be all over the store. This of course gets harder as you grow. You do not want it to become too sterile an environment where everyone is following a strict rulebook, but equally you are then relying on other people to carry out your wishes. I recently visited the new Ryman Design