Today’s Daily Telegraph has a story about alleged rorts being perpetrated by newsagents and convenience stores against customers buying bus tickets.
The problems with NSW bus tickets started in 2004 when the State Government decided to go to a new ticketing system. The commission earned by retailers was likely to be less than 1% of the ticket value. During representations by newsagents made at the time, the Minister said that the Government understood that the lower margin presented a challenge but that the retailers could rely on the traffic to drive other sales. I know because I was involved in one such discussion with the Government when on the Board of the ANF.
While retailers of tickets should not breach the agreements they signed, the real story here is the drop in margin forced on the retailers by the State Government and onerous conditions in a contract. I’d suggest that the folks at the Daily Telegraph go back to the source of the problem and write about why we are at where we are at today. Give us real information and not a poorly researched biased piece which tells the reader what to think without specific evidence.
The argument that retailers can make money selling other products to transport ticket customers is weak. I have not seen any research other than my own as to the basket efficiency of transport tickets. On average, 25% of transport ticket sales include another item. While retailers play a role in this efficiency result, the nature of the product plays a role too. Buying a ticket is part of a journey – they are not shopping, but travelling.
As for the comments in the article by the Transport Ministor, he ought to go back and look at his role and the role of the government in reducing retailer margin.
Could outlets have chosen to decline the offer to sell tickets in the first place, if the margins were so poor?
I would have been happy to tell customers why we didn’t stock them, if this was the case.
A better way to take control of your business I would have thought, than putting those same prospective customers offside by charging extra.
At the end of the day, it isn’t much different to what we’re paid to handle newspaper promotions.
Sometimes an extra thing to offer just isn’t worth the grief.
Maybe it is just me but in recent months it feels like the Daily Telegraph have become very sloppy in their journalistic research.
Some stories I cannot even recall, it just feels like I have heard this about the Daily Telegraph a lot more recently.
It annoys me that a government run business should expect a small business to wear non-commercial small margins. Whether you get extra sales is not their business, and the deal should stand up commercially on its own. They are not a charity. They are making a commercial agreement.
Why have so many agreed to take it on? If there was a mass rejection of the terms then the deal would have to have been reworked.
It would leave a very nasty taste in the consumer’s mouth. That story is just dreadful, but also very sad, as we do understand the delema these retailers would be feeling.
I think before taking on any agreement if the margin isn’t right, don’t bother taking it on.
The EFTPOS fees for many retailers would be greater than than the comission on tickets. Many of those sales would be loss making.
Mark Piggott from Taylor Square was on 2UE and 2GB this morning making similar points – representing newsagents against this botch up by the state government.
i don’t charge any fees on bustickets as long as over $20 . it is not worth the fight with customers everyday.My shop located in upper middle class area, and most of them are snobby people.
Off topic sorry, just had a customer complain that the Courier Mail didn’t have anything on Michaels Jacksons death.
Ha! The Bulletin responded very quickly. Just took delivery of special editions with a big headline. Were notified of that intention a couple of hours before.
Wowee.
Y&G,
Is that a good wowee?
Hmmm. Not sure meself!
Part of me says it’s a bit ghoulish to be cashing in, but another sees the sense in doing so, naturally.
What did tickle my ribs was that when they want to, they can motor! Pity they don’t have that enthusiasm all the time.
Y&G,
I thought it was a good effort personally. Of course they will have their pit falls but in saying that good on them for the attempt