Could we have a section dedicated to reviews of shops/cafes/restaurants in the high street?
Not only would it help promote local businesses, but it can also provide invaluable feedback to businesses owners which brands spend millions on researching.
If I owned a business in the High Street and I found out that my staff were turning people away because they were unfriendly I'd want to know about it.
It's not about slagging a business off, it's about providing feedback so that they can improve. Without us (the consumer) there would be no shops. We are not here to support shops, shops are here entice us to spend money with them. The more we like them, the more money we spend, the more people go there.
It will need careful moderation to make sure it isn't abused.
REVIEWS
Yes - I've always wanted one.
As you may know we do have a business directory that is well out of date. I've starting to update it and I have had a lot of suggestions on how it could be enhanced. There are two obvious choices of how comments could be included:
1) We could have a review section in STF so the current threads could be more logically organised and linked brom the directory entry.
2) The Directory Entries could point to a wiki where people (including owners) could add information and debate stuff (like when there is a planning app).
The first is easy to implement but I favour 2). The latter does mean a fair bit of work setting it up. Rather than try and get a relatively complicated thing right first time (which would be a first for me) I think I will pilot it on something similar but simpler.
That would be Steve Grindlay's list of blue plaque sites which I promised in a rash moment while on holiday.
For those wondering what a wiki is - its a generic public domain piece of software. Wikipedia is its grandest incarnation but our friends up at Virtual Norwood have one running on a smaller scale. My only reservation about it is that to net-savvy types updating is a nice intellectual challenge. I need to feel that all our current STF members would feel confident in inputing their thoughts into it.
If anyone wants to help me do it - PM me.
Admin
As you may know we do have a business directory that is well out of date. I've starting to update it and I have had a lot of suggestions on how it could be enhanced. There are two obvious choices of how comments could be included:
1) We could have a review section in STF so the current threads could be more logically organised and linked brom the directory entry.
2) The Directory Entries could point to a wiki where people (including owners) could add information and debate stuff (like when there is a planning app).
The first is easy to implement but I favour 2). The latter does mean a fair bit of work setting it up. Rather than try and get a relatively complicated thing right first time (which would be a first for me) I think I will pilot it on something similar but simpler.
That would be Steve Grindlay's list of blue plaque sites which I promised in a rash moment while on holiday.
For those wondering what a wiki is - its a generic public domain piece of software. Wikipedia is its grandest incarnation but our friends up at Virtual Norwood have one running on a smaller scale. My only reservation about it is that to net-savvy types updating is a nice intellectual challenge. I need to feel that all our current STF members would feel confident in inputing their thoughts into it.
If anyone wants to help me do it - PM me.
Admin