Navan Chamber plans Business Watch scheme to tackle crime

Navan will shortly have its own 'Business Watch" programme as the local Chamber of Commerce Commerce is launching the initiative in the town. The Chamber also hosted a very successful talk by businessman Senator Fergal Quinn to local businesses on Monday night. The Chamber is working with the Gardai to set up a Business Watch programme. Once a committee has been set up, it will meet on a monthly basis and discuss and deal with issues of crime prevention in Navan. According to the Chamber, with the restriction on staffing levels and the spate of recent burglaries at businesses in the town, it is important for all retailers and businesses to pull together as a community to try and minimise the risk to everybody. Where Business Watch programmes have been set up elsewhere, they have proved to be an excellent communication tool to ensure that Gardai and businesspeople can exchange views on crime matters. The Crime Prevention Officer from Navan Gardai will be giving a talk on Wednesday 15th July at 6.15pm at Ryan"s Bar on Trimgate Street with tips of how to progress the programme further. All are welcome and admission is free. Meanwhile, the Chamber welcomed one of Ireland"s best-known businessmen, Senator Feargal Quinn, to Navan on Monday night. From his first business experience at his father"s holiday camp in Skerries, Senator Quinn"s focus has always been the customer - look after them and keep them coming back. He started the first Superquinn shop in Dundalk in 1960 with just eight colleagues. The first Dublin shop at Finglas came in 1965, and for the next 20 years Superquinn concentrated on becoming a major player in the Dublin area. By the time his family sold out their interest in the SuperQuinn company in 2005, there were 21 shops and a team of over 5,000. His talk on Monday night focused on being customer-driven. This means all key decisions are based on an over-riding wish to serve the customer better. He advised businesses to interact with their customers through the 'boomerang principle": think about how you throw a boomerang versus how you throw a stick. The objective of the stick is to get it as far as possible, once - then you need to find a new stick. The objective of the boomerang is to throw it as far as possible, multiple times. You throw a boomerang with a completely different primary objective to throwing a stick - it is worthless unless it comes back. The entire strategy is different, he said. He pointed out that when customers come back, they bring back their own business. They also bring back new business through referrals to friends. He said he was delighted Navan Chamber and businesses in Navan were looking at introducing a new initiative to help boost local Navan business. He added: 'We are all facing into a difficult business climate and it is more important than ever that we all support local business and keep our local economy as strong as possible.' He said the new M3, which was almost near completion, would greatly benefit Navan. He mentioned Naas progressing significantly as a town as a result of being bypassed and believed it was now a more pleasant place to shop and visit.