I have officially quit from the farmstand.......I cannot deal one more day with the customers...this week, one was the catalyst for all this.
In a 3 hour period, she made SEVEN calls to our house (we don't have a phone at the farmstand, since we're there to work). I happened to be at the house for the 7th call:
She wanted to speak to the manager about some Honeycrisp apples she purchased (two half bushels) over two weeks ago. She refused to speak to me, so I told her the owner (Mr. Fabulous) was working at the farmstand that day, & that we were open until 5p.m. She responded with "Fine, I'll run down there". That was around 2:30 Friday afternoon.
She showed up at 4:50p.m. on Saturday, raising **bleep** because......there was 2 stinkbugs in her apples. She took a picture of one of the bugs on an apple....& brought ONE apple back with a hole less than 1/8" across (Mr. Fabulous measured it), wanting her $40 back. Made a big stink in front of the other customers about how she lived 2 hours away, how could we be such poor business people, etc. At that point, I went back into the cooler, because I was so mad at her acting like this in front of the other customers (in fact, she cut in front of one customer that was ready to checkout), I was ready to take it out to the parking lot.
(Mind you, when she called Friday afternoon she never mentioned that....just said "Fine, I'll run down there". Wouldn't that make you think she live in this area?) And the fact is...stinkbugs don't make that big a hole, it's more like the hole made from a straight pin. Mr. Fabulous said it looked more like the hole made when the stem on an apple pokes into another.
Then....it got even better.
Oh....she didn't bring the two half bushels of Honeycrisp back....just ONE apple....& wanted to be refunded $40. Then, while she was carping about how they weren't holding up....we found out that she did NOT put them in a cool place, or in the fridge....she left them in her garage. Which probably explains the stinkbugs, they are over most of lower Michigan. And since the weather has been in the low 70s....& Honeycrisp are not the best "long storage" apple unless you keep them at 34-35 degrees...of course some of them are having problems. That's why the sign with them says "keeps best when refrigerated".
What really **bleep** me off......HE went ahead & gave her back her money.....& she still gets the apples. Then, he doesn't even get her licence plate number, a name, anything. I'm willing to bet money she didn't even buy the apples from us, I would think we would remember someone spending $40 for Honeycrisp.
I guessing we will also have a bad review on something like Yelp.
And yet.....he can't figure out why I don't really want to do this anymore. I lost my temper up to the house & pointed out that "for someone who fought in a war, watched people die & had to pick up the remains, you sure acted like a **bleep** down at the stand".
I'm still ticked off at him over this.
@bad_watermelon wrote:My full 100% support (as always) skidded to a halt when I read the last paragraph.
I hope you aren't repeating this story to folks who actually know you, because you'll look bad doing it.
Well, most everybody around here knows him (& is usually a relative in some way).........& the majority of the family consider him (at best) a "doofus". Compared to the two wives before me, I look like Mother Tereasa.
The thing is....if one of our employees or myself have done this, he would raise holy **bleep**. And all that type of thing does is verify the opinion that "farmers are dumb uneducated hicks, who deserve to be taken".....& trust me, we get a LOT of that around here from the "hoi poli" who spend their summers here. And the only reason HE dealt with her was because I wasn't down there for him to palm it off on me.
Did I mention that I'm NOT a paid employee??? Been doing this since 1985 (on weekends in the summer before we got married in 1990), never been paid.
All the more reason to go for "early retirement.
It's amazing when they find out how much work you did....when you aren't around doing it any more.
(Speaking of "work".......he does not consider anything I do to keep us going (laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, paying bills on time......you know, all the stuff the wife does ..... as "work". Like so many men out there, he must think the little house/farm pixies do all that, while I sit in the house, eat bonbons & watch "Fixer Upper" & "Rehab Addict".
He's real lucky I'm not into shopping online.).
Today, it's HIS turn to sit in the farmstand. It's been pouring rain all day (they're calling for us to have over 5" of rain in 24 hours, & more of the same until Sat). According to his "calculations", we need to have a minimum of $200 in sales daily to justify having the farmstand open......from 10 -3, we've taken in about $60....& we're open until 5p.m.
Let's see some hustle.
Way back in my early days of selling on e-bay, I had a buyer actually get my info and called the local police department to complain that I stole $15 from him andhe had not received his item.
That was back before paypal when everything was done by check...
The police actually called me to find out what was going on... I explained to him that I held the item until the check cleared, as was stated in my listing. I mailed the item out the same day it cleared, and e-mailed him notice of that, and his complaint to the police was well before the item could possibly have gotten to the buyer.
That was the last I heard...
@fruitflogger wrote:Ah....the end of another "successful" season. Except.....
On 11/1, we have: a $9000 "final payment" on a loan that he took out for working capital to farm....that was never discussed with me before he did it.
$2000 "once a year" payment on life insurance. Accidental Death, of course.
$300 electric bill for the coolers at the farmstand (at least THAT will be ending soon. Will run one cooler into Nov. for anything left over, & the colder weather will keep the cost down).
$486 payment for the new tractor he just HAD to have....that's now sitting dead in the water due to a split fuel line.
Of course, it's raining like crazy....so no one wants to lay in a puddle trying to fix it.
One can only pile so much on....before the mule refuses to move.
P.S.: I don't really want the job back.....I'm 64, gimped /burned out, & he's talking another 7 years before we "retire for good".
......perhaps it's time to go buy something expensive. Or new socks.
Perhaps it's time to give up on the husband. It doesn't sound like a happy marriage. Life is too short to spend your twilight years with someone who makes you so unhappy. Hope things work out for you.
After......we married in 1990. 4-5 years before we married, I was coming up on the weekends to visit & work at the tiny setup he had down the street (his former "bachelor trailer"). About the size that a 10'x10' canopy could cover. At that time, he didn't have a "regular space" at the farmers market....he would be in "the draw" for unused spaces that day, you might get one, you might not.
Basicly......the only way you could get a "regular space" was if one of the other farmers retired/passed away. Took him around 7 years to get a "regular space". Currently, there are over 70 farmers/vendors waiting for a spot....if you're an older farmer, it's like watching the sharks circle a life raft.
My parents were originaly farm kids.....when they married, they became "management farmers" for a large farm that raised contract vegetables like cabbage, tomatoes....& radishes. Open top, semi truck loads of radishes that went into some sort of relish at a cannary. They ended up moving into town.
When my mom found out I was getting married to a farmer, she blew a cork: "Why the **bleep** do you think we moved into town...because we didn't want you farming!!!!!!!!!".
Maybe that was a way to irk Mom.
There's a lot of difference between how my parents farmed & having fruit trees. They can walk away after a bit......when you do fruit, you're in for "the long haul", because it's 3-5 years from the time you plant little trees until you have an actual decent crop (if you raise pears, try TEN years to a decent crop....but you can have those pear trees for almost 100 years if you take care of them). You have to take care of the trees, even if there's no crop, prune them, shape them, take care of their physical needs.
It's sort of like raising kids. But they frown on you taking a chainsaw to the kid if it turns out to be worthless.
