In this “wee burg” of mine, we have this idea of “Shop Local” that has been dreamed up the local Chamber of Commerce and a few business owners; and every year there is much hue and cry that people are not supporting their local businesses.

To that end, I would like to offer a few observations as to why that may be happening:

1. Just because you are a local business does not mean that I owe you my loyalty. If you want my hard earned dollars, I expect to be treated as your most important customer, not as someone who has interrupted your smoke/coffee/whatever break.

2. I realize that I may be looking for something that you may not currently carry in your store/place of business; instead of just saying “we don’t carry that” and giving me the brush off, offer to find out if you can bring the desired item(s) in. You may be surprised, I might be willing to cover your shipping costs for bringing those items in. Not only that, I will be a repeat customer, and I will tell everybody (and I do mean EVERYBODY) how helpful you were and what a fine establishment you have to shop in.

3. Appearance counts for everything. When I arrive your establishment, your windows should be clean; the sidewalk in front of your store free of trash; I do not want to see you (the owner) or your staff standing around having a smoke, or hear you gossiping about people that I may or may not know. If you must smoke or gossip, use the back entrance where customers are not exposed to your filthy habits.

4. Be knowledgeable about all of the products that you carry. Nothing is more annoying than having a sales clerk say “I know nothing about that, sorry.” Find out, quickly. You can’t sell something you know nothing about.

5. While the customer may not always be right, the customer ALWAYS pays your paycheque. If you have no customers, you have no reason to be in business.

6. Always, always remember: you may be the only store in town that carries “X” product, but there is a large city just an hour’s drive south of us that will be more than happy to take my hard earned money, and make me feel good about doing so.

I offer these points as someone who has worked in the public service industry for nearly 30 years, and as a customer who has received both poor and excellent service from businesses in this “wee burg”.