who would like to have GLMF hrs back to 11-7pm

[countessofmidnight]

Yeah... Now that we are with the pirate re-enactment crew RAIDERS OF THE NORTH SHORE we get up to go to the Faire at 6:30 a.m. and we are finally back home at 10:30 p.m. ...

Hmmmmm....

[baronessdevale]

I really hope the hours go back to a 7 pm closing. Hubby has to be up at 4:30 in the morning so that's a bit rough for him. We only got to attend 2 pub sings which was rather disappointing. The kids were also pretty wiped out by that time of the day. See you all next year!

[Seriously]

Tis a sad day, the Monday after faire closing.

I would have to agree with most people. I would prefer the 7pm close. I did not get to stay for pub sing once this year. When you come with a group of people, its just tough to spend all day in the sun (I know there is plenty of shade at the faire but its still hot) then stay till 8 (which really means 8:30 or 9) then drive home.

PS: God bless your grandfather for being a work horse but a lot of the vendors have to pay employee's and paying them for that last hour when there is little to no income is pointless. It is hard enough to make a profit at faire but to force them to stay when there is little traffic or potential for income does not make sense.

pss: I know that no one is forced to have a booth at faire. Its a theoritical example. This was just an opinion.

Have a great day!

[blueguy]

Yeah, I don't buy into traffic patterns and employee costs as a practical issue. Every business faces that problem of slow time. I deal with it in my side job, and so does everyone else. The smart managers and owners use that time to get things done to prep for the next traffic influx. If it is a morning quiet time, staff should be busy stocking, cleaning, organizing, making sure there is change in the register and primping for the later part of the day. An end of day lull should see the staff sweeping up, assessing needs for reordering stock, restocking, and working on the books to track their sales and packing up less essential wares in anticipation of closing. It's a job and it is a two day a week job.

[Seriously]

I completely agree with your work ethic and in a perfect world that would happen.

How many of these folks have weekly jobs and this is a second job to them? How many people is this a retirement job for them? How many of them just dont want to work a real job?

Statisticaly a good worker is about 60% productive during work hours.

I am not trying to argue but a business that ignores traffic patterns and employee costs may just find themselves out of business. Put a McDonalds in the middle of farm country and watch how fast it goes out of business. No traffic means no income, no income means employee costs are coming out of your profits from previous hours. You cannot compare a faire booth with a business that can support down time. These vendors work very hard for their meager small profit margin.

This could be its own discussion board. Medeival faire Economics. Nice conversation though.

[Sir Trevor]

I can see both sides of this discussiion, but I have to admit, I mostly agree with Seriously.
Unfortunately, in a faire booth, there is only so much busy work an employee can do.
A slow morning, or afternoon. Yeah, there is stuff to do.
But at the end of the day, not so much. Especially with a dead slow hour or two.
You don't want to put out more stock (if there is any). Because you will just have to put it away after canon. You can't start putting stuff away early, because that isn't allowed.

Not only is it bad for profits. IT is terrible for moral as well.
No one wants to just sit there with no business as the shadows get longer and you are starting to get tired.

The other thing, that really sways my opinion on this though, is the way the hours were sprung on everyone. It's one thing if the vendors knew about the later close well in advance and could plan accordingly. But, most didn't find out until a month (or less) before the faire opened.

[blueguy]

I need you two to go converse with Simon Malls about their holiday extended hours. I totally agree about it being a rough time to deal with a late close and an early open as well. But if you run a business within a venue, you must be prepared and willing to accept the hours demanded. (believe me, nobody is shopping at 7am in december and they are not shopping after 9pm either but we stand there). If the vendors and hired performers have an issue with it, they need to directly discuss that with management. The customers always have the option to go home and really have no complaint.

[Seriously]

That is why malls are going out of Business. Euclid, Randall. Gone. Parmatown filed bankrupcy and sold. Great Lakes mall and Richmond are barren more days than they are busy and cant keep all their stores filled. People want to shop where their budget goes farther or your upscale outdoor locations like legacy or beachwood. If the Mall doesn't have a hook now-a-days, its becoming a dinosaur.

[CapnRedShirt]

Personally, the later close worked for me... as on the occasions where I couldn't make it early in the day, there was still more than half the day left when I got there... plus I'm more of a night owl anyway.

With that said, I can certainly understand people not wanting to stay that late if they have a long drive and/or something they have to do the next morning. I liked it being open until 8, but wouldn't argue against a change back to a 7 o'clock close.

[Customer]

10am-6pm would be better.

[glmf vendor]

Just and FYI,

The contract was handed out before faire ended last year and it did state 11:00am till 8:00pm. The vendors did know. The entertainers I can't speak for but I can the vendors.