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cowpie51

Some of my market customer,s valued Opinions

cowpie51
13 years ago

This last season I asked some of my customers/friends and strangers their feedback and their likes and dis-likes about going to the farmers market.

Here are some of the response,s:

Biggest turn-off,s---- Pushy vendors,Way over-priced produce,People that claimed to grow what they sell but buy it from wholesalers,vendors that give them a 5 minute sales approach about how hard they work to have the best produce-customers work hard to in their jobs and do not like hearing others problems or bragging how much better their stuff is than the other vendors.vendors cutting down other vendors because of their bad produce or inexperience.They also like to bring their pets.There are a few more but these seemed to be the most common.

Biggest turn on,s---- Large selections with reasonable prices. vendors acknowledging them and saying hello or nodding. Clean looking people with well kept stands and well displayed produce(don,t display in a cardboard box.)

the smells in the air and large fun crowds. Lots of food items,fudge,popcorn,candy apple etc.

Of course some people had other strange comments but these listed seemed to be the one,s with the same common de-nominator.

Thanks for reading for all it,s worth. Nick

Comments (20)

  • dirtdigging101
    13 years ago

    Thanks Nick , good info. I would like to see markets go smoke free, I know a few that can not tolerate an smoke and would like to attend. Every one has a different view of what is reasonable prices are.

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    My market doesn't allow smoking by vendors in our booths. Smoke can get bad under the canopies. Our market at Purdue has to be smoke-free, since the entire campus is smoke-free except for a very few spots. To smoke at that market, you must be in your vehicle with the windows rolled up.

    Our market is also pet-free, NO pets. There is ordinance against having pets at the farmers market. Which makes no sense to have pet treat vendors, if the pets can't be there.

    I always display by produce in cardboard boxes, heaping over the top. I make sure that the customers realize that these boxes could have been thrown away, and will be AFTER I re-use them at least 5-7 times. Recycling is really BIG around here.

    We have vendors that don't display in boxes, but they have so many display pieces that I've had customers say they don't like that because they can't find anything. This vendor has been doing farmers markets for about 25 years. Her customers like it, but my customers don't.

    I think each vendor's customers have their own idea of what they like. As long as we have customers, and they like what we are doing, GREAT.

    Marla

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Dirtdigging101 hello, I believe our market has a couple smoking areas, mainly because our Mkt. mgr. smokes and so do I and about 25 % of the vendors. It,s way off in never -never land so the customers don,t smell anything.

    Marla,hello again. As far as cardboard boxe,s,do you use wooden bushel basket,s.
    I for one think that they make a cheap very effective display.
    Of course everybody has their own system. Mark.

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I do not mind people walking their dog through the market at all. Many,Many of them are my customer,s.

  • sandy0225
    13 years ago

    I don't mind people walking their dogs but sometimes in our market we get some dogs that shouldn't have been brought in. Pit bulls, dogs that are snapping and growling at other dogs, how about the guy that brings his big macaw parrot with a towel over his shoulder because the thing poops down his back? YUCK! I'd just as soon they left the whole mess home because that way it's a lot easier. The market is crowded enough without all of that in the way. Besides, if someone is walking a big strong dog pullng them across the parking lot, they aren't the ones that buy a big bunch of veggies too, their hands are already full.

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    We have several dogs that do come to the market, even if it's against the rules. (Our market master has to give them notices this last year, and tells them that the police may be ticketing them this next year.) Most of them are very well mannered, but some are not. People bring puppies and other dogs to learn socializing. We have also had a very few dogs that wanted to use the bathroom in the market, and that wasn't good.

    We also have birds, cats, rats and snakes besides the dogs, so the market has to state NO PETS at all.

    I don't mind the well mannered animals at the market, but the others need to stay home.

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    I started out with basket, both fancy and the regular bushel, 1/2 bushel and pecks. They worked find for displaying until I didn't have enough room for them AND the produce. I've used tomato boxes (25#) for the last 7-8 years (some of the same ones), because I can pack more into my van with boxes of the same sizes than round boxes/baskets.

    I don't have pictures of my van full, but image a box with these dimensions: 5' tall, 12' long and 6' wide. Load this 'box' full, within 6 inches from the top. Leave just enough room for your fingers/hands to be able to grab the boxes out. That's what I take to market at least 75% of all of market days. That's what I take in. When I come back home, there is maybe 10-20% produce left. Mostly it's full of cardboard boxes, which are checked and re-used the next market days. I can't carry anyone with me in the passenger seat, because I need someplace to put the bags and signage. The tables/canopies up less than 2 foot of the box, so I guess I only have 10' of length (sorry).

    This operation is manned by a minimum of 2 workers, and most of the busy part of summer part of summer there are 4-5 workers and everyone is busy most of the time. This is the reason I now classify our booth as 'one of the big guys'.

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Loading up for the market is my worst part of the operation.
    Their are only 2 of us and we start Thursday a.m. for the
    Saturday market. Between the picking of everything for my stand and the market stuff we are going non-stop. Everything has to be rinsed,sorted,bundled and put in tubs for the market. Luckily I have a cooler in the shed that can keep the greens fairly cool . Its not bad in the early part of the year to keep everything tip-top, but when the heat comes we have to be careful keeping everything fresh. Nick &Mark

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    I wish I had a cooler.

    I agree packing for the market is difficult. I have an 20x20 car canopy with tables in it for sorting. I line up what I want to take on the tables before loading. That way I will know what I put where. Of course, I may have some items that don't get to go to town, due to not being ripe enough. I pick my tomatoes just alittle unripe to beat the tomato worms and other critters.

    I don't do much on the greens area, mostly because they are more labor involved than some other things. During the greens time is when I sell tomato, pepper and eggplant plants. Other vendors have lots of greens, so the market is covered with them.

    This last year, our market was open on Tuesday morning, Thursday late afternoon and Saturday morning. There was times that the van wasn't emptied. The tables and canopies don't leave the van unless they are set up at market from May 1st til Oct 31st. I always keep 3-4 empty tomato boxes just in case a box gets wet or breaks. Lucky 3 empty boxes can fit into a space required for 2 boxes. We didn't do Tuesdays this year, sales didn't make gas money. On Thursday at market, if it was slow, we would make sure the van was cleaned out of anything not needed. Then when we put the extra produce back in, we knew what needed to be thrown to the cows as soon as we got home. That's what has worked for us.

    On Friday am, we would visit our Amish friends to find out what they had for us to take to market on Saturdays. Friday afternoon/evening is picking, cleaning and loading for Saturday.

    Saturday starts at 5am for market opening at 7am. I have to make sure that everything is loaded on Friday evening, or I WILL forget it.

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Since we are new to everybody some photos of the place.

    Here is a link that might be useful: photos of farm

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    I just loaded some pictures in PhotoBucket of my market setup and a couple of farm pictures.

    Here is a link that might be useful: farm and market pictures

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Marla that,s a very nice stand setup and a beautiful farm, good luck in 2011. Nick

  • boulderbelt
    13 years ago

    My FM does not allow smoking and this year banned dogs which killed our customer traffic by around 40% as the dog owners got really PO'ed and left in a snit.

    We don't have any resellers that i am aware of at this market and reselling is not allowed and this rule is enforced by the management.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Boulder Belt @ FM

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    13 years ago

    We suggest no smoking by our vendors and many go along with it. Also have a rule and signs "Control your Pets". I have never had an issue with a dog, but another vendor had a dog poop in front of their stand and the owner just walked away. Keep in mind this is on concrete!

    I also find it interesting, I rarely see or do I have any pictures from our busiest times at the market. They are all early spring, late fall. No pictures of people waiting in lines, overflowing tables of produce or vendors working extremely fast. Maybe this year I will try to get some of those.

    Jay

    Here is a link that might be useful: My farm and market pics

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Boulderbelt, nice farm and market. I found your website on the net. Very impressive setup. I bet you could supply 3-4 farmers markets 2-3 times a week. Mark.
    (p.s. how many customers flow through your main market a avg. Saturday?)

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    I think we are all too busy to have time for taking pictures.

    Marla

  • cowpie51
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    There is always time for pictures. Almost everybody on this forum has plenty of pics. Pictures say a thousand words and help people that are interested in the farmers market business to find out important facts. Nick

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    Nick, come on down next summer and help me at my booth. I would love to have pictures of our busy time. With 4 people, it's not as bad, but we still have customers that have to help themselves to bags and inform other customers of how we do things. I'm lucky to have some really GREAT customers that will even help out sorting or anything else to help us thru a busy time. I don't take as many pictures of the farm and market as I know I should. I've often said that I would like a video of how our booth operates. I know we've had vendors sitting beside us tell us at the end of the day, "How do you do all that, you made me tired just watching" Last year, we had a newer vendor, a food stand, next to us and they would call out to see if we needed food, fix it for us and deliver it, then at the end of the day or a slow time they would tell us what we owed them. This was because we were so busy.

    So Nick or anyone else, when could I expect you? The really busy time starts in July thru mid-August.

    Believe me, I've had help that could not get up. I finally have had to hire people that are used to a busy BurgerKing or a busy Speedway to be able to work it fast enough. 4 of them, plus me and hubby during the peak times are needed and we still have customers that are not waited on fast enough.

  • jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)
    13 years ago

    Marla, I am with you on being busy. I am usually by myself I have a really easy system, for me, and I can really get people through quickly. However, I don't stop moving, talking, making change for 4 hours straight. When you have $500-$800 days (good for me) it is a lot of work.

    Sometimes I get my kids to help, but they have a hard time toting 25 tubs of tomatoes. However, if i sit it by the table, they unload very fast!

    I had my brother and sister in law and nephew and neice help me sell one day. I had to leave for our county fair. They brought everything home and were exhausted. They could believe how much work it was. I said, yea now pick all day or the day before, and do it by yourself. 3 days a week, for 26 weeks. Sometime I think I am crazy!

    The kids are getting older and getting to be more helpful. I know the "crew" is coming.

    Jay

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    I have done up to $2300 in 1 day, we had 5 people working. That day we had several higher priced items. This last year, I think the top sales was $1800, with most Saturdays in July/Aug being over $1200. We work. Our market starts at 7:30 (officially) and ends at 12:30 (officially), of course customers are there from 6 am til well after 1pm. We are supposed to be totally packed up and out by 1 pm, but the customers keep coming. We show up before 6, leaving the house by 5 am and don't get home until after 3 pm. We do stop to get lunch after market.

    I have even had adjoining vendors step over and help restock. Of course, she has been sitting next to me for years. When any of us need to go to the bathroom, another of us just steps in and work the stand, either hers or mine.