Site Shops

Just about every " site detail" page mentions a shop and what is sold. I suppose newspapers could be bad for our health too but I've always appreciated the sites which order papers. There are some places, Altnaharra springs to mind where forgetting something entails a very long journey. I wonder what will happen to food vendors on sites will they still be allowed to visit or is this too risky for our well being. 

Do hope the club makes an official announcement as their blurb on site details is now misleading.

It seems to me to be yet another law being misunderstood and misapplied.

Natasha's Law came into force, requiring all food businesses to provide full ingredients labelling on food that has been pre-packed for direct sale. The legislation is designed to better protect those with allergies and give them greater confidence in the food they buy.

Under the law, any business producing pre-packed food for direct sale is required to label it with the name of the food and a full ingredients list that emphasises allergenic ingredients.

It is unlikely that a site shop or operator would need to register as a food business and if you do not need to be registered, you are not legally required to provide information for consumers about allergens present in the food.  If the site shop was selling pre-packaged food then the liability for correct packaging and ingredient information rests with the food business or producer not the seller or reseller.

I've asked for confirmation from CAMC as I think it's in the interests of the membership especially if site details are now incorrect.

So it seems a "multi million pound leisure industry" can't even organise a pint of milk. 

Could also argue it provides another nail in CMC's coffin .🤔.

I think most folks will happily give a small independent shop the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a slightly different world when it comes to larger organisations and corporate businesses. Sadly, we have gone the way of the USA and litigation is a daily hazard for some businesses.

I don’t wholly disagree with your sentiments, I do think that first and foremost, people should try and take responsibility if and where they can, and recognise that there might be an element of risk around anything we do. But, some simply don’t or won’t, and that’s why we have to have risk assessments, which then become a decision making issue around costs and affordability. 

This sounds a bit of a mix of the Club as an organisation having done an RA and passing findings onto staff, and the staff making their minds up about it being worth the effort and accountability?

I worked for a Local Authority, and had claims of all sorts to deal with on a weekly basis. A couple did go to court, but most got dealt with as the claimants doing something irresponsible, but that’s a long time ago now, and things are a lot worse. I’d hazard a guess the Club deal with quite a few who try it on, and it’s hard work for staff trying to keep on top of things Club related, let alone anything they do for themselves. 

It’s a shame though. A few camping basics were very useful, and we always tried to support the efforts of the Site Staff. I hope those that do crafts for charity can continue.

I wonder if there could be some clarification about the likes of toilet chemicals as I wonder if these are provided by the Club for sites to sell via their tie up with Prima Leisure? 

We know that replenishment of gas cylinders is also a site staff responsibility in so far as they have to finance and arrange deliveries. Surely if it's too time consuming to arrange for a small selection of essentials to be available in reception (as suggested by JK)  is there now doubt that campsites will in the future be selling replacement cylinders?

David

We would miss the cylinder sales more than anything else, as we often used to pop in even if staying on a nearby CL. But I am guessing it’s no longer as easy for staff to get the cylinders anymore.

It would be good if the Club could offer a definitive statement around the resale issue to Members, but as per usual, much is being learnt by second hand methods.🤷‍♀️

From what I've been reading lately that coffin's got no room for any more nails!  

Just to answer a few points raised. The club haven't "banned" staff running a shop at all, they just require those that wish to to have their required admin policies followed. Staff supply their own fridges/ freezers. If you sell anything at all edible you have to register with the LA. Last year there was no shop at Poolsbrook. The shop at Brecon and Hillhead are run by the club with separate employees. 

We still supply Calor where available along with green toilet chemical and rock pegs, all these are supplied through the club. 

TW mentioned earlier that a site shop was the "expected" thing. A while back we worked a busy site in West Cornwall for 4 years. We felt we were expected to run a shop as there had always been one. We hated every minute of it, hours of your own time getting in stock, a scary debt at the start of the season with no guarantee of it being paid back, usually taking 4 months at least. Taking 2 years of any profits to pay back the cost of fridges etc. After the tax man had his grab the profits were half a ferry ticket to Spain. Not to mention the unhappy customers because we didn't stock what they required.  Ttda touched on it earlier, with all that's expected now to do that shop I like many others have decided it's just not worth it.

JK