An update on sustaining Digin...
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This ‘word cloud’  was created using survey responses to what you like best about shopping with us at Digin. We love its colour, vibrancy and the way it brings together many of the things our community business aspires to. We hope it reflects your experience of shopping at Digin.

We are so proud of what we have achieved, and we value your contribution and support. However, the bottom line is, to ensure Digin continues as a community owned greengrocer on Bruntsfield Place we need to do more to achieve financial sustainability. We are close to being a viable but not there yet.

Staff and the management committee have been seeking advice and we are in the process of implementing a series of measures to address difficulties and make positive changes but we need your help to achieve this.


If you are a Digin supporter and want us to keep the supply of lovely fresh local fruit and veg going these are the ways you can help:  

  • use it or lose it? Digin is your community shop, if you want it to stay please make it your habit to shop with us – often!
  • spread the word, print this flier and give it to friends and neighbours who are new to Digin
  • buy a share and become a member of Bruntsfield Community Greengrocers Cooperative - pick up a form at the shop
  • Open a Digin supporters account - easily done the next time you're in the shop
  • Give a Digin gift card for Christmas – available in the shop
Find out more – the next meeting of the management Committee will be an open meeting. All are welcome to find out more and other ways you can contribute at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 29 November upstairs in Morningside library. Please RSVP to chair@diginbruntsfield.co.uk so we have an idea of numbers.

Now, here are some results from our recent survey...

A huge thank you to nearly 80 supporters, customers and community members who completed our survey this autumn. Your responses and feedback mean so much to us, and we’re already acting on the feedback you provided. Some key themes from the responses are summarised below.

We had so much positive response, so many useful, constructive, supportive comments and suggestions and so many honest comments to our survey – all of which we appreciate. A big thank you for comments!

We’ve summarised the results below, along with how we’re progressing the feedback you provided.
  • 77% of respondents are satisfied with our stock… this made us very happy! But – we know more of you need to join the 14% of you who are Very Satisfied. We’re working to improve stock rotation, managing our ordering and keeping on top of the tired fruit and veg so that our shelves, boxes and baskets always look their best.
  • Fewer than 15% of respondents shop with us more than once a week – most respondents said they shopped with us weekly or monthly, so we’re not the convenient go-to store we want to be just yet. We’re working on that in a variety of ways – though our range of stock, pricing and advertising. 
  • Almost 50% of respondents felt our prices compared well with other shops. We agree! We really are cost competitive in many areas – especially our organic fruit and veg and many staple fruit and veg items. However, we know that whilst you value our local, community presence, pricing of stock is important to customers. We are taking a few steps to improve in this area –
    • We know we are most cost competitive in the realm of fruit and veg, and we’re doing more to show that through more publicity. Help spread the word please – if all customers brought a friend we’d be well and truly a sustainable feature on Bruntsfield Place.
    • The size of our shop makes it difficult to compare with larger shops with more buying power on items we carry in the backroom. What we’re doing to help lower our prices here is improving a more budget basics range in the backroom as well as sourcing stock that you won’t find anywhere.Look out for our WeLoveLocal Christmas give ideas…
  • You asked for more dairy in our wee chiller – cheeses, semi-skimmed milk, crème fraiche. We’re doing it! We are looking to source more local hard cheeses also. 
  • You asked about options for bulk ordering – we’re more than happy to bulk order for you. Become a Supporter by topping up a Supporter’s Card (regularly or as needed) and we’ll tell you about our bulk ordering options...
  • You asked for more visibility of what we have in stock on a regular basis. We’ve spruced up our A- frame blackboard to put outside the shop and are trying to update more regularly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. More volunteers means more time to do stuff like this… did we mention it was fun too!?
  • Soup Saturdays are a favourite! Respondents said Soup Saturdays, product tastings and presenting at community events were their three favourite Community Engagement activities  Our next event will be the Bruntsfield Christmas Evening, 7th December. Join us for mulled wine and snacks at the shop.
  • Community, Friendly and Local are the three most common ways respondents described what they like about Dig In Bruntsfield (the full word cloud is above). That’s what we’re aiming for, and we’re glad you agree! Now we need your help to stay that way.
Thank you again for your responses.

We hope to see you in the shop soon.  Please come in, have a chat, consider volunteering or buying that extra root veg to help us be sustainable. Please do give us any other feedback you feel is important and relevant to our current situation – whether in person or to welovecommunity@diginbruntsfield.co.uk.

Finally, join us for mulled wine during the Bruntsfield Christmas Evening on 7th December, and please consider attending our AGM/Supporter event in January. We’ve a great guest speaker lined up and want to use the session as well as holding the AGM to give you an update on where we’re at and to get your thoughts on our way forwards in 2017 and, we hope, beyond.
 

 

Copyright © 2016 Dig-In Bruntsfield Community Greengrocers Ltd, All rights reserved.


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