Monday, September 11, 2006
The Mystery of Heel Bars
For the first time ever today, I had keys that needed cutting, and shoes that need new soles simultaneously. While-I-waited for both jobs to get done, I pondered why the two businesses frequently coexist on the same premises. Some thoughts:
1. Both key cutting and shoe heeling are dependent on high passing foot traffic, and need only small premises, because they don't carry stock. This makes them ideal for low rent kiosks.
2. Both businesses require employees with rudimentary mechanical skills, and a disregard for personal safety. Watching the key machine generating sparks without eye protectors was terrifying. Equally the guys rivet-gunning my soles on, really ought to know better than to do it by hand.
3. Probably most important is that resoling shoes is a very seasonal activity. If heel bars are going to keep going through the dry summer months, they need a steady secondary business like key cutting, to keep the cash flow up.
1. Both key cutting and shoe heeling are dependent on high passing foot traffic, and need only small premises, because they don't carry stock. This makes them ideal for low rent kiosks.
2. Both businesses require employees with rudimentary mechanical skills, and a disregard for personal safety. Watching the key machine generating sparks without eye protectors was terrifying. Equally the guys rivet-gunning my soles on, really ought to know better than to do it by hand.
3. Probably most important is that resoling shoes is a very seasonal activity. If heel bars are going to keep going through the dry summer months, they need a steady secondary business like key cutting, to keep the cash flow up.
Tags: keycutting, heelbars,
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