It is that time a year when we are preparing to be outdoors and to enjoy our backyards. The backyard patios have become an extension of our home: another room to enjoy during the long summer and early fall days.
Recently, I ventured out on my annual trek through the valley to design my patio pots, while selecting touches of color to sprinkle throughout my perennials that come up each year in my yard. I can really tell the local garden centers that really want our business;
- Their hours are extended.
- Open 7 days a week.
- Offering incentives for me to come visit.
- Happy that I am there.
- A commitment to a very positive customer experience.
Because I am a small business owner, I really like to support the other small businesses in our valley … where would we be without these “Mom and Pops”? And as a consumer, I expect to have a positive experience, where they welcome me with open arms offering a big hug.
Unfortunately, one of my visits to a local “Mom and Pop” store was anything but a “Big Hug.” It was on a Friday afternoon, where I showed up just before 4:30 p.m. It was fairly busy, and I ventured to the main greenhouse, found a geranium color I thought would be perfect to add the bit of “pop” I was looking for. I had my granddaughter with me; I looked around for help as I wanted several dozen flowers. We made the walk to the checkout area to ask for help, and the response was, “Wasn’t there anyone in the greenhouse?” And I said, well if you would not mind to find someone to help me, I can just look around a bit for my pots?” Her response: “We close in 20 minutes.” My response: “OK, I can power shop!” However, as I walked away, I was saying to myself … “Really, did she hear how many geraniums I wanted?”
Not feelin’ the love. So, by then I was saying to myself, do I really want to buy anything here today? But she found someone to help me, and he was wondering if I could go over to another greenhouse to pick up my flowers, I said, “No, problem, I have a bit of shopping to finish up with, and then I will pay.”
“OK, but we are closing in 10 minutes.” I should have walked out; however, I was having a party at my home that weekend … the story continued to get worse as I was purchasing my geraniums, but this greenhouse did not get one more dime out of me.
When I tried to call this business to share this experience with management, the voicemail message told me, “Basically, because we are so busy at this time of year we do not answer our phone!!” When you receive a similar experience through-out a
business, there is a culture going on …
At Central we work very hard to hire right in the first place, and then are constantly training our Team to really solve the solutions for our customers. If you feel anything but a “Hug” from our Team, I want to know about it. If I do not know about it, then I cannot help our Team get better or solve the issue. Things just happen sometimes, and we have to get everyone back on track.
As always, your Comfort is our Central concern, call 756-6656, for all your heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical and drain cleaning needs.
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My Favorite Pot Designing Tips:
No outdoor room would be complete without having some beautiful flower pots spattered throughout.
When designing my pots, I like to take different shades of color and blend them together, not only with the traditional annual flowers but also the many plants out there like colias, with their beautiful leaf colors, or all the variety of grasses to choose from.
Instead of using the traditional “spike” plant to add height, there are many fun ornamental corn plants available, that are unique and fun.
For inexpensive and fun containers, visit flea markets and antique stores to locate unique containers for planting.