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Archives for November 2018

The Reconstruction of the Harvest Box

November 22, 2018 by monte Leave a Comment

Take Me to the Web Site

First off, have a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. Be safe and enjoy.

Here is this week’s newsletter about some changes we have implemented. Check them out and jump on the web site. I think you will really like them….

When you are playing the game of business in the retail world like we do, you really have only 2 directions to travel; a) Be really clever and know what customers want before they even know they want it OR b) Listen to your customers very well and react to their needs/wants. I have to honestly tell you that I am not all that clever so it is a whole lot easier for me to zip my trap and listen to all of your feedback. Every cool thing that we have launched has come from you, not us.

So let’s use that as a foundation for today’s newsletter and fun changes that we are bringing to your kitchen.

Feedback #1: “Farmer M., why the heck does the price of the Harvest Box fluctuate so much? Can’t we have some consistency from week to week por favor?”

Feedback #2: “Dude, some weeks my kiddos are really hungry and we need all of the items in the Harvest Box; some weeks they get scurvy and we can’t eat a whole Box. But it is a real pain in the rump roast to delete my recurring order and add a smaller Harvest Box for just one week.”

The root of the problem that we keep running into right now is that our Harvest Box system is based on arbitrarily constructed “Credits.” 14 credits for the Large, 12 for the Medium and so on. But the glaring problem with that is obviously not all produce items come in $3 units of value. We cannot sell strawberries for $3 because we pay our hard-working grower more than that to harvest the darn things. So we end up with a very confusing Harvest Box ordering platform. I get it. It is totally weird and falls well outside the lines of common sense.

Secondly, why in the world do we have to limit how many items you put into your Harvest Box? I was shopping on our web site for Thanksgiving and I ran out of “credits” on my Large Harvest Box. So I had to save my Box then go into the veggie section and buy more sweet potatoes. It didn’t make sense. If I wanted to get 17 items instead of my allotted 14, why the heck wouldn’t the system let me??

Conversely, what if I only need 11 items this week in the Harvest Box and not 14? Can I not order just 11? Is the web site biased against odd numbers in the Harvest Boxes?

All of these very real issues that we have heard about has lead me to realize that our Harvest Box confusion has kept our members from having the best food experience that they (you) can have with us. And again, many of these issues stem from just some arbitrary line that we drew in the sand. So after 15 years of random limitations and boundaries, let’s start over.

I am happy to introduce you to our New Harvest Boxes. Same adorable name that you have learned to love and trust, but just new Bells and Whistles. Kind of like when you ditched your Walkman and got an iPod. Yup, now we’re cooking with gas!

Starting this week we will be designing the Harvest Boxes based on Value, not Credits. So the base price of your selected Harvest Box will be the Same week to week.

But you will have 100% control of your customizations. So if you do not need all of the items in your Harvest Box, take some out and you will pay less than the standard box cost. If you are feeling like cooking more than usual, add more items to your box and the system will not cut you off when you hit some magic number. You decide what the magic number is.

So when you log in to customize your Harvest Box now, it will not tell you how many Credits you have to select, it simply says “Unlimited.” Add the items you want, discard the items that you don’t want. You can design a Harvest Box with 2 items in it or with 25 items in it. Totally up to you.

“But Mont, I don’t customize my box and I get the (awesome) selection that you choose for me. How will things change for me?” Good question, they won’t. Every week we will continue to “seed” the Harvest Boxes with default items like we do now. And you can rest assured that the price won’t jump around. Consistent from week to week for your budget.
Lots of fun things coming your way. Stay Tuned!

Happy Feast, Farmer Monte

Filed Under: Newsletter

Thanksgiving Prep, Schedule, and an Anniversary

November 13, 2018 by monte Leave a Comment

Send me to the Web Site

And just like that, with the snap of your fingers and we are preparing to make a turkey dinner again. Yes, it is time for the annual food lovers final exam. Do you stick to the staples or got out on a limb and throw some red chile in the gravy to spice up the usual? So much fun with food this week I just love it. Have a blast with the planning and preparing for your master piece.

So as you prep for the feast, tune into our web site for help. Victoria and Sarah have brought in a ton of items to help you plan an incredible meal and stay out of the grocery store. My stress level planning the perfect day is a lot lower while I order food with a glass of wine sitting on my couch. Let us help you stay as cool as a cucumber this year.

Speaking of cucumbers, they will be in the box next week for Thanksgiving. But we will also have all of the usual suspects that you would expect to see on Thanksgiving. Potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, lemons/limes, sweet potatoes, spinach, greens and anything else that you can probably think about when you think about Thanksgiving.

Now as for schedule, here is what you should plan on. ALL Deliveries & Pick-Ups for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be happening Business as Usual. If you typically get your order on a Thursday or Friday in ABQ, our Wednesday afternoon delivery will be your last chance at amazing food before the holiday. Our crew will be eating with their friends and families (and taking the subsequent nap) on Thursday and Friday (National Leftover Day). Then we will be back in action on Sunday for our Sunday deliveries.

We will have pies, breads, produce, and all sorts of other goodies. But we will Not have any turkeys. This is the one thing that you need to grab yourself. We used to offer turkeys but I hated leaving a 20 lb bird on the doorsteps unattended. They have been known to get into trouble when left unsupervised you know.

Our Chariot Driver John. We had an anniversary birthday this week. Mr John Prosser officially turned 10 years old with the farm this week. That’s like 70 years for dogs. And I am sure that it sometimes feels like 70 years for him. He has done everything for us from admin, to packing, to driving. Whatever we need, I know that John will jump in with a smile, positivity, and focus to do amazing work.

In a business world where people change jobs more than they change their undies, having loyalty like this enables us to test ourselves to be better. If you are constantly training new faces it is impossible to feel comfortable enough to push the boundaries. John has helped us change these boundaries and expand what is possible for our local food system.

And I need to share one of my favorite stories about John. I was delivering boxes to Placitas one day and it was a route that John usually ran for us. I knocked on the door to drop the boxes and when the manager of the store came out she looked at me and was visibly disappointed. She grumbled “Where is Brad Pitt this week?” I made some joke about John being on the set of A River Runs Through It Part 2 but she definitely didn’t think my joke was funny. At least she and I could agree that John is a rock-star. So Cheers to 10 more John!

Lastly this pre-holiday week, I want to remind you about the Gift Boxes we will be offering this year. There are so many incredible food producers in New Mexico that it would be a shame to not highlight the work of all these local folks.

We will have several boxes to choose from ranging from the the Sweet Tooth to the Chile Addict looking to spice up their holiday season. Look for all of those on the web site. If you have a business or lots of gift boxes you are looking for this season, please contact us soon so we can help build out a memorable holiday gift idea with you. And a reminder that we have delivery trucks going from Los Alamos all the way to El Paso. So wherever your holiday needs take you, we will bring the cheer. Enjoy amigos, Farmer Monte

Filed Under: Newsletter

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