I’ve owned a butcher shop in this town for about 5 years now.
My business has gained considerable traction since I set up shop half a decade ago.
Fresh meat from a reputable and trustworthy butcher was not necessarily available to people in this area before I came along. I mean, there were supermarkets and big box stores of course, but as I’m sure you know, That’s not quite the same as having a shop that specializes in one thing and a butcher that is more personable and willing to take the time to help you make decisions about purchases and answer any questions. Anyway, I remember one particularly challenging event just a few months into running my butcher shop. It was the beginning of June and summer had already come in full force. At the height of the afternoon, my air conditioner suddenly stopped working. My butcher shop essentially turned into a sauna in no time at all. When my meat began to sweat, I began to sweat both literally and figuratively because I knew that the meat was at risk of spoiling. I needed to call emergency HVAC services immediately. It was going to be a bit before they arrived, so the best thing I could think to do in the situation was to set a severe impromptu discount on all of my cuts of meat. I informed customers who happen to be in the shop that I would be severely discounting all of my stock for that day out of necessity and told them to get the word around if possible. The HVAC technician would be showing up towards the tail end of the workday, so it’s not like I would end up losing a lot of money once the HVAC system was back up and running and there was no need for the discount. Thankfully, an HVAC technician did show up and fix the problem, and when all was said and done, I actually made more money that day than I would have otherwise!