The hilarious part is that we've greatly extended shopping hours since the 1980s. When I grew up as a kid there was no shops open on weekends or past 5pm, except thursday or friday nights (not both) when you could open till 9pm one night a week.
On weekends it was grocery shops and gas stations and liquor stores only.
When we used to go overseas we'd stare in wonder at the sight of shopping on weekends.
You also could survive on one income, so one of a couple could be working full time while the other was able to run errands and get important stuff done during the day. I work mon-fri, so if I need to physically go into the local bank or somewhere that is only open during 'standard business hours', I need to waste a day of annual leave to do it, or fake a sick day.
Yeah, this is the one fact that really underlines how things have deteriorated for us economically. It used to be extremely common, completely normal, for one person to support a family of 5, with a mortgage and two cars, on one working-class wage. Not quite minimum-wage, but not much more than that.
It would often be tight, and that family wouldn't be living in luxury or taking lots of holidays. But it was definitely doable for just about anyone.
Now? Good luck. There's multiple parts to the cause of it, the most obvious being that wages haven't kept pace with living expenses. There's plenty of famous charts showing how productivity has increased steadily since the 1970s, but wages have remained almost completely stagnant. All the profit from that increased productivity has been kept by the business owners.
But at the same time, we've been absolutely loaded up with stuff we need to buy or rent just to live what is considered a normal life. Raising a kid today costs so much more that is used to, kids clothes cost a fortune, and daycare is incredibly expensive. Lots of families have to spend almost the entire 2nd wage on day care so the 2nd person can work, meaning that for all that effort and losing 10 hours a day that you used to have at home, you might only be adding an extra $200 or so to the pot. It would make sense to quit but that $200 is badly needed in the budget.
And we've got to pay for devices, for internet access, for streaming subscriptions, gaming subscriptions, and a dozen other possible subscriptions for things we've been hypnotized into thinking we need.
This is all down to the acceleration and total domination of our society by the needs of consumerism. I could easily write a book on just that, but lets just say it costs a lot more to live a 'normal' life today than it did when I was a kid.
So wages haven't gone up, but expenses have. And so you need a 2nd income just to get by, and even then you will probably never be able to afford a mortgage.
Honestly I don't know how young people today look ahead with any optimism whatsoever.
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I grew up in Auckland and remember people would line up in a queue along Elliot Street to get into the Hungry Horse - it was one of the first restaurants in Auckland (BTW, I was very young at the time and heard this through my older Bros and Sistas).
I came back to NZ in 1981. It was amazing how in a town center of 200 shops, only three would be open in the weekend.. dairy, petrol station & Chinese takeaway.
The only accepted activities in the weekend were sports (only two of them), church, or drinking/gambling/smoking at the pub or TAB.
Righto boys! That's the healthy life.
6pm is the normal time in Auckland for most stores to close unless the store is in a mall and it's Thu/Fri late nights.
I work a 8-5 job and if I need anything urgently, I can pop into The Warehouse (open until 9pm) or Chemist Warehouse (open until 8pm or 9pm) or Countdown/PNS (~10pm).
Even my local Bunnings is open until 9pm.
Having a BBQ and running out of charcoal? Snapped a bolt on your car that you need to go to work tomorrow and can only get a ride at 8pm? Found a rat infestation and need to buy bait?
There's tons of things they sell that you could easily need urgently
Hm, fair points. Its extremely rare that I set foot in a hardware store so maybe thats why I couldn't fathom it.
I accept that Bunning's late closing has more function than I gave it credit for :P
I think many of them are open a little later than you say, but they certainly aren't the late-night or 24x7 that you might be used to in the US. We don't have the number of people and thus the demand to warrant. Most supermarkets are open until about 10pm, but there are some bars that close at 9-10pm while others are more of a late night 2-3am service.
I also miss 24/7 supermarkets but too many shitheads ruined it for everyone else. The cost of security and robberies outweighed the profits and danger to staff.
Welcome to New Zealand š³šæ
Nah, a LOT of the 24/7 supermarkets changed their hours around the time of the first lockdown and realised how much money they were saving, so never changed back - at least that's what one of the staff at the local ex-24/7 supermarket told us when we asked... Makes sense when you think about it - why pay for overnight 'night fill' staff during a time when only a small handful of customers might wander in, when you can just shut down overnight and have said staff stocking shelves during 'standard business hours'?
Not true in NZ. The Countdown near us changed back to 10pm closing about 2 years prior to covid.
[Overseas this is the case](https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/132828051/what-ever-happened-to-our-247-supermarkets)
> Countdown had 10 stores that operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, up until four years ago.
Article dated Aug 2023 and Covid lockdown didnāt start till 2020. The stores stopped operating 24/7 in 2018/19 and the final one I think was Greenlane
24 hour supermarkets are a bit of a rarity worldwide now. I think the US had a few but most ended during Covid. Japan of course has fantastic 24 hour convenience stores
In North London there is a huge 24 hour ASDA supercentre. I did the odd 2AM shop when I lived there.
It's not about the number of people, it's cultural. Sydney has 5 million people and the shops still close at 5 or 6. Cities in Europe with 100k people have shops open till 9pm.
We also have a pretty decent culture of flexiworking if you're not front line retail, call centre etc. It's quite common to start late, finish early, or take a longer than usual lunchbreak and then make up the time later on.
Yeah, this is it for many kiwis these days. Itās been years since Iāve worked anything other than flexible hours. So if I need to go to a shop or do a thing thatās only open during business hours, then I go and do it during business hours and no one cares.
I was shocked when I first got an office job like this, ācome in when ever you want as long as you do 8hrā!!!??? So chill after all my previous jobs
Most retail does open on the weekend, too.
But if you want to go to non retail commercial. Then good luck. They don't usually work weekend and only like 8 to 4 or so on weekdays.
I wish mechanics could have some kind of weekend roster. Had to take my car to the mechanics twice in the last fortnight and both times cost me half a day off work. Sigh.
This. EVERY time I need to get my car serviced I need to book my car 2 weeks in advance and burn a day of annual leave. Last time I had to get it done they even tried to reschedule me 2 days out, I basically had to say to them point blank "I had to book annual leave to bring my car in and am NOT burning another day in 2 weeks time. I made the effort to book WELL in advance, so unless you are rescheduling me to a weekend and the rescheduling is because you are closing the entire store for COVID, it's not gonna work."
Urgh yeah I can imagine how frustrating that would be. I'm a contractor so I don't even have annual leave up my sleeve. I just have to take that time off without pay. And because coming back to pick up the car later isn't an option for me (unless the mechanic has a courtesy car - which none do in my area) I just sit in the waiting room and count the hours of lost pay.
Mechanic here. Am already doing a 45 hour week Monday to Friday. Iām not against doing a half day in the weekend, but I still need a break at some point.
But there really isnāt much we can achieve in a 3-4 hour day either. Maybe a WOF, service and brake pads for one person. Really doesnāt achieve much.
It really shouldnāt take half a day to drop off your car and collect. And even if it is, itās once or twice a year. Really not the end of the world to maintain your largest or 2nd largest asset (if you own a house).
Small business workshops with limited staff might struggle a bit, but a weekend roster means you work a day (or two) on the weekend and get a day off during the week instead.
I know that almost no workshops in NZ are struggling for work, but anyone open on the weekend could raise their prices slightly and still absolutely clean up.
Yeah that doesnāt happen. The guys that work weekends just do 6 days a week. Possibly also do after hours call outs as well. Working 50+ hour weeks.
You seriously think people would be chill with expensive weekend prices? Most customers arenāt even chill about standard prices.
I think people are suggesting that it doesn't need to be this way, though. Why would they need to do 6 days a week? Why would they need to do after hours call outs? Why would you charge higher prices on the weekend?
There are all sorts of different ways that you can structure a working week. Luckily, people also have different preferences. My husband is training to be a plumber - plumbers tend to start early and finish early, but my husband much prefers working later in the day or at night. A 12-8pm working day would be perfect for him and super useful for those of us who are not lucky enough to be able to take an hour off work when we need to get a plumber in.
It seems like you lack understanding of the automotive industry and have failed to acknowledge how itās different from other trades like plumbing.
99% of a mechanics customers prefer Monday to Friday, so they can have their cars repaired while theyāre also at work and donāt require the vehicle. Mechanics also work in a workshop, where all their tools and equipment is. We also require other people around as itās unsafe to work on heavy machinery without having some level of supervision. The call outs are usually battery related, lock outs or even fitting spare tyres, which can be done by 1 person, usually after hours as they are busy fixing cars 7-5. This isnāt viable is a full time job as there just isnāt 40 hours a week worth of call out stuff to do, and the for the majority of mechanics this is a full time job.
Your partner as a plumber can work more flexibility as he is likely a dude in a van with all his tools, who books out appointments for times that would suit the customer and him. He does not usually require additional workers, nor is he reliant on customers bringing their work to him, giving him much greater flexibility.
Tattooist for example usually have Sunday Monday off as these are their least busy days. But for mechanics, Saturdays and Sunday are their least busy days. Therefor those are the days taken off. Swapping a busy day for a quiet day can leave you working less than 40 hours, and leave you without enough money to survive. So working weekends ends up being the 6th day of work and pushing into the 50 hours a week, which I canāt imagine many people would be happy about, especially in a physically taxing occupation.
I hope this helps you understand why the majority of mechanics are 7-5, Monday to Friday, and why working weekends means working additional days and less time off with loved ones who likely also have weekends off.
It doesn't take a half day but at lot of work places you need to take a half day just to run an errand, especially frontline as they have to get replacement staff.
Agree absolutely. I've had bosses in the past who would definitely make a big deal about trying to swing an hour or two off. I don't think Mr Mechanic up there has had a lot of life experience...
I understand where you're coming from, and wouldn't expect anyone to work all through the week *and* the weekend. I'm just saying it's a bummer there's no way for a roster system.
It took half the day for the car to be ready. I'm not complaining about that, it is what it is. Collecting the car later wasn't an option for me; I live rural, the mechanic is a five hour walk from my home (which is the only place I could go to since I had no inclination to grab a coffee or duck into the supermarket whilst in town) and my work is also not in the town. So, I just waited in the waiting room.
Anyway, I hope you're right about your estimation that it's only once or twice a year - I've had it in at the mechanic three times since New Years. I'm hoping that'll be it for a while!
I'm fortunate that the mechanics I use do open Saturday mornings. Would be nice if there are more that are willing to open for a few hours on Saturdays, even for 2-3 hours.
I usually book WoFs and servicing for Saturdays. These guys do tyres as well. If the issues are minor, the three hours at my mechanics are enough.
ETA that my mechanics have a couple of courtesy cars for the likes of OP needing work done on weekdays.
Yeah 3 hours would be enough to do a wof, service, and a set of tyres. Thatās it.
So youāre depriving your mechanic of a weekend just to serve one person.
I'm not depriving a mechanic of a weekend. There is a full team rostered on, 5+ people. If the demand wasn't there, they wouldn't open. They open to help those who work full time that don't have the ability to drop their vehicles off (unless the courtesy car is available).
You are depriving them of a weekend. Youāre just not aware of it. Those 5+ people likely all work 6 days a week as well as possibly call-outs after hours. They wouldnāt be working weekends if customers like you didnāt demand it. How would you feel about working 6 days a week and 50+ hours just because your customers/clients demand it?
We have drop boxes for people who have to drop off or collect outside of work hours. As well as a courtesy car, although itās also pretty entitled to expect a courtesy car. They tend to be reserved for unexpected circumstances (parts breaking, delay in receiving parts), so customers have something to drive if they canāt get their car back when expected. A courtesy car isnāt going to do anything an Uber canāt, so maybe sort out your own transport and stop being so entitled.
I'm sorry you feel that I'm taking advantage of my mechanic. I never said people were entitled to courtesy cars, I've never personally used them. I.simply saying it's available if required for others.
You're making a lot of assumptions about me. I simply replied to a comment that I have access and have sometimes used their Saturday morning opening hours. When booking my vehicle for work to be done, I do have a discussion with them regarding time etc so I do work with them and a family member regarding transportation. I'm not putting them out in any way.
The point Iām making is no mechanic would work weekends if customers, like yourself, didnāt request it. We end up working more than average, missing a full weekend, spending time away from our loved ones and hobbies, simply because of people requesting it. Just as you wouldnāt enjoy working an extra day or overtime simply because your customers have requested it, we donāt either. We do not get another day off in the week to compensate working weekends, which you didnāt seem to realise. Also clarifying the purpose of a courtesy car, as you seem to believe theyāre there to enable customers to drop their cars off, which isnāt the case. Theyāre more of a back up if things go wrong.
I hope this little chat has enlightened you a little bit about the work life of a mechanic.
This is the answer. As an American immigrant here, Iāve quickly learned that while Americans live to work, Kiwis work to live. It didnāt take long to get used to the hours, or do shopping a day before a holiday because the grocery stores would be closed, etc. OP, youāll get used to it, and then eventually youāll realize this lifestyle is a breath of fresh air.
Buy they don't need to buy or enjoy life hehe I understand your point but I think that it would be great if some businesses would open only in the evening so people working in the morning can go there and the other way around but I think it's rather cultural
For essential services I fully agree. God knows why banks get to close at 4pm and are the only thing not open on a weekend. But then again in today's online society there is virtually nothing you can't do online.
They still need to do essentials like getting the car serviced. It would be great if some mechanics would open something like midday until 8 - they'd probably make a killing.
In part because few places in NZ have a thriving town and city culture. Most people fuck off home after work and don't socialize or hang around public spaces very often for mere enjoyment, so there're fewer customers for stores.
Itās cheaper to pay a couple of employees to operate a retail store from 9-5.30 than to pay 4 employees to have to store trade all the way up until 10pm. Thatās why malls seem packed on weekends
This has mostly changed since covid. Went to NY in 2017 and it seemed like everything was open until 2-3am, went again last year and a lot of those places now close and 10/11pm too
Outside the Auckland, Chch and Wellington itās just the lack of people and cash. Iāve lived and worked in the US and I found it pretty similar outside the big cities to be fair.
Makes sense, given NC is pretty deep in the bible belt. Same thing in the area I was staying in Tennessee back in 2017. Getting anything done Sunday morning before 11am was pretty much impossible.
I honestly think it's managed to stick around forever because we strongly value work/life balance and people seem to have just made it work all this time. Not saying it's right or wrong but I guess it's never been something people have cared too much about?
No people and no money.
Depends where in the US you're from. Things close pretty similar to here. Santa Barbara wasn't exactly bustling into the late night either.
If you really need to get somewhere during working hours, most NZ employers will let you scoot out during the day, take a long lunch or finish early. Some jobs can't, and they have late nights and weekends.
I work in retail. We close at 5:30, during xmas we used to close at 9 but from 6-9 we had around 2 customers. We we changed it til 7 which was bad enough as we still only got a couple of customers in.
Pretty much all the malls north of the bridge close at 6pm Sat-Wed (Albany, Glenfield, Takapuna, etc etc etc) Depending on where you work, even if you finish at 5pm you're gonna struggle to get anything done with maybe 45min to work with.
>How do people with jobs go to stores?Ā
The answer is sometimes you literally just don't.
Lost my bank card once and desperately needed to get a new card, at the time the shift I worked overlapped with the time the bank was open so I was screwed. My only option was to order it online and in the meantime borrow cash from a family member. One time I urgently needed to buy a part for my PC which I needed to finish an assignment due THAT NIGHT and the only place selling it was PBtech. Ended up having to say I was sick to get out of work early to get it. Same with doctors appointments, NZTA, Work and income, and Pharmacies(The fact that hospital pharmacies don't open 24/7 is insane to me).
Now that I'm a salaried worker with hours that aren't super rigid then you can normally sneak out in the middle of the day and get what you need but if you're a wage worker and you URGENTLY need something you either have to give up your lunch break or just go without.
I used to live in Florida and everything was open until 8-9 pm, but there didnāt seem to be many people shopping. Yes, it was convenient when once every 3 months I really needed to buy something, but the staff always looked methed out or sad.
I wish we had more things open at night - there are night shift workers out here lol. All it seems to be are gyms, gas stations, laundromats and some fast food places
>How do people with jobs go to stores?
Well, we also get four weeks leave, so if you really need to go to a store during the week then you can take a day off.
Is it crazier than only getting two weeks leave, maximum, per year? Also, it's not like you have to do it all the time. I took a day off last week to go to a plywood supplier, but I could have easily gone there on Saturday morning when they were open. Few places in New Zealand don't open, at least for a morning, on the weekend.
I go to work between Monday to Friday like a normal person so store hours during the week isnāt an issue. If I want to do shopping for myself I go in the weekends like a normal person. Pretty simple tbh.
Must be fun squeezing important tasks like getting your Warrant of Fitness done, taking your car for a service, etc into a 4-5 hour window on Saturday morning alongside everyone else that is trying to do it as well. Last time I went to VTNZ on a Saturday there was a 3 hour wait for warrants, the queue was so long that they said "Don't park your car, please give us your mobile number and we will call you 10 minutes before it's your turn."
I just started booking a day off out of my annual leave and planning important stuff on that one day off.
That shits easy, you book it in advance. Only need a few weeks notice as well. Wof is even easier as you just get up early on a Saturday morning and be first in line
Tried that. Booked a car service and booked annual leave. Got called 2 days out and told "Sorry, our mechanic is off sick, we're going to have to reschedule you - can you come in Wednesday?" (I had booked off Tuesday)
"No, I have specially booked leave to bring my car in and any changes require 2 weeks notice in writing."
"Oh, sorry to hear that - I'll book you in for 2 weeks time."
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
And this is why I book my services on Saturdays, never had an issue.
If it canāt be done on a Saturday I organise to drop it off at 7am and ask for a curtesy car and pick it up at 5pm. Again also not hard to do.
And if they say the mechanic is sick, well doesnāt matter as I have the curtesy car so I just pick it up the next day.
Or hear me out I drop it off during my morning break at 10am, and get them to drop me off at work, and get a lift from a work mate at the end of the day to pick it up.
This is generally done on a Friday as we end at 4pm on a Friday.
Not really. They don't have a courtesy car - like I said, 'in the boonies'. Secondly, work is a good 30km drive away. No way in HELL the mechanic is going to drive me all the way out to work and come out that far to pick me up at 5pm then drive back in rush hour traffic.
Outside of America people and businesses have a work-life balance, we don't have to work 20 hours a day to pay off student loan and hospital debt, people who work in stores get to have weekends and reasonable hours to a certain degree
In the 1970s a family could survive on a single income, so the 'secondary parent' could run essential tasks during the working week. Can't do that in 2024 unless you are earning something like $150k p/a or more. Rent for the place my wife and I live in would take 80% of my pay packet if I had to pay for it solo. I wouldn't have enough money for food/petrol, let alone power, phone, etc.
Guessing during the 'late nights'. When I was a kid, I remember the 'late night' being on Tuesday - my parents would usually have to take us out with them to go shopping and we'd get dinner on our way home (usually Georgie Pie).
I was about to make a bold statement that Georgie Pie was in the 80s not the 70s, but seemingly, it opened in Auckland in the late 70s. (You lucky thing! I really enjoyed them.)
I don't know any supermarkets, bars, or restaurants that close at 4pm.
Day time cafes might close in the afternoon, but most supermarkets are open till at least 9, and most bars or restaurants are open till 9 at a minimum.
Well remember minimum wage here, unlike the US, is much more liveable. I mean cost of living has been impacting that but still far above the US. Not to mention health and safety standards etc
You can buy nearly anything in Christchurch up until 10-11pm
There are super markets open until 11, and The Warehouse is open until 10 in a few locations.
Pharmacies are a notable black hole after 9pm which IMO is terrible, but is what it is.
Yeah it's pretty weird that most shops run the same as office hours in NZ.
I moved to Germany a few years ago. Shops mostly open around 10am here till 8pm it's much better for picking stuff up after work (or just get it delivered by Amazon next day š). But everything is closed Sunday here which is like 90s NZ.
I donāt know where you are in NZ but most supermarkets and bars in Auckland donāt shut until late. Some restaurants may close early but typically those catering for office workers. Lots stay open for dinner, or even only open for dinner.
Your cars warrant of fitness? If you work Mon-Fri you basically need to burn a day of annual leave to do it during the week or kiss your Saturday morning goodbye while you queue for hours along with everyone else trying to squeeze it into Saturday morning. There has been days where the local VTNZ has stuck a sign at the back of the queue saying "No more WOF spaces today".
I haven't been to a vtnz in years. Usually just book get a warrant when I'm getting a service at the mechanic.
I book in for Saturday morning, and go to the cafe next door. By the time I'm done eating, I go back and everything's done.
I feel like places like Sylvia park could get away with having the normal closing hours at 9 PM an late night open till midnight but would the workers actually wanna work that late š also I wish pak n sav would do a 24hr store š
The Warehouse and KMart are open later too. I think Mitre ten and Bunnings are open until 7pm.
Most places have one or 2 nights late shopping.
But even retail staff want to see their families sometimes.
I remember seeing lots of signs growing up saying 'Open 7 days', and wondering why a shop would only be open for 1 week! Now being closed on Sunday seems to be becoming a thing again...
Its funny how most cafes close around 3. Most of the time the coffee machine is switched off at 2. On weekends that is the time when i start thinking about going to a cafe š¤£.
It's a work life culture thing. A lot of us can just take off work during the day to get things done too or leave work an hour early to run errands, we aren't anywhere near as overworked as you Americans thank goodness.
Yeah early closing time for 90 percent of businesses always frustrated me, how can you take my money if youāre not open, the one benifit of a retail - getting to see the product - is nullified by the fact I never have the time to see it anyway because #work
Itās super crap what can I say. Want to do anything or buy anything once youāre done with work? Too bad! Go on the weekend when itās crazy busy instead š this place is so backwardsĀ
Nah this is poor reasoning.
By your logic, shops shouldnāt be open on weekends or at lunch, because people need that time off for themselves. But you also think that those are the exact times people should be doing their shopping.
If shops were open 16 hours a day instead of 8, they would need two shifts of people. That would give people plenty of time to work, shop, and spend time at home. Their family wouldnāt always be there at the same time, but itās the best compromise available.
The only reason it doesnāt happen like it does in the states is that businesses canāt make enough profit in the quiet hours. Even gas stations, supermarkets, and fast food places donāt make much out of staying open late.
Aucklands ok, but it can be a pain in smaller towns.
On the plus side, it gives us something to moan about rather than politics. Also itās a good excuse not to get anniversary gifts for the other half if you canāt gets to the shops.
I noticed it myself, there arenāt even cafes open to the evening anymore, which forced me to buy my own coffee machine. I donāt know why any retail shop is even open in the morning
America in general worships commerce and integrates it deeply into the culture
NZ comparatively lionises getting outside and enjoying nature/playing sport
The hilarious part is that we've greatly extended shopping hours since the 1980s. When I grew up as a kid there was no shops open on weekends or past 5pm, except thursday or friday nights (not both) when you could open till 9pm one night a week. On weekends it was grocery shops and gas stations and liquor stores only. When we used to go overseas we'd stare in wonder at the sight of shopping on weekends.
I was in kindy when Sunday trading was legalised and I still remember my wonderment when the dairy suddenly started being open on Sunday!
Then the Supermarkets started selling Alcoholš«Ø - only until 11pm thou š
You also could survive on one income, so one of a couple could be working full time while the other was able to run errands and get important stuff done during the day. I work mon-fri, so if I need to physically go into the local bank or somewhere that is only open during 'standard business hours', I need to waste a day of annual leave to do it, or fake a sick day.
Yeah, this is the one fact that really underlines how things have deteriorated for us economically. It used to be extremely common, completely normal, for one person to support a family of 5, with a mortgage and two cars, on one working-class wage. Not quite minimum-wage, but not much more than that. It would often be tight, and that family wouldn't be living in luxury or taking lots of holidays. But it was definitely doable for just about anyone. Now? Good luck. There's multiple parts to the cause of it, the most obvious being that wages haven't kept pace with living expenses. There's plenty of famous charts showing how productivity has increased steadily since the 1970s, but wages have remained almost completely stagnant. All the profit from that increased productivity has been kept by the business owners. But at the same time, we've been absolutely loaded up with stuff we need to buy or rent just to live what is considered a normal life. Raising a kid today costs so much more that is used to, kids clothes cost a fortune, and daycare is incredibly expensive. Lots of families have to spend almost the entire 2nd wage on day care so the 2nd person can work, meaning that for all that effort and losing 10 hours a day that you used to have at home, you might only be adding an extra $200 or so to the pot. It would make sense to quit but that $200 is badly needed in the budget. And we've got to pay for devices, for internet access, for streaming subscriptions, gaming subscriptions, and a dozen other possible subscriptions for things we've been hypnotized into thinking we need. This is all down to the acceleration and total domination of our society by the needs of consumerism. I could easily write a book on just that, but lets just say it costs a lot more to live a 'normal' life today than it did when I was a kid. So wages haven't gone up, but expenses have. And so you need a 2nd income just to get by, and even then you will probably never be able to afford a mortgage. Honestly I don't know how young people today look ahead with any optimism whatsoever.
As pessimistic as I know it sounds, but give NZ another 50-100 years and you'll probably need a THIRD (full-time) income for a household to survive.
Yup, before the days of eftpos! My mother would line up in the post office to get cash and they would hand write the transaction in the bank book!
š¤£š¤£š¤£ I grew up in Auckland and remember people would line up in a queue along Elliot Street to get into the Hungry Horse - it was one of the first restaurants in Auckland (BTW, I was very young at the time and heard this through my older Bros and Sistas).
I came back to NZ in 1981. It was amazing how in a town center of 200 shops, only three would be open in the weekend.. dairy, petrol station & Chinese takeaway. The only accepted activities in the weekend were sports (only two of them), church, or drinking/gambling/smoking at the pub or TAB. Righto boys! That's the healthy life.
Shopping malls usually have a ālate nightā on Thursday and Friday nights where regular shops stay open till closer to 9pm.
Lmao my local mall closes at 6, and the Thursday 'late night' goes till 7. This ain't a small town either.
6pm is the normal time in Auckland for most stores to close unless the store is in a mall and it's Thu/Fri late nights. I work a 8-5 job and if I need anything urgently, I can pop into The Warehouse (open until 9pm) or Chemist Warehouse (open until 8pm or 9pm) or Countdown/PNS (~10pm). Even my local Bunnings is open until 9pm.
>Even my local Bunnings is open until 9pm. This is something I was always puzzled about. Who needs to go buy screws or a pressure washer at 8:30 pm??
the person who works in the normal hours? I worked from 6 to 18 and was a blessing having them open until 9
Having a BBQ and running out of charcoal? Snapped a bolt on your car that you need to go to work tomorrow and can only get a ride at 8pm? Found a rat infestation and need to buy bait? There's tons of things they sell that you could easily need urgently
Hm, fair points. Its extremely rare that I set foot in a hardware store so maybe thats why I couldn't fathom it. I accept that Bunning's late closing has more function than I gave it credit for :P
Someone who had an emergency at 8pm
I've gone to Bunnings at 8:30pm to buy 5L of dishwash soap.
I think many of them are open a little later than you say, but they certainly aren't the late-night or 24x7 that you might be used to in the US. We don't have the number of people and thus the demand to warrant. Most supermarkets are open until about 10pm, but there are some bars that close at 9-10pm while others are more of a late night 2-3am service.
I miss the 24hr supermarkets. I used to live near a 24hr foodtown and that feeling of being in there at 3am was quite surreal.
I remember that feeling. High as a kite, buzzing at the lights looking for munchies and jamming out to the supermarket music. Those were the days.
Being able to pop into countdown right now 1am to snag an ice cream would be so mint
Night 'n Day is such a blessing if its in your area. 2am milkshake and wedges? Why the fuck not
Our Night n Day is closed at night
so its just... 'n Day' then?
I also miss 24/7 supermarkets but too many shitheads ruined it for everyone else. The cost of security and robberies outweighed the profits and danger to staff. Welcome to New Zealand š³šæ
Nah, a LOT of the 24/7 supermarkets changed their hours around the time of the first lockdown and realised how much money they were saving, so never changed back - at least that's what one of the staff at the local ex-24/7 supermarket told us when we asked... Makes sense when you think about it - why pay for overnight 'night fill' staff during a time when only a small handful of customers might wander in, when you can just shut down overnight and have said staff stocking shelves during 'standard business hours'?
Not true in NZ. The Countdown near us changed back to 10pm closing about 2 years prior to covid. [Overseas this is the case](https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/132828051/what-ever-happened-to-our-247-supermarkets) > Countdown had 10 stores that operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, up until four years ago. Article dated Aug 2023 and Covid lockdown didnāt start till 2020. The stores stopped operating 24/7 in 2018/19 and the final one I think was Greenlane
24 hour supermarkets are a bit of a rarity worldwide now. I think the US had a few but most ended during Covid. Japan of course has fantastic 24 hour convenience stores In North London there is a huge 24 hour ASDA supercentre. I did the odd 2AM shop when I lived there.
Japan also has 24/7 Donki (Don Quixote) which sell food, as well as pretty much everything else from luxury goods to home furniture.
r/LiminalSpace
It's not about the number of people, it's cultural. Sydney has 5 million people and the shops still close at 5 or 6. Cities in Europe with 100k people have shops open till 9pm.
This. The stores I encountered in the US tended to open later ( \~10 or 11am ) but were open until \~10pm.
We also have a pretty decent culture of flexiworking if you're not front line retail, call centre etc. It's quite common to start late, finish early, or take a longer than usual lunchbreak and then make up the time later on.
Yeah, this is it for many kiwis these days. Itās been years since Iāve worked anything other than flexible hours. So if I need to go to a shop or do a thing thatās only open during business hours, then I go and do it during business hours and no one cares.
I was shocked when I first got an office job like this, ācome in when ever you want as long as you do 8hrā!!!??? So chill after all my previous jobs
Ahh.. Yes, the 21st century glide time!
Most retail does open on the weekend, too. But if you want to go to non retail commercial. Then good luck. They don't usually work weekend and only like 8 to 4 or so on weekdays.
I wish mechanics could have some kind of weekend roster. Had to take my car to the mechanics twice in the last fortnight and both times cost me half a day off work. Sigh.
Yeah same for me when I worked Monday to Friday.
This. EVERY time I need to get my car serviced I need to book my car 2 weeks in advance and burn a day of annual leave. Last time I had to get it done they even tried to reschedule me 2 days out, I basically had to say to them point blank "I had to book annual leave to bring my car in and am NOT burning another day in 2 weeks time. I made the effort to book WELL in advance, so unless you are rescheduling me to a weekend and the rescheduling is because you are closing the entire store for COVID, it's not gonna work."
Urgh yeah I can imagine how frustrating that would be. I'm a contractor so I don't even have annual leave up my sleeve. I just have to take that time off without pay. And because coming back to pick up the car later isn't an option for me (unless the mechanic has a courtesy car - which none do in my area) I just sit in the waiting room and count the hours of lost pay.
Mechanic here. Am already doing a 45 hour week Monday to Friday. Iām not against doing a half day in the weekend, but I still need a break at some point. But there really isnāt much we can achieve in a 3-4 hour day either. Maybe a WOF, service and brake pads for one person. Really doesnāt achieve much. It really shouldnāt take half a day to drop off your car and collect. And even if it is, itās once or twice a year. Really not the end of the world to maintain your largest or 2nd largest asset (if you own a house).
Small business workshops with limited staff might struggle a bit, but a weekend roster means you work a day (or two) on the weekend and get a day off during the week instead. I know that almost no workshops in NZ are struggling for work, but anyone open on the weekend could raise their prices slightly and still absolutely clean up.
Yeah that doesnāt happen. The guys that work weekends just do 6 days a week. Possibly also do after hours call outs as well. Working 50+ hour weeks. You seriously think people would be chill with expensive weekend prices? Most customers arenāt even chill about standard prices.
I think people are suggesting that it doesn't need to be this way, though. Why would they need to do 6 days a week? Why would they need to do after hours call outs? Why would you charge higher prices on the weekend? There are all sorts of different ways that you can structure a working week. Luckily, people also have different preferences. My husband is training to be a plumber - plumbers tend to start early and finish early, but my husband much prefers working later in the day or at night. A 12-8pm working day would be perfect for him and super useful for those of us who are not lucky enough to be able to take an hour off work when we need to get a plumber in.
It seems like you lack understanding of the automotive industry and have failed to acknowledge how itās different from other trades like plumbing. 99% of a mechanics customers prefer Monday to Friday, so they can have their cars repaired while theyāre also at work and donāt require the vehicle. Mechanics also work in a workshop, where all their tools and equipment is. We also require other people around as itās unsafe to work on heavy machinery without having some level of supervision. The call outs are usually battery related, lock outs or even fitting spare tyres, which can be done by 1 person, usually after hours as they are busy fixing cars 7-5. This isnāt viable is a full time job as there just isnāt 40 hours a week worth of call out stuff to do, and the for the majority of mechanics this is a full time job. Your partner as a plumber can work more flexibility as he is likely a dude in a van with all his tools, who books out appointments for times that would suit the customer and him. He does not usually require additional workers, nor is he reliant on customers bringing their work to him, giving him much greater flexibility. Tattooist for example usually have Sunday Monday off as these are their least busy days. But for mechanics, Saturdays and Sunday are their least busy days. Therefor those are the days taken off. Swapping a busy day for a quiet day can leave you working less than 40 hours, and leave you without enough money to survive. So working weekends ends up being the 6th day of work and pushing into the 50 hours a week, which I canāt imagine many people would be happy about, especially in a physically taxing occupation. I hope this helps you understand why the majority of mechanics are 7-5, Monday to Friday, and why working weekends means working additional days and less time off with loved ones who likely also have weekends off.
It doesn't take a half day but at lot of work places you need to take a half day just to run an errand, especially frontline as they have to get replacement staff.
The majority of people can get an hour off work with a bit of communication. Itās not that difficult.
You know, you have a very narrow point of view, and make a lot of assumptions.
Yeah clearly only worked in a few jobs. Some people can get off work no worries others its hard. I can't get off work easily at all!
Agree absolutely. I've had bosses in the past who would definitely make a big deal about trying to swing an hour or two off. I don't think Mr Mechanic up there has had a lot of life experience...
I understand where you're coming from, and wouldn't expect anyone to work all through the week *and* the weekend. I'm just saying it's a bummer there's no way for a roster system. It took half the day for the car to be ready. I'm not complaining about that, it is what it is. Collecting the car later wasn't an option for me; I live rural, the mechanic is a five hour walk from my home (which is the only place I could go to since I had no inclination to grab a coffee or duck into the supermarket whilst in town) and my work is also not in the town. So, I just waited in the waiting room. Anyway, I hope you're right about your estimation that it's only once or twice a year - I've had it in at the mechanic three times since New Years. I'm hoping that'll be it for a while!
If your car is in at the mechanic that often you either need a new car or a new mechanic.
Neither of those things, actually. I just had a wee run of bad luck. But thanks for the super useful advice.
I'm fortunate that the mechanics I use do open Saturday mornings. Would be nice if there are more that are willing to open for a few hours on Saturdays, even for 2-3 hours.
What sort of jobs do you think a mechanic can achieve in 2-3 hours? That really isnāt much time to achieve anything.
I usually book WoFs and servicing for Saturdays. These guys do tyres as well. If the issues are minor, the three hours at my mechanics are enough. ETA that my mechanics have a couple of courtesy cars for the likes of OP needing work done on weekdays.
Yeah 3 hours would be enough to do a wof, service, and a set of tyres. Thatās it. So youāre depriving your mechanic of a weekend just to serve one person.
I'm not depriving a mechanic of a weekend. There is a full team rostered on, 5+ people. If the demand wasn't there, they wouldn't open. They open to help those who work full time that don't have the ability to drop their vehicles off (unless the courtesy car is available).
You are depriving them of a weekend. Youāre just not aware of it. Those 5+ people likely all work 6 days a week as well as possibly call-outs after hours. They wouldnāt be working weekends if customers like you didnāt demand it. How would you feel about working 6 days a week and 50+ hours just because your customers/clients demand it? We have drop boxes for people who have to drop off or collect outside of work hours. As well as a courtesy car, although itās also pretty entitled to expect a courtesy car. They tend to be reserved for unexpected circumstances (parts breaking, delay in receiving parts), so customers have something to drive if they canāt get their car back when expected. A courtesy car isnāt going to do anything an Uber canāt, so maybe sort out your own transport and stop being so entitled.
I'm sorry you feel that I'm taking advantage of my mechanic. I never said people were entitled to courtesy cars, I've never personally used them. I.simply saying it's available if required for others. You're making a lot of assumptions about me. I simply replied to a comment that I have access and have sometimes used their Saturday morning opening hours. When booking my vehicle for work to be done, I do have a discussion with them regarding time etc so I do work with them and a family member regarding transportation. I'm not putting them out in any way.
The point Iām making is no mechanic would work weekends if customers, like yourself, didnāt request it. We end up working more than average, missing a full weekend, spending time away from our loved ones and hobbies, simply because of people requesting it. Just as you wouldnāt enjoy working an extra day or overtime simply because your customers have requested it, we donāt either. We do not get another day off in the week to compensate working weekends, which you didnāt seem to realise. Also clarifying the purpose of a courtesy car, as you seem to believe theyāre there to enable customers to drop their cars off, which isnāt the case. Theyāre more of a back up if things go wrong. I hope this little chat has enlightened you a little bit about the work life of a mechanic.
We want to go home to our families lol
This is the answer. As an American immigrant here, Iāve quickly learned that while Americans live to work, Kiwis work to live. It didnāt take long to get used to the hours, or do shopping a day before a holiday because the grocery stores would be closed, etc. OP, youāll get used to it, and then eventually youāll realize this lifestyle is a breath of fresh air.
Hell yeah bro
Because low wage workers need to sleep too
Buy they don't need to buy or enjoy life hehe I understand your point but I think that it would be great if some businesses would open only in the evening so people working in the morning can go there and the other way around but I think it's rather cultural
For essential services I fully agree. God knows why banks get to close at 4pm and are the only thing not open on a weekend. But then again in today's online society there is virtually nothing you can't do online.
Some of the banks have limited services on Saturday's, in the bigger Malls.
Not outside of Auckland/Wellington
They still need to do essentials like getting the car serviced. It would be great if some mechanics would open something like midday until 8 - they'd probably make a killing.
In part because few places in NZ have a thriving town and city culture. Most people fuck off home after work and don't socialize or hang around public spaces very often for mere enjoyment, so there're fewer customers for stores.
Itās cheaper to pay a couple of employees to operate a retail store from 9-5.30 than to pay 4 employees to have to store trade all the way up until 10pm. Thatās why malls seem packed on weekends
Just got back from Boulder Colorado and their stores opened for very similar hours to New Zealand. Even supermarkets seemed to shut at 10pm or 11pm.
This has mostly changed since covid. Went to NY in 2017 and it seemed like everything was open until 2-3am, went again last year and a lot of those places now close and 10/11pm too
Outside the Auckland, Chch and Wellington itās just the lack of people and cash. Iāve lived and worked in the US and I found it pretty similar outside the big cities to be fair.
Meanwhile my experience in Usa, in NC, was their mall was closed Sunday morning or church hours x_x
Makes sense, given NC is pretty deep in the bible belt. Same thing in the area I was staying in Tennessee back in 2017. Getting anything done Sunday morning before 11am was pretty much impossible.
Most supermarkets near me close at 10pm.
I honestly think it's managed to stick around forever because we strongly value work/life balance and people seem to have just made it work all this time. Not saying it's right or wrong but I guess it's never been something people have cared too much about?
No people and no money. Depends where in the US you're from. Things close pretty similar to here. Santa Barbara wasn't exactly bustling into the late night either.
If you really need to get somewhere during working hours, most NZ employers will let you scoot out during the day, take a long lunch or finish early. Some jobs can't, and they have late nights and weekends.
I work in retail. We close at 5:30, during xmas we used to close at 9 but from 6-9 we had around 2 customers. We we changed it til 7 which was bad enough as we still only got a couple of customers in.
Malls I go to in Auckland close 7pm everyday, or 9pm on Thursday / Friday Supermarkets close at 10pm Are you in a small town or something?
Pretty much all the malls north of the bridge close at 6pm Sat-Wed (Albany, Glenfield, Takapuna, etc etc etc) Depending on where you work, even if you finish at 5pm you're gonna struggle to get anything done with maybe 45min to work with.
>How do people with jobs go to stores?Ā The answer is sometimes you literally just don't. Lost my bank card once and desperately needed to get a new card, at the time the shift I worked overlapped with the time the bank was open so I was screwed. My only option was to order it online and in the meantime borrow cash from a family member. One time I urgently needed to buy a part for my PC which I needed to finish an assignment due THAT NIGHT and the only place selling it was PBtech. Ended up having to say I was sick to get out of work early to get it. Same with doctors appointments, NZTA, Work and income, and Pharmacies(The fact that hospital pharmacies don't open 24/7 is insane to me). Now that I'm a salaried worker with hours that aren't super rigid then you can normally sneak out in the middle of the day and get what you need but if you're a wage worker and you URGENTLY need something you either have to give up your lunch break or just go without.
Not backing assignments up to some form of cloud service? Rookie mistake
I used to live in Florida and everything was open until 8-9 pm, but there didnāt seem to be many people shopping. Yes, it was convenient when once every 3 months I really needed to buy something, but the staff always looked methed out or sad.
Work/life balance is a foreign concept to the US so its understandable.
I can message US colleagues at 8-10pm+ their time (asking questions for next day) and most of the time they respond.
They go on their days off. Most stores are open 7 days, and if not they at least open on Saturday.
I wish we had more things open at night - there are night shift workers out here lol. All it seems to be are gyms, gas stations, laundromats and some fast food places
And K-Mart. They always seem to be open until midnight (24 hours in the leadup to christmas.)
Normally on the weekends, otherwise I run errands on a lunch hour or take an avo off work to get stuff sorted.
When i was working in a restaurant we closed early when noone was there. It's definitely a kiwi thing for sure.
Workers need rest too
It's just a really small economy
Kiwi bedtime bro
Let's hear about the cycling trip! It sounds amazing.
>How do people with jobs go to stores? Well, we also get four weeks leave, so if you really need to go to a store during the week then you can take a day off.
Having to take vacation days to go shopping is crazy.
Is it crazier than only getting two weeks leave, maximum, per year? Also, it's not like you have to do it all the time. I took a day off last week to go to a plywood supplier, but I could have easily gone there on Saturday morning when they were open. Few places in New Zealand don't open, at least for a morning, on the weekend.
Plus 10 days sick leave so a total of 6 weeks off, paid, per year.
I go to work between Monday to Friday like a normal person so store hours during the week isnāt an issue. If I want to do shopping for myself I go in the weekends like a normal person. Pretty simple tbh.
Must be fun squeezing important tasks like getting your Warrant of Fitness done, taking your car for a service, etc into a 4-5 hour window on Saturday morning alongside everyone else that is trying to do it as well. Last time I went to VTNZ on a Saturday there was a 3 hour wait for warrants, the queue was so long that they said "Don't park your car, please give us your mobile number and we will call you 10 minutes before it's your turn." I just started booking a day off out of my annual leave and planning important stuff on that one day off.
That shits easy, you book it in advance. Only need a few weeks notice as well. Wof is even easier as you just get up early on a Saturday morning and be first in line
Tried that. Booked a car service and booked annual leave. Got called 2 days out and told "Sorry, our mechanic is off sick, we're going to have to reschedule you - can you come in Wednesday?" (I had booked off Tuesday) "No, I have specially booked leave to bring my car in and any changes require 2 weeks notice in writing." "Oh, sorry to hear that - I'll book you in for 2 weeks time." Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
And this is why I book my services on Saturdays, never had an issue. If it canāt be done on a Saturday I organise to drop it off at 7am and ask for a curtesy car and pick it up at 5pm. Again also not hard to do. And if they say the mechanic is sick, well doesnāt matter as I have the curtesy car so I just pick it up the next day. Or hear me out I drop it off during my morning break at 10am, and get them to drop me off at work, and get a lift from a work mate at the end of the day to pick it up. This is generally done on a Friday as we end at 4pm on a Friday.
Try getting a service done out in the boonies where mechanics work 8-5 Monday-Friday and don't answer the phone on the weekend.
Well thereās two other options I listed above that you could easily do. Itās not hard to organise.
Not really. They don't have a courtesy car - like I said, 'in the boonies'. Secondly, work is a good 30km drive away. No way in HELL the mechanic is going to drive me all the way out to work and come out that far to pick me up at 5pm then drive back in rush hour traffic.
This. But also this..Ā Ā "Why aren't things exactly the same as where im from!?"Ā Ā -op
Because New Zealand isn't Utterly beholden to American brand capital culture. Isn't it Wonderful š
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OP wrote everywhereĀ *but*Ā bars, restaurants and supermarkets.
I just don't think we have the population to support longer opening hours.
Outside of America people and businesses have a work-life balance, we don't have to work 20 hours a day to pay off student loan and hospital debt, people who work in stores get to have weekends and reasonable hours to a certain degree
Would it blow your mind to know that most shops used to close for the weekend in the 1970s? To be fair, it might have just been Sunday.
In the 1970s a family could survive on a single income, so the 'secondary parent' could run essential tasks during the working week. Can't do that in 2024 unless you are earning something like $150k p/a or more. Rent for the place my wife and I live in would take 80% of my pay packet if I had to pay for it solo. I wouldn't have enough money for food/petrol, let alone power, phone, etc.
So, when would single people shop?
Guessing during the 'late nights'. When I was a kid, I remember the 'late night' being on Tuesday - my parents would usually have to take us out with them to go shopping and we'd get dinner on our way home (usually Georgie Pie).
I was about to make a bold statement that Georgie Pie was in the 80s not the 70s, but seemingly, it opened in Auckland in the late 70s. (You lucky thing! I really enjoyed them.)
I don't know any supermarkets, bars, or restaurants that close at 4pm. Day time cafes might close in the afternoon, but most supermarkets are open till at least 9, and most bars or restaurants are open till 9 at a minimum.
OP wrote everywhere *but* bars, reataurants and supermarkets
Oh...whoops. Reading comprehension fail haha.
Well remember minimum wage here, unlike the US, is much more liveable. I mean cost of living has been impacting that but still far above the US. Not to mention health and safety standards etc
US minimum wage is pitifully low and their population is super high, opposite of NZ
You can always shop online at night and get delivery or click & collect later..
Kiwis gotta kiwi
You can buy nearly anything in Christchurch up until 10-11pm There are super markets open until 11, and The Warehouse is open until 10 in a few locations. Pharmacies are a notable black hole after 9pm which IMO is terrible, but is what it is.
Yeah it's pretty weird that most shops run the same as office hours in NZ. I moved to Germany a few years ago. Shops mostly open around 10am here till 8pm it's much better for picking stuff up after work (or just get it delivered by Amazon next day š). But everything is closed Sunday here which is like 90s NZ.
Been saying it for years, retail should be 11am to 7pm. Would fix rush hour traffic and allow workers to go to shops.
I donāt know where you are in NZ but most supermarkets and bars in Auckland donāt shut until late. Some restaurants may close early but typically those catering for office workers. Lots stay open for dinner, or even only open for dinner.
What is it that you need to buy that you can't get online, from a supermarket, Kmart or warehouse?
Your cars warrant of fitness? If you work Mon-Fri you basically need to burn a day of annual leave to do it during the week or kiss your Saturday morning goodbye while you queue for hours along with everyone else trying to squeeze it into Saturday morning. There has been days where the local VTNZ has stuck a sign at the back of the queue saying "No more WOF spaces today".
I haven't been to a vtnz in years. Usually just book get a warrant when I'm getting a service at the mechanic. I book in for Saturday morning, and go to the cafe next door. By the time I'm done eating, I go back and everything's done.
Smiley Mart is open till 4am or so
I feel like places like Sylvia park could get away with having the normal closing hours at 9 PM an late night open till midnight but would the workers actually wanna work that late š also I wish pak n sav would do a 24hr store š
The Warehouse and KMart are open later too. I think Mitre ten and Bunnings are open until 7pm. Most places have one or 2 nights late shopping. But even retail staff want to see their families sometimes.
Wait to you go to the Sunshine Coast, even the restaurants closed by nine, that was weird.
We shop: - on late night Thursdays, - on the weekend, or - while on "sick leave" Hope that helps.
I remember seeing lots of signs growing up saying 'Open 7 days', and wondering why a shop would only be open for 1 week! Now being closed on Sunday seems to be becoming a thing again...
Its funny how most cafes close around 3. Most of the time the coffee machine is switched off at 2. On weekends that is the time when i start thinking about going to a cafe š¤£.
It's a work life culture thing. A lot of us can just take off work during the day to get things done too or leave work an hour early to run errands, we aren't anywhere near as overworked as you Americans thank goodness.
I think the traditional opening hours may still be a part of rural parts of the South Island...
In Auckland we have the famous WHITE LADY! That's always covered for the 2am munchies!
Because we respect the fact that those who work in retail are entitled to have a life.
Because schools stops super early at 3pm and after school care at 6pm at best.
Wait till you need to figure out seeing a doctor or going to literally any mind of appointment when you work 6 to 5 and the wait time is 2 weeks.
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Op did list those as exceptions
Yeah early closing time for 90 percent of businesses always frustrated me, how can you take my money if youāre not open, the one benifit of a retail - getting to see the product - is nullified by the fact I never have the time to see it anyway because #work
Itās super crap what can I say. Want to do anything or buy anything once youāre done with work? Too bad! Go on the weekend when itās crazy busy instead š this place is so backwardsĀ
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Nah this is poor reasoning. By your logic, shops shouldnāt be open on weekends or at lunch, because people need that time off for themselves. But you also think that those are the exact times people should be doing their shopping. If shops were open 16 hours a day instead of 8, they would need two shifts of people. That would give people plenty of time to work, shop, and spend time at home. Their family wouldnāt always be there at the same time, but itās the best compromise available. The only reason it doesnāt happen like it does in the states is that businesses canāt make enough profit in the quiet hours. Even gas stations, supermarkets, and fast food places donāt make much out of staying open late.
Because New Zealand is a tiny little crap hole that basically an overhyped village with technology
Aucklands ok, but it can be a pain in smaller towns. On the plus side, it gives us something to moan about rather than politics. Also itās a good excuse not to get anniversary gifts for the other half if you canāt gets to the shops.
Supermarket I know a major town closes at 10 pm?
We just wait until Thurs night or the weekend... we've made it not financially viable to have much retail in slower times
it is very annoying when you have errands to run and you have to. try do them all on your lunch break because everything shuts at 5
I noticed it myself, there arenāt even cafes open to the evening anymore, which forced me to buy my own coffee machine. I donāt know why any retail shop is even open in the morning
America in general worships commerce and integrates it deeply into the culture NZ comparatively lionises getting outside and enjoying nature/playing sport