Snow fun getting caught with no stock!
We hadn’t managed the clichéd “White Christmas” but after that it had snowed for days. I’d struggled into the shop, because I had to, only to find the shoppers were nowhere to be seen. It seemed pointless to run the usual January sale with the place deserted but I’d sent out the mailer, so those few people who braved the elements and showed up in their sheepskins and wellingtons were entitled to the discounts – and a mug of hot coffee too since they’d made such an effort. But the sale was going to have to run on a bit longer than usual if I was going to dump the rest of the old stock and make room for the new shipment.
But then the weather warmed up, the snow turned to slush and rain, and things got back to normal. I’d say normal, but with the pent-up demand (that’s what the news programmes call it anyway) we had a real flood of people through the door last weekend. So now the shelves are in desperate need of that new stock. Thankfully, I’m told it’s about to arrive.
So this morning, I get the call from the Customs guys at Heathrow. My shipment is in (hurrah!) but I need to get myself down to the sheds at the airport to sort out the paperwork and pick it up. Well, last time I did that, I remember, it took 4 hours to get it all sorted – that’s quite a bit of hanging around and a whole load of forms I worried I wasn’t completing properly. I’m also two staff down, courtesy of a bout of man-flu so I’d have to shut the shop to make the trip, and I can’t afford to lose another day’s trade after the last few weeks. So I’m looking for a solution, something to save me from jumping in the van and heading off to the airport. And I have to get it sorted fast too, as time is money for the customs guys and storage courtesy of their fine facility doesn’t come cheap.
There was only one way to do it. I picked up the phone to the guys at Customs Clearance Limited. Could they help me? Yes indeed, they could. They sorted out the customs clearance and collected my shipment that same morning and by mid-afternoon those lovely, fully loaded pallets were in my store. As fast as I unpacked the boxes and stacked the shelves, those shiny new treasures were being snapped up – and the cash tills just kept on ringing!
15th Jan 2010
