Inherit Laws of Retail Plant Sales

Law No. 3: Customer Inquiries

Part I

The customer would rather ask you how much something costs, than read the sign that's two inches from their hand.

Part II

The customer, on a 53% basis, will want something that doesn't exist (for example, the blue geranium).

Part III

"The ambiguous plant" seeker. This customer identifies a plant with this description: "It's in my neighbors yard. It's sorta large. It's green and has white flowers on it. It's so beautiful. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Part IV

"Do you work here?" is often asked to employees wearing their garden center uniform.

Next week - The Probables
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Inherent Laws of Retail Plant Sales

Law No. 2: Senior Citizen Discounts

Part I

Senior citizens always insist on their 10% discount, even on purchases totalling $1.50.

Part II

Senior citizens will ask for their discount after you have checked them out. This can be primarily annoying for garden centers without POS systems.

Next week - Customer Inquiries
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The Inherent Laws Of Retail Plant Sales

On what might have been the most perfect day in Cleveland for all of 2009, I spent most of it outside enjoying it, raking up leaves at Gali's Garden Center.

Toward the end of the day on Saturday, I came across a Gali's relic - the "Inherent Laws Of Plant Retail." I think its date of origin is unknown (anywhere from 15 to 20 years ago), and if it wasn't for some of the text written in Sharpie, the actual paper these 20 laws/rules were written on would look very pre-Constitution.

I thought the laws would make for an excellent blog post and maybe even a smile or a "ain't that the truth." So, once a week I'll be posting an Inherent Law or two Of Plant Retail.

Law No. 1: "The Fly Theory" and its exception

Consumers will always arrive or leave in hoards to leave the sales force completely panicked or bored.

Exception: The 5 minutes to 6 p.m. stragglers. These customers sneak in just as your about to lock up. They spend 15 minutes browsing, end up complaining about something, and leave without purchasing anything.

Next week - Senior Citizens.
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Product Review: The PotLifter

This Labor Day weekend rounded out a seven-day workweek for me, which finally gave me a reason to put the PotLifter to work.

I saw the PotLifter for sale at Cornell Farm back in July. It’s one of those products that makes me wonder why you don’t see more of them around…maybe not for sale, but for use by garden center employees.

When I got home from Portland, I sent the folks at PotLifter an email saying the same thing I said in the previous sentence. I wanted to test it out and they were totally up for it. A week later a Potlifter, via our mail-guy Tim, found its way to my desk.

During a pretty steady Saturday at Gali’s (Garden Center), Chris Murray and I took advantage of some lulls and decided to give the PotLifter a standard road test.

The PotLifter is a pretty straightforward gadget. It requires two people and a good grip. You fit it around a heavy pot. Pull back to cinch it up. Then you lift. Pretty easy and pretty foolproof.

We tried it out on a whiskey barrel outside of the shop. We fit the PotLifter around the barrel and moved it easily. We only moved the barrel for the sake of moving it, and Chris said, we really wouldn’t move a planted up whiskey barrel anyway. That being said, anytime that we’ve ever had to move a (unplanted, full of soil) whiskey barrel, we had to pull out the towmotor and slide the bulky container onto the forks. The PotLifter made it a whole heck of a lot quicker.

It even works with oddly shaped pieces. This bench leg actually weighs an awkward 150lbs. I turn 27 on Thursday and I'm finally realizing the importance of having a fully functioning back and I think the PotLifter shares the same sentiment. I'm not sure it would find its way into the everyday work routine at your garden center, but it definitely has its place when it comes time to move the big (heavy) stuff.

Consumers Dig Private Label

It wasn't that long ago that private label translated into generic and a lesser product. But that perception has been changing.

A June survey from GfK Custom Research North America showed 57 percent of shoppers frequently purchased store-brand products. Only 2 percent said they never purchase store-brand products.

That's heartening to hear, especially in light of many garden retailer's efforts to use their own brand on products such as plants, soils, amendments, pest controls and even gifts.

Where Is The Line For E-mail Promotions?

I get several daily e-mails from various sources. My favorites are news-based e-mails, like Retail Wire. These are super helpful to me and the information we need to get to our readers.

The e-mails that make me groan on a daily basis are the promotional ones. I can see the desperation of the major retailers just growing exponentially as places like Kohl's, Amazon, New York & Company, Athleta (now a division of Gap) and others hit my personal inbox on a near daily basis. It's a minor annoyance, but one that may force me to opt out of those, despite the sometimes appealing savings I may get out of an e-mail blast.

So my question is how often is too often? Daily is borderline stalking when it comes to "sale" e-mails, in my opinion. No one shops that much, so there's no reason to tell me about the sales on your website or in your store on a daily basis. Is weekly acceptable? Or twice a month?

A Post In Pictures

It's not often you find a Today's Garden Center blog post filled with Smart Cars, "grass knuckles," abandoned newspaper boxes and late rapper 2pac. So when you do, you better take advantage.


A couple weeks ago, I stopped into Gali's Garden Center to pick up some potting soil on my lunch break. Katie (cashier) showed me a picture she took on her cell phone (pictured above). I had to have it. So she emailed it to me and voila. I know Mini Coopers are getting into crossovers/SUVs, maybe Smart Car should take a hint and think about pickup trucks. After all, city dwellers need utility vehicles, too.


"Grass Knuckles." Almost as impractical as loading up a Smart Car with a tree. Product designer Hafsteinn Juliusson has created living jewelry. But don't expect to see this while ordering a Bacon Turkey Bravo at Panera. This is more for the uber earth-conscious celebrity on the red carpet, like Natalie Portman or Leonardo DiCaprio. There are pussy willow earrings, too.


Lastly, this photo of an abandoned newspaper box potted up reminds me of the late rapper Tupac Shakur. Wait for it...wait for it... Along with rapping, Tupac was a prolific poet. His collection of poetry is called "The Rose That Grew From Concrete." There's the connection. This pic is definitely a bright spot on an otherwise blah and dreary city sidewalk.

Toronto-based street artist Posterchild is responsible for this work of urban art/guerrilla gardening.

In a recent Pop-Up City blog post, Posterchild was quoted, "I’ve always been amazed by the state of most flyerboxes. Some haven’t been filled in years. Yet, there they are: everywhere in the city taking up valuable sidewalk space. For whatever reason, a great many of them offer nothing but an empty box. But that offers a great opportunity for some people! The boxes makes a perfect platform for planters – and with them you can guerrilla garden almost anywhere in the inhospitable concrete city!"

By the way, the Pop-Up City blog is one of the coolest I've ever seen. When you have a second, check it out.