This article was first launched back
on 19th January and received a rather lengthy response from one of
our readers. Well, the original author has decided to respond back. We have
included the full article, the response, and now the author’s response below:
A Trader has
written to us about the need to re-organise the Specialty Merchandise area of
QVM.
He says “The
Fresh Food Market is very well organised, logical, and makes shopping easy and
attractive to customers. There are designated aisles for fresh fruit and
vegetables, deli, meat &fish, and a large number of competing traders
offering the greatest variety of goods to customers at the most competitive
prices.”
“How
different is the Specialty shop area!!!!!! It’s a total disaster. Everything in
this area is made for customers to have the worst shopping experience. No
system, no logic. Customers are just dragging themselves from aisle to aisle until
they get totally exhausted and disenchanted and just leave without buying
anything.”
“How do we
rectify this?”
“In my
opinion there has to be a forum which must have proper representation from QVM
Management and Traders as well as customers to the work required.
As a quick
band aid solution I would recommend:
- to put a
printed Trader Directory together and add it to the QVM website. Hard copies
could be made available at the Visitor Centre.
- to create
a printed version of the existing QVM website to be distributed to customers to
have some vague idea about what merchandise they can shop for.
- a proper
action plan needs to be put together to completely restructure the speciality
shop area and re-engineer its perception from a Trash and Treasure Market and
turn it into Melbourne’s Best Value Shipping Outlet, which it could be.”
Have Your
Say – click here.
COMMENTS:
20/1/2020
1934 - "I totally disagree with the
comment that the specialty section of the market is a total disaster. QVM is a
market it is not a shopping mall and people come to look around an operating
market, enjoy the atmosphere, and talk and joke with the stallholders and,
contrary to what some stall holders think, don't even notice the storage boxes
etc that are part of the market. Many, many times I have heard people on Peel
street on the top of sb alley or L shed talking among themselves asking "where
shall we explore first" or "which aisle will we go down first"
obviously looking forward to an adventure to possibly see what bargains they
can find. With about 70% of our customers tourists from both intrastate,
interstate and overseas we find that the majority did not come to the market to
buy a particular thing but, as I said before, to look around the great Vic
market and enjoy the atmosphere. I shall remain anonymous as did the author of
the original comment."
Thank you
for your contribution. There is much to
be said for QVM as an adventure - Ed
8/2/2020
1430 – “After reading the comment above, I thought long and hard and decided
that if we are to have a serious and involved discussion about the need to
re-organize and re-engineer QVM Specialty Shops Area, I must reply.
My first
comment is that on one side I am delighted to see that my initial thoughts have
triggered some comments, even if they are negative and apprehensive, but on the
other side these comments have proven loud and clear that one of the biggest challenges for QVM is people's approach to any suggestions to
make changes. And so we get comments like "If it has been good for 50
years why change it?" Yet in our life the one and only constant thing is
ongoing change and the need for more ongoing change.
Without the will to accept
the need for change the QVM Speciality Shop Area is doomed to failure.
So I try to
give you my opinion regarding the most important points this person made.
1. Well
everybody is entitled to his or her opinion, it's a free country. However if
someone is making comments regarding major issues like this the most preferred
method is to come up with his/her suggestions as to how to solve the issues. However I am confident that the writer who made the comments is fully satisfied
that the status quo is the best available option. Well I beg to differ!
2. The writer
goes on to state that QVM is a market not a shopping centre....well in fact
this is a true statement, however it's totally irrelevant. Reason being that
customers local, interstate and overseas have a choice where they want to spend
their money. So guess what, they will spend their money where they get the best
value shopping package. That is the only relevant issue as QVM Speciality Shops
are competing with all CBD retail outlets, shopping centres, and DFO’s.
The
only way customers will spend their money at the QVM Specialty Shop Area is
because the QVM shops/traders are offering more attractive shopping options
than all the other CBD retail outlets.
Do you
seriously believe that potential customers will consider purchasing fashion
ware or shoes or cosmetics in QVM Specialty Shops Area instead of Myers, David
Jones, DFO, Zara, H&M etc. just because it’s the market? No way.........as
a starting point customers have absolutely no idea what goods are available in
QVM, no idea what shops are there, and where these shops are located. That is
the very reason in my opinion it is of paramount importance to put a Trade
Directory together, erect Trade Directory Advertising Boards right through QVM
telling customers where to find different types of goods and where to find
those shops. Equally important to have a printed version of this Trade
Directory to be handed out to visitors to the market and in addition publish it
on the QVM website.
3. The next
comment is suggesting that customers in the QVM enjoy playing "hide and
seek" to explore what stalls are in the next aisles. Well that's fine,
however, I believe that it is most irresponsible to downgrade this discussion to "he heard this, she
heard that...". Making decisions on the basis of hearsay is not a very
good scientific method.
I just mention at this juncture that I have had several
customers complaining about lack of any system in a market and especially
customers who need to return to the market with their husbands or wives find it
absurd that the trader has no idea where his or her stall will be the next day
as it keeps changing every day. The only thing we definitely have is total
anarchy...at present a shoe shop is trading next to an electronic accessory
shop and a hand-made cosmetic shop next to a hardware store etc.......total
lack of any system so the customer has only one choice which is to spend hours
and hours by wandering through all the aisles to have some vague idea about what
sort of goods he/she can shop for. Is it good for the customers? Well I have
heard several angry customers complaining about this however the best way to
find out what customers really thing is to do a customer survey which will
reveal without any doubt what customers thing.
However I am confident that
making assumptions about customer satisfaction without knowing the real facts
is very dangerous and irresponsible. I am fully convinces that the major
stakeholders like QVM Management, traders and customers are entitled to know
what the truth is. And based on the findings of a survey, an Action Plan can be
put together outlining the major directions as to how to rectify this terrible
mess in the QVM Speciality Shop Area.
So where do
we go from here?
Obviously I
do not wish to downgrade the most exciting project of how to restructure and
re-engineer the QVM Speciality Shop Area to a personal dialogue between myself
and another person who made some comments.
In reality
as I said before I am looking for the most adequate forum to discuss all these
vital issues about our beloved QVM which in fact pays the wages to QVM
Management, determines if traders make money or lose money and if customers are
prepared to convert themselves from visitors to money spending customers which
of course is the lifeblood of QVM.”
Have Your Say - click here.