It’s official! The shop is the hub of the village. Well, that’s according to Charlotte Martin, the actress who plays Susan Carter in the Archers. Confirmation of what we all know of course, but, for all you Archers’ fans, a pleasing endorsement.
The shop is definitely at the heart of Findon. So many people pop in for a chat and a sandwich, to post a parcel, buy some milk or an ice cream, or make a hot drink. Customers are mostly local, but we get a good number of visitors. Every age group seems to enjoy a visit – tradesmen often early in the morning, or lunchtime; youngsters before and after school; mums around school drop-off or pick-up times; and everybody else in between. Our customers know that they’ll get more than just what they came in for – a quick chat can brighten the dullest day. Our corner shop is perfect for those essentials you forgot from the supermarket, and is open early (7am) ‘til late (7pm) – brilliant for somewhere mostly manned by volunteers. And it’s so easy to get money out or post a parcel at our Post Office, open seven days a week!
But we always need to looking to the future, and make sure that the shop continues to reflect what Findoners want. So … to that end, we have decided to do the obvious thing, and ask you all.
You will find a survey in the July edition of ‘Inside Cissbury’ asking what you think of our shop, how much you use it, and whether you have any ideas how we could make it more attractive to customers in the future. To whet your appetite and start you thinking, here are some comments from a pilot survey we conducted:
- Very well run; just right for the village
- Brilliant, friendly, welcoming, a great service to the community
- Good for residents to be involved as volunteers
- Great range and quality of cards
- Book exchange great idea
And some suggestions for the future included:
- Wider advertising, especially for PO services
- Introducing regular promotions,
- Increasing range of veggie/vegan lines
So, please, please, please, look out for our survey in this month’s ‘Inside Cissbury’, fill it in and return it to the shop. We definitely want to hear your views, and will consider them all. The more suggestions the better. I’ll be reporting back to you some of our findings in future months.
Jean Burden