All Dear Jac articles – Page 75
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Dear Jac
Bill reaches breaking point over Payzone
As regular readers will know, Payzone and PayPoint come in for routine thumpings because they offer poor commission and between them have a duopoly verging on monopoly in the marketplace.
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Dear Jac
Is wholesaling booze a way round a licence?
Harjinder Singh, who trades as Universal Wine at Romford in Essex, wanted to know if he needed a licence if he sold booze in wholesale quantities only.
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Dear Jac
Counterfeit case helps unearth fakes galore
Responding to my ongoing saga on how to spot counterfeit vodka (sometimes you just can't - not without your own microscope and laboratory, that is), Subhash Varambhia has sent me some thoughts on the subject.
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Dear Jac
Power dispute proves a huge waste of energy
Despite contacting the police, Energywatch and npower's Complaints and Commissions team, Pravin Patel finds himself stuck in a contract that he maintains he never signed in the first place.
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Dear Jac
Put your money on epos and it'll pay in the end
Faisal Sattar emailed me because he was worried that Torex Retail would scrap the CTN Superstore system it bought last year (and which he bought two years ago). He asked me if I could scout around to find out what plans Torex had for it.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Urgent appeal - what does counterfeit booze look like?
I believe my anonymous caller when he says that he buys all his alcohol from reputable suppliers - either from Booker at Slough or Bestway, JJ Wines or Enterprise, all of which are in London's Southall.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Who said life is a lottery? In Camelot's case, rules are rules.
Following a piece I wrote a few issues back, reporting on the retailer who temporarily lost his Camelot terminal because the story of a local big winner was 'leaked' to the local press before getting Camelot's permission, I've had further feedback on the subject both from Camelot and retailers.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: First past the post
A rally of postmasters took a petition of four million names to 10 Downing Street last month (how come they delivered by hand?) to protest about loss of income and falling numbers.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Got your Xmas decs yet? It'll soon be time to deck the halls
All too soon it will be time to replace the batteries in the flashing reindeer earrings, dust off the glitter balls and put up the paper chains. Yes, it's coming soon to a store near you... actually, hopefully, yours.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: What's a fair fee to get at your own money?
I've had complaints again about Cardpoint and its transaction fees.
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Dear Jac
Queues niggle everyone - that includes retailers
It's most likely that queues tick people off because of their uncertain nature.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Jac asks: which promotions are suitable for the independent as well as the multiple trade?
Unilever must ask itself this from time to time.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Another effect of accepting debit cards
A few months ago a small shop might not have been able to accept credit and debit cards. Now, post-Chip and PIN, many more have been persuaded to do so. But, as Ian Macintyre - who runs a CTN in Tarbert, Argyll - points out, credit card purchasing of mobile ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: A new slot! In praise of local authorities!
I'm so impressed with this that I am using 'screamers', a journalistic term for exclamation marks which are largely frowned upon in journalism as one takes the view that the story should speak for itself and not need these props - and certainly not three in a row! (One will ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Customer service - old story, new twist
Apparently, if you want to cancel your news supplies from WH Smith you need to give four weeks' notice. I understand that some notice is a good idea, but what happens in a sudden emergency? A fire? A flood? A death in the family?
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: A licence to print money
Five million more customers shunted towards PayPoint terminals for TV licence renewals and ad campaigns running on primetime TV must be good news for retailers with those type of terminals. But it's not such good news for post offices that have just lost the service.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Selling up? Sign your name here
Except, as regular readers will know, you need to watch what you sign. Following my write up of Raymond Brunt's court clash with business transfer agents RTA, four other retailers got in touch, all saying variations on "the same thing happened to me".
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: It shouldn't be daylight robbery at the C&C
I’ve said this before. Never mind, it bears saying again. You don’t go to the cash and carry to get robbed, do you?
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Triton means cheaper top-ups
The word means many things: minor sea god; satellite of Neptune; big mollusc (you can tell I've been at the dictionary) and, yes, cheap top-ups.