7th December 2018
The cold air hit me like a punch to the chest. It was below zero, but we had to go out to get some gifts for Greer’s birthday. Kelli took me to a couple of the stores that I wouldn’t necessarily be seen dead in, but heck,it was my first day, so I gritted my teeth and got on with it.
We stopped off at the Party Store to look for a birthday badge. This store is a place of utter tat, it is so full of plastic that it it caught fire it would melt. We found a badge with flashing lights, we did have to try some to ensure they worked, quality product?
Snow flurries were all around as I pumped fuel into the trusty Toyota hurrying back to the warmth inside.
It has been the first day back, and I haven’t seen inside the garage yet, what is wrong with me? That is usually the first thing I do to get a feel for the jobs ahead. Kelli wanted me to have the first weekend off to acclimate myself to the coldness, ah, but I’m a man, and can take it.
I heard tonight the The Tin Roof is closing before Christmas. Kelli had good sales there at the beginning, but we left in the summer when they fell away. This will be a big loss for Holland, and the vendors who relied on it to make a living. This illustrates the value of marketing, or lack of it. The owners of Tin Roof did not grasp this, and thought that the individual vendor’s social media would sustain it, so they could just put the sales commissions in their pocket. I was always impressed with the store, it was clean, modern and light, it was not the usual ramshackle place that many similar stores are.
There is no magic formula to this business, no consistency, Kelli works her ass off posting things everywhere she can. We are at the mercy of our customers whims, desires, and at the end of it, what they are prepared to pay.
Another Lifetime to go 