Want to call the Plant Police? Vent here....

I always tell the clerks my number is unlisted when they ask and let the clerk put in whatever number they choose. They usually give me a blank look then put something in. I will give a zip code but it may be from a different state...depends on my mood.

I don't give my personal info unless I am buying something with a warranty and they need it for that reason.

Everyone seems to think they are entitled to our personal info!

I too wondered what Flikr is?

It's a way to share photos via the web:

http://www.flikr.com/

This slideshow of airborne cats on flickr is one of my favourites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/junku/sets/303691/show/

I sometimes go to Houston Garden Center(s) for plants and look around but if I don't know what I'm looking at you can bet your booty that I don't buy it and won't even if it's marked 5cents. For one thing they have a policy that if you buy it you can't return it - all sales final all the time.
I don't have a small nursery anywhere near me and I have to drive along W I-10 toward Houston to get to the first decent nursery. At least there you can see what you might want and it comes w/ "GASP" a tag from the grower showing the zones it will thrive in, how to plant and/or manage the plant, etc, etc. I won't buy from them except on the rare occasion that it is something I really want and can't find it. Big cities are the worst about having NO competent staff, limited staff and HIGH prices. It's a "compare" world for me. If I see it at Cornelius Nursery sometimes I can go else where where the prices are cheaper. We lived for 11 yrs in Victoria TX - a small town south of us - and they had excellent nurseries even after Lowes and Wmart and did a landoffice business. They actually had 3 really great nurseries with the owner/relative of the owner/gardeners working for them so you really got good service. When they had a sale, it was a
S A L E not just marked up 50% w/25% off. Sure, it was the end of the season for them on that item but I could buy it, overwinter it in the atrium or on my covered patio next to the house. I think they made their real money on the stuff in the shop where you couldn't touch windchimes for under $50. The rest was good customer relations. While occasionally they couldn't take the time to tell you all about the plant they directed you to the gardening book on a pedestal that most of us used to look up something about a plant we were unsure of.
Unless you specialize in certain items such as gardening plants, etc. you can't know what in the world is going on in every dept. Those guys were out to stay in business and they are good at it. WM, HD and the rest have all the depts. and no one gives a hoot about nursery items. The socks and underwear are all packaged and if the cash registers don't work they can't even do a cash business because they don't know how to add, subtract, etc.etc. Oh boy! I could go on for hours but you are as frustrated as I so there's no reason to preach to the choir. Cheers!

Ann

Cheers back to you Ann ~ glad you joined us and vented. : )) pod

It's cheaper than therapy! vent all you want, at least here we listen. Anyone else?

This is what Flikr is for:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenjaysgarden/sets/72157594182657129/

I need to vent here too!
I have been watching this thread and I think that like most of you, my biggest complaint about the Box stores, is the loss of personal service. I remember in the town I grew up in there was a dress shop my mom always shopped in. The owner new her customers and when she went to Market she bought clothing that she knew her customers would like. When Mrs so and so came in she could say "oh when I was in NY I saw this and I knew it was for you!" Now what customer would not buy that dress? That lady new her business too and she always picked out stuff that looked great on my Mom.

Personal service and marketing used to go hand in hand. Without the personal service, marketing is also less personal. I'm sorry, but I don't fit the mold! Yes I know marketing has always been at least in part about numbers and demographics and that has it's place. But there is the old fashioned kind of marketing that says you know your local customers. You won't find perenials in a mom and pop nursery in Florida that aren't heat tolerant, but I see them in the Box stores all the time ! The small business people who are passionate about their products and cater to their customers will survive the big box stores and thier relentless advertising campaigns, but it isn't easy.


With TV and a glut of advertising all saying you must buy this or that in order to be worthwhile, seem successful and happy, it's no wonder that most folks don't notice or care too much when the small business down the street is gone. As long as they can find what they see on TV or in the glossy magazines and get it now, that's all that matters.
If they can't afford it they believe they can't be happy! Life is tough enough without being led to believe you are a failure if you don't have the right house, job, the latest technology or clothes!

The quality of help I think can be blamed on an increasingly shoddy public educational system and lack of caring because their are fewer consequences for that type of ignorance or behavior. I know some places still have good public schools. Some do not. I don't think teachers are at fault for the downward spiral in our educational systems. I scraped together every penny I could every month to send my kids to private school for most of their elementary years. I wanted them to get a better foundation than they would get here in Public school. I took responsibility for them and I did without the new car and lived with used furniture.
I see "kids" in stores who can't add, have bad manners, and are just putting in their time to get a paycheck..... it's more of that "de-personalization"... they don't see the customer in front of them. There aren't the consequences that there used to be for such actions. Gone are the days ( at the box stores especially) when you would get fired for ignoring the customer in front of you who is patiently waiting while you gab with your friend or another employee about something unimportant or that can wait. Heck you might get sued these days for firing them!
It isn't just the kids either! I was at Walmart a couple of weeks ago I had a cart which had some awkward stuff in it ... like a broom and some plastic boxes. I remembered at the last minute that I wanted something from the Garden Dept. The doors to the Garden Dept are not automatic... they swing in. I was struggling to get my cart and myself thru the doors . There was a middle aged guy ( employee) sitting in a chair not 3 feet from my position looking in my direction watching me struggle to get thru those doors and he did not get up to help me by holding the door. He almost could have just stretched out his hand and held the door, he was sitting that close! Same story on my way back in! I was imersed in my struggle and just didn't ask him to help me..... that's not like me.lol! Now I wish I had, or wish I had complained, but I don't think it would have done any good at all.

Here in my area Mobile Home Parks are being bought up by big developers for condo / retail development. The people who have lived in those parks are 99% elderly. They purchased those homes a while back for cash and most of them don't have much else. They own the Mobile, but not the land... that they rent . Well what do you suppose happens when the owner sells that park?
Those poor older folks who are able to survive on their social security because they only have to pay $350.00 per month lot rent instead of a high house payment are SOL. They also have to figure out what to do with a mobile which isn't worth much on the open market.... It would cost more to move it than it's worth. Some developers might give out a little compensation.... Some parks have contracts with their residents, so they might get a pittence. The really lucky or smart ones live in a park where they actually own their lot as well as the mobile.
Oh, it's not personal... it's just business.The developers are putting in condos that sell for several hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Those older folks that were kicked out can't afford that!

It's hurry up to get to a job you don't like to get the paycheck so that you can have money to spend on things you think you need that are being "sold" to you! That's what life has become for most folks, sadly. Lucky is the person who has a job that they love.

That's why I love gardening and this forum.... You get to take the time to enjoy nature, learn and grow something, create something beautiful , help others and talk to people, it's more personal.
This is what I say to my grown kids these days " If you don't stop to smell the Roses you will miss seeing the Butterflies"
Thanks for letting me jump in here.

Michelle

Great rose garden photos greenjay!

Amen ShellaBella! I believe you covered all the bases... : )))

I have so many pictures up on Flikr that either I invest in the $$ account, or they will start deleting my pictures.

Shellabella, I do believe THAT really sums up this political correctness crockery so many are selling today. Be happy, no consequences for your behavior, your actions in or out of the garden. If you show up to work unbathed, unkempt and unshaven...praises are falsely sung out because" IT" showed up for work! BTW, true story several mos ago at the KM I was shopping. And yes IT looked like an "IT" in the gardening dept!

Greenjay I love Roses,,,, and I loved seeing your photos!
Podster.... covered all the bases....yeah I wrote a book! Sorry for such a long post, but I've been watching this thread from the beginning and got a bit pent up!

Oh jeez Ggarden 6, must have been something to behold! I think they put people in the garden dept that they don't know what else to do with!

On the flip side of this thread I got great customer service at my local dry cleaners. They send the clothes out and they had not been brought back because it was pouring rain and they didn't want to take the clothes out in it. The clerk (who actually spoke to me by my name which she had remembered from when I dropped off) offered to deliver the clothes to my house! Then they actually DID IT!!!!

Good customer service is not dead but you won't find it in the big stores! We have to support the small businesses or be condemned to the poor service we recieve at the big box places.

excellent summary shella bella! You have to let it out, otherwise it will fester inside and turn to verticillium wilt! This thread does say "vent here". Gardeners need to aerate themselves too from time to time, not just the compost.
:D

LOL! Isn't that the truth simply put!

Michelle,
I will address by your given name, fits the mold better.
You have some very good points. Last night on TV they were talking about an Elmo something. Must be a new scam by a big corp. Anyway a bunch of dummies were standing outside of this store waiting for it to open so they could get their Elmo. Only a few there to be sold. The reporter went to E-Bay & you could by one there for over $100.00.
I attend a lot of antique auctions & household auctions. The Barbies, Cabbage Patch dolls, Elmo's, & Beanie Babies are all there in their glory. The auctioneer has to throw them in an old bushel basket or egg crate to get rid of them. Oh, I forgot about the big box Christmas bears, they fit in there too.
US News & World Report of Sept. 25, 2006 has an article on Education. Caption under writers picture says,"People thought Spain was in the Middle East, and they thought slavery ended in 1920." This guy, who is 24, went to high school in California for the spring semester. He tells about things he saw & heard there. He said steroids were everywhere, drinking, sex, & drugs previeled. He said teachers didn't care if kids learned or not.
And we wonder whats wrong with the world!
Bernie

Actually, this is why many people are choosing to homeschool their children. A lot of people think homeschooling is done by religious extremists/cults. Not true! The quality of public education has deteriorated in so many areas that many parents are choosing to assume the task themselves. There are many excellent books, tools and programs to help them along.

Hello Bernie! You speak to my heart lol!
I could really go on about how so many children are taught in this society to "want" and not how to "earn"!
Don't get me started or else there will be a novel here to rival the largest ever written!
I do take care of my DG alot of the time who just turned 2.... I am proud of how much she already has learned,,, we read, listen to music and garden. OMG she's all wet and dirty after 15 min in the garden, but that's the fun of it! She has a vocabulary of 200 words and loves to be read to and do stuff other than watch TV.

Grandparents used to have a really important role in the family... they helped alot with the children and did chores parents didn't have time to do. They set an ethical standard for everyone to follow in most cases. If we ever needed that "system" in society it's now!

I taught my children a long time ago about work ethic. I let them help me from the time they could walk with whatever they wanted to within reason. I was always willing to figure out a way they could contribute and be safe at the same time.They came to learn that work was not a bad thing and have had work since they were teenagers. All of their employers really appreciated them. My son has had his own business since he was 19 and my daughter is an exec with a not for profit and is passionate about her work.

If you tell children who want to help "No" all the time then they learn that helping and work is a bad thing. I was always happy to clean up the "mess" after they "helped" because I knew I was building character... kids that could stand on their own two feet and would not be financially dependent on me after they were grown.LOL!
I focused on some simple issues:

1.They could learn anything they wanted to if they knew how to read well and study well.

2.They could do anything they wanted if they applied themselves and watched and listened to the "oldtimers".

3.They could have just about anything they wanted if they couldn't afford it as long as they knew how things worked and knew how to make things.

4. Creativity is alot more fun than passively watching TV or bumming around the mall.

5. Ethics... What's good and what's bad.

So many people don't know how to fix things or build things or how things work..... I feel sorry for them sometimes as they wouldn't know how to survive 5 days of no power after a hurricane or any disaster. Let alone the normal problems in life, unless they could pay to have someone come do it for them. School doesn't teach you much of that .. very little hands on, very few life skills.
Don't get me wrong I will pay to have someone fix something gladly..... as long as I have the money and I can't do it myself.
As a single Mom for most of my kids lives I had to make stuff work and I think it was good experience for them. My 14 yr old son actually replaced the transmission in our van and he worked at it late into the night until it was done. He totally did this on his own volition by himself because he knew it was needed for work the next day. Boy was I nervous... but I never let on. He did a great job too, no problems. How can you not love a kid like that! He was so proud of himself.

I'm lucky and blessed to have them. I realize some kids don't turn out well no matter how well they are raised, and then add to that what they are "fed" by TV and society.
No wonder there is so much teenage "depression ".
"Depressed" kids don't have many responsibilities and kids with enough of the right responsibilities are rarely depressed I think. I don't agree with the drugging of kids to solve problems that could be solved otherwise... there's enough drugs on the street to contend with. Sorry if that ruffles any feathers... It's my hard won hard earned opinion.

BTW I love antique stores... I love to try to picture the folks who used to own those lovely things and what their lives were like then. They don't make things now as beautifully as they used to!

Garden Mermaid... I did homeschool my kids when I could, I kept them in private school and out of public school as much as possible. It was really hard back then as "Homeschooling" was not understood or done by many here. I applaud any family who goes this route. It's not easy. I hope more and more Homeschooling "groups" emerge as I think it is even more fun for kids who can interact with other homeschooled kids too.

Michelle :)

Michelle you just stated all the things Im trying to do with my 3 yr. old granddaughter. My dd and sil are fortunate to be able to live in the country and we do too so my gd gets lots of learning about nature and how to help out on the farm. As young as she is she loves to help Gpa fill up buckets with feed for the cows. She has chickens to help tend at her house. She is learning responsibility already at a young age. She helps me in the gardens and loves every minute of it. The rewards for her will be life lasting.
Lin

Lin,
Oh good for you and Gpa! That is one lucky family to live in the country and have you so close and able to help with that little one! Your Gd will never forget these times. I feel blessed to have mine and be able to teach her don't you?
I will never forget the man who wasn't my Gpa , but he was the farmer who rented a house to my family when I was little. I loved that farm and I will never forget him and the things I learned there. My siblings and I had so much fun and we didn't have a room full of toys either! We had a very large cardboard barrel that we played with all summer. We must have put 100 miles on that thing rolling each other around!
There is alot that can be done in the city too... we live in a highly populated area, but my yard is my "country".
We usually always had cats, dogs, hamsters, or bunnies when my kids were growing up. Having animals and a farm is a wonderful way to help teach responsibility.
Good luck to you and Gpa!

I agree more people need to apply the teaching from their elders instead of the rusty 5 cent psychology crockery being sold on tv, in magazines and in our schools. Using Grandma's rule , "finish your chores and your reading and writing first before you go outside to play!"

Yup and change out of your good clothes when you get home from work/church/school!

Guess I need to call the plant police on me this time. Getting plants ready for winter.

Back in early June, my sword ferns were needing too much water. Getting ready for vacation and I was not wanting to divide and repot them so I pulled them out of the pots and stashed them in a large container in the shade where they could be watered heavily and not be needy while gone. They've done well all summer. I haven't done anything with them. They still look great.

This is where they lived ~ I'm afraid I cannot put it off any longer!

Well if you hurry.... I think you can plant them before the plant police find you! They still held up at the big box trying to find "IT" :0)

Hopefully, the BB will keep them occupied! : ] pod

Getting even sure feels good sometimes! My co-worker who ignors customers and pretends not to speak English happen to come in after her shift. My department is not self serve, so of course she thought I was going to help her...nope..I looked straight at her and then walked away, just like she does to customers! I could hear her calling me from the next room. I let her wait about 10 minutes before coming back to help her. She hasn't talk to me since. Only a few days left to work there..thank God!
And off that subject: Here's what I do when I go to HD to get bricks. Since they are never around to help load them I always bring my cell phone and their phone number. After 5 minutes of waiting I call the manager. Somehow someone shows up immediately after the call.

Ahhh BetterBloom, Sounds like you know how the system works. : ) It is fun to give folks a dose of their own medicine. Only a few days to work? Good luck with your new endeavor!

My new endeavor is my garden. I've decided after working two years at 6 and 7 days a week it's time for vacation and self- employment for awhile, at least for a month if not longer. Too many projects, people and places to go and of course finish my garden and English class (I hate English).I do enjoy painting and it brings in some money now and then so it will get me by for awhile.

Betterbloom -- YOU GOT A MANAGER TO ANSWER THE PHONE!?!?! Miracle enough that you got anyone at all to answer the phone! Write Bob Nardelli. He is personally a good businessman. Enough complaints and eventually something will be done.

But then it will go back to the way it is now.

It always does go back that way because as I posted before, the turnover rate in retail is about 75% , so I've heard. Just asking for a manager to complain to will usually motivate someone to help. But who is Bob Nardelli, with HD? Being in retail I can pretty well tell you what will be done...everyone will have to sit and watch a stupid video.. that's the corporate way!

Bob Nardelli is the CEO.

Isn't it amazing? If you complained that a guy there was ogling you, they'd institute an education campaign of sexual harassment/political correctness for everyone. How is boring everyone across the board better than telling one guy to behave or he's fired?

Now isn't that just the corporate way of doing business! God how I hate retail and corporations..I hate how they bark and bark over shrinkage but when you have a solution, they say "It comes with the cost of doing business". And yes, they would rather bore everyone with their stupid videos and programs than to really address the problem. Oh and what about the secret shoppers who grade the person helping them instead of the person who turns and hides from the customer, that really gets me. I will keep in mind the name Bob Nardelli, losy service is not something I put up with. Now matter how bad my job is it is not the customers fault, and I do remind myself of this all the time.

By the way, you have to google 'home depot' to find the corporate address in Atlanta. It's not on their website. What does that say to you?

Brigidlily: thanks for the info. I normally don't get in the habit of calling ceo's but I may get mad enought someday. I haven't been to HD for awhile, have to travel about 100 miles. I have an Ace Hardware and don't seem to ever have problems there but they just don't carry everything that HD does.

Betterbloom, When we think of Ca. it is hard to imagine you having to travel that far for any of the big boxes. Even in the remote pineywoods of east Tx., we are at the most, 50 miles from 1 HD, 2 Lowes and too many Wmarts. I am jealous... : ))

Sometimes you can give some great feedback to CEO's when you do contact them with the written word in an e-mail, or letter. Even though many times they use political correctness poppycock to respond to you, often you will recieve a discount coupon or in my case a $25 gift card. Unfortunately, it truly doesn't change the atmosphere of the Big Box, as the other factors as others above have mentioned remains the same. But the BB does want your dollar and will attempt to make it look like they care about the customer. Personally, corporate HD should hire the manager from their Shawnee Mission store to train many of their other managers customer service skills and employment practices. Cause that HD have a majority of customer service oriented staff. Ooh me think .. I need to write Bob Nardelli and tell him just that!! ;0)

How about a coupon for a new washer, hummm... Yep that would be nice! Butter him up.... : )))

Sometimes calling or writing the ceo doesn't even help..I wrote a letter to the ceo of Sprint about 2 years ago and included three checks for 1 cent each. My letter also stated that they would probably be stupid enought to waste their time depositing them..sure enought they did. Never did get a reply..just a 3cent credit on my account. I still have Sprint but get a lot better service since they merged with Nextel.

Last straw with HD!!! I'd told Nardelli I wouldn't shop the Beaumont HD again and I haven't. I went to the one in Orange, Texas. I had a cart piled with soil amendments and all that. I also needed a little hose repair thing to rig an overflow valve for my rainbarrel. My friend went in and found it, could not find one with a bar code on it, but noted it was $1.79. Well, little Bubba at the register couldn't find it in the computer, and though there were three other "clerks" lounging around, no one went to find it. Bubba just looked helplessly at us. So my friend went again, looked all through them, no bar code, but found the exact name for it. So Bubba finds something else with the same name, rings it up for $2.97! Told me my total was $76 something, and I said, no, it's not.

But here's the kicker!!!!! Are you ready?

As we walked out, he called after us, "You folks have a nice day!"

WHY CAN THEY NOT TRAIN THEM TO SERVE THEIR CUSTOMERS?!?!?!?!?!

Never again. I really have had it with them completely. If I can't find it at Sutherlands or Ace, I'll buy it online or do without.