First Farmers Market of the Season

natural · April 12, 2015

We attended our first market of the season yesterday. I always look forward to the seedling sales weekends.|

My goal is to treat every customer's garden as if it were as important as my own. Especially if someone indicates that they are a first-time gardener. I want to ensure that they are setup for the best chance for success so that they continue to garden, versus struggling out of the gate and giving up. Thus, I go out of my way to answer each customer's questions. This can cause a bit of a wait for folks.

Unfortunately, we are victims of our own success as the customer lines are getting longer each year. This is causing more folks to sometimes utter rather rude comments and walk away.

I would be interested to hear from others that sell seedlings at markets as to how they handle this balancing act. I am becoming less patient as I get older, so I am considering posting the following announcement at my tent. Do you think that this "crosses the line?" of diplomacy?

WELCOME! (Tactful Version)

My goal is to help you select the best plants for your garden and answer any questions that you may have. Every variety that I sell has been selected based on my PERSONAL growing experience in our local area. 99% of the plants are grown from my own saved seed stock (Sungold is the only hybrid). Yes, I am an ORGANIC / Non-GMO grower!
I have grown over 1000 varieties of heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes. I have on display photos of some of my favorite selections. Please take a few minutes to enjoy the photos while we assist the previous guest.

WELCOME! (Reality Check Version)

(See paragraph above.) I am NOT a big box store. I wish to provide superior customer service and share my knowledge when asked. Every year I spend countless hours spanning the globe and networking with my fellow tomato growers in order to select and trial either new or rare/unknown varieties. I acquire the seeds, grow out the varieties and then save the seeds of the varieties that have some outstanding attribute. As you can see, this requires a lot of time and effort, all in an attempt to offer something outstanding and sometimes very rare for your gardens. I am working hard here and I know that your time is valuable. However, if you do not have the time to wait 5 or 10 minutes for a plant that you will enjoy for several months then it is your loss, not mine.

April 12, 2015	#1
natural Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North GA Posts: 530	First Farmers Market of the Season We attended our first market of the season yesterday. I always look forward to the seedling sales weekends.\| My goal is to treat every customer's garden as if it were as important as my own. Especially if someone indicates that they are a first-time gardener. I want to ensure that they are setup for the best chance for success so that they continue to garden, versus struggling out of the gate and giving up. Thus, I go out of my way to answer each customer's questions. This can cause a bit of a wait for folks. Unfortunately, we are victims of our own success as the customer lines are getting longer each year. This is causing more folks to sometimes utter rather rude comments and walk away. I would be interested to hear from others that sell seedlings at markets as to how they handle this balancing act. I am becoming less patient as I get older, so I am considering posting the following announcement at my tent. Do you think that this "crosses the line?" of diplomacy? WELCOME! (Tactful Version) My goal is to help you select the best plants for your garden and answer any questions that you may have. Every variety that I sell has been selected based on my *PERSONAL* growing experience in our local area. 99% of the plants are grown from my own saved seed stock (Sungold is the only hybrid). Yes, I am an ORGANIC / Non-GMO grower! I have grown over 1000 varieties of heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes. I have on display photos of some of my favorite selections. Please take a few minutes to enjoy the photos while we assist the previous guest. WELCOME! (Reality Check Version) (See paragraph above.) I am NOT a big box store. I wish to provide superior customer service and share my knowledge when asked. Every year I spend countless hours spanning the globe and networking with my fellow tomato growers in order to select and trial either new or rare/unknown varieties. I acquire the seeds, grow out the varieties and then save the seeds of the varieties that have some outstanding attribute. As you can see, this requires a lot of time and effort, all in an attempt to offer something outstanding and sometimes very rare for your gardens. I am working hard here and I know that your time is valuable. However, if you do not have the time to wait 5 or 10 minutes for a plant that you will enjoy for several months then it is your loss, not mine.