My only wish would be that there be more staff. I have worked retail in a seasonal dept. and I know that I rarely had time to care for the customers and do my job and look after the stock and and and. Retailers try to hire people that know or at least have an interest in the dept that they work but often, they are too busy too even stop and think about the question they are being asked never mind answer it properly. The overlap between dept.s also often puts a person in a dept that they know nothing about because they are short staffed or someone did not show. I would rather pay a bit more and have someone around who has the time to be helpful.

It seems to me that we have traded knowledgeable staff and good customer service for a cheap price. This is what the big box stores have given us. I see independent garden centres and mom and pop businesses struggle to compete price wise but offer superior customer service.

I make every effort possible to support good customer service; even if it means I pay more.

I used to shop mostly at the big box stores now I see the fun of shopping at the nursery. No offence to the big box stores, but they seem to carry the usual common varieties plus the basic annuals. Yes, of course I shop there, but for the more exotic stuff I go to the local nursery. Even the geraniums seem more colorful at the nursery versus the big box store, and a decent size too.

Sometimes too, the big box stores stock non-zone 3 hardy items like hick's yew and blue girl holly. Will these survive in zone 3? Yes, but only with extra winter protection methods, something the big box store doesn't tell you (they just ship in various plants). So your average gardener or should I say home owner who really knows nothing about gardening buys them and plunks them in the wind swept front yard, only to have them perish the first winter.

In general I do find the prices of annuals slightly more expensive at the nursery but bigger and more robust plants and an amazing selection.

Glen3a. Exactly what I think --you do get better plants at a nursery.

Our local nursery offers 2 for 1 sales every so often on easily grown cheap seed annuals like marigolds, calendula, alyssum or pansies. That gets the customers in and they buy other things when they see them. They have plenty to see when they go for these because they are always at the back of the greenhouse.

This is the time to let those customers know that the staff has knowledge and is helpful and will give suggestions and advice.

The advertizing is done with a couple of signs on the road or community announcements on TV.

Ianna, I agree with the need to have more knowledgeable staff. My pet peeve is about nurseries that expand and are now twice as big. To save money, the owners hire either inexperienced staff that has no interest in the plants, just the paycheck, or they hire highschool students just to save money.

The consensus is that more knowledgable staff is the key.

How about setting up a data base with all the plants you sell and the care and anything else that should be known about the plant.

You could even cover diseases and how to treat them. That way the staff has a way to tell the customer even if they don't know

You know oilpainter. That's exactly the kind of service we need in any garden centre, seasonal or not... In fact, it's probably the kind of information seasonal staff would need. How often have I encountered blank looks when I ask for a simple question? Not only do I get this kind of look in a seasonal garden centre, I also get this kind of look in an established nursery. If the staff doesn't now know, his next approach out to be, let me find out for you...

My other pet peeve, -- very pricey plants. Sorry,but pocketwise I can only do so much and so the majority of the places I obtain my plants from are seasonal garden centres, whether that's Loblaws or Home Depot. Fortunately in my case, I know my plants and can choose plants easily and if I don't find my favorites, do substitutions.

Another pet peeve, I have asked nurseries for supply information on certain plants and I get a late response. In one recent occasion, I had inquired after a certain plant since I was taking a friend over to shop for her garden needs. I didn't get a response till 1 month after. Of course I've taken my business at antoher location by then.

Another pet peeve - selling borderline or non-hardy perennials with no instructions on how to take care of it in this climate.

Another pet peeve - and this is for those seasonal garden centres. No soil preparation information. None. How hard is it to set up large signs with simple information.

another pet peeve - I'm not exactly an annual plant person but I do like the occasional plant. I have noticed though the almost overkill of supplying annuals to the point that much will be wasted by summer. Much of the horticultural industry promote these products because it's instant garden but in my perspective too much energy and money wasted in producing these things that won't be sold off.

Personally, I don't find plants at the box store are cheaper than nurseries. If the plants are dying, yes, they are cheaper, or if it's their time to "pack it up".

In terms of staff, the box stores and chain nurseries which open for the season are missing the boat completely and there's no reason for it. There is no doubt in the back of my mind that some knowledgeable gardeners wouldn't mind sharing their enthusiasm and working for part-time, but these places won't hire such folks. They would rather stick to their staff and pluck them out of the meat department for a couple of months. I know of a couple of women from our garden club who went to such a box store and tried to apply for a job at the garden center. Their knowleadge was amazing but the box store said they were looking for longer term employees. The box store missed one heck of an opportunity!!!!

My two cents on the subject. I used to work in a nursery back in the 60's. Started out part time but ended up full time. Even though I'd been gardening for quite a few years when I took the job I found out I knew very little that was of any use to the customers that approached me. They never asked one question about anything I knew the answers to :o(. I ended up doing a lot of research in the evenings on my own time.

If you have taken a horticultural course you at least have some knowledge but, if not, it takes years of working in this field to even become somewhat knowledgeable.
Even then the most knowledgeable will have questions thrown at them they can't answer without doing a little research. I know because I've been known to toss a few :o).

Then, there's the Dept. of Ag. pesticide course and examination to be taken if you are going to continue on in this field. It would be cost prohibitive for most box stores and nurseries to hire personal that have all the knowledge and qualifications we the customers think they should have at their finger tips.
The best we can hope for is a staff that is pleasant, willing to find out the answer to your question if they don't know it themselves, hope they stick with the job because the longer they do, the more knowledgeable they will become.
A lot of the staff at both box stores and nurseries are just seasonal workers, there because they love working with plants they're learning as they go but it takes time.

Annette

Well, I guess I'm luckier than most of you and so are the others who shop at my garden center. The owner is a horticulturalist and so is his son. His wife is very knowledgable too. If she doesn't know the answer, she will find out from one of them and you can call later and get the info. One of these people are there when the greenhouse is open.

Their prices for the most part are as cheap as anywhere else but better plants in better condition.

My biggest bug-a-boo is the selling of borderline or half hardy plants for this area. My concern is for others because I always research a plant before I buy if it's an expensive plant. If it's a $2.50 perennial though I may takle a chance.

ianna
I am an annual person as well as a perennial person. I do have many perennial plants but I keep them separated to keep the weeds out of my flower beds. I grow annuals between. I don't buy them I grow them myself in a greenhouse. Annuals do have their place in the garden and are not a waste.

Planted next to a spring flowering perennial they give a bit of color where their would be nothing but green

Annette,

I totally agree with what you have said. And, even if you have the degree in horticulture, it doesn't really help all that much when you don't have specific information (and every person's garden is different, along with their gardening methods). Plus, as "House" says, everybody lies, so it must be almost impossible to come up with the quick answer to fix any one individual's problems.

Having said that, I am fortunate enough to live close to a pretty good garden centre here in N.S. Okay, we're out in the sticks and it's a 30 mile drive for us, but we have a good relationship with these people. I call up when I can't figure out the answer from my books, or from the internet. The 'Boss' and I discuss it. The Boss refers to his books, I refer to mine, we go over it on the phone and come to a solution for the problem. I think the key is doing as much of the research as you can, yourself. I understand that many people don't have time, but it isn't really fair to pass the buck to somebody working in a big box store (who may have some knowledge of plants, but doesn't have a PHD in horticulture) and then complain that they couldn't solve the problem immediately. It isn't even fair to expect your local gardening center to answer some of these questions as they won't have all the facts (as we know, even the people asking the questions may not have all the facts).

So, my advice is to research as much as you can, yourself. At the very least, you will be able to knock around ideas with a knowledgeable person who can help, if you can help them by giving a decent identification of the symptoms of your problem. Sounds easy, but it isn't...

Fortunately, we have this forum, and many other internet resources to help. The joy is in the learning, isn't it?