It's inconceivable!

The Princess Bride is one of my all time favorite movies. In it the character Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) responds to each setback with "It's inconceivable!" To which Indigo Montoya responds "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

This past weekend I was at a garden center and I was flabbergasted! The place was a mess. Display gardens and shrubs overgrown, garden beds weedy and tired, trees knocked over and cinder blocks everywhere. "I can't image that any other retailer could survive running their business like most garden centers," I said to my wife. "Can you imagine a department store with piles of clothes on the floor, dirty and wrinkled? Displays featuring torn product, empty tables and with no help in sight? It's inconceivable!"

Yes, I think I do know what 'inconceivable' means. Of course this is a generalization, but I would challenge you to take a good look at your garden center. Are customers met with knowledgeable and friendly staff? Is the product displayed professionally... signed with pricing? Is the product worth the price, or is it tired, leggy or any other way sub-par?

So on Monday morning I wasn't surprised by what I found in my Fax machine. I was reading the Bottom Line, a weekly update sent by Robert Hendrickson to his Garden Center Group clients. This week (Vol. 14, No. 447) he commented on the fact that many garden center owners and employees admit that they don't shop. He was surprised. How can a retailer not participate in the retail process? How can they possibly understand the consumer experience if their only frame of reference is their own store? It's inconceivable! That might explain how some retailers find it acceptable to stock dirty and chipped pottery, or plants that are months past peak. Any other retail store would be out of business, or they would at least fire the manager. You need to hold you and your business to the highest retail standards. How can you know what that is if you aren't out there to experience it.

You need to get out there and see what's really going on in retail. As consumers we make decisions everyday where and when we will shop. It is now gotten to the point where I only shop my local Stop & Shop when I absolutely have to. My experience at Whole Foods has made me a more discerning customer so I find I am less tolerant of sub par produce or poor selection of products - worse yet core products that are out of stock.

If a typical consumer starts looking at a major grocery chain with this type of scrutiny do you really expect them to give you and your garden center a pass? Do you really expect them to pay premium prices for a bargain basement experience?

I know... it's inconceivable.