How about this? Give them an option at the gate. Put down a $10 deposit for each person who wants to eat in the orchard, with a $5 credit toward purchase? Complicates things a little but it separates those who are honest from those who just want to take advantage of you.
Bill William H. Shoemaker Retired fruit and vegetable horticulturist University of Illinois [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Raby, Brian [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2014 9:11 AM To: Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] theft deterrence My two cents... I eat apples while I'm picking them. Why? Because I want to know what tastes good this year. I remember going to an orchard one year and found the Jonagolds to be outstanding. I bought all I could carry out of the orchard. The next year... the Jonagolds were tasteless. None of them made it home with me that year. Though I am in my fifties and have been eating apples my whole life, I need to reset my brain and my taste buds as to what tastes good and what doesn't. That's why I'm chompin' on the apples while I pick. It reaffirms the type of apple I want to pick and eat. Possible solution: offer apple slices BEFORE the consumer goes to the orchard and offer a map to show locations in the orchard so they don't get frustrated trying to find the variety they just tasted... especially if they have young kids in tow. Downside of this: varieties that need to be stored for a period before the flavor comes thru. Test tasting this apple will not help me decide to buy the variety. this is where the grower will need to sell me on the idea of buying this apple. Keep the change.. Brian Raby Sheridan, IN On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 10:45 AM, Ginda Fisher <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I'd like to reply as an apple consumer, and as someone who ate a lot of fruit in u-pick orchards as a kid, and as someone who thinks of herself as an honest person. If your customers are eating fruit as they talk to you, they don't think they are stealing. And perhaps you shouldn't think they are, either. There are different types of pick-your-own places, but in most cases, they are selling an experience more than they selling fruit. Eating fruit transforms a u-pick experience into something much more enjoyable than a trip to the market to buy fruit. I would suggest you seriously consider building a charge for fruit consumed on-site into your fees, and allowing your customers to do it. Think of it as similar to providing a salad bar at a restaurant rather than as theft. As an adult, I go both to places that tell me prominently not to eat the fruit (or put tight limits on what is allowed) and to places that don't do that. As an honest person, I follow the rules. But I only go to the places with restrictions if they offer a product I can't buy at a store. I would never bother to bring my kids to those places. What would be the point? I understand that in some parts of the country there are u-pick places where the "extra" they offer is lower prices than a store. That's a different market, and if that is why your customer comes, it's not unreasonable to restrict their grazing. But think about what experience you want to sell. Consider a charge per head, or by the hour, or require a minimum purchase per person in the field so that you get enough revenue. But consider ways to make your customer want to come back and repeat an enjoyable experience. Ginda Fisher Apple consumer -- Typed with Swype. Who knows what I meant to say? On October 6, 2014 10:08:22 AM EDT, Mark & Helen Angermayer <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Steven, I think your sign is a tasteful way to do it, and will probably work for most people. Just as different perspective, I've got a very small orchard (only about 300 peach trees and a few plums and apples) and I give away a lot fruit. I charge enough to be able to give away some to each customer. I sell them #1s at a fair price and "throw in" some seconds for free. It makes my customers feel like they are being treated special (which is what I try to do) and makes me feel good too. I also cut up lots of free samples for my customers. It makes for good experience for the customer. When they have a good experience, they come back. Many years ago (before I knew anything about fruit) my wife took me to a U-pick strawberry. I didn't want to go, but she told me (or showed me) you eat strawberries, while you pick. I guess you might say she taught me "the ft". I never viewed it as theft, but assumed the grower charged enough to compensate for my eating. I thought it was just part of the experience. Had I thought the grower considered it theft, I wouldn't have eaten any berries while picking, but also may not have ever gone to the U-pick in the first place, since part of the experience of U-pick is eating some fruit while picking. I'll also mention I consider myself a fairly honest person (I don't cheat people, don't cheat on my taxes, try to treat others like I'd like to be treated, etc). You can take what I say w/ a grain of salt, since I haven't offered U-pick. But I don't think it would bother me if people ate their lunch from my trees while picking their fruit for purchase. They are probably not going to eat more than a couple pounds of fruit, which is about the average amount I give away anyway. If they brought their family in and fed their fa mily from the fruit, then left without buying anything (or much of anything) that would upset me. In that case, they are not treating others like they would want to be treated. Mark Angermayer Tubby Fruits On 10/6/14, Steven Bibula <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: A few U-Pick customers are so brazen about their theft that they eat berries and apples freely in front of me while coming out of the field toward the register. I also see them positively gorging in the field, as if this were an AUCE establishment (we charge by the picked pound). I am also troubled that the most visible offenders are adults with children, teaching those children that theft is okay. What do you do to deter theft and improve moral conduct? As a part of o ur effort to awaken the conscience of our customers without offending or implicating those who are already self controlled, we are considering posting the following text on a tasteful sign at appropriate an location or two. Feedback from you is welcome. Other ideas are welcome too. TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS: Please feel free to taste the fruit so you can pick with confidence. Because our fruit is also our livelihood, we ask that you please limit yourselves and members of your party to a small sample, and enjoy the rest after payment. Thank you for your understanding and business! With your help, we can continue to provide enjoyable U-Pick experiences for years to come. Gratefully, The farmers- Steven Bibula Plowshares Gorham Maine ________________________________ apple-crop mailing li st [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
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