Don’t go to Champion Nursery in S.C., off of 707

Bonsai Nut said:
I actually think it has more to do with people who like money more than plants. Nursery owners who are only in it for the $$$ are much less friendly (IMHO) than those who themselves are really into plants, landscaping and cool cultivars.

I have lost count of the number of nurseries I have visited where the owners don't really know that much about what they are selling. Just a couple of weeks ago I bought two interesting hollies from a nursery where the owner described them as "John Henry" cultivars. There is no such thing as a John Henry holly. John Henry is the name of the label manufacturer whose nursery labels they were using. The nursery tags had fallen off or been lost over the years, and the only descriptor left was a piece of a nursery tag with the name "John Henry" on the back :) I just plastered a smile on my face, bought the trees, and said "thank you" :)
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How’s them John Henry hollies doing?
 
cheap_walmart_art said:
The amount of nursery owners who act like this has surprised me since I took up bonsai. Actually the sheer amount of unpleasant people in general in the gardening/plant world. I just chalk it up to people who like plants more than people.
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I think this guy values $$ above all else. I didn’t want a pindo palm delivered and planted, so he didn’t want to be bothered.
 
MrFancyPlants said:
I moved to S.C. over the summer and was quite excited to check out a nursery just down the road from me. I browsed for a while and came back to a honey suckle looking plant that I was thinking on, but didn’t get a chance to ask what species it was. I looked at a few azelea that were up on a table like they were ready to be shipped out, just wondering if they might have been different quality or variety than the others, but they weren’t. I am walking away and the owner says that that area is “off limits!” and they are about to close early. I just turn my head to see if there was any indication that the area was “off limits” and he repeats again “Off Limits!”

I head straight for the gate to get out of there. A younger worker is heading down to close the gate in front of me. I ask if I can get through there and he almost reluctantly lets me out.

I posted a one star review on Gmaps, mentioning that they got real rude at closing time. And then it get even worse. He replies to my review calling me a creepy little POS, not quite in that order, but you get the gist. And said something about bonsai all I did was walk around looking at where to graft.
Bad move on my part, but I copy and paste his reply to Next Door, and say something about how, god forbid I look at plants at a nursery and that I never have been treated so rude.
He must have seen the post because he edits his reply to include “I should tell my wife… <seriously slanderous fiction>”
I have screen shots that he added it in later.

There is only one other bad review on Google for Champion Nursery by a former employee, and owner replied back with some, no doubt concocted story about how she was stealing from him. There are 70 some glowing reviews.
Honesty the guy has me kind of scared that he would stoop so low to keep a honest bad review off Google. What else would he do?

Anyways thanks for letting me get it off my chest. I don’t know if would be ethical to ask everyone to post bad reviews on Google for Champion Nursery off 707 in SC, but this guy clearly knows no ethical bounds.
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Rude, uncaring, unknowledgeable employees are a result of uncaring, unprofessional and poor management. Sometimes they can be jolted nicely into understanding what this type of behavior towards their customers will bring, sometimes not. Usually, a business like this goes downhill and then fades away. If they are the only business like it around, maybe not. It's very sad how many rude and uncaring people there are in society today. I'm sorry, but the younger generation are more guilty of this that others as they have learned from TikTok and other social media sites how to get their way and show the world how really smart they are. Also, the lack of parenting along the way doesn't help either. If the management in the business is on top of things and are wanting to portray a good image, talking to them alone usually works. If not, it won't. There are also places like "SITE JABBER" and others that allow you to tell your story without the other sides ability to contest it.
 
August44 said:
Rude, uncaring, unknowledgeable employees are a result of uncaring, unprofessional and poor management. Sometimes they can be jolted nicely into understanding what this type of behavior towards their customers will bring, sometimes not. Usually, a business like this goes downhill and then fades away. If they are the only business like it around, maybe not. It's very sad how many rude and uncaring people there are in society today. I'm sorry, but the younger generation are more guilty of this that others as they have learned from TikTok and other social media sites how to get their way and show the world how really smart they are. Also, the lack of parenting along the way doesn't help either. If the management in the business is on top of things and are wanting to portray a good image, talking to them alone usually works. If not, it won't. There are also places like "SITE JABBER" and others that allow you to tell your story without the other sides ability to contest it.
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I think technology has lots of negatives effects on people, but I think more positives. (Like how we have this great site and community) People being exposed to so much information and interactions with others can make us not appreciate each other as much. Pre internet interactions with others were far more rare and thus more valued and respected. Humans didn’t evolve to have so much so often socially.
 
If you repeatedly have an issue it might be worth talking about. I wasn't there so I can't speak for either party. My first thought is that you have two primary options: 1) walk away, 2) push on. I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, knowing that I too have not always acted appropriately. Every one has a bad day here and there and I hope I don't judge too harshly on a single count. Often times what seems like a lost cause is actually a chance for a new start that can lead to friendship ......... or it can go the other way.
Just my 2 cents.
 
August44 said:
I'm sorry, but the younger generation are more guilty of this that others
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I've noticed the opposite. The greater the age, the greater sense of entitlement, until you hit about age 75 to 80—then it starts to improve again. I've always assumed it's because younger people are much more accustomed to taking orders than to giving them. Then, as your body begins to senesce, you start to become more reliant on others for help, and you gain some perspective.

The big problem with younger people is that the internet has trained us to seek instant gratification, and the inability to be patient is a huge handicap. Relatedly, younger people tend to be more passive as consumers, automatically jumping to the next interesting video to watch or video game to play. I find myself reflexively coming to this website when I'm bored.
 
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Gabler said:
I've noticed the opposite. The greater the age, the greater sense of entitlement, until you hit about age 75 to 80—then it starts to improve again. I've always assumed it's because younger people are much more accustomed to taking orders than to giving them. Then, as your body begins to senesce, you start to become more reliant on others for help, and you gain some perspective.

The big problem with younger people is that the internet has trained us to seek instant gratification, and the inability to be patient is a huge handicap. Relatedly, younger people tend to be more passive as consumers, automatically jumping to the next interesting video to watch or video game to play. I find myself reflexively coming to this website when I'm bored.
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I'm rather with August 44 on this for the most part, as we have been around long enough to observe and reflect whereas a younger person may be more apt to react in the moment. But of course this is a huge simplification of the issue, like just about all responses here. I know that I have been frequently embarrassed by many of my more adolescent actions. I wouldn't give 2 cents to be young again. I wear my age (and aches and pains) as a rite of passage, a badge of honor.
And most importantly, people come in all flavors and every one of us has the potential to be as much of an ass as the next person. It is the recognition of this, no matter how subtle, that lights our fuse. It is contemplation on this that gives the power and wisdom to walk away.
Hell this should be worth my 4 cents.
 
MrFancyPlants said:
He did write a (criminally libelous imho) fake review of my review. Which I reported to BBB, but I don’t have much hope that will come to anything.
I debated calling the local non emergency police line, but I get a bit nervous not knowing the local politics real well around here.
I know he is not going to learn and grow from this because he seems to be effectively curating his reviews via lies and fear.
Look at the line he added in about what I should tell my wife, between the two versions. I hope he doesn’t know I actually have a wife.
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Calling the police?
Just call him a nerd and tell him to post physique or log off. It’s the internet, the first one to get mad loses.
 
MrFancyPlants said:
He did write a (criminally libelous imho) fake review of my review. Which I reported to BBB, but I don’t have much hope that will come to anything.
I debated calling the local non emergency police line, but I get a bit nervous not knowing the local politics real well around here.
I know he is not going to learn and grow from this because he seems to be effectively curating his reviews via lies and fear.
Look at the line he added in about what I should tell my wife, between the two versions. I hope he doesn’t know I actually have a wife.
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That is pretty appalling of him to write that. It is best to let it go.
 
Barbells and bonsai said:
caffeineandphilosophy.com

“Post Physique” and the Return of Ethos

I noticed back in 2017 that ethos has been lacking in modern political dialogue: Aristotle held that there were three aspects of rhetoric: Ethos, what is usually translated as personal qualificatio…
caffeineandphilosophy.com
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Amen!

That's why it's important to post pictures of trees. I'm always sure to update my threads, so everyone knows to ignore my blathering until I get better at this.
 
Did you try talking to him at all while you were there? I usually try to say hello to the owners and chit chat a little before asking if I can take a look around. I have an easier time maybe because I have a licensed landscape business I can leverage, but sometimes its good to break the ice with these people, especially commercial nurseries.

His response back to you was appalling, though.
 
I've been there and haven't had a lot of success looking for material. My customer service was fine (not that I doubt your experience - they were largely on my skip list anyway, now it's certainly so), they mostly left me alone. I'm in Murrells and I usually go to True Blue, Murrells Inlet Culinary Garden (they have good things go on sale from time to time, plus GREAT people for other landscaping/gardening needs), and most recently, Southland Nursery (Conway). Southland usually carries junipers (not sure on sp) in 35 gal nursery pots for $150. They'll do the work and sell them as bonsai starting in a couple weeks, so if you want a good look, now's the time!
 
I'll never understand business owners that don't realize money is money. One person's money is just as green as another's. People like this will principle themselves right out of business. Give your money to someone that appreciates your business.

I once went into a local nursery and bought one flowering plant to put in a pot on my deck for the flowers. I went to pay any they were like "that's it?" I responded "yup, not a big sale today" if I'd been more on top of my response, I might have said "if this sale isn't worth your time, I can go purchase a plant somewhere else". I haven't been back to that nursery and I pass by it all the time.
 
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