PODS Are Coming – we haven’t seen any drawings yet, although some
traders have, and they say the new PODS look like a good way of displaying
stock in a more professional manner. We don’t even know how many PODS are
coming – maybe one or two as a trial. Watch this space.
Rent
Payments – initial consternation that we would no longer be able to pay rent in
cash have been replaced by requests for alternative methods of payment. QVM
have not exactly promoted the alternatives except for Direct Debit which is not
too palatable for many traders.
We
need to know the QVM bank account details if we are going to arrange funds
transfer when we do our banking. And what about a facility to pay at any Post
Office? - that would require QVM setting
up an APO barcode on their invoices.
We
understand that cheques can still be placed in an envelope with trader details and
handed in at the market office. Just don’t expect a receipt on the spot.
New Back Of House Support – We have heard that the highly respected customer relationship
management program, Salesforce, is coming to QVM. Salesforce manages a whole
range of communication and data activities to make it easier for customers
(traders) to get the information they need and to manage functions in a timely
manner. No doubt rental payments will be part of that process including
immediate access to individual trader accounts and invoices.
Cochlear,
Optus, Telstra, L’Oreal, Allianz, and Pizza Hut are all users of Salesforce in
Australia.
New Trader Rep for D Shed? – we came across an intense discussion
in D Shed this week as one trader tried to convince another to nominate for a
vacant position on the Trader
Representative Committee. The potential nominee (let’s call him Joe) said that
he couldn’t guarantee that he would always act in a calm manner in committee.
Joe’s middle name is “passion” and we can only hope that he does in fact
nominate. Every committee needs rich diversity.
Some Traders See Opportunity In String Bean Alley – you might have
noticed a couple of traders setting up shop in L Shed with a back door (or
front door, depending on how you look at it) into String Bean Alley. Taking
advantage of both exposures makes a lot of sense and perhaps should have been
embraced by all L Shed traders from the start.
Departing Stallholders – the number of traders leaving our market
is on the rise and it should come as no surprise that some have been from the well populated Ladies Fashion category. A couple of traders have commented that the
category’s decline is easy to understand with intense outside competition and too many traders buying stock from the same
suppliers.
