Johnson's Farm Produce — Attraction in Hobart Township

Went to Johnsons on Thursday to pick strawberries with my 2 year old son and left very dissatisfied. Upon entry to the strawberry field there was a station that said “Johnsons strawberry express” with a young woman standing next to it. This station was off to the right side and had a tractor made to look like a train. My family thought this was for people that wanted to park and get shuttled into the field. It’s a bit of a drive to the field and takes a few minutes to get there. We had driven our vehicle directly to the field in past years so we knew where to go and proceeded slowly through the trail to the field. Upon parking we were informed there was a $4.00 per person charge that must be paid prior to picking strawberries. The man informed us that we had to pay at the Johnsons express station for admission. We asked the man if we could just pay him the $12.00 total fee ($4.00 a person x 3 people) he told us that we could not and we must go ALL the way back and pay in the front. We asked if we could just pick our strawberries and pay when we leave and he told us “no you have to go ALL the way back and pay then come ALL the way back to pick strawberries. This is quite a drive, it took us about 5 minutes to back around towards the entrance/exit area. That 5 minutes was long enough for us to think about the entire situation. We decided we weren’t going to pick strawberries if we had to do all that over again so we headed toward the exit, rolled down our window and informed the lady at the exit we didn’t pick any strawberries and she replied “I still have to search your vehicle” We that didn’t sit well with us either. Instead we told her she won’t be checking our vehicle and we are leaving. After leaving we noticed she radioed back to field manager about us.

We have come to Johnsons in prior years to pick strawberries. I could be wrong but I do not recall them ever having a $4.00 per person charge in years past. When you enter the field near the train there are dozens of unnecessary signs everywhere, so if there were an admission sign it is very easy to miss it considering the biggest sign there is for “The Johnsons Express Train”. If they can radio back and forth why wouldn’t they just radio the entry and exit personnel to inform them that this family did not pay admission but will be paying there fees upon exit of the facility? Its not that hard. I mean you literally need to pay for the bucket(s) when you exit at the choke point where the lady is sitting at the shack to check vehicles. Why not just pay for everything when you leave? And an even better question is why would I pay $4.00 per person to pick strawberries just to pay $14.00 per bucket of strawberries? I really don’t understand the idea of paying $4.00 per person to do my own labor to buy your product. Whats the point? What do we get out of it? Why don’t they just charge a per car fee instead of a per person fee? Why wasn’t the admission booth at the entry choke point but instead off to the side by the train?

I really didn’t like being treated like a criminal trying to pull one over on Johnson so we will no longer be going to Johnsons for anything anymore. We have lived in Hobart for more than 20 years and have been supporting Johnsons for nearly all of those years. It’s very clear to me now that Johnsons no longer mean to serve us locals but instead want to take advantage of all the Illinois tourists that congest Ridge road every season. They are advertised on Fox news now so I guess that means they really hit the big time. Disregard the locals that have supported you all these years and appeal to the Illinois money coming in. You know these Illinois people wouldn’t think twice after coming all the way out here to pay $4.00 a person to pick strawberries just to pay $14.00 per bucket.

I know it won’t put a dent in their profits but this family will no longer be supporting Johnson and i'll also encourage friends to get their strawberries at a...

My family and I came here last June and we came in a Saturday (I remember them having the festival in the front, where the main parking lot is) and I distinctly remember telling my kids we were not doing the festival because we go all out at the orchard in the fall. We just wanted to strawberry pick. And that's what we did. No fee no being forced to pay for stuff you don't want. THIS year, nope. We arrived and it was CRAZY for one. And people just walk right in front of your car without looking. Ugh.... so we finally find parking after 10 minutes. We walk up and there is a sign saying '$7 per person' so we tell them we just want to go strawberry picking, we don't want to do the festival. 'Sorry you have to pay $7 per person to get in or come back during the week if you want to get in for free' my kids were looking forward to this all day, hell we all were and I didn't want to drive all the way home PLUS we can't go as a family during the week. This really ticked me off. How can you force people to pay for stuff that they don't want to use? (What if there are childless people coming and they can't go during the week, because they work, like most people) My husband works during the week. We can't get here as a family during that time. Some families have children that are too young to be enjoying those festivities. The stuff they have for the kids to play on is LAME. $28 for an obstacle course a bounce inflatable and some ball tosses is pretty ridiculous. Plus the cannon is not inclusive in that price. So there 'all inclusive' price of $7 is a crock. Then out in the field they try to keep you confined to 1 row. Right! How were we supposed to find strawberries in a row that was already picked clean. So we moved from row to row. And found places that weren't bare. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because the strawberries were delicious. But we won't go back. Some of my friends said there is a place in Demotte. Less crowded, nicer staff and not all about...

Poor customer care or something more????

Went to Johnson’s today with my daughter for flower baskets, they had a sale. This is a seasonal trip. Well today, I purchased a surface mount for $20, for one of the baskets, but I admittedly left it in the cart when I was loading my car. When I got home I noticed, so I made the trip back because $20 purchases matter!

When I get there, Im holding the receipt and the cashier (same cashier I made the purchase with) says I can vouch for your purchase and proceeded to call her supervisor Karen. I could sense some doubt in her voice as she called for Karen to come over.

Karen walks up and I explain. She tells me I need to go and check the carts for my item. We are standing two feet from the carts. I can clearly see, no mount or any items for that matter in a cart. Karen proceeds to tell me that I would need to check all the carts and since people are using them, she alludes to that basically being on me, over a $20 purchase for a mount she could easily replace for the sake of caring for a customer.

Imagine my face, and my patience nearing its end as another employee walks up and says what was that item again? I explain. She says, I found it in a cart and placed it back on the shelf. Most of the customers standing near were elderly and trust everybody was listening! Karen then says they don’t allow us to replace stuff in a “thats why I’m giving this man a hard time voice.” I respond, “you could have justst honored my purchase since I made the trip back over a $20 item.”

Fact of the matter is Karen was snotty and quite unpleasant of a person. SHE SHOULD NOT EVER BE CUSTOMER FACING! The secondary employee is management material. Know the difference…!

Consider that when you...