Dear Jac – Page 65
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: The news hits the headlines again
Andy and Lynn Thurston, who run Gemco News at Braintree in Essex, have had it up to here with news distributor John Menzies. The couple were previously serviced by Smiths News and thought the service good, but the territory shake-up has left much...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Is this scam the oldest in the book?
You have to grudgingly admire the audacity and dexterity of the sleight-of-hand merchants that try to do you out of tenners. Do 10 shops a day and you've made a hundred quid. Mohammed Sajid says he always reads this column for news on the...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Those lazy, hazy happy days
I don't know about you but I thought the royal wedding was luverly. Sunny day, faultless pageantry, with good-looking happy people, millions not rioting in the streets and parks. What was not to like? Hopefully, the four-day weekends and sunshine...
-
Dear JacDear Jac: Those blooming debts
The debt collectors are now threatening Flowerfete retailers on behalf of the liquidators KSA Recovery. Fresh Bouquets Ltd, t/a Flowerfete, went into voluntary creditors’ liquidation on February 18, leaving a number of retailers in the lurch on…
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Milking it for more
Following my reports on Medina Dairies making sudden demands for payments from previous customers, I got a comprehensive fax from Cliff White, White’s News, East Sussex.
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: When banking gets personal
Mark has emailed to say: “I enjoy reading your articles in C-Store. There’s one this issue (April 15) ‘Nod, tip, wink’ about avoiding bank charges. I know that the banks very much disapprove of this practice, that personal bank accounts are for personal use...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: And another thing...
Further on the subject of red tape, I’d like to add my voice to the clamour in our various trade press over the promised bonfi re from the government. They’ve counted them all up.
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: What price should you put on loyalty?
As some of you will unfortunately know, I can’t always fix it. Sometimes I can tell you straightaway as in, no, the energy company/bank/insurance underwriter will not listen to me and won’t care what I write about them. Short-sighted of them, I know.
-
Dear Jac
Dera Jac: Scammer time is here again
You can call this once bitten, twice shy, says Jignesh Patel who runs Shreeji in London’s Kentish Town. A big, nicely dressed, softly spoken guy came into his store during a busy period and cashed in some scratchcards. While this process was taking place he walked around the store picking
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Scammertime is here again
You can call this once bitten, twice shy, says Jignesh Patel who runs Shreeji in London's Kentish Town. A big, nicely dressed, softly spoken guy came into his store during a busy period and cashed in some scratchcards. While this process...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Keep on taking their pictures
Given the number of rules and regs and their forever updating, changing face, it’s no wonder we can’t all keep up. Mahesh Patel rang from Yogi Smurti Newsagents in London’s Shepherd’s Bush to say ...
-
Dear Jac
Don’t take risks with your staff
Risk-taking is sometimes considered a good thing entrepreneurs are known for it and Lord Alan Sugar wouldn’t give you the time of day if you weren’t prepared to take a few flyers.
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Are dairy’s demands just milking it?
Have any of you received a solicitor's letter on behalf of Medina Dairy, demanding sums of around £300+ to prevent court proceedings? I ask because a retailer, who wishes to remain anonymous, has received such a letter and believes there are others...
-
Dear JacDear Jac: Look after the pennies
Nice to hear of a neat little touch that not only saves you money, but which counts as an extra customer service. In the last issue I asked where you got your money from your change. Do you buy it from the bank?
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Oops - gotcha!
The spoof story on page seven in our last issue got a handful of you wanting to believe that Tesco had launched a symbol group for indies. Some of you really wanted to put the Tesco name over your door. Oh, and one outraged person complained about...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Nod, tip, wink
I've had tips similar to this one I received from Maqsood Akhtar before, but it's worth repeating. A few years ago his bank charges for his business, Blackthorn News in Rotherham, suddenly went from about £7 a month to £120. When he complained his...
-
Dear JacDear Jac: The inconvenient truths
Any of this sound familiar? Steve Edwards has written me a heartfelt email about 'the sector'. He writes from Seaview News: "We have been in Cleethorpes for some 60 yes, 60 years in the retail sector, first as a family butcher's and then with the...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Catering for your customers
I get asked from time to time about the various aspects of hot food planning regs, VAT implications, licences and so on. So for Johanne Hole and Raj Lal who both recently emailed me, here is what I know about this decidedly woolly subject.
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac:Terms and conditions apply
We have had a rather shocking question on email from someone called Jack. Goes like this: "I have been employed at a Londis store for 16 months. I work 35 to 46 hours per week, depending on school holidays. My only day off is Saturday. In the time I...
-
Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Where do you get your money?
I told Mohammed Khan (Best One, Washington, Tyne & Wear), I'd ask the audience. He needs about £100 a week in change (1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and so on) and he used to get it from the Alliance & Leicester at his local post office. He's had a falling...