On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 18:16:49 GMT, "Mike Hibbert"
wrote:



Ok, I guess Jerry may have put it in a slightly better way, but he does have
a point. I have a hardware shop 2 minutes walk from the house and it is
bloody useful. Popping over on a sunday morning for almost anything is a
luxury that I find useful. I hardly ever go to the sheds now.
But, in 5 years time, it will all be mail order, so unless you want Rays
Hardware (and all the other little ones) to shut, you gotta start using
them.

Mikw


I suspect that you are the fortunate exception.

If I want to find a hardware shop like that, I have to drive into the
adjacent market town where there is one in the centre.
If I can find a parking space, I'm lucky, otherwise I have to wait
until somebody leaves or drive all round the one way system to another
car park which may also be full and in eiother case pay 40p to park.

It is not that large, but has a reasonable selection of things at high
prices in small packs - typically about 2x B&Q price, and nothing of
particularly good quality. It's closed on Sundays.

In the same amount of time, I can have gone to a Focus as long as I
can steel myself not to kill the surly teenagers that work there, and
the woman who wants me to buy double glazing with 50% off - she
doesn;t know what it's 50% off from, just that it's 50% off. That at
least has a broader selection, although again, nothing of particularly
good quality. Slightly further away, there's a Homebase and a
Wickes, neither of which are inspiring.

Half an hour away, as long as the local football team isn't playing
and I can stand the smell of sewage, there's a B&Q which at least has
most of what one would need for the majority of jobs without having to
waste time roaming from place to place.

In the context of that, ordering what I need from Screwfix et al.
early in the week, even if I'm travelling, and having it all waiting
ready for the weekend is quite appealing in terms of time saved.

The local little shop would do far better if it had some quality
and/or differentiated product lines. People would go there for
that. As it is, it is clear that the business is in a slow decline
and the owner seems unwilling to make changes.

When it inevitably closes, which I am sure will happen in the next few
years because there is hardly ever anybody in there, it won't be
missed.



--

..andy

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