I got a angry e-mail from some guy named Tim who say's he is a store manager at a Smith and Hawken Store. He want's to know why I am down on Smith and Hawken. He asks what happened at the Feb 3rd meting that was suppose to decide the future of the chain. He makes the point that nothing has happened, and that Smith and Hawken has spent thousands of dollars installing televisions in their stores. Why would they do that if they we're going to close? What I didn't like about the e-mail was the subject line, "You suck". The rest of the e-mail was in that vain.
Here is some information for "Tim". I did not say that the future of the chain was going to be decided on Feb.3rd. It was a commenter at the blog that said that. If you have a comment about my posts then why not post that at the blog, rather than sending me a angry e-mail. That way everyone can read what you have to say.
I have no idea whether Tim is actually a store manager or not. If he is, he should given a course in how to deal with angry customers. I was one of Smith and Hawkens original customers, long before Tim was ever involved with the company. Better to have provided his input at the blog in the comments, minus the derogatory language.
More and more, business is going to have to deal with customers and others talking about how they feel about companies on their blogs. Is Tim going to fire off angry e-mails to anyone that speaks in less than complimentary tones about his company? What's the deal with the televisions being put in? Hearing that they are going to put televisions in the store makes me even more doubtful about the future of the chain.
Here is the bottom line. If you are a store manager of a nursery or garden store the last thing you should do is get involved in a war of words with garden bloggers. It solves nothing, and the history of your comments will be viewable forever. Better to have just disagreed with me, like many do, and left a comment. It would be the mature way to respond.