Monday, July 13, 2009

Nairn in the spotlight

A visitor to Nairn has left a comment on the new Brae thread.
Bill McDonald is a first time visitor to Nairn and feels the improvements to the Brae are worthwhile, but it is let down by:
‘the shabbiness of some of the store frontages. 

As a first timer I entered Nairn with a sense of foreboding when greeted by the tatty superstore and associated buildings but soon became charmed by the open spaces and beaches. 

I feel the shopping facilities badly let down a jewel on the Moray coast - I found the staff generally helpful but the shops often overpriced and shabby’!

We have often aired views on the Gurn with regard the poor state of the town and what the visitor must think. Here we have a visitor’s impression and it’s not very good when it comes to our High Street.
The Gurn would like to thank Bill for his honest opinions and hopes that he will indeed return as a visitor to Nairn.

8 comments:

Iain said...

I'm not the first to say this, but I'd rather see money put into helping shop owners and landlords renovate shop fronts. I fear Gordon St is going to be another nightmare for little benefit. Pity we can't switch the funds. I'll be distressed if the existing pavement in the High St is lifted and replaced with The Brae style blocking. But that might just be a rumour!

Anonymous said...

Hmm.The front of my house needs done up and painted.Will the council pay for that I wonder?No chance.So why the shopkeepers.

Anonymous said...

Maybe once we have a Sainsburys the High Street shopkeepers may become more concerned with attracting customers, instead of presuming they'll just come. :)

- Brian

Anonymous said...

I can assure Brian that Nairn shopkeepers would like to attract customers right now rather than wait for Sainsbury's to arrive!

Anonymous said...

The new road surface on the Brae looks like the starting grid for formula one racing.
Could a new race circuit be an attraction for Nairn?

Anonymous said...

"I can assure Brian that Nairn shopkeepers would like to attract customers right now rather than wait for Sainsbury's to arrive!"

Great! Does this mean an end to closed shops on a Wednesday, painted shop fronts, and the ability to take credit card payments in all shops? :)

- Brian

Anonymous said...

Many Nairn shops are small often family run businesses.
I would say that all shopkeepers in Nairn are very aware that we run what may be regarded as an outdated system. Some of us close on Wednesdays to take time off for ourselves and our staff in lieu of being open of a Saturday. In an ideal world we would be making so much money that we could afford to hire enough people to stay open longer, but we don’t.
Some of us are one man/women outfits and despite the doors not being open find ourselves working seven days a week to keep on top of paperwork, ordering etc.
Some of us close for lunch. This isn’t to sit down to a three course meal but to run errands such as going to the bank, post office, etc.
With regard to credit cards. Due to the very high instance of credit card fraud many new businesses are either refused the service by the banks or are offered ludicrous terms i.e. monies taken through credit cards has to sit in an account for six months and only then be released by the bank to the business.
Compared to the stores you find on the Inverness retail parks I’m sure some will regard us as quaint and old fashioned. We don’t have the buying clout of major retailers so our prices are not always as keen (Sometimes they are better!).
Are apologies if our service is not 24/7 and that some of us are in need of a lick of paint!
We always try to be friendly and helpful but we realise that some people they need more than their local shops can offer

George Burns said...

Well said .

George