Thursday, September 25, 2008

LIKE TELLING KIDS THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS

I have a pretty good job. I enjoy what I do, and even though it's pretty intense sometimes, it's still a lot of fun. Yet the one thing I hate about this job, I am having to do more and more all the time.

Raising prices.

It sucks to be quite honest, because for us, pricing is always an issue. As a bridge store, we are in constant battle with the other side of the river, trying to make sure that our prices are hard to beat. But with the economy all mucked up right now, our distributors are tacking on higher and higher fuel surcharges, and all the brokers, importers and wineries are raising their pricing almost weekly, so not only do I spend a lot more time in the office on our POS system, but I am "anti-green" by constantly making and remaking the shelf signs for every single brand that goes up in price.

I feel like if I were telling the kids there is no Santa Claus. And someone just ran over the Easter Bunny to boot.

Raising prices is no fun. Dropping them is fun, but not raising them. Keeping prices the same each week is proving difficult, but we are trying. Time's are tough and everyone is taking it on the chin. I just hope that things get better by Christmas, but I won't be holding my breath.

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