KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite being next door to each other, two Brookside businesses are experiencing different problems ahead of the holiday season.
At Brookside Toy and Science, Holly Pollard told KSHB 41 that she has been ordering items for her store, with Christmas in mind, since April.
"Some of that stuff came right away, but almost every order had a chunk of back orders and those are just now arriving," Pollard said.
Pollard has been putting in a number of the same orders but to different vendors as a back up plan. Due to delayed deliveries, she's been ordering the same items from different vendors in hopes at least one order will arrive in time.
"It's not always the shipping or the production, it's like different stuff," Pollard said. "Every company has a different story about where their things are at right now."
Right next door to Brookside Toy and Science is World's Window, a local clothing and apparel store carrying hand-made items from around the world.
The owner, Jan Buerge told KSHB 41 that she has a lot of product on display, but not enough staffing. Since the spring, Buerge has had a "now hiring" sign posted on the front of her store, but hasn't received any applications.
"We've had a sign out that we've been wanting to hire either full-time or part-time people for months now," Buerge said.
Currently, World's Window has only six employees, and Buerge would like to have at least 11 for the holiday season.
Two months away from Christmas, both store owners told KSHB 41 they hope next year's holiday season is less stressful. While they are hopeful the staffing and supply and demand issues are resolved a year from now, they are expecting them to carry over into early 2022.
