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How to lose customers - vent
Im not going to read the 50 some odd posts in this thread, but as a nurseryman
who has worked for retail garden centers before, I would like to say this- how friken hard is it to save your reciept?? This tiny slip of paper proves that you actually purchased the merchandise at the particular establishment and at what price. The store covers its responsibility in making sure you have an accurate report of the Items that you purchased, it is not much to ask that you retain it for your records or in the case that you may have to make a return. I agree that a seed packet is an acception because they cost next to nothing, but you relaly dont have any Idea of the kind of theft that occurs at retail nurseries. I have had many many encounters with it, in a highly affluent area, no less. Many places have visible sinage stating that returns will be honored as long as a recipt is presented within a certain amount of time. In closing, its only 2 bucks!!! dont get all worked up over it. Suck it up and save your reciept next time. Toad |
How to lose customers - vent
Polar wrote:
I've got a drawer full of empty packets, as I'm sure many people do, Why would anybody save empty packets? Straight question. I save my empty packets. a. As a record of what I've tried in the past. b. As a record of what that source recommends for that plant. Some seed packets have more info on the inside of the packet. c. Sometimes the pictures are pretty. Jay |
How to lose customers - vent
Cat writes:
I'd suggest that the breakdown is more likely related to the amount of time that people have spent in customer facing roles. I'd agree. I may be male, but I'm far from young. And while I haven't surveyed the others in this thread, my impression of the people who think the worst are far from being new to this world. Young people are usually nieve. By the time you get old, you get tired of watching people pulling the same cons over and over again, and you being to realize that you can get along without needing to do business with unreasonable people. Or at least you do if you spend a significant portion of your work life dealing with "customers" who's goal in life seems to be to nickel and dime you, and still they won't be satified even if you give them a whole dollar. Stacia wrote: I dunno, I've worked for quite a while in customer service at a local insurance agency - you know, the person people call in to when they're mad their insurance rates went up - and I side with the customer quite often. I find myself more critical of other service professions, as well, not taking any flak from those who are rude or unresponsive. When you say you "side with the customer quite often", does that mean you changed their rates to something more pleasing to them? There's a big difference between being there to listen to complaints, and having the authority and responsibility to open the cash register and hand out money. If the customer was "always right," there wouldn't be enough profit to stay in business. There always has to be that line. There always has to be that point between reasonable and unreasonable. And once you try to satisfy the unreasonable requests, you've started on the route to going out of business. Yes, you'll get more customers. You'll get all the friends that think the unreasonable request is reasonable. You'll have plenty of unreasonable customers, and eventually you'll go bankrupt trying to satisfy people who will never be satisfied. Someone returning an empty container with no receipt is not reasonable. If you take an empty box of Wheaties back to the mom and pop store on the corner, would you expect them to give you a replacement box for free? Even General Mills wants you to produce a receipt when requesting a refund, and it was their product. The poor mom and pop with the corner store may (or may not have) sold you the box, but it's unreasonable to expect them to eat the cost of the replacement box even if you're hinting that you may buy a can of soda. Who's to say you won't be back tomorrow with another empty Wheaties box, and an empty can of soda, and want replacements for both? (Well, at least if you come back that soon they'd remember you as that "customer" from the other day. Wait three weeks, and come back. Do it that way, and you might be able to get more free stuff for another couple of rounds before they finally realize how much you being their "customer" is costing them.) Fool them once, shame on you. Fool them twice, shame on them. Fool them three times, and chances are you aren't the only one fooling them on a regular basis, and they'll soon be out of business. Don't like your Wheaties? Tell General Mills. Don't complain about the mom and pop on the corner who won't give you a new box even though you don't have a receipt, and haven't been in the store for as long as they can remember. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. |
How to lose customers - vent
"Warren" wrote in message
.net... Snooze wrote: I'm surprised they don't just give away the seed. It would be like Gillette giving away the razor blade set , knowing you'll buy plenty of razors from them in the long run. Good idea, assuming your mark-up on those other things is greater than your mark-up on the seeds. But what will you do with someone shows up three months from now with an empty seed packet, and wants a refund for the whole package deal because it didn't produce well? Toxic "customers" can bring your business down pretty fast if you let them. Somebody who takes the time to come to your store to demand a refund for a $1.89 seed packet that they don't have a receipt for because they weren't satisfied with the results of their own growing is someone who might as well be wearing a t-shirt that says, "I'll complain about the smallest thing, whether or not it's your fault, and expect you to foot the bill." Most businesses owners and managers get a sense of which customers are rats, and which ones are good customers. In my business, if a customer comments that they weren't satisfied with the service they received, we remedy it the first time no questions asked. The second time we evaluate if customer is a good one or not, and if the reason for the dissatisfaction is our fault or not. Sameer |
How to lose customers - vent
The response you get will depend entirely on the quality of the garden center and
its customer service policy. At my nursery, a cash refund requires a sales receipt. otherwise, we will replace or exchange any plant material that was alive at time of purchase (upto a year, sometimes longer). While there is no way we would be able to guarantee the viability of the contents of a seed pack (who knows what the customer might have done with it once it left the store), we would most certainly, in the interests of good customer service, replace it. Returns on any items we sell make up such a small financial investment (less than 1% of total sales) that it is far more important to us to maintain and develop the goodwill of our customer base than to quibble about a receipt for under $2.00. That $2.00 write-off will generate 10's, if not 100's of dollars in future business from satisfied customers. Perhaps that is why, in this time of uncertain economic conditions, my nursery has a 51% increase in sales over last year. YMMV pam - gardengal Marley1372 wrote: Im not going to read the 50 some odd posts in this thread, but as a nurseryman who has worked for retail garden centers before, I would like to say this- how friken hard is it to save your reciept?? This tiny slip of paper proves that you actually purchased the merchandise at the particular establishment and at what price. The store covers its responsibility in making sure you have an accurate report of the Items that you purchased, it is not much to ask that you retain it for your records or in the case that you may have to make a return. I agree that a seed packet is an acception because they cost next to nothing, but you relaly dont have any Idea of the kind of theft that occurs at retail nurseries. I have had many many encounters with it, in a highly affluent area, no less. Many places have visible sinage stating that returns will be honored as long as a recipt is presented within a certain amount of time. In closing, its only 2 bucks!!! dont get all worked up over it. Suck it up and save your reciept next time. Toad |
How to lose customers - vent
On Sun, 06 Apr 2003 21:00:10 -0700, Polar wrote:
Very interesting! How do you decide which are OK for compost, and which are not? Well, I find seeds of cucurbits are prone to fungal diseases early on. Many times seeds are pre-treated with fungicides to the nursery trade. We would have to wear gloves to broadcast seed the flats with things like watermelons, cucumbers, squashes, etc. Plants which are native to the area, ornamental trees, shrubs etc., are more adapted and resistant to many of the fungal problems seeds have in other species. Watering is key, as well. Too wet and rotted seeds occur. If you have a used bookstore, there are some good books on seed germination. I have one here which is written for the lay person, if you want it I could mail it to you. Growing plants from seed is such a tremendous accomplishment for me. I feel like I am part of the big picture. The book I have is from Smith and Hawkins library of books. v |
How to lose customers - vent
The message
from (Cat) contains these words: Wandering back towards gardening, has anybody else read the book that the UK's National Trust recently put out on garden conservation? (apologies for the long url) http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/shop...2839&dept=2453 It's a really interesting set of studies and writing about their gardens, garden management and restoration. It's also a far cry from the usual book about visiting gardens which seems to be long on lists of botanical names, and short on anything else. No I haven't read it, but will look out for it, thanks; I'm a volunteer worker at a National Trust garden (Brodick Castle). Janet. |
How to lose customers - vent
"Warren" writes:
Stacia wrote: I dunno, I've worked for quite a while in customer service at a local insurance agency - you know, the person people call in to when they're mad their insurance rates went up - and I side with the customer quite often. I find myself more critical of other service professions, as well, not taking any flak from those who are rude or unresponsive. When you say you "side with the customer quite often", does that mean you changed their rates to something more pleasing to them? There's a big difference between being there to listen to complaints, and having the authority and responsibility to open the cash register and hand out money. No one in the building can change rates. We can, however, negotiate effective dates of change, side with the customer when we feel perhaps a processor or agent has done them wrong, etc. It can add up to lots of money back to the customer. But basically I was saying that now that I'm in customer service, I don't take poor customer service from others lying down. Someone returning an empty container with no receipt is not reasonable. But with seeds, I guess I don't see how else you could return the item? Even with the receipt, the seeds are still gone. How do you know the seeds are bad unless you've used them? I suppose you could use just some of the seeds but I personally might not have that presence of mind. Don't like your Wheaties? Tell General Mills. I thought these seeds were from the nursery itself, or were they from a larger company the nursery bought from? Basically I think a clerk could be very nice about the return policy, so that the OP wouldn't have left so upset or determined to never go back. If the customer was so upset as to take the time to go to the store for a refund $1.89 packet then I'd be willing to cut them the benefit of the doubt, that they were serious about their disappointment with the product. While you get an idea of who's trying to screw you over you can also tell who's really just a victim of bad luck or bad service, too. That said, I guess I always thought seeds were iffy at best and never would have thought of returning any. But I'm a newbie at gardening. * * * Stacia * * http://world.std.com/~stacia/ "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall |
How to lose customers - vent
Count me in your poll as a female with a broad view of the world and who further
believes that Warren has all the good points on his side. I'd say more, but I so completely agree with his analysis that I have nothing to add. --Lia Fascinating breakdown between sexes on this thread. The usual testosterone-loaded probably young, uneducated males assume the worst, whereas the more patient females, with a broader view of the world, (a) actually *read* the messages ! and (b) make more charitable/accurate assumptions, per Janet's message. |
How to lose customers - vent
Polar wrote:
= = I bought two seed packets at a large Japanese nursery. The bok choy just "sprang" out of the ground, but the cucumbers just sat there. Only 2-1/1 mangy plants out of the whole expensive packet (they were a special kind of cucumber). = We are in a mild climate (So. Calif coastal), and have had an unusually warm "winter". Also, I put a dark plastic cover over the little seed compartments to aid sprouting. So there shouldn't have been a problem. = Well, after 5 weeks or so, I gave up on the cucumbers and took the seed packet back to the nursery. My intention was to buy some green bean and other seeds, and exchange the n.g. cucumbers. = To my shock, the clerk wouldn't exchange without a receipt. Good. Who keeps a receipt for 2 packets of seeds for 5-6 weeks?! I asked him if he wanted to lose a customer over $1.89, and he seemed quite willing to do so. He was not Japanese; I was tempted to contact the management, but it's their problem; not worth the effort.. = I'm taking my business back to the local nurseries that do not give customers a hard time, even when returning plants. They value repeat business. = Excuse vent...g = = -- Polar -- = J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP =F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - commercial =F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html |
How to lose customers - vent
http://www.whatsyourbeef.com/
-- = J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP =F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - commercial =F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html |
How to lose customers - vent
On Mon, 07 Apr 2003 17:52:51 GMT, animaux wrote:
On Sun, 06 Apr 2003 21:00:10 -0700, Polar wrote: Very interesting! How do you decide which are OK for compost, and which are not? Well, I find seeds of cucurbits are prone to fungal diseases early on. Many times seeds are pre-treated with fungicides to the nursery trade. We would have to wear gloves to broadcast seed the flats with things like watermelons, cucumbers, squashes, etc. Plants which are native to the area, ornamental trees, shrubs etc., are more adapted and resistant to many of the fungal problems seeds have in other species. Watering is key, as well. Too wet and rotted seeds occur. If you have a used bookstore, there are some good books on seed germination. I have one here which is written for the lay person, if you want it I could mail it to you. Growing plants from seed is such a tremendous accomplishment for me. I feel like I am part of the big picture. The book I have is from Smith and Hawkins library of books. Thanks for the constructive remarks. I found this quite an anomalous (sp?) experience, as the previous year I had cucumbers out the kazoo. It may be that the particular variety was not well adapted, or? I actually chose it because it was not your run-of-the-mill-on-every-seed-rack variety. But, as the nursery clerk (not the owner) didn't see fit to replace the packet, I guess I will never know. It would have been scientifically interesting to see whether Packet #2 behaved the same as Packet #1. Your remark about being part of the big picture when growing from seed is appreciated in this quarter! I feel the same way. In fact, leaving the computer and the woes of the world pouring through my mail slot, and going out to the "reality" of the garden is about the most therapeutic action I can take. I also feel "mystical" about plants which I pulled out years ago, surprisingly coming back. All those years the plants were doggedly conserving their energy under the earth, "determined" to rise again. It's easy to get anthropomorphic (or rather anthropopathic) about plants, projecting our own thoughts and feelings onto them! For example: I had to take out my Santa Rosa plum last year, and "threatened" the apricot with a similar fate if it didn't get its act together (bore very little last few years). Whaddyaknow, the "intimidated" apricot is loaded! Now, if I can only cut a deal with the squirrels...g -- Polar |
How to lose customers - vent
On Mon, 07 Apr 2003 16:30:03 GMT, Pam wrote:
The response you get will depend entirely on the quality of the garden center and its customer service policy. At my nursery, a cash refund requires a sales receipt. otherwise, we will replace or exchange any plant material that was alive at time of purchase (upto a year, sometimes longer). While there is no way we would be able to guarantee the viability of the contents of a seed pack (who knows what the customer might have done with it once it left the store), we would most certainly, in the interests of good customer service, replace it. Returns on any items we sell make up such a small financial investment (less than 1% of total sales) that it is far more important to us to maintain and develop the goodwill of our customer base than to quibble about a receipt for under $2.00. That $2.00 write-off will generate 10's, if not 100's of dollars in future business from satisfied customers. Perhaps that is why, in this time of uncertain economic conditions, my nursery has a 51% increase in sales over last year. YMMV pam - gardengal C'mon, Pam, quit talking sense! You might offend some of the trigger-happy respondents on this thread. Marley1372 wrote: Im not going to read the 50 some odd posts in this thread, but as a nurseryman who has worked for retail garden centers before, I would like to say this- how friken hard is it to save your reciept?? This tiny slip of paper proves that you actually purchased the merchandise at the particular establishment and at what price. The store covers its responsibility in making sure you have an accurate report of the Items that you purchased, it is not much to ask that you retain it for your records or in the case that you may have to make a return. I agree that a seed packet is an acception because they cost next to nothing, but you relaly dont have any Idea of the kind of theft that occurs at retail nurseries. I have had many many encounters with it, in a highly affluent area, no less. Many places have visible sinage stating that returns will be honored as long as a recipt is presented within a certain amount of time. In closing, its only 2 bucks!!! dont get all worked up over it. Suck it up and save your reciept next time. Toad -- Polar |
How to lose customers - vent
From: Polar
Rhetorical. Misused term. Yes, by you -- you answered. LOL. Bianca Long Island Zone 6-7 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- |
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