Watch What
You Say – apparently police were called to the market during the week after someone
threatened to “shoot someone.” The person venting turned out to be a trader who
was unhappy with some aspect of QVM operations but the listener didn’t know
that and took the threat seriously. In these troubled global times it pays to
watch your language.
Invoicing
Dilemma – a trader has complained that one side effect of the new digital
invoicing system is that we no longer have immediate feedback of account discrepancies.
A cashier used to be able to confirm whether your payment agreed with the system
immediately, but now we don’t find out until weeks later when memory of the
event has faded.
New
Proposal For Underground – apparently the renewal team is considering a
variation to construction under A,B,C, and D sheds that will allow ongoing
trading at the Queen St. end of those sheds. The aim is to create a viable
retail environment linking with the temporary pavilion and keep disruption to a
minimum.
Pavilion
Opportunity For GM – we understand that as part of the new trading proposal on
Queen St. there may be opportunities for General Merchandise Traders in the
temporary pavilion. Traders who are interested in pavilion trading will be
invited to submit an Expression of Interest. We assume that opportunities will
only be available to 5 day traders and we hear that participants may be asked
to embrace extended trading. More details at Thursday's Trader Information Session.
Where Are
The Football Fans? – a number of traders are complaining that with only one interstate
team playing in Melbourne this weekend (Brisbane) we are suffering unusually
small crowds.
Trader
Strike – a trader proposed this week that traders should strike for no change at
our market. When questioned, he did agree that change was necessary, but still
felt a strike was a good idea.
Forget The
Past –a gem from one of our more pragmatic traders – “Don’t tell me what used
to happen here, because we are in a time of extreme change, and last year has
no relevance to today.”
Ex City
Councillor Stephen Mayne went to Monday night’s alternative renewal proposal
meeting and published some photos which helped resolve a dispute over how many
attended. The photos show around 150 attendees including approximately 50
traders. The group made a presentation
to City Council the following evening and apparently the Lord Mayor’s response
was “Thank you for your passion and work. We are set on a particular track and
I wouldn’t want to give you hope that we will deviate from 5 years of very hard
work”.
Trader Xenia
(Sonia) has marked one year since her stroke with a promise to continue
her recovery and become more physically active over the next 12 months.
A customer (and
ex-trader) stated that walking through the Dairy Hall at 1:00pm on Saturday they
experienced the smallest crowd they could remember and they wondered whether the
Barcelona terrorist attack had an impact.
Bollards have been installed at the top of J Shed during trading hours. (see separate article)