Last week I went strawberry picking. Not once, but twice.
The strawberry season in Michigan doesn’t last long.
And when you love Michigan strawberries like I do, you go as often as you can before the season is over.
I’ve been strawberry picking ever since I can remember. When I was growing up, picking strawberries was a family affair.
We’d pile in the car and off we’d go to the farm.
We’d have a great time picking berries, eating more than we picked, and coming home with pounds of strawberries and the remains of eaten strawberries on our faces.
The strawberries were made into jam, pie, and my favorite, sliced strawberries over shortcake. What could be better?
Over the years, as the suburbs expanded and neighborhoods built with new homes, the farms disappeared.
Twenty-five years ago there were five strawberry farms within a 30-minute drive from our place.
Now there’s only one farm.
But that farm, Rowe’s Produce Farm, has their customer service down to a T.
Rowe’s Produce Farm Customer Service
Like any vegetable or fruit, weather and rain play a big part on when strawberries can be picked. A late, cold spring can delay the berries ripening for a couple weeks.
If you’ve picked at Rowe’s in the past, you know the best way to find out the latest status of the berries is to join The List, Rowe’s email newsletter, to find out the latest news about picking strawberries and other produce at the farm.
Keep Customers Updated
Come the first week of June, people in southeast Michigan are looking for news about strawberry picking.
And that’s when the first email is sent out to The List.
The first email doesn’t announce berries are ready to be picked. Rather, it’s a quick update to let people know how many more weeks they might expect to wait until the strawberries are ripe.
Emails are usually sent in the evening, with conditions and information for the next day or several days. Meet customers’ expectations. Customer service points: 1.
“THE LIST” is alive once again! This is the first update of the 2015 season.
MICHIGAN WEATHER !!!
Due to the very cold and wet spring again this year. The strawberries have gotten off to a slow start and have been growing at a relaxed pace so far.
The season looks to be a week or so later than a more normal spring.
Each week in June, until the berries come in, Rowe’s sends out an update. And when the berries come in, the update is sent out daily to The List. Notify customers of latest berry picking status. Customer service points: 2.
Strawberries tired of waiting for Tigers to heat up, decide to go ahead and ripen! The real opening day everyone waits for is Sunday June 7th!
As usual at the start of the season not all varieties are ready. There’s plenty for that first pie and shortcake of the season, large tasty berries but not quite loaded yet.
If you want a large amount to jam up it might be best to wait a bit. If coming late in the day it may be prudent to call the farm at 734-482-8538 to make sure we are not picked out.
The same information is posted on the farm’s Facebook page, which is helpful for customers who don’t want to provide their email address. Offer more than one option for customers to get the latest status update. Customer service points: 3.
When there’s a mix of good and bad weather in the forecast:
Many storms north and south but just some showers for us. What does this mean? Strawberry picking conditions are still good and not too muddy. Forecast says a 50/50 chance of rain Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
So it’s a 50% chance you will get wet sometime in the next 4 days if you decide to pick. So you gotta ask yourself one question, “Do you feel LUCKY”.
It’s 100% that you will find berries and have fun. We hope you decide to come out so we can “Make your day.”
Some announcements are short and quick:
We are closed for the remainder of today due to the weather. We will reopen tomorrow at 7 am.
And when the weather is bad, the notices are fun and lighthearted:
Lather, rinse, repeat! Open for picking, play around in the mud, more rain, close the doors. This is getting to be a bad pattern. The fields are WET. It would be prudent to wear boots or old shoes, maybe waders?
The berries are holding on so far, some are treading water though. With this much rain bad things can start to happen to the crop.
You’ve read the updates, found the directions to the farm, and you’re heading out to pick berries at Rowe’s. What kind of experience can you expect?
Greet and Provide Clear Information to Customers
When you drive up the black asphalt driveway past a white two-story house leading to the farm building, one of the Rowe’s staff walks to your car and greets you, “Welcome to Rowe’s!” On first meeting, make the customer feel welcome. Customer service points: 4.
They’ll ask how many boxes of strawberries you want to pick. After you receive your boxes, the staff provides you clear directions on where to drive to get to the field.
The drive to the field isn’t straightforward. And the farm staff know that.
Staff are sitting in chairs placed at each turn to direct you to the next turn. Provide clear navigation to the customer, don’t let them get lost or confused. Customer service points: 5.
Once you get to the field, you’re directed on where to park.
And if somehow you need more boxes for the strawberries you want to pick, there are extra boxes at the field. Have extra supplies available when the customer needs them. Customer service points: 6.
Picking the berries can take as long or as short a time as you want, depending on who you meet and the stories they share about themselves and what they do with the berries.
Last week, I met a soon-to-be-married young couple who were berry picking for the second time in three days. “We’ve already eaten all the berries we picked earlier this week,” they told me.
Another family brought their two young children, both under the age of five, who had a much easier time of picking than I did (they’re closer to the ground than me).
Personalized Checkout
After you’ve picked your berries, and leave in your car, staff are sitting at each turn to direct you back to the building to check out. Signs along the way point you to checkout. Provide a clear path to checkout. Customer service points: 7.
At checkout, staff walk up to your car and ask if they can help you with the berries. They’ll take the berries out of your car to be weighed so you know how much you picked and what you need to pay.
I don’t know about you, but after picking 10 to 20 pounds of strawberries kneeling on the ground, or bent over, I’m happy to have someone else lift the boxes of berries out of my vehicle. Offer personal service at the time of purchase. Customer service points: 8.
To pay, you have the option to pay with cash or credit card, using Square. Provide more then one payment option. Customer service points: 9.
And if you’re looking for canning supplies for your strawberry jam, you can pick up anything you need at checkout as well.
When you receive your receipt, your checkout person says, “Thank you for coming to Rowe’s. Are you on The List? Our mailing list keeps you updated about what’s available and conditions on picking.”
Thank the customer for their purchase. Offer to sign them up to email list to get the latest info. Customer service points: 10.
Meet Customers’ Needs
Every step along the way, Rowe’s Farm Produce has considered their customers’ questions and provided the service and support to meet their customers’ needs.
Their website includes basic information, their produce, directions, how to contact them, as well as recipes and photos of the farm.
And they clearly state their website is not updated daily, pointing web visitors to get the latest info from one of three methods:
- Join The List
- Visit Facebook
- Call on the phone
And while their website isn’t responsive and frankly sports an outdated look and feel, it’s evident Rowe’s knows what communication methods works best for them and their customers.
In the past, Rowe’s would send out postcards when strawberry season started. But when the list grew to more than 12,000 people, it became too expensive.
They still send postcards to customers who request them, but encourage customers to join The List or visit Facebook for the latest status on berry picking and conditions.
An added bonus: customers who receive postcards get one update per season while those on The List or visiting Facebook get updates throughout the berry picking season.
Which means better customer service, delivering information to customer when and how they want it.
Email updates and Facebook posts make it easy for customers to know when to come out to the farm or when the farm is closed early due to weather or overpicking.
Small Details Go Far
Rowe’s has adapted and learned as customers needs changed and identified communication methods that worked well for everyone.
They’ve identified the best communication methods that work for them and their customers, and maintain a personal touch when customers arrive at the farm.
Their attention to the small details, sending daily emails during berry season, directional assistance for customers driving to the field, taking the berries out of my vehicle, has kept me a customer for almost 20 years.
