A Guarantee for Success

Jennifer Polanz

I recently made a stop at Meadows Farms Nurseries & Landscape in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and saw a program I wanted to share: the Farmer’s Extended Warranty. We often talk about how retailers can increase their average ticket, and this program not only helps with that, but it also guarantees the customer success by providing the right products for the planting job.

I caught up with Bobby Lewis, vice president of marketing, at the annual Garden Center Group Fall Event, and he told me it’s the first year for the Farmer’s Extended Warranty, which offers the customer a 3-year warranty on tree and shrub sales with the purchase of a package that includes:

• 4-lb. bag of Espoma Bio-Tone

• 1 cu. ft. bag of planting mix

• 3 cu. ft. bag of shredded mulch

That’s the minimum package purchase ($25) for containers that range from 1 gal. to 12 gal. If the product is larger, the customer needs to purchase more packages to get the warranty, which is all detailed in the pamphlet provided at the register and with purchase. The pamphlet also includes instructions on planting and watering, as well as the details of the warranty.

The Meadows Farms stores (there are 17 of them in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) kicked off the warranty program by having an internal sales contest that rewarded the store that sold the most as a percentage of sales. Bobby said the goal is to help all those new gardeners they’re seeing be more successful with their larger purchases. GP

Pictured above: One of several signs highlighting the new Farmer’s Extended Warranty at Meadows Farms Nurseries & Landscape in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Right: The pamphlet that customers can pick up about the program, which includes terms of the warranty, planting and watering information, and other services the garden center offers.