Thanks for the Tips!

DapperDahlia/Carrie, Phil wasn't being serious -- Thus the tongue in cheek reference.

We have never had a problem selling flowers to men/guys. Maybe our customers are more cosmopolitan; but, I doubt it. At the market we don't have to act. We're flower farmers; and, most people appreciate that. We also don't wear our bib overalls to market. Those we wear on the farm. Most farmers clean themselves up to look presentable. The ones wearing the bibs at the market are the 'pretend farmers.' Unfortunately, we have resellers at the market because the city hasn't quite caught on that they are not a good thing.

As far as the tips, that's considered hawking. All the markets we attend have rules pertaining to that activity. Three warnings; and, ones butt gets put to the curb. It isn't tolerated. Markets are a refined social outing. If the customers wanted excanges with a 'carni,' they would most likely go to a carnival. How about some tips though on how to make our bouquets stand out from the other 20 or so flower vendors? Maybe a few snapshots of your spiffy booth.

Hope you hang around, Phil. Do you have your helmet strapped on tightly? Some of us flower growers are pretty tired and cranky right about now; and, sometimes we forget our manners...........

I thought it was pretty funny! I'm a terrible actress, so I wouldn't try it myself, but any of that said in a spirit of good fun would be standard fare at our market. I find that a kidding sort of conversation with male customers works well.

The flower seller at our market who sells to men the most is right next to a jerky (beef, elk) booth. I don't think that's a coincidence. Me, I'm next to a produce-and-jewelry stand. No help there. This area still has a bit of a Wild West, Mountain-Man mentality. Most of the guys drive trucks and won't buy flowers. But we keep trying, anyhow. I've learned that if a guy is looking very serious, even concerned, when looking at flowers, he probably IS in trouble at home and is a prime candidate for the most expensive flowers I have.

Jeanne

Ha. Ray, we sometimes have drunks stagger on down to the market mid-morning. They obviously had spent the morning in the local Tip a Few. Money is no object. Then, I remember the nicest young man who paid for his sweetheart's bouquet with silver dollars. He, however, hadn't spent the morning in the local tavern.

Don't ya need a peddler's license to set up outside the hardware store?

I'm sticking with the theory that our customers are too well bred for any of that coy stuff; and, we don't have to stoop to such nonsense. We don't have mountain men either. We do have men who drive trucks and also buy flowers though. The closest I have seen to a mountain man is this dude who wears cutoff bluejeans, tie-dyed tshirt, tatoos, cowboy hat, cowbow boots, and white socks with a navy blue stripe. He never buys our flowers........

flowerfarmer, your mountain man sounds a little extreme even for this area! The cowboy hat alone would be odd here.

We have men who buy flowers, but an awful lot who don't. We're still working on that. One day a guy came up, tattoos all over the place, biker jacket, head shaved but unkempt beard, looking for something for his wife's birthday. He really liked the best - and most expensive - bouquet I had. I've seen him several times since, with his wife, who LOVED those flowers and now buys from me herself. Ya never know what's gonna happen!

At our market, there just aren't many men who come to the market, period. I can only attribute that to local attitudes, but I don't know if other markets are like that also. Traditional gender roles are followed a lot more here than where I spent most of my life, in the San Francisco Bay Area. For example, my husband is a good cook and can spend hours in a kitchen store. In the Bay Area, that's not unusual at all. I don't know even one other man here who could be called a good cook or who would allow himself to be dragged into a kitchen store. There are a LOT more stay-at-home moms here. It's different.

Jeanne

Jeanne,

It sounds like the 50s.....

Yeah, it's remarkably similar to the 50's, or maybe the 60's. And almost all the gay folks are closeted, at least very discreet. There are very few non-Caucasians, and very few good international restaurants. Downright boring, as a matter of fact. I live not far from the only town that has any kind of variety of people or attitudes or restaurants, and a LOT of aging hippies, but I don't go to the market there - too small, too few customers.

I'm not dissing stay-at-home moms, though. I applaud that, when it's possible. In the Bay Area, only the wealthiest couples can afford to own a home without having both parents working. The cost of living is lower here and the idea of keeping up with the Joneses is almost non-existent, so it's easier to do here.

Jeanne