Our Village Shop
I can’t believe it’s nearly 6 months since I took over the shop from Beth & David. Getting to grips with a new business has been challenging and busy, but I’ve absolutely loved it. Not that I feel like I do really own the shop – more that I’m just the next caretaker of an amazing community asset. And, I have to admit, I keep feeling like a total fraud every time customers compliment me on how amazing the shop is for having such an incredible range and variety of products. David & Beth are the only ones who can take credit for that, and I suspect I’ll be benefiting from that legacy until the day I hand over the keys the next caretaker!
Although I’ve lived in Boat of Garten for just over 12 years, I’ve met a lot of new faces, and couldn’t have been more welcomed by you all, so thank you. But the absolute, most standout part of the last 6 months for me, has been the staff.
Our team is fantastic. I can genuinely say I’ve never worked with a better team. The support I’ve been given by Julie, Julia, Carol, Andy, Jamie, Lorna, Iona, Freya, and the extra summer help by Inaya & Sabih, has been amazing. To have Callum stay on for the first 2 months was invaluable. A new owner is a huge change. I couldn’t be more impressed with how patient Julie, Carol & Julia have been in teaching me the ropes, and how willing they have been adapt to new things like our new electronic till system.
Our till system is more than just the scanner most customers see. It has completely changed how the stock is managed and ordered, and has been challenging for us all to come to grips with. But it is paying off, saving us time and increasing efficiency.
Our other big change is definitely being felt more than seen. Although helped by a warmer and later summer than normal, insulating the roof, and double glazing the front windows has made a huge difference to the temperature. Mark and his team from Spey Leisure Buildings did a great job, especially being prepared to work at night and on Sundays, limiting the number of closed days we needed. Thanks too to our customers for your patience while this work was completed.
Another improvement, which is definitely paying off with the darker nights, has been the replaced lighting. Thanks to James Butcher for getting this job done. The only down side is that we’re going to have to do the dusting a bit more often now!
I am really looking forward to my first Christmas at the shop. It’s so exciting every time we get a new delivery of Christmas goodies and gifts. We look forward to sharing lots of Christmas cheer and fun with our customers this season.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay, from the best shop team in Scotland,
Kim, Julie, Carol, Julia, Andy, Jamie, Lorna, Iona, & Freya
