Jan Higgins wrote:I would only employ a Dover firm if what they promise to provide is reliable and the best value for money, most small firms can not afford to do otherwise or they will go out of business, altruism is only fine if you can afford it.
I wouldn't argue against the reliability aspect Jan but I would counter against the 'best value for money' part of your post. If we (the Dover business community) were to deal with each other as a preference, not only would we build up valuable business links (which, in time, is reflected in the prices charged), we would keep Dover business in Dover.
We could quite easily get Dover Life printed in China, or indeed through our own Printing.com franchise, for considerably less. We choose to place our work with Buckland Press and in the process we keep the money within Dover.
Neil Wiggins has assured me that
"DPPT has a commitment to ensuring that when the relevant expertise is available locally, it should be sourced locally whenever and wherever possible. There will be exceptions from time to time, but they will be exceptions. The general rule and common practise will be to source requirements from local firms."
It's a matter of educating businesses and the will to lift Dover up by its bootstraps Jan.
"All in it together" has to start somewhere, let's stick our fingers up to the rest of the country and look after ourselves for a change.