To mark the New Year, I got to go to work today (and I was there Boxing Day too). I don’t mind working either day, but I have to question the wisdom of having the store open on either day.
Last year, the store was closed on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, owing to poor sales the year before. This year, head office, in their wisdom, decreed we should be open on both days, despite the evidence of 2012’s figures.
Unsurprisingly, neither Boxing Day or today were great ones for sales.
It’s pretty obvious to me, a lowly team leader, why being open is futile for us. The company has a sale but, compared to bigger retailers, we don’t shout about it. No one knows what we offer, and where I live, public transport barely runs on bank holidays. Combine this with other retailers running shorter hours (or just not opening), and the footfall drops off dramatically.
Instead, the powers that be decided we had to be open 10-6 both days.
There really is no point in us being open to 6 (or at all). We took just barely £1,000 on both days, so, factoring in the cost of staff wages, heating and electricity, we would have actually run at a loss both days.
And the company wonders why we’re not making a profit. Well, perhaps next time, we won’t pour money down the drain?
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