Comments on: Well, the Christmas Tree People Hate Me http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2004/12/well_the_christ.html Dispatches from a Small Business Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mark Rohlfs http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2004/12/well_the_christ.html/comment-page-1#comment-372 Mark Rohlfs Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:15:45 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2004/12/well_the_christ.html#comment-372 <p>Hello,<br /> I am the owner of Santa and Sons Christmas Trees in Los Angeles, an Oregon Christmas Tree Farm. I have operated retail Christmas tree lots since 1977, and I am totally behind the decision of you as a customer to draw the line at the lack of service you received. Being an industry that has many many small tree lot operators, you are going to find some big differences between them.<br /> For years it has been our policy to individually price tag each and every Christmas tree we sell (we don't sell holiday trees!). With high quality fresh trees that are properly displayed in water and in the shade, and the full service we provide, our trees are not cheap. So I would never want to put a customer in the awkward position of not being able to afford (or choosing to spend for) a tree after it had been selected. Bad for the customer and bad for my business. A smarter retailer would have understood that keeping it fun to pick out a tree together is part of the reason people choose a retail Christmas tree lot instead of a tree from the chain store. <br /> Mark Rohlfs<br /> santasons@peak.org</p> Hello,
I am the owner of Santa and Sons Christmas Trees in Los Angeles, an Oregon Christmas Tree Farm. I have operated retail Christmas tree lots since 1977, and I am totally behind the decision of you as a customer to draw the line at the lack of service you received. Being an industry that has many many small tree lot operators, you are going to find some big differences between them.
For years it has been our policy to individually price tag each and every Christmas tree we sell (we don’t sell holiday trees!). With high quality fresh trees that are properly displayed in water and in the shade, and the full service we provide, our trees are not cheap. So I would never want to put a customer in the awkward position of not being able to afford (or choosing to spend for) a tree after it had been selected. Bad for the customer and bad for my business. A smarter retailer would have understood that keeping it fun to pick out a tree together is part of the reason people choose a retail Christmas tree lot instead of a tree from the chain store.
Mark Rohlfs
santasons@peak.org

]]> By: jolene http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2004/12/well_the_christ.html/comment-page-1#comment-371 jolene Fri, 24 Dec 2004 01:56:50 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2004/12/well_the_christ.html#comment-371 <p>My guess is that the salesperson was watching the cars people drove before he decided the price he would be charging for the tree you chose.I believe it works the same way with car dealerships and law firms.Jolene</p> My guess is that the salesperson was watching the cars people drove before he decided the price he would be charging for the tree you chose.I believe it works the same way with car dealerships and law firms.Jolene

]]> By: Max Lybbert http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2004/12/well_the_christ.html/comment-page-1#comment-370 Max Lybbert Mon, 13 Dec 2004 23:20:23 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2004/12/well_the_christ.html#comment-370 <p>Well, whenever I've worked as a sales guy, I've never expected to get a sale or referral out of insulting a customer, especially not in front of his children! The customer's always right, because the customer has the money. Good salespeople recognize this and act accordingly.</p> <p>Why weren't the prices listed? To put you in an awkward situation if your children liked an expensive tree. The decision maker at that lot (likely the guy you talked to, but possibly somebody else) made that decision in an effort to pressure certain customers into buying trees. If that wasn't working in your case, the sales person could either have played under your rules, and possible have made a sale or gotten a referral, or he could insult you and write you off as a potential customer.</p> Well, whenever I’ve worked as a sales guy, I’ve never expected to get a sale or referral out of insulting a customer, especially not in front of his children! The customer’s always right, because the customer has the money. Good salespeople recognize this and act accordingly.

Why weren’t the prices listed? To put you in an awkward situation if your children liked an expensive tree. The decision maker at that lot (likely the guy you talked to, but possibly somebody else) made that decision in an effort to pressure certain customers into buying trees. If that wasn’t working in your case, the sales person could either have played under your rules, and possible have made a sale or gotten a referral, or he could insult you and write you off as a potential customer.

]]> By: MaxedOutMama http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2004/12/well_the_christ.html/comment-page-1#comment-369 MaxedOutMama Sun, 12 Dec 2004 21:20:39 +0000 http://coyote-blog.com/wordpress/2004/12/well_the_christ.html#comment-369 <p>I would have done the same thing, although I probably would have told the guy something like "I can't decide which one I like without knowing the price."</p> I would have done the same thing, although I probably would have told the guy something like “I can’t decide which one I like without knowing the price.”

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