Dinosaur - that's me.
But, anyway, our biggest and ugliest framing supplier animal can't instantly tell me if an item is out of stock - their delivery notes are handwritten, they don't do back orders - their website got set up, badly, and left to fester. I'd never dare email an order to them. It takes real lateral thinking to find a moulding in their catalogue or price list. Their newsletters are colour photocopies. Yet they distribute the Valiani!
But I love 'em!
That compares/relates to our set up, sort of, like this .....
We're the best-stocked craft (including needlecraft) shop on the South Coast, and you can go North too, until you hit a HobbyCraft store. And even then you won't get the knowledge of the products that you will here - we don't just sell stuff, we can tell/show you how to use it.
Then there's habby (haberdashery - 'Notions' in USA speak) and accessories - 5000 odd reels of ribbon - folks travel miles to us just for that. Needles? "I knead not your needles, they're needless to me" about 80 different, plus machine needles plus bobbins, oil, bulbs. Bag handles ...........
...... Bra extenders, bootlaces, suspenders
![Sweating :sweating:](./images/smilies/emoticon-0107-sweating.gif)
...... Cotton? Fill your boots - the whole Gúterman range in cotton or polyester. Machine embroidery thread.
Knitting wool - needles - patterns. Crochet hooks, crochet cotton, crochet patterns
Embroidery threads? DMC and Anchor - the whole range - each spinner worth about 5 grand retail. Ditto for tapestry wools. Then add Paterna wools and Madeira (pure) silk. Kreinik blending filaments, Mill Hill beads...... other beads, thonging and other jewellery-making bits, like clasps, charms, fake diamond thingys, loose or on reels. Feathers, from boas and boas by the metre, to singles.
We have a dry cleaning agency and a (colour) photocopying service. We take in alterations and repairs and will turn a needlepoint in to a cushion, or a kneeler, or a bell pull, or a firescreen.
Giftware - crystal, Limogé porcelain, Beatrix Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Wallace & Grommit. Border Fine Art dogs, cats, wildlife. 3 glass cabinets - 2 with revolving shelves.
Greetings cards - big selection - specialising in the unusual - some are made in-house.
That's all just touching on what we sell.
Our newsletter goes out to heaven knows how many thousand now - the database could definitely be used better. The newsletter is 6 pages of drivel with no photos, but peeps love it!
Then there's framing - what it all evolved from. And what we do on that side has been covered - BUT - with such a diverse product range we get a hugely diverse range of customer - most would have never dreamed of setting a foot in a frameshop, but quite a lot of that 'most' are flys to the spider's parlour.
Our radio ad on Spirit FM has been going out on a 'brandbuilder' scheme for about 6 years - we pay for 90 ads a month on 2 transmiiters covering a hugely populated area - and any unsold airtime is split between those on the scheme. We will commonly get about 260 - 300 ads a month.
It's a struggle to keep up with framing orders.
There is no computer in the shop at all.
1. Do I need a POS system?
2. Do I need a website?
3. Do I need a CMC?
And - with all or any one of those, would I need internet connection? And, if I did, how would I upgrade? as the credit card machine is on the same line as the phone, and the card machine people tell us that 'crashing' is quite common with an 'all in' broadband connection. No problem - they'd send a new card machine next day - but we couldn't take cards until it arrived, plus we'd have to set it up when it did.
Always the option of another line - but LOATHE to do that.
So, anyway - do I NEED all that?
Could I even COPE if a website took off - (and you can keep mail order, thanks!)
I've seen the time some of you guys spend bunnying about computer stuff here and on Skype - I couldn't do that, let alone implement it - I'm too busy framing stuff.
Seems to me that if the answer to 1,2 & 3 above was 'yes' then I'd need to put more hours in AND employ more staff.
Does what we have need fixing?