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[Neil]

Are some proprietors of model shops dreaming when they think that they can open when they like.
One notable one went bust in Blackpool when after years of faithfull trading by the father, the son took over and opened when he fancied .Wham bam thankyou mam...all the goodwill and hard work of past years went out the window with the business and the stock!!!
.
Two weeks ago I "bought" some glues, brass and timber from a local shop, only to find I'd lost my debit card when I went to pay......asking "what time do you shut"......"5.00pm" was the answer.........I went back at 2.00pm to find a note on the door saying they had popped out and would be back at 2.30....went back at 2.30pm to find still shut....picked the kids up at 3.00pm and went back.......still shut..............went back the nexrt day at 11.00am to find note gone, but shop shut...........
ordered glue and timber on line..........delivered next day.
 
went this morning to yet another new model shop in a market town between Poulton and Preston that had been notified in my monthly e-letter from my model boat club............opening time 10.00am......still firmly shut at 10.15am............
do these people really not understand that we the punters WILL  use the internet rather than waste petroll if these people don't open on time and give the service they advertise.............

we all complain that the internet is kerknaackering high street shops..........but if those places at least opened on time.......we would not be frustrated and go to the internet for the goods and wouldn't waste inordinate time and petrol doing so.

In the end I made a 50 mile round trip to Lancaster and bought them from the model shop there...... ........
 
no one can accuse me of not trying to use my local shop to keep them open......but it beggars belief that when you hear of shops like Currys/dixons, Blockbusters, HMV and others that can't make it pay when they are open all hours.......how the hell can a small model shop do so when they don't even open on time and  treat their own business as a hobby.
 
get a grip you guys in small model shops......you HAVE TO  open on time and at times to be of convenience to the shopper, NOT WHEN YOU WANT TO!
Rant over!!

[unbuiltnautilus]

Agree entirely about opening times. I find myself still serving people half an hour after closing time when they wont Leave and let me go home...but you have to put up with this and smile, goes with the job. As does explaining that your Chinese ebay bought piece of tat does not have spare parts available, and you should have put it in the bin ages ago, goes with the job too.
We wouldn't do it if we didn't have thick skin

[Sinking Feeling]

my local model shop was useless, stopped using it years ago when i went in to ask for r/c car parts, the owner actually 'tutted' when he came over as i was disturbing his coffee and r/c plane chat. 

i now do it all online. 
 
And after a quick google, it seems my local shop has closed.
 
i wonder why???   

[Davenotdone]

I to use to use the well known model shop in Blackpool. What got me was the closed for lunch times. Three people used to work in it and they had to close for lunch? Could they not stagger there lunch time?  When the son took over the shop i was after a prop shaft for a model boat. He sold me a small looking item but when i checked with another modeller he said it was far to small and i bought a bigger one from fleabay and used the original to use as a mast and to run a radar from a small motor!!   Allso, if the model was,nt a R/C car the son was,nt interested!!! Miss the shop but not the service.

[NFMike]

My problem is the stock. They are mostly nearer toy shops than model shops - all rc cars and planes with some plastic kits. Of my two 'local' shops one has only a small selection of plastic card and extrusions, the other has virtually nothing. I've been in the latter one maybe 5 times and all he's ever had for me was a tube of glue.

So as well as internet I go to model railway exhibitions a few times a year and can often grab some materials and tools from the traders there; Squires and Eileens are often at the bigger shows too.

[unbuiltnautilus]

I would just like to let you know my previous post, what has been edited for pre-watershed viewers, only included the word ***vieled swearing moderated***
Thank you for your interest, now back to work.
 

[heritorasphodel]

A new model shop opened near me recently, but a newsagent down the road sells more modelling materials than they do. Like most now, it only seems to stock rtr cars and aircraft. We went in shortly after it opened, and enquired as to whether they would get any brass rod or tube in stock, to which they replied "shortly". They still don't, several months on.


Andrew

[unbuiltnautilus]

I have no trouble with a) using rude words, or b) spelling them. This is Portsmouth after all, we invented most of them.....
At least we know what time to open the doors in the morning, bless you all ( except the atheists of course).

[triumphjon]

like unbuilt ive been on the other side of the fence , my stated opening times were 0900 until 1730 hrs six days a week , however if a customer arrived outside of these hours and i was " onsite " i would open the door to serve them , both the proprietor and myself would attend customers homes after shop hours to assist with motor amps checks etc , we would also attend outlying club meets on our sundays away form the shop delivering to customers who were unable to travel into the city while we were open . when you think most model shop proprietors are also modellers , we also like to have time to build and operate our own models !

[Vidion]

the shop i usualy go to is specialised in airplanes, but while it dont have propshafts, props and such it does have a decent selection of round and square tubing, balsa, and all sort divers materials wich are suitable for boat building.
and while its only open during weekdays from 11.00 to 16.00,  they are there then, if i come 11.01 i can just get my things.
and,  also important, if i have a question, even if its boats, they show interest and will think along towards a solution

[F4TCT]

My 'Local' one opens 9-6pm I think, however it remains firmly shut on a Sunday - which doesn't make sense.


Id close on a Wednesday or something. Most people have weekends off so the sheer amount of trade that gets lost is rather a lot. Probably made up for by the horrendous prices and even worsened by the snotty cow who owns it.


If i want anything now, I get it online. Even with postage its often cheaper than the shop. My theory is that less is more.

[tica]

My "Local" shop is more or less the only model boat specialist in Denmark, he has combined a Internet shop with a physical shop with limit opening times Friday and Saturday and there are always coffee to enjoy while your are browsing though the shop and over spending your hard earned cash 

Do I shop on the internet Yes off cause I do, but I also shop a lot at this shop as this shop makes the foundation for modelboating in Denmark (this is at least my opinion)
 

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Local Train shop is shuttering after more than 40 years.
The landlord sold the building, new landlord wanted to open a Hukkah shop.
But he sold the building, then the heater broke last month, and the new
landlord wants to open a furniture store.   

So in the clearance this month, I picked up two empty display racks, and
upon sorting out where to put them I promptly cleaned up a metal bin, and
a shelf piled with strip plastic, and plastic sheet.

 

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

oooh !!!!   that's nice


Ken

[Bryan Young]

All of the previous postings only highlight poor or downright bad service.
May I redress the balance.
My local "Model Shop" carries just about anything a modeller could ever need.
Be you a ship modeller, train enthusiast or a fly-boy. Kits for all tastes/skills. Raw materials for us scratch builders. I seldom come away empty handed.
Need advice? Happily done by at least one of the 5 staff. Repair a model? No problem.
I have no connection with this business except that of a customer. BY.

[Neil]

you missed the point bryan........I WAS  having a direct gripe at those shops who's owners think they CAN open when ever they want, and still keep their custom....not the good ones, and we all have good ones that we go to......like the one in lancaster where I now go to and happy to do the round trip....because they do open on time, and do stock well.........but it's about time those who think they are better than that and leave us in the lurch....to take notice, and do better next time.

[Jonty]

General retail rather than just model shops, but a lot of interest here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q06b0/Newsnight_15_01_2013/

As a niche shopkeeper myself I found the discussion at the end of the piece very thought-provoking.

[cabman]

Aaaagh you got me going with this topic. I visited a model shop several years ago when I decided to buy and build a Tamiya r/c car and radio gear. I knew nothing about r/c at all and went for some advice. The owner treated me like a moron despite me being polite. He gave me no encouragement whatsoever and just presented a couple of items without describing the advantages or features. He knew that I knew nothing. He kept breaking off from serving me which was fine but during one interruption to serve someone else, I leant on a large piece of equipment in the shop. He went ballistic and told me that I must be stupid to lean on this particular machine. ( if I say what it was the man will know who he is) I apologised for my action and agreed that I was stupid for being there at all and left with nothing. He therefore lost a large initial sale and who knows what else I may have bought.
Move on to present day. That shop has gone. I visited another shop to buy some materials for my latest creation and who should be the owner than Mr Nasty from before. I had to interrupt him from messing about with a card reader that was apparently faulty after standing there with several items and a handful of cash for quite a few minutes. He totally blanked me and I had to literally ask him if he would stop what he was doing and take my cash as I was working and in a hurry. I got a lecture on people are always in a hurry nowadays and if he didn't get his card reader sorted, he would lose a lot of business at the weekend. If I hadn't have wanted the materials quickly I would have again walked out. I have used him several times since but ONLY WHEN IT SUITS ME. I can honestly say that everytime I've been in he has been rude to either me or other customers. I heard him telling two ladies off for comparing his prices to online prices although he agreed to sell the item at the same price. They were buying a gift for a son and were embarrassed by his attitude. At Xmas I bought a minor item and in passing asked if he was busy. Anyone normal might say something like "Not bad" or "Not really" etc. He said quite offensively, "Do I look busy? " He then said it was the worst Xmas he'd ever had. I said that there may be many reasons for that and left him to himself. Of course I meant that one of the reasons may be him but he never picked up on it.
I realise that it must be hard for small businesses to survive . I am self employed and am suffering too. I'm not of the opinion that the customer is always right but when I'm faced with a problem customer, I empathise with them and then explain why I maybe can't do what they expect but compromise somewhere along the line. I also sell the benefits of my service. There used to be a model railway shop in my city with two old guys who were the most miserable pair you could wish to meet. Is rudeness an essential qualification for model shop owners. It will be a shame when all small specialists shops have disappeared from our high streets but disappear they certainly will.
Anyway rant over. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

[hopeitfloats]

the problem is obviously world wide. there are 3 shops that i deal with in the same city, mainly railway models and 2 of them have serious attitude problems. i asked one why hornby was so expensive compared to other brands when they are all made in china and nearly got my head bitten off.  a few expletives followed by 'you dont have to buy the b***** stuff then. havent been back in the shop since and i had previously spent  many hundreds of dollars there. one other shop the owner spends all his time running down the other shops and telling you want you need rather than what i asked for. still go there but only as a last resort.

[BrianB6]

Go to Float a Boat.
They even have free sweets on the counter. 

[Neil]

Is rudeness an essential qualification for model shop owners. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

Cabman.............I would say a 50 /50 split..........I have had some lovely experiences of kind and considerate ones.......and then again.....like your man in Hull, I presume........some like him as well.
Sadly the one I would travel miles and miles to go to, Terry Donn at the Hobby shop on Bold street in Southport, retired some years ago.............now if every model shop proprietor had modelled him/herself on Terry, the world would be a much happier place indeed.
neil

[rmaddock]

There used to be a fabulous model shop right here in Ulverston; some members may remember.  It was the sort of place where you could take an out of date and unpopular glow engine and he'd magically produce just the right RC throttle for it out of one of the billion or so drawers in his old fashioned counter.
Then he retired and sold the business, lock stock and whatnot. It went under very quickly indeed....probably because the original owner had no overheads and ran it more as a hobby I suspect.
Anyway, I wonder if half of the stocking problem (calm down!) is in the nature of the hobby.  Even as few years ago as when I was a lad, model making was a far more simple thing.  The range of materials and fitting required or available was very limited.  Now, the range is huge. It's difficult to see how anybody can stock a general model shop.  There have been shop mentioned above as "good" which I have used and I agree that the service is excellent but I don't agree that their stock is good. I often have to compromise an what I get or come home and revert to t'internet.

It's not just model shops though is it?  Here in Ulverston, on the edge of the Lake District, the shops all close on Sundays and bank holidays.  You often see tourists with bulging wallets wandering up and down on a wet bank holiday Monday desperate, but unable, to spend their money.  Somebody asked me the other day if I thought that the proposed new C***a Coffee shop would compete with the existing independent shops; "surely locals will stick with the local shops?" (there's a TV comedy in there somewhere).  Well, I riposted, C***a will do very nicely on wet bank holidays and weekends.

And why are car showrooms only open when the working population (who presumably buy most of the new cars) are supposed to be at work?
 

[tigertiger]

I think that the 'bricks and mortar' models shops that also have an online presence are much more likely to survive.
One of the issues has been hinted at, stocking a store. I have been to a well stocked model shop, an Aladin's cave, and still had trouble spending my money.


As for bad service, some people go into business for themselves because they are unable to work with other people effectivley. And a few of these don't even like people.

[RAAArtyGunner]

Go to Float a Boat.
They even have free sweets on the counter. 

Bet they're covered for in their prices 

[Jonty]

  I remember well that excellent shop in Ulverston, and I follow the same principles of a large stock and good service.

  You have to have the stock, and you have to be prepared for some of it to move slowly. I have an old-fashioned hardware and DIY shop where I cram £25,000 of stock (over 3000 different lines) into less than 500 sq ft. Most of my prices are lower than the big sheds, and I make a point of stocking stuff the supermarkets don't sell. If I haven't got it I'll get it ASAP. Customers say they like the shop as it, so we make it part of our USP, though an online presence does help.

  The real key, however, is service, something that the British, or maybe just the English, are not naturally good at. Half our customers know what they want, but not what it's called. We spend a lot of time interpreting vague descriptions. Don't bother, and they don't come back. Customers must have a warm welcome as they arrive, and leave feeling that they have had a good overall experience.