In today’s
modern society, provision shops might have lost their edge in
competitiveness against the large varieties of products sold at supermarkets
and convenience stores. However, one unique aspect of provision shops still
holds strong and is not lost - the close relationships that the shop owner has
with her customers and the tacit understanding that the shop owner has towards
her customers’ preferences.
Since
provision shops are usually located in neighbourhood areas, residents living
nearby will patronize the shops frequently to buy necessities at their
convenience. Overtime, the owners of the provision shops will recognize the
usual customers who frequent their shops.
With the frequent short conversations between them, a close
bond will be formed. These close relationships established between shop owners and
customers are missing in the supermarkets.
For
instance, the shop owner of the provision shop we filmed is able to remember
the brands of cigarettes that her customers purchase and will make friendly
talk with her usual customers to stay in touch with them. The close bond is an
invaluable asset and it must continue to
last especially in our impersonal commercial society and future decades to come.
