Re: [apple-crop] theft deterrence
Interesting series of posts. We have gone up and down in enthusiasm and discouragement in pyo. Some of the abuse by pyo customers does get us down, particularly with small fruits--cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. Particularly a large family group who will go out to the field, then spend a long time eating and coming back with only a small amount to buy. We have gone to a prepaid minimum per person to go out to the orchard. Sometimes called a picking deposit. The amount is not large--usually equal to one lb of cherries, or one quart of blueberries etc. We find the bonafide customers do not mind since they easily make the minimum, but the abusers are quite upset. We are not unhappy if they do not come back. This system has brightened our enthusiasm for pyo. It has not hurt our business. It is worth a try. Gary Mount Terhune Orchards, Princeton, NJ -Original Message- From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of Mark Helen Angermayer Sent: Monday, October 06, 2014 1:39 PM To: Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] theft deterrence Thank you Alan, I used to have a successful pig operation, and always wanted my product to be a good value for the customer, as well as myself (i.e. win/win) and tried to approach that w/ my fruit business. I've met some fruit growers who have been abused so much by some customers, they view most of their customers as enemies, instead of friends, which is sad. Nevertheless, Sam Walton (and others) built an empire based largely upon customer satisfaction. They were one of the first to have an extremely liberal merchandise return policy, and still do around here, even though some crooks take advantage. If I ever get to the point where I've been abused by customers so much, that I pretty much hate them, and don't trust them in general, I believe I'll resort to selling wholesale, or quit altogether. Keep in mind, my perspective is from the rural Midwest, where some percentage of the people still wave at you on the road (more so on the Missouri side). Mark Angermayer Tubbyfruits.com On 10/6/14, Alan Grout alanjgr...@gmail.com wrote: Mark and Helen: You said it best; complete, concise, and correct handling of customers with their ultimate satisfaction upper most in your priorities. I'll gladly pass on this correspondence to our apple PYO director Cheryl Gilbert for any additional comment. Of our apple orchards, approximately 60 acres is deer fence enclosed with about 20+ acres in new Honeycrisp. With regards and thank you..Alan (BTW 74 yrs. old). Alan Grout alanjgr...@gmail.com On Oct 6, 2014, at 10:08 AM, Mark Helen Angermayer angermay...@gmail.com wrote: Steven, I think your sign is a tasteful way to do it, and will probably work for most people. Just as different perspective, I've got a very small orchard (only about 300 peach trees and a few plums and apples) and I give away a lot fruit. I charge enough to be able to give away some to each customer. I sell them #1s at a fair price and throw in some seconds for free. It makes my customers feel like they are being treated special (which is what I try to do) and makes me feel good too. I also cut up lots of free samples for my customers. It makes for good experience for the customer. When they have a good experience, they come back. Many years ago (before I knew anything about fruit) my wife took me to a U-pick strawberry. I didn't want to go, but she told me (or showed me) you eat strawberries, while you pick. I guess you might say she taught me theft. I never viewed it as theft, but assumed the grower charged enough to compensate for my eating. I thought it was just part of the experience. Had I thought the grower considered it theft, I wouldn't have eaten any berries while picking, but also may not have ever gone to the U-pick in the first place, since part of the experience of U-pick is eating some fruit while picking. I'll also mention I consider myself a fairly honest person (I don't cheat people, don't cheat on my taxes, try to treat others like I'd like to be treated, etc). You can take what I say w/ a grain of salt, since I haven't offered U-pick. But I don't think it would bother me if people ate their lunch from my trees while picking their fruit for purchase. They are probably not going to eat more than a couple pounds of fruit, which is about the average amount I give away anyway. If they brought their family in and fed their family from the fruit, then left without buying anything (or much of anything) that would upset me. In that case, they are not treating others like they would want to be treated. Mark Angermayer Tubby Fruits On 10/6/14, Steven Bibula sbib...@maine.rr.com wrote: A few U-Pick customers are so brazen about their theft that they eat berries and apples freely in front of me while coming out
Apple-Crop: posts for organic orchard
I will be planting an orchard for organic production this year and am looking for a solution to obtaining posts. As far as I know, treated posts are not acceptable in the NOP (I would love to stand corrected on this one) and I don,t like metal posts very much. I saw some really nice concrete posts at Fruit Logistica last winter in Berlin, but don't know of any in the USA. Can anyone point me in the right direction? - Gary Mount Terhune Orchards 330 Cold Soil Rd Princeton, NJ 08540 609-924-2310 609-924-8569 fx 609-462-9672 cell -- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements webmas...@virtualorchard.net. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
Re: Apple-Crop: wireless credit card machines
Thanks for the very interesting comments about credit cards. We have multiple 110 volt machines and find that they do not need separate phone lines as someone might have said--they seem to share pretty well with only slight delays now and then while waiting for a line. We do have one portable, which uses some other system than cellular. We have terrible cell phone service at our farm, but the portable goes thru very quickly--faster than the 110 volt ones. Kind of costly--around $1,000. I agree with all that has been said about how credit cards increase sales but it sure frosts me to pay the cc company so much of our money in fees. Ditto for the thought that we are paying for our customers' vacation airline tickets. (We pay about 2.2% overall.) Has anyone in the group worked with a discount for cash? Around us some gas stations and liquor stores do it even though I have heard that the cc companies frown on the practice. Gary Mount Terhune Orchards, Princeton, NJ - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Apple-Crop ; 'Apple-Crop' Cc: Kurt Alstede Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 9:27 PM Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: wireless credit card machines Hello Tara... and all! Yes, there is no doubt that the credit card sales will improve your sales. For those that worry about the fees, I can say that when we went from the knuckle buster machines to the electronic devices, we saw a good percentage of people in line put away their c.c. and pulled out cash for their purchase countless times. They knew you were able to verify their status instantly. Obviously their credit cards were no good and they were saving themselves the embarrasment and us a good amount of canceled card notices.The amount of the purchases multiplied by the amount of times it occured paid for the fees incurred all thru our multiple u-pick seasons. It also was nice to have the mobile unit because we used it everywhere on the farm verses being tethered to a pole. Of course, as was said before, the service in those areas need to be checked before signing a contract with your service company. Nathan Milburn Milburn Orchards,Inc. www.milburnorchards.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] \443-309-2077(cell) -- Original message -- From: Kurt Alstede [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hello Scott, We actually process through our local commercial bank. I have investigated a lot of the merchant billing companies�a lot of them offer some slick deals up front, but then ratchet things up after they have got you in. We analyze our account each year and evaluate the total credit card sales, the total number of transactions, and the average transaction amount. The higher the average sale and the greater the total gross, the less the discount that the merchant billing charges. We are currently paying 2.20% on credit card sales nearing $1 million annually and average sales averaging approximately $60.00 each. We expect this to drop again this year. There are some additional fees charged on certain types of cards depending on the type of card used, but generally they do not add significantly to the cost of using the cards. I like working with our local commercial bank because we find that it gives us a lot more clout when we are both seeking service and also negotiating discounts since all of our other banking is done there; and also because we are stock holders in the bank. When we last used a wireless machine in 2006 we were leasing them and it cost approximately $100.00 per month including all of the connections fees, air time, etc. We own all of our 110 volt terminals and now have six in all plus one that can do food stamps. They cost us $300 each and we also use them for gift cards and loyalty cards. The bank provides all of our paper for free. A customer can now use a credit card anywhere on our farm that they make purchases. I feel that this has been a very important provision as almost 30% of all our retail transactions are now done with cards. We only accept visa/mastercard as both Discover and Amex have much higher fees and take much longer to deposit the money in your account. We currently receive our funds on the second business day following the transaction date. It may seem like it is a big step forward, but I think that you will discover that it is well worth it. Kind Regards, Kurt W. Alstede General Manager Alstede Farms, LLC P. O. Box 278 Chester, New Jersey 07930 United States of America Tel. 908-879-7189 From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 9:02 AM To: Apple-Crop Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: wireless credit card machines Kurt, Can you elaborate on which Credit Card
Apple-Crop: sprayer cleaning
I am trying to clean an old sprayer so that I can use it for organic vegetable production. So it is a one time event, but not an easy one! There is cleaning the inside of the tank and the piping, and then there is the encrusted exterior, especially in the area near the nozzles. Anyone on the list have any ideas? Buying a new sprayer for the job is just not justified--too small an acreage. Thanks in advance. Gary Mount Terhune Orchards 330 Cold Soil Rd Princeton, NJ 08540 609-924-2310 fax 924-8569
Re: Apple-Crop: Strains of Red Delicious
Dave, Our best tasting red is Topred--I think that is a CO, it seems to also be the one our customers pick first. I would echo Win's comments about Cameo. It has suffered in the mass marketing channels by being picked and shipped too early, but it is on the way to being the most favorite apple among our customers. Gary Mount - Original Message - From: David Barclay [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 8:26 PM Subject: Apple-Crop: Strains of Red Delicious Hello everyone, I am going to plant more Red Delicious in 2008. We were head over heels with Red Delicious in the 1960's and 1970's. Over the years I yanked them out and replaced them with new varieties. Now my local and asian customers are clamoring for more than I have now. We've had Starkrimson, Red Chief and It. I have not been enamored with any of them in terms of taste. As those of you over 50 years old can remember, - Old Fashioned Delicious was sweet , palatable and tasteful. That is the Delicious we desire, - and many customers have echoed that request. Has anyone an opinion on the which strains of Red Delicious have the best flavor? Thank you. And the best growing season to all in 2007. David Barclay 169 County Rd. East Colts Neck, New Jersey 07722 Phone: 732-544-9035 Fax: 732-542-7855 -- - The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content. --- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard http://www.virtualorchard.net and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent official opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
