QVM staff are reportedly issuing infringement notices for
traders who fail to pack up their stalls and clear the market by the allotted
time. We believe that more consultation needs to take place on the issue.
The Rule book says that traders have one hour after closing
time to complete their pack-up. That is generally recognised as inadequate for
most traders and two hours has been adopted as a more realistic benchmark over
recent years. Even two hours may be inadequate for some traders, particularly
those with complex merchandising displays.
Recent issues like parking vehicles or storage boxes in
empty stalls have been the subject of rigorous discussion between QVMAC Trader Representatives
and management leading to a clear understanding of the obligations of all
parties before enforcement commences. The subject of stall pack-up deserves the
same examination. There are many issues here including how traders treat their
valuable customers who happen to encroach into packing time.
Traders will no doubt argue that the presentation of stock
and the service we give our customers should always take priority over the
operational needs of QVM. That is probably true, but every conflict of purpose
needs to be discussed and examined so that both sides are happy with the result.
That is what needs to happen with pack-up times. QVMAC Trader Representatives will be organising discussions with management.
Possible Conflict of Interest - The writer of this article regularly takes 2 hours and sometimes 2.5 hours to pack up a complex merchandising display at his stall.
COMMENTS:
06/05/2015 13:05:40 Why Enforcing Pack-up Times Is Wrong Right Now "The biggest issue l see with enforcing this is this:
Customers are regularly arriving at a later time of the day, this in turn means that we the traders are trying to make our living at a later period of the day, closer to and after closing times on a regular basis. I for one am consistently making sales after the closing times of the market.
We are not a shop, were we have the option to just shut the door, and turn away potential customers (I'm not saying just shut the door in their faces either), we are an open space, were customers can just walk into our stalls and look at our products. l am sure that ALL of our traders would allow our customers to browse, and hopefully buy and thus in turn have a good customer experience. At the end of the day, it about providing customer service, and the traders being able to make a living."
06/05/2015 13:05:40 Why Enforcing Pack-up Times Is Wrong Right Now "The biggest issue l see with enforcing this is this:
Customers are regularly arriving at a later time of the day, this in turn means that we the traders are trying to make our living at a later period of the day, closer to and after closing times on a regular basis. I for one am consistently making sales after the closing times of the market.
We are not a shop, were we have the option to just shut the door, and turn away potential customers (I'm not saying just shut the door in their faces either), we are an open space, were customers can just walk into our stalls and look at our products. l am sure that ALL of our traders would allow our customers to browse, and hopefully buy and thus in turn have a good customer experience. At the end of the day, it about providing customer service, and the traders being able to make a living."