Town centre sales hit as visitor numbers fall
Tuesday 7th August 2012, 3:33PM BST.
The number of shoppers in the town centre has fallen
THE number of shoppers visiting the town centre has fallen compared to the same time last year, figures released on Monday suggest.
So far this year 304,442 fewer people have been recorded walking in King Street. The drop from 5,297,175 to 4,992,733 – recorded by a motion sensor outside Voisins department store – represents a 5.75 per cent reduction.
The sensor, which was installed in January 2011, does not distinguish between individual shoppers – with the result that a person who walks past several times is counted more than once – but is designed to help to measure footfall trends.
Town centre manager Richard Mackenzie, who collates the figures, said that the decline could be attributed to several factors, including the global economic situation, a drop in tourists coming to the Island and bad weather.
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And nothing to do with difficulty parking, high prices and lack of choice driving people to internet shopping? Not to mention poor service.
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we all know about these factors and if that many have to be taken into account then what is the point of undertaking the exercise in the first place, what a complete nonsense and waste of money, even a Guernsey man could have told you that!
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all of the above mr mackenzie.
noi doubt in my mind + gst .
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Yes, bad weather has not helped, but we need to make it cheaper for people to visit. Everything is too expensive !
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New States Employee Procedure
All employees must walk in front of the Voisins store three times a day to maintain a public imagine that Jersey is still a popular tourist destination.
Failure to do so will result in a unhappy sticker on your annual review.
We can not let the people (aka Plebs) know the truth.
Thank you.
Generic Senior Spokesperson
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The realisation that i am not funny.
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The expensive parking is deterring people visiting the town and this is strangling businesses.
I no longer live on the island, but regularly visit and I have to disagree with the comment on poor service and merchandise is only a little more than in the U.K.
Rather than fork out huge sums of money for the unnecessarily large number of executives, directors, senior managers et al, in government departments, the States would do better if they used these finances on reducing parking costs and making St. Helier less expensive where parking is concerned.
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Parking costs are a huge red herring. They are a shoal of red herrings. A shoal big enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.
If an item is several pounds more expensive in St Helier than elsewhere, elsewhere including the Internet, then what’s a few 10p’s difference in parking costs going to make? People want to come into town for a number of reasons. If they want to come they will, by bike, bus, foot or car, and the parking costs are irrelevant.
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Since becoming unemployed I have stopped going into town, so me going back and forward along the precinct every day for an hour will effect the figures!
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i would walk about with a sandwich board.
“job required ”
and stand outside social security.
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Actually, I was a grossly overpaid civil servant who accepted the voluntary redundancy scheme, got a brilliant pay-off, paid off our debts and am now living very happily on the rest of it thank you. I do not claim benefits and do not feel the need to work!
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i hope to join you one day.
it is always nice to pick and choose .
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@me
‘I do not claim benefits and do not feel the need to work …” lucky you to received a golden handshake. Majority of folk have not.
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I would send my CVs and speculative letters out to potential employers, also drop CVs in to potential employers too.
Rather than stand outside Social Security blaming someone else and wasting my time.
Maybe you should change your name to the thick wallet??
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I bet you feel a bit of a twit now, you have read the comment above yours ! People should not be so judgemental when they don;t know the facts.
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Not really Ha Ha, my comment stands. Why would anyone in their right minds give this kind of advice out?
Stand outside social with a placard instead of job hunting?
This kind of behaviour is why we are in the trouble we are in today.
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heres a fact mate .
if no job tommorow .
i would have some kind of work, by the end of the week.
few phone calls and get that start .
if i sit where , one can watch the world go buy, in the end those who know me will ask. “no work” , thin wallet?
“not today”
“call me later thin wallet, pete, needs someone ”
i think the placard showed a bit flair , and direct action, thinking out side the box.
good luck with the letter writing and cold emailing.
always good to have 6months cash in reserve , after 3months of no joy i would be abroad .
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sucessful job hunter. This kind of behaviour is why we are in the trouble we are in today.
really,
i was lead to beleive it was easy credit and bankers plus traders drainning the last drop of profit . and loaning money to places that would never pay it back and creating a big stinky pile of toxic debt , thay was then wrapped in shiny paper and palmed off onto the unwitting .
what investments do i own , a big fat zero and happy about it.
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Read my name wallet.
May give you a clue about how good I am finding work, hit a nerve perhaps thick wallet?
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“sticks and stones”.
“yawn”
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So the economic situation is going to improve with GST at 10% I think
NOT!
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5,000,000 people on the streets. When have the counters seen me walking up and down constantly and not realising I am the same person
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exactly, its not a very accurate way of recording. Think this story is trying to guilt trip us off amazon!
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For the life of me I am at a loss (given the present economic climate) as to why shops cannot open on Sundays due to the regulations that govern this.
I have to say I do not go anywhere near St. Helier unless I have to, which is for work purposes, but a couple of Sundays I had reason to walk up King Street and Queen Street. The number of visitors who were walking down the precinct with a most bored look on their faces was quite an eye-opener.
Come to life-enriching Jersey, but we are closed on Sundays!! It may not be what locals want, but surely during the height of the season it would make sense to relax this ruling.
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Having worked in a position which placed me in daily contact with holidaymakers who had been coming here regularly for many years, I can tell you one thing the majority enjoyed about Jersey was the “old fashioned” lack of Sunday trading.
The major dislike, and which many told me had actually put them off ever returning to Jersey again after years of holidaymaking loyalty to the island, was the ongoing “progress” of St. Helier into becoming no different to their home towns in the UK, architecturally and from a retail perspective.
To the habitual holidaymaker a huge attraction, and one that cost Jersey not a penny, was the difference of the island to the outside world. It was English, yet not quite English. It was modern, yet not quite Modern. It retained a uniquely balanced quaintness.
In recent years we’ve already managed to destroy most of that asset with the over-development of St. Helier combined with an influx of UK chain stores. Sunday opening would be the final nail in the coffin.
One could argue there is a growing irrelevance to the UK tourist as a target subject in this case because we are now beginning to attract more continental tourism, French and German.
So, JG, if we are to mess about with opening hours on the basis of suiting the needs/expectations of holidaymakers, its surely time to convert to the French retail norm of half-day closings and the like? Because that’s what the new breed of holidaymaker would expect, right? And you are talking of changing retail openings with the holidaymaker in mind, correct?
There’s also the issue of Sunday opening essentially being worthless. Jersey no longer has a flood of tourists each year, so the vast majority of shoppers annually are local. With this being an island that means the number of potential customers to shops in St. Helier is capped. So it matters not whether the shops are open Monday – Saturday, Monday – Sunday or Wednesday – Friday, the amount of trade would remain basically the same. The cash intake would simply be spread across different days, not increased by any notable overall amount.
Indeed, with the latter in mind Sunday trading actually presents the serious risk of costing some retailers money. Managers may find themselves going to the expense of paying staffing costs etc. for the extra day whilst seeing no overall growth in their takings, just a different daily dispersal of the usually expected amount across the week.
And one thing I always like those to ponder who call for Sunday trading; Would you be happy to have work on Sundays?
Imagine if next week a law was brought in which required every islander to work on Sundays, no matter what your job. With that in mind, would Sunday trading still seem an appealing prospect?
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Well put,more or less exactly as I see it also.What some people seem to forget is that the more we look like,feel like and act like the UK the less attractive to visitors from wherever we become.Our uniqueness and difference whilst being familiar to both UK/French vistors was a part of our ‘brand’.Still not too late but getting later,bring back a tourism department and b****y well invest in/support it.
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Ok, agreed but some shops who are essentially targeting tourist should have the right to be able to open on Sundays. (Regardless of the size).
I worked Sundays in catering like many other trades, and when you need to work: You work !
There s no need to open all shops but when you see the level of unemployment, the number of shops closing,I wouldn’t think twice about opening on Sunday to save a potential business !
Imagine if you had 5000 tourists coming for a Sunday day trip to find every shop closed.
Imagine the finance industry collapse and the tourists are nowhere to be seen. You have to take on 2 jobs to pay your mortgage …. And then you would think that working Sunday would have been the easier option…
Sorry but their is enough immigrants and teenagers looking for work to cover Sunday shifts (at least in the summer).
You are a tourist, come here for the week end, the pubs and clubs are close stupidly early, and shops are closed, which leave you with restaurants and attractions (which are interesting but nothing really mind blowing).
Which mean that Jersey is attracting mainly elderly people, the same pensioners who seems to be struggling with the recession. No more potteries, No more Goldsmith, no more Living Legend. Message should be clear, get the young workers or teens to come here and have a good time. When you are young, you don’t really care if you are going to have any cash left at the end of your holiday.
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Teens surely rely on the bank of Mum and Dad, who will probably be struggling. Young workers – possibly paying off uni loans, paying high rents and saving for a deposit.
Many young people in the UK, France, etc are unemployed.
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@ Overpopulated, there have always been unemployed people & there are enough people working in the UK or France who actually have enough money. France is actually doing well, like a lot of other countries, just depends on the area. Kermit is right, the whole Island is based on pensioners and it should be a shops right to open on a Sunday. Not that it will attract more tourists but at least the town is more lively, cos it’s pretty boring walking through King Street when it’s empty. @ Nigel Pearce, shops in Germany are also open on Saturday’s (afternoon) and a lot of places have Verkaufsoffener Sonntag every now & then, so it’s becoming more popular.
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Excellent , well thought through letter.
I believe in Germany all shops have to close Saturday afternoons by law as well. It seems to be only the British who cannot manage without their shopping fix Monday to Saturday.
Longer shopping hours means more costs, means higher prices, means less competition as smaller businesses cannot compete (especially one man enterprises), means more of a stranglehold by national chains, means less reason for tourists to come, means even more higher prices eventually leading to the demise of an interesting shopping experience for those who cannot live without their seven day shopping fix.
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Well you could also blame hotels. There’s either too expensive or expensive and bad quality. French and German’s have always been coming to the Island, but the one’s coming won’t return because there’s nothing left + other places offer more. You could also blame Condor Ferries (too expensive), not enough flights (too expensive) or the exchange rate.
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Shopping! Never do it whilst on holiday, apart from food. Better things to do – heritage sites, walking, relaxing, and looking at lovely scenery.
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The traffic problem in town where we must have more pedestrian crossings in such a small than anywhere else in the world which leads to snarl ups must certainly put a lot of people off going to town.
It does me and people I know. I have sat for 15 minutes without hardly moving sometimes and so now shop on mline or shop put of town.
Blame Crowcroft for meddling rather than fewer tourists.
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The pedestrian crossing at the end of Commercial Street was put there for a six month trial – about two years ago. Within six minutes we’d worked out that, quite brilliantly, the crossing makes it impossible to exit Commercial Street legally. You have to come to rest on the crossing itself so that you can see what is coming from the right.
It’s still there, and I suspect the bright spark who has caused confusion and hundreds of traffic offences to be committed every single day is still in his or her job.
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Is it a legal pedestrian crossing as there are no Bolisha Beacons? Therefore are vehicles obligated to stop?
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What really annoys me (apart from there being way too many crossings) are the people that press the button for the crossing but then cross the road straight away, then the traffic sits there whilst the crossing is green and no one is actually crossing the road..these time wasters should be fined
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It is not at all complicated. Simon Crowcroft worries now about St. Heliers lack of parking and trade. In an earlier time he employed Connex giving Jersey a greedy company that took him for a fool, then took Jersey for an expensive ride.
He then as Constable tried to get us all on bikes, making it as hard as or as expensive as possible to take a car into or park in St. Helier.
New plan, bring in residents parking, employ two new traffic wardens working till 11.00pm and starting at 7.00 am enabling hundreds of nice and innocent people to be fined trying to park close to their homes.
Loads of money.
All car parks were paid for years ago. Its about the parking money for States coffers and a weird ideology from an out of date Constable who does not have a need to pay for parking.
Davey.
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When I used to work in the retail trade 25-30 yr’s ago, it was normal for us to open on Sunday’s in king street , but we were only allowed to open till 1pm.
We had many French visitors buying cameras, and anything else we had on the shelves, but we could not sell any books if I remember ?!
I find it very strange in these economic stressful times that more shops cannot or will not open on Sunday’s, even for half the day. You only have to go to St Malo to see how beneficial it is . What on earth do the tourists ( what’s left of them that is ) think when we have nothing open in town on Sunday? I think it’s just mad !
I used to enjoy working on Sunday, and I was paid double time for it. I still work on weekends occasionally , and I do not see anything wrong with it so long as you are renumerated correctly to reflect you are working on Sunday’s.
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St. Malo does close on Mondays to compensate, so what is the benefit?
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The benefit is that you have the French making more crossings on a Sunday.
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The benefit for French retailers is that they get all the money from the UK tourists on Saturday and Sunday. Once everybody go back home or to work on Monday, they simply rest and enjoy the money they made from a busy week end.
Certain retailers should may be consider :Opening everyday for 2 months, check the figures,and decide which days are worth the opening.
Don’t you think that advertising for a holiday destination and having no kind of retail experience on a Sunday is a bit of a let down.
Do you thing EuroDisney is closed on Sundays?
Considering that you can’t always count on the weather in Jersey, the shopping option could save the day of many …
When you look at the ridiculous outcome at Homes grown, which is to prove how stupid this Island is.
And also the opposition from Mr Voisins about Sunday opening, for family and morale reason made me laugh. He wasn’t in fact allowed to open for being to big. But he never misses the occasion to open on Sundays or late Thursday during the Xmas period.
The problem Nigel is that in your days, internet wasn’t even invented, people went to church on Sunday, and flying to some exotic country was a life time dream.
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I think you’ll find that the French retailers open on Sunday are mainly of the “tat” tourist variety,the main stream ones are closed.Like a lot of the continent France is a peaceful,generally non shopping place on Sundays(and still the biggest tourism destination in Europe).
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Dear Kermit.
I may be old but I’m not that old and use the internet daily and have done for quite a number of years. I process internet sales to many parts of the world each week so am quite up to date. I must confess to never having been to church on a Sunday but have travelled to what might be called an exotic place, (i.e. not Europe).
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As we all keep screaming, its about PARKING, or lack of it.
And now they want to get rid of more spaces at Green St, and build the islands biggest mistake, the centre of economic excellence, on the most useful car park in town, the espanade.
Where will all these lost parking spaces go ??
Await your answer Mr Crowcroft.
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Totally agree with you, I can’t be bothered to come into to town because it’s a pain in the *** trying to find somewhere to park. it’s not the cost, just the hassle.
Simon Crowcroft made it quite clear he was wanting to pedestrianise St Helier and this is the effect it has had.
Plus it makes me laugh the story below this one is about putting GST up. It’s all just rubbish.
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To all the Sunday trading advocates! It costs too much for negligible returns! My wife has to open on Sundays and has made massive losses due to lack of trade! And no companies will pay overtime or “double bubble” to attract staff to work, Tony! People must remember that a lot of the high street companies that have stand alone shops, also sell online and still want their cake too! People who think Sunday trading is the answer to retail woes only think of their small needs! Staff who work in retail for small cash rewards need time off too and when are they supposed to get it? Staff levels are being cut to bare minimum by greedy companies and are meant to be grateful for having a job! There are too many ingrates who work Monday to Friday who seem to think that longer hours for everyone else should be de rigeur! I wonder if Finance workers would be prepared to work till 9 pm. work Sundays and Bank holidays for no extra remuneration? We are in a worldwide recession and because of this, our island is paying the price for decisions made 30 years ago, when all our eggs were put in one basket!
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Hi CG
In that case then, if the company does not pay extra for working on a day of rest, then it is no surprise that the shops are not open, unless it is written into th contract of employment in some way.
I recognise that Sunday is a special day of the week, and I want it to stay that way, but a compromise should be possible if the employer is a good one, and the employee is a flexible one !
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CG, you don’t know what you are talking about with regards to finance workers hours of employment.
Many, many, many workers arrive early and stay late. They also work lunch hours, weekends and (ironically) bank holidays….often without any monetary compensation or overtime. Some even carry on working whilst on holiday and work from home when they have been signed off with illness or injury.
On top of this they have the stress of uncertain economic problems adding to their work, staff cuts increasing volumes and ruthless chiefs acting like petty thugs in some cases.
This is a global industry and unless all the banks in the world close at the same time then we have to be available to provide a service to our global customers.
Perhaps local retailers should consider how they can SERVICE the local consumer instead of moaning all the time. We don’t OWE them a comfortable living….remember that!
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It would help if we could match some internet prices, but shipping costs, rent, stock etc is all high cost to have on island. Also would help with more parking and nicer greetings from staff when you go in SOME shops. I never understand why the owners arent more strict with customer services that their staff provide (or dont!) I wouldnt employ a miserable sod who cant be bothered to greet my customers and give my business a bad name.
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The main advantage that internet companies have is not having informed front line staff who give guidance to purchasers free of charge whether they buy from them or not. Plus you purchase from an internet company comes without all the trimmings such as gift wrapping etc. These companies also have warehouses rather than expensive attractive shops and employ packers only at minimum wage, probably without holiday concessions and all the other benefits.
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Why should the staff smile with Jersey’s prices and their wages. With more redundancies announced, don’t expect good customer service.
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Lack of parking is a BIG problem.
The loss of parking at Gas Place has added to it. Why oh why was no underground parking done underneath the new park?
I know it would have been more expensive but the parking fees would have paid for it.
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It would only have been more expensive initially. In the medium and long term it would have given good returns.
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What happen to all the attractions in King street? I remember that every summer we had performers in King street creating a small buzz in the town center. Artists from France and UK with all sort of amazing outfits.
They obviously cut the Jersey tourism or the Art center’s budget.
I would have preferred to see the 75K of the Rugby club going in some street artists.
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Yes totally agree, King Street has been dead for years. I live in Ireland now (West Coast) and my town is buzzing. We have artists on every corner, live music in all the pubs, festivals all summer long. We had a bad summer too, but it doesn’t stop people coming and having a great time. Jersey just doesn’t have any soul left and it’s all about money. You have a great idea but there’s no support.
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Half day closing in France?LUnch break may be,but then we close our shop at 7pm in the winter and 12 am in the summer where i come from!So when you finish work you can go shopping.And the parking is free at this time of the day
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It is far too expensive and the customer service is very bad, trying to get yourself understood in English is quite trying. Prices are so very high – I was looking for a phone recently – JT £58, CoOp – £56 – Amazon £21 including postage – no brainer. And yes it was the exact same model. You can get things on the internet for so much less than the shops sell for in town. How can local shops justify more than 100% mark up. The only thing I really buy locally now is food & drink, everything else – Amazon/internet. So much cheeper, no rude shop assistants, internet is able to understand English, gets delivered to your door within 3 days, no GST or VAT and half the time postage is free. Plus I don’t need my car to get the shopping home so no parking fees
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From you writing, I presume that you did your initial research into your product at the expense of the local retailers who employ front line staff to help with your purchase!
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Nigel…..it may be strange for you to comprehend, but……MANY people do their own research ONLINE too
SM2….I agree with your comment about Jersey prices. I am working temporarily in Guernsey and the prices are so much cheaper too. In Waitrose Jersey I paid 65p for some throat lozenges….in Waitrose Guernsey the exact same ones cost me 40p. It’s the same retailer and I’m pretty sure Guernsey will suffer the same conditions for importing goods into their island too……so why the 62.5% price hike on simple lozenges. Imagine what other price hikes there are. It would be interesting for the statistics dept to do a comparison between Gsy and Jsy prices and explain the differences.
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Prices are what prices are because enough people are prepared to pay them. Nothing more complicated than that.
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Yes Mike, (supply and demand….yadda, yadda, yadda), but why do prices vary so much between 2 similarly sized islands, a stones throw away from each other, with similar demographics??
You know the real reason as much as we all do…….
Besides, your answer doesn’t quite ring true now anyway. People aren’t prepared to pay them…that’s why they go online now.
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Guernsey is also closer to the UK. It will always be expensive in Jersey and it won’t get cheaper. You either suffer or leave, simple. That’s the way Jersey is (Sandpiper:-) so I left for a more relaxed life.
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Dear Parktown Prawn: I have been in the retail and associated trades for 52 years and I’m well aware that a lot of people do some research online, but you can be sure that a large proportion do a lot of research at the retailer’s expense as well before they buy online.
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Nigel, seems like you have a lot of time on your hands replying to all these people on here.. maybe you should go online and see for yourself.
The frontline staff, yes, staffing costs are passed on to the stock items, as they have to cover rent, stock, shipping etc, but when the frontline staff cant even say good morning, or hello.. let alone in english, then i will shop online as you can things gift wrapped online too, exactly the same service, but without the hassle of parking and rude staff.
I want jerseys retail industry to survive, and i know at this rate it wont be able to, but us Jersey folk are caught between a rock and a hard place, we want to suppport our island, but we also have to live here and pay tax etc, and when you can buy items for half the price it saves us money, then sometimes we have no choice but to save money this way.
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totally agree Dog, I don’t want to see St Helier like a ghost town and it is worrying seeing the amount of empty buildings, but with Crowcroft removing all the parking, GST and shop staff who don’t speak our language and are rude its so much cheaper and easier to sit at home to shop and save money…what a shame that the lovely island of my childhood is starting to look like a European slum
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Dear SM2:
Why are you not running your own retail business? You make it sound so straight forward. Get in there and make your millions.
Aparently is just so easy.
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Trying to explain to some people why internet prices are always going to be cheaper is a lost cause. The consumer doesn’t care about the rent, bills, shipping, recommended retail price and the rest. Bottom figure is what matters.
When it comes to service, you can check some reviews or go on you Tube. Why talking to someone who would push you to buy some pink shoes in order to get more commissions.
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Nigel, why are you running a retail business when you make it sound so obviously a badly paid chore dishing out free advice with no sale to follow?
Perhaps you should have been a lawyer, financier, doctor, dentist, politician or civil servant. Then you could have been zapping over to St Malo every Sunday with the best of the rest and run your washing machine on Mondays (if you are such a stickler for tradition).
Now there’s an idea, shut some shops and services on Mondays. That would make back to work commuting less of an ordeal and reduce the mad post weekend rush to the shops.
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I’m now retired. I didn’t say it was a chore, indeed retail can be very rewarding (not necessarily financially) and most of the time the interaction with the customers was very enjoyable.
My point was, unfortunately some shoppers take advantage of the retailer’s goodwill, while they appear to think that all you do is sit behind a till filling it with money all day long. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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So with fewer shoppers there should be more empty parking spaces…
Maybe people don’t go to town anymore because they feel they’re being watched by that camera.
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Town CENTRE Art CENTRE unless of course you are American.
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Tony, not only do they not pay extra, but the company my wife manages for, has cut 15 hours off the staff budget per week and still expects people to work, despite the fact that the staff are expected to take time in lieu that they have no opportunity to take! The returns are negative and they are a niche market shop! The fact they are open Sunday does not give the return they need to remain open! Parking is only a point if people are too lazy to walk more than 10m to the shop of their choice, and believe me, that is most of them! Most people who drive in town aren`t aware of the parking regs and get annoyed that they have to adhere to any rules at all! What really is an issue is the shops who don`t remove VAT and still charge GST on top! The chamber of commerce should jump all over these! And any business who has a high street outlet and also has online business should be made to have reasonable costing in their high street shop! If they have a product that they sell for £10 online, why should it be £20 in their store! The cost is the same and rent and staff costs would only amount to about perhaps £2 of the item. Shipping costs are a myth and we have been sold down the river on this for years! The Jersey consumer has been ripped off for years, it`s true, but we now have an island of people who think they should be pandered to left, right and centre! The world doesn`t give a toss about an island 9 miles by 5, with 100,000 people living on it, so we need to work together to sort ourselves out! Stop being so self righteous and lets become realistic about how to deal with life!
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Any form of price control is nonsensical. Private businesses can charge whatever they like. Who are you to tell them? It’s their business. What you can do is not buy from them. Freedom of choice. If enough people act in the same way, as sure as eggs is eggs, prices will come down. But Jersey is an affluent society so there are plenty willing to pay – and if there are, why should a shopkeeper charge less? What on earth do they owe you in life?
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CG
Me? Self righteous? Take a look in the mirror! To be realistic- yes, that is exactly what I am advocating people and employers to be.
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I purchased a very small tent from Tesco Extra on a recent visit to the mainland £4.58. The SAME tent, and I mean the SAME tent from a Jersey retailer…£34.00!!! Now that’s profit. I’m fed up being ripped off by retailers AND their greedy Landlords!!
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Well that’s why I left. If retail rents are high, prices go up. You’re rent is high, so you want to save. If nobody spends, jobs go.
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Absolutley spot on, internet every time. Just use the shops as a showroom then go buy online from the comfort of your armchair. Its a no brainer.
If i never have to have another plastic Hitler giving me a parking ticket i will be a happy chappy
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This information is pretty useless. They are basing these figures on motion sensors which cannot identify individuals and is only placed outside one store.
Maybe in Queen Street the footfall was much higher, maybe it was better down Bath Street…or Columberie…..or any other street in St Helier with shops. Maybe more people look to shop outside of town….St Peters Garden Centre, St Brelade precinct, St John’s village…..
Besides, walking past Voisins does not necessarily mean you are out shopping….the high street is a great throughfare to other places across town….or for schoolkids walking home or loitering.
The Statistics department would be more accurate in their figures if they actually compares sales receipts from all retailers….islandwide!!
Motion sensor? …..what a joke!
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Quite right, it is not a valid method to count shoppers. People may walk past at lunchtime on their way to buy a sandwich, on your way to and from the dentist, or like many people pop into a shop to examine an item before returning to your desk to order on-line!
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Parktown prawn, I`m not saying all finance workers do not work overtime but from my experience and the many people who I know that work in the industry, most do not! As for working when signed off sick, that would be illegal! As for people in the retail sector being owed a comfortable living, I never advocated that! It is their responsibility to run their businesses in a reasonable and suitable way in order to make a living. However, becoming worker ants to pander to the almighty pound is what is destroying quality of life throughout the western world and if we all had your attitude, and lets not forget, the finance industry is in great part responsible for the present worldwide economic problems, our society would have crumbled completely, long ago! Every aspect of the working world has to deal with stresses and staff cuts, which is what is making life so hard for everyone! You remember that!
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CG
How dare you ASSUME what my “attitude” is!!
I clearly made reference to what actually happens and made no mention that it was either myself doing it or condoned these practices either.
You should read a bit more diligently in future.
Where in the law does it say it is “illegal” to work from home when signed off work? I think you’ll find it is frowned upon due to the insurance issues more than anything else. Besides, it does not stop many people from doing it.
Yes, there are some bad apples in finance….as there are in ANY profession….just look our delightful government for starters….but remember…..the consumer should take some of the blame too – by borrowing more than they could afford to pay back.
I don’t advocate bowing down to the supreme employer, but when I am paid to work I get the job done and expect to be rewarded for it. I am fully too aware that I am hiring out MY skills & services to the employer and I will make MY own choices with regards to who I work for.
There are far too many people out there who get “stressed” at the slightest hint of work…which is not helped by the generous benefits our lovely government are intent on providing to those who don;t want to work….now that is pathetic!
If you have a problem with stress…..take a look at our government first.
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It is illegal to work whilst claiming sickness benefit. No matter where you work from.
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Cravette
You miss the point.
In most large offices, the employee gets paid by their employer when they are off sick, therefore, any benefit cheque paid to the employee gets given to the employer to help cover this.
It’s not like the sickee gets a bonus for working at home whilst ill!
Now, please tell me what is “illegal” about this.
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@CG, what you hear in the media is wrong. Of course some companies are struggling but others are doing well, it’s always been this way. I work abroad and many jobs are available, just depends in what field. My company had the best ever year and has 250 new jobs available. People in Jersey are struggling because there is no diversity & people have become greedy. A lot of people don’t do overtime, it’s also called good management where I live.
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You should explain the western way of life and the quality of life to people working from 4am to 10pm in order to feed their family everyday of the week in some third world countries. Explain to them that Europe s been exploiting them for centuries and now they have to borrow billions to make sure that they can keep their comfortable way of life. That nobody is prepared to work on a Sunday (holy day) but nobody is attending churches anymore.
Welcome to Greece !!!
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Aw,c’mon,c’mon something positive,you know you want to.
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lol. I keep the positive stuff for Facebook
Travelling the world open your mind and reading an history book makes you want to cry. Reading the news makes you want to scream.
If that bloody religion wasn’t involved, I would definitively turn into a Mormon.
Laziness, greediness, racism, snobbishness and jealousy are everywhere on this forum. Can’t help myself,sorry…
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Who’s talking about Greece? Fact is that you have to be flexible these days and gain knowledge, otherwise you’re lost. People might struggle, but those willing to learn or move might have a better life again. It’s always been this way…………..
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Laziness, greediness, racism, snobbishness and jealousy? What are you then Kermit?
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A sheep who plays by the rules and appreciate every single hard working pennies I’ve made. As a kid, summer holidays were at the grand parents farm scrubbing cow sh.t and helping with all sorts agriculture task. So appreciating the basics of life and appreciating what s in your plate is something that lots of the new generation haven’t got a clue off.
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Kane, I agree there are a lot of companies that have been doing a lot better than others and I agree Jersey lacks diversity in a lot of ways. However the point of the string here is to do with what is happening in Jersey and the lack of success in our high street. Retail is generally down for numerous reasons but if people who work in retail are having to unfairly take the blame due to companies who, for financial and legislative reasons, want more for less and also undersell their stores online and still expect high profits in their stores, then this needs to be addressed and brought to light! Parktown prawn, you are right about our Government and you get no argument on that score, Working while signed off work is against Social security legislation and they would definitely take people to task for it, should it come to light! My point was that anyone who performs their work should get remuneration for it and are due the recognition for that work, not be expected to work extended and unsociable hours and get nothing for it simply because a minority want to be able to shop out of normal working hours! Unfortunately, this is what is happenning! We cannot rely on holiday makers boosting our economy anymore. You can see them splitting sandwiches and bags of chips because they can`t afford to go to bars and restaurants anymore. They are elderly in the main and are on limited cash. Our island is paying the price for decisions made 30 odd years ago when all our eggs were put in one basket, and letting the finance industry have such a strong hold over what is done here. It helped create a false economy and pushed wages, prices and costs sky high in just a couple of years. We are now stuffed!
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Funny you said that, I saw a french family eating their sandwiches and crisps seating on the pavement last week.
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Hassle parking… no spaces… too expensive…. all the reason for loss of trade in town.
GET A GRIP!
If people bother to drive higher than level 3 in any of the multi stories, there is always space. Green Street and Pier road in particular. Never ever struggle to park there on any day of the week.
Sorry there isn’t a space directly outside the shops, you’ll just have to walk a bit further.
How anyone thinks Jsy has some unique parking problem is beyond me.
Perhaps internet shopping is a major factor. How the virtually everything is more expensive here than the UK when it should have 20% taken off is wrong, even adding GST back on does not account for this.
How come UK companies can deduct VAT, add shipping and still be cheaper than the product in the shops here?
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If people have enough money for a car + petrol, I don’t see a problem……………Maybe they should walk & then they’d buy more:-) Reality is that Jersey is too expensive, the people with the good wages (finance) needed builders, went to restaurants, and prices didn’t matter. As the focus was on one industry, which is now declining, just means the whole Island suffers. If Jersey can’t lower rental prices, lower wages all together, you won’t be able to compete. More people will buy online & less jobs will be available. This Island is sinking fast.
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Well said Mallow!
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