Raise the Hammer

Thanks for posting this picture of why the market's problems are far more to do with unprofessional stallholders than the re-design or Nations or free parking.

How can a chicken stand sell out and then close down with five or six more hours until the market officially closes? Is business really that good that they can afford to close down most of the day (and alienate actual and potential customers in the process)? I've also shown up at this stand at 1pm on Saturday to find them shutting down because they've 'sold out' already.

People buy food to eat. Not being sure that you can actually buy the basics you need for dinner is pretty damning for a market!

I love the market and always think of it as one of the treasures of the city, but in the last few years it has been getting difficult to maintain my devotion because of the substandard and unreliable service of some of the stallholders.

Between Christmas and New Years I had multiple similar experiences trying to spend my money at the market. One day I went to get ground pork at Jepson's for a tourte de noel. I asked for some ground pork, and he told me he didn't have any fresh meat that day and that no one else in the market would have any fresh meat either. When I asked for some frozen ground pork, he told me he didn't have any either ('just the the stuff from the freezer on display'). Luckily, I went downstairs and the butcher there kindly ground some fresh pork specially for me.

A few days later I needed some pork chops. I said to my friend that I'd give Jepson's another try since I do want to support them (they make great sausages). She didn't understand why I still insisted on trying to shop there after all the bad experiences I've had recently. But in the end it didn't matter because their stand was closed for the day! So I just went to Nations.

If even someone who goes out of their way to shop at the market is finding it increasingly hard to actually spend money there (because they are closed unexpectedly or sold out or don't stock some basic product) things are getting bad.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2014-01-28 22:28:47