The Associates
The Garden Center Associate: The most overused and under-appreciated information resource.
- Most employees at Garden Centers are seasonal
- Most employees working outside in Garden Centers are high school or college students trying to get money for the summer.
- Most employees don't know any more about plants than you do.
- Finally, if they're not in management, they have NO POWER OR AUTHORITY! This means they can't order plants, they don't have control over plant availability, they can't mark down plants without permission, and they can't satisfy all customers all of the time.
- Just because the associate might not know the answers to the question his or her self, it doesn't mean you shouldn't ask them.
- Most Garden Centers try to keep at least one educated person working in the store at all times.
- All associates are able to find answers to your questions by finding one of the more knowledgeable employees or by utilizing the same resources that you have to your disposal such as books, free pamphlets, and product packaging.
