4 ms·

Sorry, folks. A business which is only open when I'm in the office and closed when I actually have some free time doesn't sound sensible at all.

ricardobeat 8y ago
With european wages it's not always economically feasible to have people on the clock 24/7, plus you won't find many people doing 12h shifts.
- AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
  It doesn't have to be 24/7, but, please, not everybody has a stay at home spouse to do shopping in the middle of the day. When I lived in Europe there was a furniture store next to my house. An owner had a large poster glued to the window about how beneficial would it be for the economy of everyone used his store instead of Ikea. Being a huge fan of small local business I honestly tried to stop by. But theres no way I'll take a day off work to do it. Ikea won.
  - ricardobeat 8y ago
    Well, you can leave the office at 4pm if you need to. It's also not uncommon to just take one of your 20+ week days off on short notice. In many cities there are special days (thursday here) where many large and small shops are open until 9pm; one day doesn't break the bank. Big hardware stores, supermarkets and other larger chains are commonly open 9-9 every day. Smaller stores can not do this, and their owners also want normal work hours like you.
    - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
      Taking a day off to do groceries? That sounds like an exact opposite of "spending more time with your family".
      - ricardobeat 8y ago
        He said furniture shopping. Not something you do often, and grocery stores do stay open late already.
  - beatgammit 8y ago
    Yeah, it makes far more sense to be open 11-7 or something instead of 9-5 if your clientele will likely also be at work. A lot of smaller restaurants near me are only open for lunch and dinner (11-2, 4-9).
mmsimanga 8y ago
I prefer that people go home and spend more time on their hobbies or families. I spent a few months in Austria and in a couple of weeks I was used to everything bar restaurants closing at 5.
- AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
  Where did you buy groceries?
  - mmsimanga 8y ago
    I bought my groceries before 5pm. Sometimes during lunch. It really wasn't a big deal getting used to it. Humans adapt and in no time at all I was way more organised with my groceries because I knew shops closed at about 5.
- beatgammit 8y ago
  I don't really understand this, why not have everything people want to go to be open after typical office jobs close? If you are only open for 8 hours, why not open later (11am or so) or have a couple hours that the shop is closed for family time (e.g. 3-5pm or something)? Closing at 5 isn't convenient for anyone but the business owner, and even then it's not necessarily better than opening later.
  - mmsimanga 8y ago
    It isn't just the business owner who benefits, the cashiers too. In South Africa most of the cashiers are women with children. I like the convenience of getting my bread at 8pm but would rather these cashiers where home with their children. Certain parts of the country are not so safe when traveling at night. These tend to be the areas cashiers can afford to live in. So its a double whammy for them. Look it is a balance that needs to be struck. I appreciate the challenges in South Africa and different to the rest of the world. There is a price for everything, I question the price we pay as a society to have all these shops open late?
- llampx 8y ago
Smaug123 8y ago
If they were as insane as you make out, surely they would have gone bust.
- AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
  Which is happening to a lot of small businesses which are stuck to nine-to-five hours. In where I live we have either 24-hours ASDA or small Indian stores which are open till 11pm 7 days a week.

ricardobeat 8y ago

With european wages it's not always economically feasible to have people on the clock 24/7, plus you won't find many people doing 12h shifts.

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
It doesn't have to be 24/7, but, please, not everybody has a stay at home spouse to do shopping in the middle of the day. When I lived in Europe there was a furniture store next to my house. An owner had a large poster glued to the window about how beneficial would it be for the economy of everyone used his store instead of Ikea. Being a huge fan of small local business I honestly tried to stop by. But theres no way I'll take a day off work to do it. Ikea won.
- ricardobeat 8y ago
  Well, you can leave the office at 4pm if you need to. It's also not uncommon to just take one of your 20+ week days off on short notice. In many cities there are special days (thursday here) where many large and small shops are open until 9pm; one day doesn't break the bank. Big hardware stores, supermarkets and other larger chains are commonly open 9-9 every day. Smaller stores can not do this, and their owners also want normal work hours like you.
  - AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
    Taking a day off to do groceries? That sounds like an exact opposite of "spending more time with your family".
    - ricardobeat 8y ago
      He said furniture shopping. Not something you do often, and grocery stores do stay open late already.
- beatgammit 8y ago
  Yeah, it makes far more sense to be open 11-7 or something instead of 9-5 if your clientele will likely also be at work. A lot of smaller restaurants near me are only open for lunch and dinner (11-2, 4-9).

mmsimanga 8y ago

I prefer that people go home and spend more time on their hobbies or families. I spent a few months in Austria and in a couple of weeks I was used to everything bar restaurants closing at 5.

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
Where did you buy groceries?
- mmsimanga 8y ago
  I bought my groceries before 5pm. Sometimes during lunch. It really wasn't a big deal getting used to it. Humans adapt and in no time at all I was way more organised with my groceries because I knew shops closed at about 5.
beatgammit 8y ago
I don't really understand this, why not have everything people want to go to be open after typical office jobs close? If you are only open for 8 hours, why not open later (11am or so) or have a couple hours that the shop is closed for family time (e.g. 3-5pm or something)? Closing at 5 isn't convenient for anyone but the business owner, and even then it's not necessarily better than opening later.
- mmsimanga 8y ago
  It isn't just the business owner who benefits, the cashiers too. In South Africa most of the cashiers are women with children. I like the convenience of getting my bread at 8pm but would rather these cashiers where home with their children. Certain parts of the country are not so safe when traveling at night. These tend to be the areas cashiers can afford to live in. So its a double whammy for them. Look it is a balance that needs to be struck. I appreciate the challenges in South Africa and different to the rest of the world. There is a price for everything, I question the price we pay as a society to have all these shops open late?
llampx 8y ago

Smaug123 8y ago

If they were as insane as you make out, surely they would have gone bust.

AlexTWithBeard 8y ago
Which is happening to a lot of small businesses which are stuck to nine-to-five hours. In where I live we have either 24-hours ASDA or small Indian stores which are open till 11pm 7 days a week.