Hello, girls! Here I am again for another week on my blog, fifteen days late, it’s true, but here I am! I couldn't help but start by talking about my famous TikTok. Wow, believe me, it was a spontaneous joke, inspired by other colleagues, I confess, and it went viral in 2 days!!! It's true, in 2 days on TikTok we reached, as of the time I'm writing the blog, 89.5 thousand views, 1927 likes, 34 comments, and many shares. Not even I imagined it would become such a phenomenon.
On Facebook, opinions were divided, I mean! Out of 87 comments, 4 people didn't find it funny. I respect that, as not everyone has the same sense of humor, but, overall, it was a success. Work colleagues talked about me in live broadcasts, others commented on the video. On the street it was very funny, a lady yelled from across the sidewalk and said: "Carla, can you give me a little discount? (lol)". I'm famous! At this rate, Filipe La Féria might even invite me for his next play (hehe).
We have to face life with a smile, because if we take everything too seriously, it's not even worth thinking about, we'd have TikToks that would never end. Changing the subject, it's Easter and, just like Christmas, it doesn't even feel like Easter. I've already commented on this and I repeat: traditions are breaking down more and more, there isn't that glamour of yesteryear. I remember, about 15 years ago, we sold so much at this time, everyone wanted to wear new clothes (true). They took advantage of school holidays and traveled to the villages to be with family and friends, to kiss the cross of the compasso, but always in new clothes. I remember my childhood, my godmother, being a seamstress, and my mother, always made me a "new outfit", bought me matching shoes and, on Easter Sunday, I always paraded in my new clothes... Different times!
Nowadays, the offer is so vast, almost daily, whether in large supermarkets or in videos or live streams, that almost every week we wear new clothes, just a click away on our phones, whether on a website or a Facebook page, and in minutes we buy a new item, far from the magic of traditional commerce full of movement, crowds looking at shop windows, bustling shops, choosing an item to wear or to give as a gift. Where is that tradition? It has simply disappeared... Most people now take advantage of the Easter mini-holidays and escape to warmer climates, and they don't go to the villages to visit relatives who, sometimes, are eager for these dates to see their loved ones...
What I mean by this is that Easter is now just another date on the calendar, almost without tradition, but a sign of holidays... By this I mean that we, street commerce, are always learning to reinvent and adapt to situations. Nothing is guaranteed and, no matter how much experience I have in this area, sometimes I feel like a fish out of water, because I am family-oriented and I like history, and I get sad when customers say "I don't care about Easter anymore, I just like the holidays..." Traditional commerce has to find strategies to bring customers back to the streets, to value personalized service, to learn to listen, to learn to communicate.
Most shopping mall stores are replacing people with machines; increasingly, people shop alone, pay alone, put their purchases in bags alone, they don't talk, they don't communicate with anyone. And what
happens next!? These "kids nowadays" can't say anything worthwhile, they can't have a conversation because their life experience is zero. And that's the world we live in right now.
So, dear followers and friends, don't be sad or offended by a little joke in a video I made, where I show the daily reality of street commerce. The customer comes in, complains that everything in the mall is the same, no one helps, they are just another number. They talk to us, tell us a little about themselves, we talk a little about ourselves, sometimes we laugh, we cry, we exchange confidences. We advise and are unable to force anything on them. In the end, usually, sometimes after 2 hours, we put everything in bags, give a discount and sometimes they even pay with a credit card, which currently costs us an extra 2.5%. And they say: "Can't you give me more discount? And I still have to pay the cents?" It's not a question of a small discount, it's a question of common sense. Street shops often go hours without anyone entering the store, many times we close at zero, but the expenses are always the same, or even more.
It wasn't to offend anyone, it was just a heads-up and to value our work a little, you understand? We would have many other stories to tell, but there will also be many other blogs.
Going back to the beginning, it's just to say that our TikTok has surpassed 93,000 views. I'm really happy! Enjoy the Easter holidays and visit us, believe me, we'll give you all a discount (laughs).
I love you, girls. Thank you for always being here!
I wish you all a Happy Easter.
A kiss to your hearts.
Warmly, Carla Valente.
