Sunday 28 October 2018

Heard Under The Sheds - 28/10/2018




Box Storage - so storage boxes have been moved out of the roller door facility in M Shed and everything is ok. Or is it? One trader pointed out that maybe we have just shifted the boxes elsewhere, as our photo shows. More to be done here and we have been advised that follow up will take place with the traders concerned.

Night Market - the last Wednesday Night Hawker Market received a thumbs up from a number of traders. Now the Night Market has a three week break before the start of the bigger Summer Night Market.

Colourful bollard covers brighten up the Peel St facade with a bit of a bonus for one of market family - Guru Pete doesn’t have to clean out cigarette butts from the hole in the top of the concrete blocks anymore. Happy Pete. And by the way, Pete’s weekly tip on the Victraders facebook page came in third on Saturday and paid a whopping $6. Happier Pete.

Getting back to basics – one of our traders said that it is easy to forget our prime purpose here at QVM. With all the politics, rules and regulations, future plans, and endless debates, we are really only here for one thing – to sell to our customers. Everything else is incidental.

On a similar vein, another trader has resurrected his collection of Inspirational Salesmanship CD’s. He figures that salesmanship skills, especially closing the sale, need regular reinforcement by himself and his staff.

A trader asks why it is necessary to place a pallet of market tables on a major walkway at the market. It was early in the morning but foot traffic from the car park to the Fruit & Vegetable traders in A and B Sheds can start early.

Taylor Swift might be a great performer but there was general disappointment with crowd attendance over the weekend. A number of traders thought that 50,000 or so fans at Etihad Stadium should have had a bigger impact.

A week ago we published a photo of Trader Mino receiving help from market insurance man Leon Nissen. Mino had experienced a robbery at his showroom/warehouse and needed help making an insurance claim. Leon has been around our market for a long time and is well versed in insurance requirements for traders. We asked Leon for his contact details and here they are – Leon Nissen 0418563091 lnissen@scottwinton.com.au Leon is an Account Manager with Scott Winton, Insurance Brokers.

Retail Expertise - in last week’s Heard Under The Sheds we mentioned a traders suggestion to include some retail expertise in the appointment of the Committee of Trustees. One trader has asked whether there really are any experts in retailing these days. Retailing is being re-invented as we go and there are plenty of so-called retail experts out of work following high profile retail collapses. Given the success of activities like the Night Market and the undoubted experience of current traders maybe we already have what we need at QVM.

A great little story from one of our traders about the time he took part in an expo at a major conference centre and nobody turned up. There were plenty of sellers but only half a dozen buyers although he noticed that each one of those buyers was carrying a broom. The broom seller near the main entrance had a simple philosophy - don't worry about how many customers there are, just do your best to sell to each one. Its called making the most of limited opportunities.