How Are the Businesses Doing: a shoppers view
by Tom Hawley

I have been reading regularly the articles written by Candace Carr from the business owner's point of view. I do have to say, they are well written and they do offer answers to many of my questions about how businesses operate in Blue Island. I also have heard from many people: neighbors, friends, etc. about their views on the articles and I thought maybe I would share some of their stories from the shopper's view of shopping in Blue Island. It is my hope, that this view will help our businesses in town be better and make the uptown shopping district more vibrant and interesting.

First, I want to be sure to let everyone know that I support the spend $5.00 a day in Blue Island businesses whole-heartedly. I always have and I always look for ways to shop in town-especially if it is a nice business that I like and would like to see stay in town. And, I would have to say, that I probably spend much more the $5.00 a day in aggregate for the year, as I am sure many of you do as well.

I was talking to a woman, I'll call her Joy. Joy was spending some money in town and was picking something up from a business that stayed open late for her (something you get in small uptown shops with good service-a huge advantage over the big box stores for sure). She saw a lovely white faux fur coat in the window of one of the shops. She noted their hours and saw that they opened at 11 a.m. on Saturday. She rearranged her whole schedule for Saturday to make sure she could get there; she went to her bank, withdrew $200 cash (which was her limit for spending on the coat) and was there at 11 a.m.

No one was there.

She went ahead and ran another errand at another local shop and stopped by there again around 11:20 a.m.

Still, no one was there.

She went home and dropped off what she had already purchased and went back around 11:45 a.m. only to find that, still, no one was there. She was no longer joyful about the coat and she, sadly, gave up and never purchased the coat. A sale of up to $200 that was lost in Blue Island.

Candace even addressed this issue in her last article and said it's a balancing act between being able to afford to be a full time store or having to work someplace else to make ends meet. I can understand that, but it is hard enough to find time to shop in Blue Island at the stores because their hours, for the most part, are so inconvenient for those of us who work out of town or work at all.

Those of us who do work for a living, which is most of us, know that we need to be at work on time and consistently every day. It's even more important for stores to be open on time. This is not, by any means, just a Blue Island business occurrence. It has happened to me many times and it is very frustrating. But, in order for businesses to be successful, they need to be open when they say they are going to be open.

Business hours are also very strange in town. Stores open late and close early and many aren't open on Sundays. Many cities with similar shopping districts have one night a week where the shops are open late. The owners all get together and decide on a night and advertise it. Maybe they even organize an event to attract people up there like Music in the park or a special open house with a small discount (or not).

The City of Blue Island Events Committee is planning TGIF Picnics and once again there are going to be two evening picnics which will have music or other entertainment in the early evening and end the evening with a movie in the park. It would be great if the business owners would get together and decide that they will stay open until 8 p.m. on those days. Maybe we can call it Fourth Fridays on Western Avenue and it can continue throughout the year.

People will know that's when they can shop and pick up dinner at Steffaneli's on their way home from work or get that hostess gift for that party they are going to in the next week or two at Carr Home Garden Holiday or arrange to meet their bridesmaids at Evita's to look at dresses and then head to a local restaurant or drinking establishment to keep the night going or just stroll through the wonderful antique malls looking for a treasure. That's just a few examples. Maybe Fridays aren't the best day. Whatever day it is, choose it and stick to it for a year. Call it Wacky Wednesdays on Western, there's no end to what can happen.

If you have a story you would like to share-good or bad, please do! Send it to the Forum and I can include it here in the coming months. But whatever you do, please do shop in Blue Island first! It is important for not only the businesses and their owners (many of whom are locals) but also to the City in which we live.