Good customer service - or the lack of it - is one of the primary reasons I frequent certain retailers and avoid others like the plague. It certainly seems to be in short supply these days!

It may very well be regional differences or the size of the establishment but most better retail nurseries and garden centers in my area have dedicated plant buyers on staff whose business it is to locate and order specific plants from the scores of wholesale growers they have access to. I was one, once upon a time :-)) Each week we received availabilities from the growers as to what was in stock, looking good and available that week and I would place my perennials and groundcover orders accordingly. The buyer for trees and woody shrubs would do the same, although most of the trees were preordered the previous fall.

Most of the larger nurseries will accept special requests as well. That's how my long desired Spigelia 'Little Redhead' came into my life! 😁

LaLennoxa, I hope you can locate and get your hands on the Ruby Slippers oakleaf. I grew one in a previous garden and it truly is a stunning plant. Very floriferous and with gorgeous late season and fall coloring.

My sister and I were out shopping for some supplies for my new garden last week - essentials like a new hose and a weed whacker - so we stopped at Home Depot. This is a retailer I only visit when it seems to be the last resort or the best pricing as a) their plant selection is dismal and not well cared for and b) decent customer service is almost nonexistent. We were pleasantly surprised when an employee in his early 20's went above and beyond the typical to assist 2 little old ladies pick out the proper weed whacker for the situation, showing us several different models he thought best, and then proceeded to carry the selected item to the check out for us. He was so helpful and attentive that we both had to compliment him on his superior customer service!!

So it does exist and sometimes in unexpected places, if maybe not as commonplace as it should be.

You hit the nail on the head gardengal48. I actually thought when I first began reaching out to these nurseries, that they would pass me on to the buyer/manager, who could: a) confirm if they were planning on stocking said item, or b) take my request and see about sourcing it. It mostly did not happen this way. What I didn't mention was at that first nursery I went into yesterday, I was talking with the customer service person, who really had no idea about anything, and could not even pronounce the plant names. But standing beside her (like 4 feet away) was another person she'd turn around and ask about the certain items. After some back and forth, I realized this other person was more the one "in the know", but for some reason the conversation was being routed through the reception person, even though we were all standing within a few feet of each other and I could hear what she was saying about me and my requests to the manager? Very strange. They both seemed pretty indifferent about it anyway.

Glad you had a positive Home Depot experience! Like you, I've been pleasantly surprised at some of the big box stores recently. I guess the moral of the story is we can't presume a thing any more - good customer service can come out of the places you least expect it.

Update: I called the nursery where I got the great service, and they put me through to the manager I had spoken with - and he remembered me! He actually said he was happy I called him back :-). He confirmed that the Ruby Slipper oakleaf hydrangea was in stock, and I could come pick it up. So yes gardengal48, I am now the new owner of this beautiful hydrangea. The other viburnum is coming at the end of the month, and he said I could arrange a time to come before they hit the floor to give me best choice. Wow!

Meanwhile, the other nursery called me back and left me a message and said that they wouldn't be stocking the hydrangea, and that the viburnum had been "discontinued" so it was not currently available. Funny that it is "discontinued" while the other nursery has it coming. I just laughed when I heard that message. Guess you know which nursery I will be dealing with and supporting going forward!