GCPS e-ZONE

October 23, 2007

Riddle me this... What do you call a 100-year-old ant?
(Scroll down for the answer.)

Trends: Customer service
Whippersnappers!... I am the president of the booster club for my daughter’s high school dance team, and I’m pretty sure I’m worth every penny they are paying me.

OK, it’s a volunteer position. But that’s not important. What’s important is the lesson I learned the other day during a conversation with one of the other parents, regarding a fund-raising project we had endeavored to complete. There’s some background information you need to know here. First, my daughter, a senior in high school, is my "baby." She’s the fourth of four young Youngbloods and the last to attend the beloved alma mater. The oldest of the young Youngbloods started at the school some 12 years ago, and I’ve had one or another young Youngblood walking the halls of the school ever since. In laymen’s terms, this makes me an "older" parent.

The woman to whom I was speaking has a freshman daughter, her first child at the school. Had I studied math better at dear old Haltom High, I could probably give you a precise report, but I’m going to guess that I’m at least 15 years this woman’s senior, especially given that she calls me "Mr. Youngblood."

To make a long story short, she was upset that her daughter’s cookie dough order arrived later than anticipated and then was full of the wrong kind of cookies, and she said the people to whom her daughter had sold it (or, more likely, the coworkers to whom SHE had sold it) were equally upset and were demanding a refund of their money.

This floored me on several levels. First, this is a fund-raiser for a bunch of kids. It’s not a business venture, for crying out loud. We’re not leveraging stock; we’re trying to buy hula hoops or some such for an upcoming contest. I couldn’t fathom the kind of passion she was mustering over this. Just as astounding is the fact that, when I shared with her the aforementioned first point, she wasn’t the least bit sympathetic. "I don’t care," she said. "People expect the order to be on time and correct."

It was somewhere between the "I don’t care" and the "People expect..." that I deemed this conversation an epiphany. It occurred to me, the Boomer, that this woman, the Xer, had experienced whatever it was that she experienced enough to feel entitled to get what she wanted, when she wanted it — regardless of the context.

Why do I write about this? Sooner or later, you’ll deal with that woman and her ilk, when they decide to shop for some plants, and I just wanted to warn you that she can be particular. If you want to do some research before she arrives, I would recommend the Iconoculture Web site, which researches and reports about the various customer groups you serve.

Even the ones who take high school fund-raisers way too seriously. Did I mention that I don’t get paid for being the booster club president?

Tips for planning a winning seasonal demo
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Puzzling pictures
A perfect fit... One of the pictures below is a puzzle. Choose the correct one, and put the product together again. (Or don’t, and let your conscience haunt you the rest of your natural days.)

Tips for planning a winning seasonal demo
Check our *BLOG*

Pick 'n Click
Natural order... This list of links to suppliers can help you find the garden/gift items you need/want/crave/covet/kinda take a fancy to. Or if you're in a hurry, just pick up the phone!

Achla Designs:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20056

Acorn Bird Products:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20061

Alpine Corporation:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20033

ANLA:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20007

Aquascape, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20023

Art For A Cause:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20024

ATLAS Glove Consumer Products, a Div. of LFS, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20035

Bamboo Accents:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20052

Benchmaster by Structural Plastics:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20002

Braun Horticulture:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20031

Brook & Hunter:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20014

Clean Air Gardening:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20027

Collier Metal Specialties, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20062

Danove Corporation:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20068

Discount Pond Supplies, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20055

Dorothy Biddle Service:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20032

Downeast Quarries of Maine, Incorporated:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20047

DP Foods, LLC (Daniels Plant Food):
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20016

Dramm Corporation:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20004

EasyPro Pond Products:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20054

EbioExpress International:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20009

Ecological Laboratories, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20048

Fabriscape:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20018

Firestone Specialty Products:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20053

Fiskars Brands:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20034

Gardenware:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20064

Gifts That Bloom:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20036

Hines Pottery:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20017

Imperial Ponds:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20051

K&H Manufacturing:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20066

Maine Bucket Company, Inc., The:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20042

Norcross Safety Products:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20011

Novelty Manufacturing Co.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20015

Ohio Wholesale, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20001

Olds Seed Company:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20010

Outback Chair Co.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20038

Poly-Tex, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20025

Principle Plastics:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20039

Protective Industrial Products:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20043

Red Carpet Studios:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20037

Riverside Enterprises:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20012

Ruibal's Topiary Systems & Ironworks:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20013

Sherman Nursery Company:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20063

Sonne-Gro Company:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20006

Sunlight Supply, Inc.:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20030

Tierra-Derco International:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20026

Vitamin Institute:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20029

Walter E. Clark & Son:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20020

Waterscapes Aquatic Plant Nursery:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20060

WeatherPORT:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20003

West County Gardener:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20028

Winston Company:
Request info • Web site • 1-800-690-1826 ext. 20046

Tips for planning a winning seasonal demo
Check our *BLOG*

Oh, yeah, the riddle answer...
An antique

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TO CONTACT EDITOR YALE YOUNGBLOOD: yyoungblood@branchsmith.com

Reach the desktop of thousands of garden center professionals twice a month through the e-ZONE, contact Tiffany O'Kelley, tokelley@branchsmith.com, Ed Tavender, etavender@branchsmith.com, or Teresa Werner, twerner@branchsmith.com.