58. Customer Appreciation
The weekly farmers market booth provides an opportune, borderline scientific environment for observing consumer behavior. All types of individuals with differing goals, recipes, quirks and motivations gather here week after week. And many of these folks have become dear friends over time. Our Grandin Village Farmers Market is unique in that this small bazaar is frequented by a high percentage of customers who come weekly as part of their grocery routine. Some folks do come to browse with a beverage or a snack in hand and to chat with neighbors. But as a vegetable vendor, it’s the grocery shoppers who really keep our wheels turning.
So as a token of appreciation to all you farmers market foodies, here and everywhere, I’m going to tell you a little bit about some of these folks. No names or identifying details will be used. And some profiles may borrow traits from more than one person I have in mind. If you happen to see yourself described here, just know you are the Real MVP!
Profile#1: This person was our very first customer at the farmers market back in May of 2018. We watched from our booth for 20 minutes as people streamed by uninterested in the new guy’s vegetables. But she broke the seal when she introduced herself with enthusiasm and stocked up on our greens. She appears to buy something at most stalls every week, spreading the love and cultivating relationships with all the purveyors.
Profile#2: She’s not afraid of mis-shapen produce! As a prolific crafter of fermented foods, she’ll often come late in the market to swoop up cabbages, kohlrabi, and other pickleables that other folks overlooked. She grows enough of her own food that she knows that fruits don’t always come out looking “grocery-store-perfect”, and that fat zukes need love, too.
Profile#3: In the same vein as customer 2, he loves to make pickles. Last week he wasn’t planning on making a batch but when I offered a sweetheart deal on bulk cucumbers, he changed his kitchen plan for the weekend. This sort of embracing of volatility in the seasons is rare and should be respected. He’s also a flexible, voracious eater of seasonal greens who shows up in the first 10 minutes of every market so as to not miss any high-demand items. And I just tried the pickles he gave us to try; they are delicious!
Profile#4: Also an early riser, his order always starts with “one of each microgreen”. He believes in healthy eating on a level higher than most people I’ve ever met; most meals are likely green smoothies and salads. Last month he went on an impromptu weekend vacation that forced him to miss the market. So he emailed me with an order so that he could pick it up when he returned to town Sunday evening because he couldn’t imagine his diet for the week not including chard and sunflower shoots smoothies.
Covid restrictions have changed the layout of markets and stalls. Remember when we thought you were likely to catch an infection by eating an apple that someone else touched? As we eased out of the emergency drive-thru market, one thing that stayed with us is a renewed sense of patience at the market. People expect to wait their turn in line which makes my job as a vegetable seller a bit easier. We still are not allowing customer traffic into the booth, but it’s not because of Covid fear. It’s because it’s nice not to have people squeeze-testing tomatoes that they won’t buy and leaving them bruised for the next customer. And the streamlined flow of transactions is quite nice, too.
I’ve said it thousands of times: thank you so much for shopping local! I appreciate your patronage more than you know!