Interview - Keith Mason

Name:	Keith Mason
Age:	33
Job:	Shopkeeper
Date of interview:	21 Oct 2004

Do you live in Skipton?
No, I live in Shipley, some people say I live in the Ring o Bells but I actually live just down the road on the edge of Saltaire. I’ve always wanted to live in a old farmhouse with a little bit of land of my own and have a goat and a duck (don’t ask!) so maybe someday but I think my wife has different ideas.

Family here?
My wife helps in the shop now and then, we have an eight month old little girl (Charlie) and both our parents live in Shipley which is really handy for babysitting duties.

What school did you go to?
Nabwood, (sometimes)

Do you have a favourite pub in Skipton?
As I now dally at the Rose & Crown on Coach Street I’ll have to say there, but would like to change my mind if I don’t get a free pint!!

What changes have you seen in the town over the years?
As I am new to Skipton it’s hard to answer, I have visited a lot but you don’t look at things so closely till you are thinking of opening a business in a town, parking seems a major issue at the moment especially for the residents. Skipton has a bit of a reputation for being full of charity shops but it doesn’t seem too bad to me, it isn’t a good thing though, I know they need to raise money but I have seen it before and it can kill a town off, if a place gets known for lots of charity shops it does more harm than good, Skipton be warned! One change I have seen is down at Sandylands I’ve played football and squash down there for years now and am pleased that they finally got the money to expand, it’s looking great there now.

	Anyone in retail will tell you there is no such thing as an average day, once you open the doors anything can happen!

Describe your job in 5 words
I would say ‘Selling top quality natural products’ but my wife says ‘Talking to customers all day’

Do you love your job?
Most definitely, I only wish I’d done it years before (not that I’m that old!)

How long have you been doing it, and how did you get into it?
I have been in retail since I left school at 16, I’ve been a manager at Morrisons and Tescos, I help out in my local the Ring o Bells at Shipley and ran a busy shop also in Shipley for the last 10 years. Aromatherapy was only a hobby then but one I enjoyed so when the prospect of Avena came up it was too good an opportunity to miss, things kind of fell into place from there, it was a big decision especially with Charlie just arriving but I felt I really needed to work for myself, I’ve only been here three months now but I can tell I am going to love it so it seems so far the right decision.

What's your typical working day like?
Anyone in retail will tell you there is no such thing as an average day, once you open the doors anything can happen! Generally though I set off from home at about 8.45am I usually drive but occasionally get the train which is more relaxing, I open the shop at 9.30am, I open the mail and check my e-mails, usually this means mail orders so I process them and pack them up ready to post. Any products needed I will have brought from home so I will label, date, price and display them, grab some lunch from the café next door and eat on the go (note to my mum, it’s usually salad or healthy stuff, honest!) in the afternoon I place orders, work on the web site a bit and always try to do a bit of cleaning each day so it doesn’t build up, all this in-between serving and helping customers. I close at 5.00pm but it can often be 5.30 or 6.00 if someone’s in (I think I talk too much) I get home and bath Charlie, she is usually ready for bed at about 8.00pm. As we prepare a lot of our remedies in our lab at home I may then have some more work to do, depending what’s needed I can be in there till late. I’ll then have some tea and go to bed. (till about 2.00am when Charlie usually decides she wants to get up and play??) oops! I forgot to walk the dog in all that, poor Yap!

Whats the best thing about you job?
By a long stretch it’s helping people, we get a lot of people in with complaints such as eczema, arthritis and psoriasis to name just a few and the feedback we get from them about the products is amazing! It gives you such a good feeling when a mother rings you just to thank us for the oil we made for her young son’s eczema which is working brilliantly or a letter I got the other day from a gentleman who had his first good nights sleep in ages after using our active life. It’s like getting a complementary pat on the back 5 or 6 times a day and you don’t get that selling cabbages at Morrisons!

What's the worst thing about your job?
I hate bad customer service and unfortunately I have to rely on other people or companies that obviously don’t have the same ideals as I do. I’ll tell a customer they will have a product the next day and the carrier forgets to pick it up! I order ink cartridges that never arrive and I can’t print! My internet connection fails and no one at the company can (or really wants to) help which costs me money! My post comes 2 weeks late and has orders in! I buy a printer because I'm told it has a built in fax, it doesn’t and I waste half a day taking it back! I place orders and the one thing I really needed is missing! Companies I want to call me back don’t when they say they will, companies who I don’t want to call and pester me all day!
I find good customer service easy and as you can tell it slightly annoys me when it's low down on other peoples agendas.

What's the most outrageous thing that's happened to you in this job?
With not being here so long, not a lot. The other day a young girl playing outside the shop got her leg stuck between a metal post and concrete pillar, when it wouldn’t budge I got my washing up liquid out while her dad tried to calm her down promising sweets etc but by then she was panicking a bit. I had a couple of customers by then who kindly waited while we covered her leg with fairy, I was at one side, her dad at the other both being as gentle and reassuring as possible but she was screaming and we started to get a few strange looks from passing shoppers. It must have sounded as if we were torturing her, I’m surprised no one called the police! Anyway just as the fire brigade seemed the only option it came free with no damage to her leg (or my shop) the crying stopped and tears were dried, her dad thanked me and as they walked away I heard her say “can we get them sweets now?”

What do you see happening in the future, in your business?
As well as our regular call in customers we also supply aroma therapists, gift shops, farmers (with our animal products) etc. Before I came this area of business hadn’t recovered from foot and mouth, I hope to be able to get some of this trade back but it’s important to me not to sacrifice the service I give now to the most important people my loyal regular customers so progress is sometimes deliberately slow, I’d like to be wealthy but get rich quick won’t work here and if I enjoy my work and my family’s healthy and happy, as corny as it may sound money isn’t everything.

What effect does the internet have on you at the moment?
Massive, I hope our new web site will be a hit, we do a lot of mail order all over U.K. and a bit worldwide so hopefully a good site will increase this. The other factor is I work alone in the shop, I can place orders, communicate using e-mail, do research etc all from the shop, when I get a customer I can easily break off and give them 100% of my time and go back to where I left off, it also means I can be here, without the internet I would have to go out a lot more.

How do you see this changing in the future?
I hope things don’t change too much but inevitably they will, the way technology is progressing at the moment it’s hard to predict, it only seems a short while ago I first went online, now I get frustrated if I have to use a PC. without broadband, how mad is that? My own aim is no matter how advanced things become not to loose the personal touch as that’s what’s important to a lot of people.

Do you have a favourite website?
Got to be eBay - I browse it a lot as it can give you a guide to what’s popular at the moment and more importantly what’s not. I’ve used it quite a lot in the past to buy and sell but the thing I love most is the feedback, if your ever having a bad day, feel unpopular, sad etc just go into e-bay and read your feedback to give you a boost it’s better than phoning the Samaritans!!

What are your hobbies? How do you relax?
I love this question on job application forms, people always lie a bit to try to sound interesting and popular yet not too outrageous or raving alcoholics so I’ll give you my job application answers followed by an honest one… I enjoy playing football and been part of a team, (I play football as kicking other people releases pent up aggression and if my team mates complain they get some) I like to read, (I occasionally flick through the daily star in this order back page, page 3, front page, the rest) I enjoy walking, (I walk to the pub) I enjoy spending time with my family, (having a kid is the best excuse in the world to act like one yourself, go to the zoo, play on swings etc.)

What issues are close to your heart?
Animal welfare, we have a strict no testing on animals policy. I’d love to see world peace at some point in my lifetime, and my family.

If we gave you £5 million right now what would you do with it?
Don’t know try it!!
Probably spend 95% of it on wine, women and song... then most likely waste the other 5%!

Do you have anything you want to plug / publicise?
My new website www.avena.co.uk and rather than saying my shop I’d like to say all the shops in Victoria Square as they have all been so welcoming and are all such nice people, Beryl 11 shoes, East End www.ethnic-warehouse.com, The Art Gallery www.artgalleryskipton.co.uk, Paul Smith China, Home and Kitchen, Barnetts, Jacques Simons café for the best bacon butties around, Andrew at Time and Tune music shop, down to Spike Island and not forgetting wishing Hanna lots of luck down at the new Seychelles. So if you haven’t visited Victoria Square recently WHY?? There really is something for everyone.