Page 7 - Griffin Gazette Fall 2016

By Beth Engle, Live Goods
Assistant Business Manager
We know you have many options when it
comes to where you do business. As you’re
reading this article, we’d like to thank you
for the trust you’ve given in awarding your
business to us, whether in the area of plant,
seed, hard goods or retail purchases, or all
of the above.
At Griffin, we consider our customer
relationships to be true partnerships: We’re
here to help you succeed. When you’re
successful, so are we. When it comes
to plant material, are you maximizing
your broker relationship? Are you taking
advantage of all the services and know-
how our team can provide? As you gear up
for the new booking season, consider these
tips to make 2017 your best season yet:
1. Let’s get a head start
While this is a ‘perennial’ refrain, the
importance of booking early can’t be
overstated. I remember checking, a few
years back, on the level of sold-out items on
orders with two different perennial vendors.
Orders booked after October 1st had
significantly higher numbers of sold-out or
backordered items.
New varieties, in their first year of commer-
cial sale, are often the first to go. Breeders your product to the correct location the first
are ramping up production and vendors
may not be able to get enough inputs to
fulfill all the demand. Booking early can help
you get your foot in the door to secure such
items at the quantities you need.
Booking early can also help you leverage
any early order discounts (EODs) available,
assuming any required vendor criteria are
met. Vendors offer EODs because they’re
mutually beneficial: You save some money
and secure availability, and they get a jump
on understanding how much demand
is out there so they can plan production
accordingly. Don’t miss your opportunity to
stake your claim and save a few bucks!
2. We’ll be your backorder back-up
Nobody likes navigating the choppy
waters of backorders and substitutions,
but everybody faces these issues at least
once in a while. Did you know we can
handle these for you? While you’re booking
your orders, let us know your preferences
regarding any substitutions or backorders
that come up. Knowing your wishes
enables us to respond more quickly on your
behalf, ensuring your orders are fulfilled as
completely and accurately as possible.
If you prefer to make the call yourself
regarding subs and backorders, know that
time is of the essence. The sooner we hear
back from you, the faster we can get to
work on your behalf. For ship dates that are
months out, a response within five business
days usually works. For orders shipping
in the near future, the clock ticks more
loudly—replies should be as immediate
as possible.
3. We’ll roll with the changes
While we maintain close relationships with
many of our customers, we understand
change is inevitable. In the words of Ferris
Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast.” People
change roles; back-ups are called upon
to fill in when a colleague is out sick or on
vacation. Some folks use personal e-mail
addresses, so it’s not always clear which
company a person is representing. Be
sure to include the following details on all
correspondence:
• Your company name and/or
account number
• Your Griffin order number and the
vendor’s name
• The request or question that needs to
be addressed
• The location to which the order is
shipping (if your operation has more
than one location)
This background information helps us get
time, via the most cost-effective method
and with the shortest possible transit time.
4. Tag, we’re it!
Tags are an item that’s often overlooked.
However, nobody wants to have to go back
to tag plants after they’ve been potted and
moved to their new greenhouse location.
By the same token, no one wants to be
wasteful, ending up with a bunch of tags
they don’t need or want.
Let us know your tagging preferences
for each order and we’ll take care of the
rest. Some vendors don’t supply tags
unless requested, while others send tags
automatically unless we instruct them not
to. In both cases, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve seen some customers become very
unhappy over tag issues, and this is one
headache that’s often very easy to prevent.
5. Take it step by step
We understand how busy you get, and how
easily your order acknowledgments can
become just another part of the paperwork
pile. Each Griffin live-goods order is typically we’ll make every effort to make things right
clears several checkpoints on its path to
fulfillment; it’s helpful to know the steps and
what each means.
Your very first communication from us is
usually an order acknowledgment. The
vendor generally hasn’t yet confirmed
it; instead, we’re saying, “Here’s our
understanding of your order.” This is your
first opportunity to double-check varieties,
quantities, product forms and ship date.
Correcting any discrepancies at this point
can make the rest of the process flow
more smoothly.
Subsequent order acknowledgments
reflect what the vendor says they can fulfill,
as well as any changes you’ve made to your
order. Be sure to check any notes we’ve
attached to each line item and to your order
in general, during the life of your order.
These notes are our way of ensuring we’ve
gotten your request right, or to let you know
changes that have occurred.
6. Know when to raise the red flag
With any perishable good, including live
plant material, there’s always the risk of
something going wrong—even when
everything in production has gone right.
If you discover an issue with your order
upon delivery, it’s so important to let us
know right away. Most suppliers require
notification of any issues within 48 hours
of receipt of the plants. Many vendors also
require photo documentation to initiate a
claim, so be sure to snap a few pics, no
matter how small the issue seems.
Your first notification doesn’t have to be
your final word. Customers will sometimes
let us know an order came in dinged up,
but the plants quickly rebound and the
preliminary claim can be canceled. At other
times, the issue may be more substantial. In
both cases, it’s key to contact us as soon
as you’re able, especially if replacement
plants are needed.
7. Use our helping hands
Say you’ve received your plants and then
run into a production challenge later on.
Our GGSPro technical services team exists
for this very reason! They’re here to help
customers like you in diagnosing, correcting
and preventing all sorts of problems
including pests, diseases, nutritional issues
and more. Be sure to ask your Griffin sales
representative about how the GGSPro
team might assist you, should the occasion
come up.
8. Use our eager ears
We welcome your candor in sharing
feedback – good and bad – on our services.
We’d much rather hear that we’re missing
the mark on something and be given the
chance to correct course, than have you
take your business elsewhere. Not every
issue has an easy or quick solution, but
for you.
Many thanks to Customer Service
Representatives Danielle Didio and Debbie
Schoiber, Sales Representative Duane
Deibert and Senior Business Manager
Jeff Burkholder for their contributions to
this article.
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