Christmas Shopping Hours

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19803, 3 December 1938, Page 18

Christmas Shopping Hours

Sir, —The retailers of Gisborne evidently consider the shopping habits in (his district different from those ol other provincial towns, where tbe Christmas Eve is to be held on the Friday night'. Is there something in our isolation that also isolates then every idea and action? Saturday as thc ’half-holiday has been enjoyed now for a number of years, the.public have been accustomed to a continuous shopping week, and have formed their shopping habits. Now why should

lower than a hundred people say they must break these habits because Christmas Eve 'happens to fall on the half holiday of tne shop assistants, and the whole day oil' lor all those on a 40-hour week. This last fact, to me appears to be the reason why the majority favoured keeping their shops open until 10 p.m. on the Saturday, out here is where the retailers have erred. The 40-hour-a-week man, contemplating a longer vacation, will see that his shopping is finished on the Friday, and will-good luck to him—leave tor that vacation on the Saturday. He may ask how he is to get ills shopping done on the Friday, when the shops will be closed at 5.3 U p.m. The remedy is with the retailers. Observe me Friday late night and close at noon on Saturday. Retain tne money here which should be spent here. Keep faith with ’the public, whom we have to thank for the naif-holiday, and give us an opportunity to snow our appreciation. FAIR TO ALL.

Sir, —1 would like to ask why certain shopkeepers who were known to favour retaining the usual Friday latenight were not given the •chance to vote on the question. Certain shopkeepers were omitted both in Peer street and Gladstone road. Much has been made of service to the public. Who gives the most service to the public, the store with 50 assistants or the store with two or three? There is only one answer and yet certain gentlemen who upset the decision o* the Retailers’ Association claimed this was not so. Hundreds of the 40hour week people will be leaving Gisborne on Friday night lor places fat alield. Evidently this point has been overlooked by those who voted to pin. a half-holiday in the middle of the busiest shopping week of the year, thereby upsetting the continuity o, trade. Many of the large shopkeepers assert that as a general rule, in proportion to the number of hours, worked, they do more business every day during Christmas week than they do on Christmas Eve. That being so, they realise, the gross error of upsetting the regular hours CITIZEN