A local shopkeeper has questioned the decision of his fellow traders on the High Street who close early on a Wednesday. Jeff Hill, of Sheffield’s Electrical Store, is one of only a few shops on Abbots Langley High Street that remains open on a Wednesday afternoon, with many choosing to close at lunchtime for the remainder of the working day.
Traditionally, most of the village used to shut half day on Tuesdays, but the present proprietors of the Post Office started to close on Wednesdays instead when they took over a few years ago. Since then there has been no hard and fast rule with other businesses changing to Wednesdays. Now customers aren’t sure whether there is an early closing day or not, and if there is, whether it is Tuesday or Wednesday! Jeff Hill of Sheffield’s told us: “In response to customer request, we have been opening six full days a week for over a year now, but we still get people coming in surprised we are open or bewildered that other shops are shut and there’s a distinct drop in footfall on Tuesdays and Wednesdays generally. The public don’t want to waste their time and petrol or bus fare coming into the village if they think there’ll be nothing open come lunch time. Some of them may come in another day but it is unrealistic to suppose others don’t take their business elsewhere. I’m all in favour of village traditions, but early closing day isn’t one that can sustain village trading. Some afternoons the village is like a ghost town. Staying open may necessitate extra staffing in some cases, but our experience shows it pays for itself.” My Abbots News went round to a few of the establishments in the High Street to get their views on the afternoon closing issue. First on our list was Abbots Home and Garden, who were recently featured in My Abbots News following its takeover by new owner Zain Yusufali. He told us: “I close on Wednesdays because it appears that it is the tradition around here. I think if I had it my way I would probably open, but it gets very quiet here when all the shops are closed so I see little point at the moment.” The next stop on our rounds was Over the Moon, who do stay open on Wednesday afternoons. We spoke to one of their representatives and she said: “Its because of customer service. We don’t necessarily find that it’s any quieter on a Wednesday afternoon so we stay open. Velvet Jewellery are another who close all day on a Wednesday, and co-owner Caty Nolan said that they did not lose out from closing. She said: “We used to close Tuesdays but found that there was no flow with only being open for one day and then closing. We were really quiet on a Wednesday morning and we both have families to look after, so we find that closing Wednesdays doesn’t really affect us.” The final shop we went to was Simon East Butchers, who choose to remain open on Wednesdays. They said: “We don’t see it as being anymore quiet on a Wednesday so we stay open. Its important for customer service because we don’t want people to go elsewhere.” According to Sheffield’s owner Jeff, It seems that some of the shop keepers closing half day are causing it to be quiet, while others are closing because it is quiet, creating a vicious circle. So what do you think? Should there be half day closing at all and if so which day? Let us have your opinions by emailing
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A local shopkeeper has questioned the decision of his fellow traders on the High Street who close early on a Wednesday. Jeff Hill, of Sheffield’s Electrical Store, is one of only a few shops on Abbots Langley High Street that remains open on a Wednesday afternoon, with many choosing to close at lunchtime for the remainder of the working day.