This letter was written in direct response to
comments about the City of Greater Sudbury bylaw restricting
store hours that appeared in Northern Life last week.
Jim Thompson, chair of the board with the
Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, and I have had a few
discussions regarding store hours and, unfortunately, will
probably never agree on the subject.
Working in retail and not working in retail
probably has a lot to do with our differences of opinion. I
just think Jim and the chamber should be reminded that at one
time, we were told that with Sunday shopping, small stores like
the one I own did not have to follow suit and open on that
day.
Guess what? As predicted by the retailers who
fought against this, most of us are now open on Sundays. We had
to open on Sundays to keep up
with the competition and to keep our
customers happy.
Once customers are given the opportunity to
shop during extended hours, they will expect it from all
retailers. It is not as cut and dry as saying we will open or
not open if we feel like it.
Another issue that has been raised before is
the difficulty we have finding good knowledgeable employees
willing to work evenings and weekends. You have to be in the
business to know how it really is.
I believe the chamber should start listening
to the businesses that do not want the shopping bylaw
eliminated. I challenge you to ask the retailers and the retail
workers at large how to feel. As said before, opening longer
hours in our current economic state will potentially hurt the
small retailers.
As stated by Thompson, "the pendulum will
swing" and "eventually settle down". But we have to ask how
many retailers will suffer serious set backs before things
eventually settle down?
Has anyone done a study on the impact Sunday
shopping has had in our economy? Are people really spending
more dollars than before? Are businesses really benefiting from
this? Were extra full time jobs created or lost? Would it not
be beneficial to analyze all sides of this issue and finally
put it to rest?
In response to John Caruso's comments, please
think again when comparing miners and nurses to retail workers.
The pay differences alone, gives
very little weight to the argument.
Finally, in response to Janet Gasparini's
comments, it is a shame that so little consideration is given
in today's society to any form of family life.
Single parents in particular, should be
considered especially if they work in retail. I would guess
that the income alone makes it difficult to find appropriate
childcare in the evenings.
I'm all for change and economic growth. I
don't believe for a minute that our current store hours have a
negative impact on our economy or the growth of our city.
Thanks again for the opportunity to voice my
opinion.
Brigitte Michel-Finlay
Sudbury