Paula's Place

Paula's Place

Wednesday 15 October 2014

The Customer's Always Right

It is held to be one of the few generally agreed maxims of business that the Customer is Always Right, sometimes I'm not so sure.   I have two customers in particular who when it comes to gardens I can't help disagreeing with.

One gives every appearance of being a keen gardener, yet she will insist on pruning at the wrong time of year, not dead heading, and then ripping up plants because they stop flowering early.   With the amount of time she spends in her garden I can see that it would be so much better (more flowers, more veg, less weeds) if only she would be prepared to take advise.   This is not simply a reflection of a gardening style, more an attitude to life, she is both impatient and always convinced that she is right.    I can't remember who first coined the phrase, but "I wish I knew as much about anything as she knows about everything".   I always find it a little stressful working in this garden as I know that I will be asked to do something that I think either should not be done, or not done at that time.

So why do I do it, one of the advantages of being self employed is that I get to choose my customers, I have a basic rule that I do not work for people I don't like, and only do work that I find satisfying.   Well I look after this garden because the husband is a good friend, and something of a business guru to me.   He signs the cheques and I know that my help makes his life a lot easier.

The other is a different situation altogether, she is a lovely woman and I have grown quite fond of her, yet over the last few months her Mother has been staying with her and between them they are just ripping up all the plants.   The garden looks increasingly like and field of composted bark with a bit of grass in the middle.   Roses have been ripped up, peonies molested, and phloxes f*%$ed.   I begin to despair of making this garden a thing of beauty; yet maybe Mum will find somewhere of her own soon and will stop venting her anger on the garden, then maybe I can start putting in some "pretty" again.

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