Recession

It seems to me that so far the Isle of Man has to a certain extent escaped the consequences of the global economic meltdown. The high street still seems buoyant, Douglas nightlife is thriving, house sales although down in numbers are not down in price, and restaurants are busy. I know this because we went out for dinner last night and the restaurant was full, and a couple of others we phoned before to book a table were full without us.

However, I've no doubt that at some stage in the near future the crunch will hit, businesses will suffer and people will lose their jobs. So which businesses will go down? No names here, but it'll be those whose customer service skills are below par. For example the jeweller who charged me £12 to change a watch battery - I've not been back since. Ditto the furniture shop who refused to return a deposit after what we'd ordered (based on wrong information from the proprieter) turned out to be unsuitable, and the cafe who didn't let me in because I had 3 kids with me and they only had one table left.

In times of economic downturn people stop buying jewellery and new furniture and stop eating out. We have lots of jewellers, furniture shops and restaurants. Some will close down. For ripping me off over the watch battery one jeweller has lost out on several hundred pounds of potential business as now I go to Corlett's. The furniture shop who held on to my £150 deposit has lost out on several thousand pounds of business which has been gratefully received by Juan of Fine Furnishings in Onchan. On a small island like this it only takes a few disgruntled customers and word gets around. I may not have posted the names of the rogue outfits, but I've certainly told people about my experiences.

Businesses with poor customer service - be warned.