Dear Jac – Page 94
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: The downwardly mobile commission on top-ups continues its slide.
In C-Store May 19, I wrote about Subhash and Rama Varambhia's discovery that the commission on etop-ups for mobiles was even less than it was cracked up to be because of the VAT element.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Is cashing up the fag you don't look forward to at the end of the day? Interested in a shortcut?
I've been talking to Vince Masi, a Londis retailer of some standing, who trades at Lyneham in Wiltshire. He has developed a software program that he says takes the strain out of the chore of cashing up at the end of the day.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: It is never easy to lift any of the Post Office's veils.
Sometimes I think the Post Office has more veils than Salome. Let's try to lift one.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Here's a postscript on the subject of viability of epos for small stores.
This got quite an airing in the May 19 issue as retailers debated whether it was worth forking out considerable sums for all-singing, all-dancing epos when you still had to scan in every cash and carry purchase item by item as the suppliers' invoices do not come with scannable barcodes.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Beware the enemy within. Thieving staff is the last thing you need.
It was good to get a retailer's recommendation for a supplier that helped him nail down the mysterious case of the missing Richmond King Size 20s cartons that disappeared every shift that a certain employee worked.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Still on staff - not thieving, just not working.
Staff are meant to work, right? John Maxwell Jones, who runs Burgess Stores at Goudhurst in Kent, had a 'worker' who took sick days without ringing in or producing a medical certificate and then left without notice, leaving a note on the deli counter and leaving John short-staffed at an ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Would you benefit from a listing on an internet directory?
I've had three calls in the past few weeks from concerned retailers who have received 'Important Dated Material' through the post from a company called Business Internet Directory, urging them to check the enclosed business listing details and inform the company of their business category so that 'their listing can be activated'.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Councils seem to be getting better at screwing money out of all of us.
We all know about the parking and speeding fines and waste management fees and the cost of advertising boards outside the store and the penalty culture overall. But it gets worse and I couldn’t resist retelling the following.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Sometimes it seems like the odds are against you and you just can't win
Yes, it’s a bit of an old theme, I’m afraid. I’m on the subject of trading standards officers again. In the last issue I wrote a story passed on by a retailer praising a TSD who had inspected the store’s fireworks and who had been both co-operative and willing to learn. Spiffing. it should always be like that - tho of you on the same side, making sure no harm comes to your ‘public’.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Where there's muck there's brass - for some people at least.
Sometimes the final straw can be a small thing.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Does anyone have a remedy for this problem?
Does anyone have a remedy for this problem?
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: How do you rate a business? By its threats?
Since I put out a warning in the April 21 issue about business ratings cowboys, my phone has been on overtime.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Nothing like a good price war to keep things exciting in retailing.
Two issues back I reported on the money-off tactics of the Daily Record in Scotland. This prompted feedback ranging from a two-line email of support from 'Gazzy' in Rothesay, to several who pointed out that the handling fee for the coupons is not 2p but 1p so it's actually twice ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Do you do everything according to plan? This retailer reckons she did but didn't get the benefits she expected
Superna Patel, whose Londis store trades in Hounslow, Middlesex, is none too happy with Masterfoods. She recently discovered a reward scheme launched by the company four years ago that allows retailers to build up points by following a confectionery planogram. Superna, who has traded for 13 years, has had a Mars rep visit every month throughout that time. She says she started to follow Masterfoods' Capital scheme as soon as she became aware of it in December 2005.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: The feedback on epos viability for tiny turnovers has been considerable.
In the last issue I posed Alistair Main's dilemma. The convenience turnover at his Ormiston post office is only £150,000 a year. Would it be worth investing in epos?
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Are you clear on VAT and etop-ups for mobiles?
Jac asks: are you clear on VAT and etop-ups for mobiles?
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Is Manchester 'Scam Central'? And is there really a Mr Big?
I hope I don't offend any law-abiding upright Mancunians but I can't help thinking that Manchester could also be known as Scam Central as it is where so many of the 'popular' scams originate.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: What are the rules on stocking the 'real thing' since the European Union got involved?
Every so often I get asked to clarify the rules on stocking stuff other than Coke in branded Coca-Cola coolers. The latest query comes from Rod Oakford who runs Mottram Road Post Office at Stalybridge in Greater Manchester.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: How do you 'define' your business and what is the real meaning of convenience?
The question was posed via email by Saleem Uddin from Glasgow who is currently negotiating with landlords for a new lease. He wanted to change his definition to c-store to reflect the more modern usage of his business and the products available. His landlord wants to keep the business description ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: If you catch them with their fingers in the till, don't hang about, fire them.
I'm not going to identify this Essex retailer because he still hasn't fired the member of staff who has spent most of her time stealing bits and pieces from him on a daily basis ever since he took over the business and its staff 18 months ago.