Tart's Strawberry and Produce — Local services in Dunn

If you are a zucchini bread or pecan cookie lover you can pass on Tart’s offerings. I bought both at their farmer’s market stall and was really excited to dig in. I figured for $22 I’d be dazzling my taste buds. Wrong! They were both crumbly, not moist. I truly believe there was no zucchini in the bread. Even the ingredient list did not show it. I was going back to the market the next day so I brought back my purchases. I was grilled like I was in the wrong for not liking their mediocre baked goods. The lady told me no one has ever returned their breads. And that maybe all the other loaves in the batch got the zucchini and this one was last with the least amount of zucchini. She said we do not take returns because of some regulations. And then used an analogy about me buying a roast at the grocery store, baking it and not liking it and bringing it back. And how the store would not take the return. What the heck does that have to do with bread you baked and sold for $14 that was subpar. Then she asked if I wanted a bag of apples. I figured I would grab one since that was all she was offering. (If she had been nice about my concerns and given me a refund or at least not make me feel like I’m in the wrong, I would not have left this review. This was no way to treat a customer! ) I could not believe it but the apples were not crisp! Wow. I guess I will be making dried apple wreaths or something. What a disappointing experience and...

tart’s had best variety of mix-and-match apples at n.c. state farmers market, raleigh. i chose them over 5 other apple vendors.

when i asked for a .5 or 1.0 bushel box so i could mix and match:

firmly and unequivocally told 2x NO.

while the message was made firmly/assertively, it was delivered in a pressed/stressed voice, which i perceived as inappropriate behavior for a public customer space. it bordered on RUDE and it was unbecoming to the red-faced seller and 3 associates.

further, she said, i could get as many bags of mix and match as i wanted—an UNWIELDY/bulky/awkward proposition at best bc i wanted either .5 or 1.0 bushel.

i spun on my heels and walked away swiftly and chose my old favorite vendor a short distance away despite them not having a wider variety. i also got what i, the customer, wanted, a .5 bushel of apples.

i shared my experience with this old favorite vendor: he was surprised. nevertheless he welcomed me back indicated that he himself had toned down his own assholery. we and his sales folks laughed.

95% of the time i return to the same vendor. in this instance, the tart’s vendor lost my business of $25 per week for the rest of the apple season. and for the rest of my n.c. state farmers market business.

i suggest a customer-centered...

I encountered one of the rudest most hateful women I have ever encountered at the Farmer's Market this morning (an older white woman who was apparently one of the owners). I inquired about an apple they had which I had not seen before: Candy Crisp. She was abrupt and apparently irritated that I asked if they grew these on their farm. She snorted at me, "they came from the mountains". I asked where, because I frequent the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival in Wilkesboro each October, and had never seen them. She snapped, " they're from the NC mountains, not Florida or Georgia or any of those other places."

In spite of the nastiness of this woman, I addressed another woman and decided to try a couple. If I liked them, I would locate them elsewhere. I will not be treated as this hateful woman of Tart's Farm treated me. As a customer, I should be respected and honored_ as I didn't have to stop at their produce stand, and will not again. Bad mood or not, good customer service means lucrative business. Note: Mutzu, Honeycrisp, and SweeTango are much better snacking apples, if you're seeking...