I essentially created this account to enter a debate over at the pit, but while I’m here…
Any question for a small, traditional, British village shop owner?
What do you sell? 
Welcome to the boards, by the way.
I would like to live in a small British village for a while. (I read far too many books set in the UK whilst growing up, and have a somewhat idealised view now.)
We’ve two types of customers: locals and tourists.
Locals are looking for products that they either forgot to get on their weekly shop, or things that they can’t get anywhere else, or impulse buys.
Tourists are mostly looking for food*/drinks, or souveniers.
So we have the usual milk, bread, flour, butter, convenience food selection. Soft drinks, beer, etc too.
Then a huge range of locally made, high quality products (Put it this way: we sell steak pies that retail for over ten pounds, and we don’t get them much cheaper. Really high end stuff). Also postcards etc. And we have a post office in the shop that is open most mornings.
If you wanted to live in a British village, we’re not representative of a typical British village. But we probably are representative of your idealised view. Everyone knows everyone else, no doors are locked, there is literally no crime (at least as a reasonable person would see it: I dread to think how many Blairite decrees and other rules brought in by socialists that inadvertently destoryed society we’re all breaking). In the local pub, castle owners mix with labourers, and all get bladdered in nightly lock-ins.
*Hot or cold: We have a microwave 
Just how small are you? Are the other British people just as small? (Please keep in mind we don’t understand metric so you will have to give numbers in feet and inches)
Feet and inches are part of the imperial system, dear boy! 
Right. I see the imperials like to hide their, ahem, shortcomings.
Shoplifting problems, much?
Do you stock Cecil Adams’ books?
BTW–Welcome to the SDMB!
From reading Patrick O’Brien, I thought a steak pie was what is called in the US a beef pot pie-beef, vegetables and some gravy baked in pastry. What is it and how large that it goes for ten pounds?
Could someone translate that?
Great idea for a thread, Small British Shop Owner! (And welcome!)
Let’s say I have a sudden urge for crumpets, and I find myself near your shop.
Do you accept credit cards? If so, which ones? If not, do you accept Canadian debit cards? If not, do you have an ATM that accepts Canadian debit cards (usually on the Plus or Cirrus system)?
Do you accept euros, even at an unfavourable (for the customer) exchange rate, the way many places in Canada accept the US dollar?
Are your packaged products labeled in metric or imperial? Are the sizes even numbers in metric or imperial, even if they’re labeled in the other system? Do you have any products in US units? Do you sell deli items by the gram or by the ounce?
Do you buy from many suppliers or a few wholesalers? Do you buy locally? Do any suppliers have exclusive deals with you?
Do you have scanners or do you price everything by hand?
If you were designing your shop from scratch to be the the best it could be, what features would you include? What would you exclude?
Very drunk, long after the legally-licenced opening hours of the establishment, in something maybe best described as a locals-only speakeasy. (Of less meaning & function since the licencing rules were changed, with many places now having late licences even if they still advertise a 11pm closing.)
For the OP - how did you end up doing this job?
All I know about Small British Shops I learned on Coronation Street.
So, how many intrigues are you involved in this week?
Do you vote Labour?
This is totally not what I think of when I think of a small British village. I think of murder around every corner, devious old ladies, and bloodthirsty townspeople (with an adulterous vicar thrown in for good measure). I’ve probably been reading too many police procedurals, though.
Do you have a really good local you hang out at? Do you ever get a mysterious tourist there for a walking tour who ends up dead on the moors?
What is the population of your village? Is your business a family one or a chain? Do you prefer village life?
StG
I read in another thread that stores in your neck of the woods generally close by 5:30. What are the generally accepted reasons for this (there are many, I’m sure, but I’m asking for the intent behind it)? Does it really foster family togetherness, or does it just result in a lot of bored people and TV watching? How do people get important shopping done when so many work? Or is there a lot less working in families over there than here?
No (although we don’t really have a stock control system, so it’s possible that some goes on and we wouldn’t no, but if so it’s negligble.
No books at all… postcards and magazines though, as well as plenty of leaflets.
That’s pretty much it (although no vegetables to speak of, albeit might be a bit of onion in them, can’t remember)
That paticular pie weighs about two and a half pounds.
I’d probably recommend that you go to the tea room as then you’d get them cooked 
Yes, but only for £10 and up… usual ones (Visa, Mastercard, Switch, Electron, Amex). If the Canadian debit cards are any of those then they’ll be fine. I don’t know if the ATM would take those cards - we have an ATM of sorts in that we have a post office which allows you to withdraw cash using some cards, but I don’t have anything to do with that part of it.
No, although I might consider it if someone asked nicely and I was going somewhere in Europe soon. I’m not aware of any shops that will either, apart from Marks and Spencer iirc.
Everything in the UK has to be labeled in metric by European (:rolleyes:) law. You might find the case of the metric martyrs interesting.
Bread comes from a local baker, milk from a large national, most meats come from three local suppliers, and most ‘treats’ (cakes, biscuits, tablet) etc come from local suppliers too. We’re a member of a buying group and get most of the rest from that, with the occassional trip to the local cash and carry to see what’s on offer. Magazines and newspapers all come from the same wholesaler.
Everything is by hand… we’re quite traditional! We still have about forty or fifty people who buy on credit.
I’d make it larger, so that we could stock a greater range of products, and easier to spot from the side of the road (actually I’m working on rectifying this latter problem this afternoon).
Is it a local shop, for local people?
The shop came with the house and it would be a shame to shut it. It would be very unlikely that anyone would buy the shop, and frankly we could make a lot more money turning it into a house / holiday home!