Burpee Delivers on Service

Venerable seed and plants cataloger Burpee certainly knows its target audience – although it should, after 125 years in the business.

While perusing Burpee’s 162-page 2001 edition, we were most impressed with the company’s shipping schedule for plants. After assuring readers, “Your Burpee plants will arrive at the right time for planting in your zone,” the copy notes that “deliveries will arrive Thursday or Friday for weekend planting.” For a gardening enthusiast – or even a green-thumb wanna-be – knowing that plants purchased through the mail will arrive just before the weekend is truly a unique selling point. After all, nobody wants his new plants to spend five days outside or in a garage before the weekend; plus, customers will be more motivated to get out there and start digging as soon as the plants arrive.

Now if only Burpee would dig the holes, plant the annuals, and come back every so often to water and prune – that would be service!