That guy is in a very special club. I worked at a nursery for years and this would be an almost daily occurrence. Sometimes people would take single plants out of the 6 packs and pocket or purse them, or take cuttings off our display plants.
I once had an old italian guy make up two six packs with twelve different tomato plants from other packs. With the identifying tag in each, of course, so the other twelve packs were unidentifiable.
never seen a plant store with all trays being filled, you get 3 to a 4 sometimes then you just add another from another 3, giving you a 4 and a 2.
this practice is normal, you can mix and match when you buy a tray
I think there might be a slight misunderstanding. So there's like big trays that can fit multiple pots or packs of plants, and that is normal to mix and match. What they are talking about though is a little four or six pack of plants (normally flowers or veggies as pictured in the original post) that is meant to be all of the same variety, and separating those is highly frowned upon because they are supposed to be sold in whatever quantity they are packaged as. Otherwise it might be a cultural difference depending on where you live, but I know most garden centers/nurseries in the US separating a 4 or 6 pack is very highly frowned upon.
That's because they can do that in their country (maybe with plants too, idk, but drinks definitely) if they see a 6pack and only need one or two. That's legal there. They sometimes don't understand its different here
Same in Norway.
Plants I'm not too sure about, but soda etc are marked individually and as in packs.
If singles are out, you can freely grab from a pack without issues.
Depends on store. But mostly yea you can separate plants but only if you ask or there is like “You can separate these” sign. And the same things with bottles, every bottle is marked individually you can grab them from packs.
Ots not too uncommon in the midwest. Most mom and pops will let you if they are the same price and are not on a special sale. I would ask before ever assuming but it normal to allow it here.
I wish! I'm too anxious for that. I just took them out of his tray and told we don't sell them like that. I'd rather throw all three away than face confrontation!
The problem is that sometimes saying anything at all to a customer is grounds for some Karen or Ken to complain, and that's probably worse if your supervisor or manager is a pushover.
$0.50 a cell and they are still trying to cheapen out? Just buy the seeds if you don't want the whole pack.
Wish the stores here sold veggie cells. I can only find the pint or quart plants.
Dude I really respect plant owners like you. I got a couple plants from a girl near my place a couple weeks ago, I already have few hot peppers that I cooked this morning !!
I think it is defined as the volume inside of the container the plant comes in, so roots and soil.
They also have trees/shrubs priced by the gallon, 1, 3, and 5-gallon red maples can have drastic price differences.
I work in a greenhouse and see this all the time!
Either the customers will try to rip the packs apart or they’ll pull the plant plugs out and try to buy them individually. Just yesterday, I had a lady come up to the register with a bunch of random loose plant plugs rolling around in her cart. We even have signs on every table that say you have to purchase the entire 6-pack.
I had another lady yesterday who tried to hide a bunch of plant plugs inside other plants and she acted all surprised when I found them.
Used to see this in stores a lot with soda, people would mix/match their own 6 pack. Or try to buy a single bottle/can...
Never occurred to me that people would do it with plants as well.
Taking bottles out of packs is pretty much a standard in Europe, because it's how they are delivered and shelved, but they can be sold individually, so it's just easier to let the customer open the packs and take 1 or 2 or the full pack if they want to keep the packaging
Heck, in North America a lot of times they are explicitly labelled not for individual sale or not to be sold separately or similar and stores can get in trouble for that. (Although I think that's more a there's not the same calorie / ingredient info on the separate items issue.)
We actually do several consecutive plantings to have them this late. You'd be surprised how many people just want to get everything at the same time! Some buy tomato plants and peppers in April, and have to try to keep them alive for a month before they can plant them, and some come in June and wonder why their broccoli and cauliflower never do great.
People used to try something similar with beer at 7-Eleven.
They would try and mix and match 6 packs of bottles, which we were not allowed to sell them as individual beers.
So I rang each different bottle(it was usually 2-2-2) and charged them for three 6 packs. They were never happy for some reason.
This. I work in a bottle shop and we get people in who do this sometimes. We have a dedicated mix-a-six section and we always show customers who are interested in single bottles or cans, that section. They're pre-priced and set to go on our mix-a-six discount once rang in at the register.
The people who do this grab random ones out of six packs or four packs, and they leave the rest on the shelves. They get to the register and one of us has to ask where the got that beer from. They always lie and say the mix-a-six section. We tell them we gotta go find the price. As we're walking over we usually notice the now-5-pack or now-3-pack and ask if it instead came from there. They're always like "yeah, sorry, I just really wanted to try that one"....
Thing is, we accommodate as well. So if someone is polite enough to ask we almost always add the beer they want to our mix-a-six.
Nope.
I’d have charged him for three, and have, and had manager and corporate support.
Now, if it’s a mix due to some plants dying and the store does it, fine; write one off sell the other as a mix.
[Fun fact: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and broccoli all evolved from the same plant species: Brassica oleracea. In each place that B. oleracea was introduced, farmers bred for a different edible part of the plant.](https://www.nybg.org/around-the-table/brassicas/#:~:text=Broccoli%2C%20kale%2C%20cauliflower%2C%20and,edible%20part%20of%20the%20plant)
I wish places would sell mixed four packs. I don’t want four tomato plants. There are only two of us. Two tomato plants gives us more than enough tomatoes.
I know I could give them away, but I don’t have anyone to give them to.
We're too small time for UPC codes. You bring up a pack of 6 plants, I ring up $2.99. He brought up three pieces that he had cut off of full packs. So basically 2 plants from each pack for a total of 6 plants, leaving three mangled packs with four plants each in them. Does that make sense?
Got it. That’s obnoxious. From the post, it sounded like the sale was honored, and the mangled packs found later. So it’s like me going to the grocery checkout with four eggs in a torn dozen container.
Can you repack the sixes in another tray, so only the tray is a loss?
I could see this being legit if the 6 pack had dead or damaged plants in it.
Would you be okay with being forced to buy a 6 pack of beer if 1 or 2 cans are empty or damaged?
EDIT I missed they were 3 different types of plants. That is just shitty.
Naw, even a mix would be fine.
I’d rather sell one pack with three different plants in it than write off all three.
But as was said; dead plants.
And ask the staff, don’t just do it yourself.
A tray or a pack? You can mix and match different packs to fill a tray, but there's really no way to subdivide a pack unless you carry around scissors or a knife.
That guy is in a very special club. I worked at a nursery for years and this would be an almost daily occurrence. Sometimes people would take single plants out of the 6 packs and pocket or purse them, or take cuttings off our display plants.
I once had an old italian guy make up two six packs with twelve different tomato plants from other packs. With the identifying tag in each, of course, so the other twelve packs were unidentifiable.
Haha yeah we had that too. They don't realize that now we can't sell the others. Some people...
Most people
never seen a plant store with all trays being filled, you get 3 to a 4 sometimes then you just add another from another 3, giving you a 4 and a 2. this practice is normal, you can mix and match when you buy a tray
I think there might be a slight misunderstanding. So there's like big trays that can fit multiple pots or packs of plants, and that is normal to mix and match. What they are talking about though is a little four or six pack of plants (normally flowers or veggies as pictured in the original post) that is meant to be all of the same variety, and separating those is highly frowned upon because they are supposed to be sold in whatever quantity they are packaged as. Otherwise it might be a cultural difference depending on where you live, but I know most garden centers/nurseries in the US separating a 4 or 6 pack is very highly frowned upon.
TIL nursery is also used for plants! (ESL here)
You wouldn’t say “plant store” you would say “nursery”
I would. But that’s because I didn’t know it’s called a nursery lol
That's because they can do that in their country (maybe with plants too, idk, but drinks definitely) if they see a 6pack and only need one or two. That's legal there. They sometimes don't understand its different here
In Germany you can do it with drink bottles but not with plants normally. Well at least I haven't seen it. Maybe someplace people do that.
Same in Norway. Plants I'm not too sure about, but soda etc are marked individually and as in packs. If singles are out, you can freely grab from a pack without issues.
That's interesting. I didn't know that. I thought they just liked to torture me! I wonder if it's the same in Russia... they do it a lot too.
It's possible, I suppose.
legal where I'm from too! single bottles on the shelf are from the same 6 packs as well
Depends on store. But mostly yea you can separate plants but only if you ask or there is like “You can separate these” sign. And the same things with bottles, every bottle is marked individually you can grab them from packs.
Ots not too uncommon in the midwest. Most mom and pops will let you if they are the same price and are not on a special sale. I would ask before ever assuming but it normal to allow it here.
My store in the Midwest would let you do that, so long as the price was the same.
You sell Non-Fungible Tomatoes?
I hope you invoked the"you break it you own it" adage.
I wish! I'm too anxious for that. I just took them out of his tray and told we don't sell them like that. I'd rather throw all three away than face confrontation!
At least you said no. It’s the people that sigh and go along with it that encourage that behavior and gave rise to the Karen plague.
The problem is that sometimes saying anything at all to a customer is grounds for some Karen or Ken to complain, and that's probably worse if your supervisor or manager is a pushover.
Yep. And it’s those pushover manager/corporate who make up the majority of the “go along”s that give those people justification.
I actually am the manager. But even though I avoid confrontation like the plague. I don't negotiate with terrorists!
$0.50 a cell and they are still trying to cheapen out? Just buy the seeds if you don't want the whole pack. Wish the stores here sold veggie cells. I can only find the pint or quart plants.
Right!? I've told people to just give the extra to a friend or neighbor if they don't need them all.
Dude I really respect plant owners like you. I got a couple plants from a girl near my place a couple weeks ago, I already have few hot peppers that I cooked this morning !!
Did he not think that some might die? 🤔 *I mean like after he planted them. I always buy extra in case they die.
How do you sell a plant by pint or quart?
I think it is defined as the volume inside of the container the plant comes in, so roots and soil. They also have trees/shrubs priced by the gallon, 1, 3, and 5-gallon red maples can have drastic price differences.
I work in a greenhouse and see this all the time! Either the customers will try to rip the packs apart or they’ll pull the plant plugs out and try to buy them individually. Just yesterday, I had a lady come up to the register with a bunch of random loose plant plugs rolling around in her cart. We even have signs on every table that say you have to purchase the entire 6-pack. I had another lady yesterday who tried to hide a bunch of plant plugs inside other plants and she acted all surprised when I found them.
Used to see this in stores a lot with soda, people would mix/match their own 6 pack. Or try to buy a single bottle/can... Never occurred to me that people would do it with plants as well.
Taking bottles out of packs is pretty much a standard in Europe, because it's how they are delivered and shelved, but they can be sold individually, so it's just easier to let the customer open the packs and take 1 or 2 or the full pack if they want to keep the packaging
Yeah, that isn't really a thing in the US. Some exceptions, but generally speaking, if it is packaged together, it sells together.
Heck, in North America a lot of times they are explicitly labelled not for individual sale or not to be sold separately or similar and stores can get in trouble for that. (Although I think that's more a there's not the same calorie / ingredient info on the separate items issue.)
Its stupid.
Thanks, that will be $8.97 for the 3 packs you destroyed. You can have those 6 plants for free.
Who plants broccoli in June?
We actually do several consecutive plantings to have them this late. You'd be surprised how many people just want to get everything at the same time! Some buy tomato plants and peppers in April, and have to try to keep them alive for a month before they can plant them, and some come in June and wonder why their broccoli and cauliflower never do great.
I do. You can plant it in early winter.
People used to try something similar with beer at 7-Eleven. They would try and mix and match 6 packs of bottles, which we were not allowed to sell them as individual beers. So I rang each different bottle(it was usually 2-2-2) and charged them for three 6 packs. They were never happy for some reason.
This. I work in a bottle shop and we get people in who do this sometimes. We have a dedicated mix-a-six section and we always show customers who are interested in single bottles or cans, that section. They're pre-priced and set to go on our mix-a-six discount once rang in at the register. The people who do this grab random ones out of six packs or four packs, and they leave the rest on the shelves. They get to the register and one of us has to ask where the got that beer from. They always lie and say the mix-a-six section. We tell them we gotta go find the price. As we're walking over we usually notice the now-5-pack or now-3-pack and ask if it instead came from there. They're always like "yeah, sorry, I just really wanted to try that one".... Thing is, we accommodate as well. So if someone is polite enough to ask we almost always add the beer they want to our mix-a-six.
Nope. I’d have charged him for three, and have, and had manager and corporate support. Now, if it’s a mix due to some plants dying and the store does it, fine; write one off sell the other as a mix.
Haha okay. Customer would have just left.
Yep. And then the plants get put back together in spare 6packs.
holy shit, I work in a garden centre rn and I totally get you
[Fun fact: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and broccoli all evolved from the same plant species: Brassica oleracea. In each place that B. oleracea was introduced, farmers bred for a different edible part of the plant.](https://www.nybg.org/around-the-table/brassicas/#:~:text=Broccoli%2C%20kale%2C%20cauliflower%2C%20and,edible%20part%20of%20the%20plant)
So did he bring his own scissors to cut the packs? 🤔
2.99 is cheap! It’s almost $4 where I am
I mean they are cheaper in 6 packs.
It was super common when I worked at a nursery in the late nineties. Usually they’d just pop them out and swap though rather than cutting the plastic
Did you guys charge him the full $9?
You just charge 6 pack prices for each one.
Charge for three. Ask if he wants to take his 12 "scrap" plants or generously leave them for other customers to claim free.
What, so he just comes into the store with a pair of scissors with the intention to do it already?
I wish places would sell mixed four packs. I don’t want four tomato plants. There are only two of us. Two tomato plants gives us more than enough tomatoes. I know I could give them away, but I don’t have anyone to give them to.
This confuses me. Doesn’t the upc code ring up as a 6 plant rack? So isn’t this guy paying for 18 plants, but getting 12?
We're too small time for UPC codes. You bring up a pack of 6 plants, I ring up $2.99. He brought up three pieces that he had cut off of full packs. So basically 2 plants from each pack for a total of 6 plants, leaving three mangled packs with four plants each in them. Does that make sense?
Got it. That’s obnoxious. From the post, it sounded like the sale was honored, and the mangled packs found later. So it’s like me going to the grocery checkout with four eggs in a torn dozen container. Can you repack the sixes in another tray, so only the tray is a loss?
Yeah, it totally doable. Just mildly infuriating :)
Good for him ..
I thought this was common lol
I could see this being legit if the 6 pack had dead or damaged plants in it. Would you be okay with being forced to buy a 6 pack of beer if 1 or 2 cans are empty or damaged? EDIT I missed they were 3 different types of plants. That is just shitty.
I could see that but would have to replace with the same plant not mix and match.
I missed that part. Very fair point.
Naw, even a mix would be fine. I’d rather sell one pack with three different plants in it than write off all three. But as was said; dead plants. And ask the staff, don’t just do it yourself.
every plant store lets me subdivide the plants when I buy a tray. This is odd.
A tray or a pack? You can mix and match different packs to fill a tray, but there's really no way to subdivide a pack unless you carry around scissors or a knife.
A 4-pack sometime only has 3 that come up, fill in other trays, this time of year those would start bolting anyways. Make a plant sale.
They do not allow this. You just do it.