It is a dying breed, but there are still a few during the Lappendag in Hoorn: stand workers. Like Milan, from Amsterdam, who is on the market with a cleaning product. “We are there for the entertainment, the music of the market.”
Glasses, telephones, windows and televisions. You can clean everything with the bottles that Milan (28) sells on the Hoornse Lappendag. “And if it doesn’t work, I’ll come and clean your windows tonight. But then I’ll stay for a bite to eat!”
Milan’s jokes are well received by his audience at Kleine Noord during the busy Lappendag. He is therefore not a standard seller, but a so-called stand worker. “The idea is that you create customers around you and make sales from there. Not by means of a price tag as with many stalls, but by means of a story. In a fun, playful way.”
Market entertainment
There are still about twenty active in the Netherlands, he thinks. Corona certainly didn’t do it any good, many of his colleagues have waved off. “That’s a pity, because we provide entertainment to the market. We are the music to the market. You actually play a kind of play.”
Meanwhile, another bottle disappears in a plastic bag. The special sales tactic has once again proven its worth. “I can use it, but did I really need it?”, says the new owner. “He did a great job and didn’t want to disappoint him. So this way of selling does help.”