Not stocking Troway Hall/Medibee honey anymore - Looking for a new honey supplier.

[alanf]

Sell honey from 2 or 3 good producers and your overall honey sales will increase. Different people like different things, and some will buy more if there is variety - trust me I have a house full of stuff I don't need courtesy of shopaholic relatives.
(I would also suggest keep the Troway honey as regulars will still buy from you unless your butcher is slashing the price).

That's very true. If you can put contrasting shades side by side, you'll get quite a few taking "one of each". There's no reason not to include the first variety stocked (if the price is right) but it's time to make clear that any exclusive supply understanding has now ended.

 

[stephenpug]

Wow ME, that is being a bit picky for me. I can see where you are coming from but....jars are sealed ! Ok so they could touch the outside of the jar but.... Just seems a bot OCD!
E

i sell my honey and a local beekeepers honey in my BUTCHERS shop because different people like different honeys

 

[Ely]

Yeh. You can't beat a bit of variety when it comes to the honeys

 

[td4bees]

Ello people. I own a greengrocers in Sheffield, borderline Derbyshire and have been stocking Troway Halls honey for a long time now, probably since they started the brand I would imagine.

We've always got on well with Gloria Havenhand and always had a good chat whenever she has called for us to place an order. Just recenetly however, she parked outside the shop, walked straight up the road without even acknowledging us or the business which I thought was strange considering we've been customers for so long. The next day she returned with a box full of honey and walked past the shop once again....and straight in to the butchers next door!

I thought to myself "she has a massive range of products so is probably supplying him with something different". I went in to the butchers and asked "So what's Gloria sold you?" to which he replied "Just some honey". Turns out it's the same stuff I stock, now right next door.

Now I'm a man of principle so I decided there and then that I was done with it. Upon doing this and talking to a few people about it I started hearing a few things that I wasn't aware of. I was always under the assumption that it was "local honey" however looking at the labels it now says "product of UK/EC". Am I right in believing that this means the honey is actually a blend? Does anyone know just how much of it is actually produced locally and how much comes from the rest of the UK/Europe?

The whole thing is pretty annoying as I had just completed the "Troway Honey" section of our website which is obviously now been a waste of time!

Anyway I'm not looking to clear my stock of Troway honey and start fresh with another local supplier. I figured this would be the best place to ask! Does anyone know of any businesses or even hobbyists that would supply my area with a good product at the right money? Gloria's Honey was always far too expensive I thought and probably 3/4 customers simply wouldn't pay the price.

All the best,

Tom

I. just cannot take it in that any business person with more than one brain cell , would go on the forum and try to destroy some one elses buisness the way you have done without even talking to the person in question.

 

[td4bees]

now that I have told the greengrocer, what I think its time to let the rest of the forum know. there seem s to be a lot of you wanting to put the boot in. is it sour grapes,cous that wount make nice honey. torway hall has got bees & honey a lot of good publicty and you should all sit back and enjoy the extra sales that brings to you. its bad practise to bad mouth the compatiton. my honey is sweet but my spelling nastey

 

[Tombo46]

I. just cannot take it in that any business person with more than one brain cell , would go on the forum and try to destroy some one elses buisness the way you have done without even talking to the person in question.

Not trying to destroy anyone's reputation. I just said I don't agree with her business practices and asked some questions that's all. Forums are full of people with differing opinions. I accept but don't agree with your opinion just as you should the opinion of others. If you can't hack that fact then public forums really are not for you!

 

[Tombo46]

My thoughts exactly Manners Maketh Man (and women) and business can thrive or demise through them
Gloria might do well to keep this in mind.
As for the agrieved
Surely speaking to someone directly about what you see as being a problem would be the best thing to do. Facebook(teenage non arguments and mis-construed intentions) comes to mind.
Having said all that I would not buy honey in a butchers shop. There is one local to me that sells local honey. I think it very odd to have raw meat sold next to a product that I would put right into my mouth without being thoroughly cooked.

If I was wanting to keep selling the honey then I would agree that a phone call to Gloria would have been the first thing to do. Unfortunately, in my eyes, there is absolutely no excuse for supplying a niche product to a business directly next door. We do have separate customers but we also share a lot too. This WOULD damage my honey trade and that is a fact. This very fact did pop in to Gloria's mind as she said herself, she did mention to the butchers that I sell it but rather than walk 10 feet to my door to ask me how I felt about it, she just took his word for it that it would be alright.

To anyone who thinks I was out of order and should have contacted her first, just ask yourself this. If you thought there may be a problem, would you have taken 2 minutes out of your day to talk to a customer who had been buying from you for years and years?

She will come on here and try to be the better person by "wishing me well" etc but I've always been honest about how I feel and in that honesty I'm afraid I do not wish her well.

 

[thorn]

I totally agree with Tombo, and have no criticism of his action in coming on this forum. The supplier's over eagerness to sell her product (I avoid the use of the word "greed") is having an adverse effect on a previously loyal customer. He has every right to call her conduct into question, just as she has every right to supply whoever she likes.
I'm sure he can source an equally good product from someone more local.

 

[beebopalula]

Yeh. You can't beat a bit of variety when it comes to the honeys

 

[enrico]

I am being devils advocate here
So......Tombo can sell what he wants to who he wants but Gloria can't ......
Just stirring!
E

 

[Tombo46]

I am being devils advocate here
So......Tombo can sell what he wants to who he wants but Gloria can't ......
Just stirring!
E

How do you mean?

 

[BeeJayBee]

I am being devils advocate here
So......Tombo can sell what he wants to who he wants but Gloria can't ......
Just stirring!

Nothing wrong with stirring.

I'd bet the butcher next door would soon complain if Tombo (a greengrocer) started to sell beef, lamb and pork etc just because somebody local wanted an extra outlet for their products.

 

[enrico]

How do you mean?

I think what I mean is this!
If you sold a jar of honey to someone, would you ask if they usually bought their honey from you, and if not then would you suggest that in fairness they should go back to their original supplier? Of course you wouldn't because you want to sell your products to anyone that will buy them, but you don't seem to be applying these rules to Gloria who you expect only to sell her produce if it is 'fair and proper' to do so! I don't know either of you and I can understand where both of you are coming from but one of you has made the matter public. All I am trying to say is people in glass houses....etc
As retailers we need to sell our products, how we do that is up to us provided we stay within the law, it is the buyers that dictate the market! You are both a buyer and a retailer, the man in the middle, so you have a choice as to who you buy from and sell to.
I don't know if that makes my thinking any clearer or just muddies the waters but..... Good luck to you both
E

 

[thorn]

I think what I mean is this!
If you sold a jar of honey to someone, would you ask if they usually bought their honey from you, and if not then would you suggest that in fairness they should go back to their original supplier? Of course you wouldn't because you want to sell your products to anyone that will buy them, but you don't seem to be applying these rules to Gloria who you expect only to sell her produce if it is 'fair and proper' to do so! I don't know either of you and I can understand where both of you are coming from but one of you has made the matter public. All I am trying to say is people in glass houses....etc
As retailers we need to sell our products, how we do that is up to us provided we stay within the law, it is the buyers that dictate the market! You are both a buyer and a retailer, the man in the middle, so you have a choice as to who you buy from and sell to.
I don't know if that makes my thinking any clearer or just muddies the waters but..... Good luck to you both
E

And the meaning of the word "loyalty" is......?

Yes, a retailer can sell to whoever he wants. But he should bear in mind the way in which his decisions affect others. Should he (or in this case, she) act in such a way as to undermine the business of someone who has been loyal to him in selling his product? In doing what she has done Gloria has undermined Tombo's business.

Loyalty cuts both ways.

 

[Ely]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly

From what I see, what Gloria is doing is not only legitimate, legal and being well within her right as a seller ( you are not the only one with bills to pay) it is also encouraged by law for a healthy consumer market.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Wow ME, that is being a bit picky for me. I can see where you are coming from but....jars are sealed ! Ok so they could touch the outside of the jar but.... Just seems a bot OCD!
E

Picky I can accept, OCD, is over the top. I also pack my shopping bag my fridge and freezer with raw meat at the bottom and anything that can be eaten right away at, or nearer the top. Simple hygiene rules that help to cut down on infection risks. Most butchers shops do not have separate staff for the cooked food counter. Very few people wash their hands sufficiently well before touching food or after handling raw meat. I have also told chefs that I do not want my meat or fish served half cooked, after all I am paying for what I want and work hard to earn the money to do so. Therefore I can make the choice I want.
Perhaps if more people thought about stuff like that there would be less food related upset stomachs and people would actually get the service they want too.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Isn't the quote "Manners Maketh Man and Spoileth Women"?
Perhaps quite apt in the circumstances?

Perhaps you have the whole saying as it was originally. Times move on I see the first three words as meaning The difference between human beings and animals is that we avoid conflict by observing certain rules(manners) Like not waving around our dagger when eating our meat and using a signal to indicate we are turning right or left in a vehicle. Similarly I would expect someone to let me know had I been the only local stockist of a product that others were going to be offering the same product. Competition is fine when it is not directly affecting your income : but how would you like someone to move in next door and install beehives that would compete for foraging with your bees.
I think I might just go and rent a field to pop some hives on between Coal Aston and Eckington.

 

[enrico]

Picky I can accept, OCD, is over the top. I also pack my shopping bag my fridge and freezer with raw meat at the bottom and anything that can be eaten right away at, or nearer the top. Simple hygiene rules that help to cut down on infection risks. Most butchers shops do not have separate staff for the cooked food counter. Very few people wash their hands sufficiently well before touching food or after handling raw meat. I have also told chefs that I do not want my meat or fish served half cooked, after all I am paying for what I want and work hard to earn the money to do so. Therefore I can make the choice I want.
Perhaps if more people thought about stuff like that there would be less food related upset stomachs and people would actually get the service they want too.

Didn't mean to offend, just ignore the OCD bit! Sorry!
Wow this thread has stirred some emotions!
E

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

If I was wanting to keep selling the honey then I would agree that a phone call to Gloria would have been the first thing to do. Unfortunately, in my eyes, there is absolutely no excuse for supplying a niche product to a business directly next door. We do have separate customers but we also share a lot too. This WOULD damage my honey trade and that is a fact. This very fact did pop in to Gloria's mind as she said herself, she did mention to the butchers that I sell it but rather than walk 10 feet to my door to ask me how I felt about it, she just took his word for it that it would be alright.

To anyone who thinks I was out of order and should have contacted her first, just ask yourself this. If you thought there may be a problem, would you have taken 2 minutes out of your day to talk to a customer who had been buying from you for years and years?

She will come on here and try to be the better person by "wishing me well" etc but I've always been honest about how I feel and in that honesty I'm afraid I do not wish her well.

I remember working at a garden centre that had a coffee shop, no other cafe nearby. They bought their salad and veg from a local greengrocer the greengrocer started to sell plants The garden centre was already under financial pressure from a supermarket closer to town that started to sell house plants then hardy plants then compost. The garden centre stopped buying from the local greengrocer and went to the wholesale market . it eventually closed down and the site is now a station car park. The people who formerly parked by the supermarket now use the station car park and shop elsewhere. Would you call it Karma or market forces. TTIP is coming people unless you get involved and stop it.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

If I was wanting to keep selling the honey then I would agree that a phone call to Gloria would have been the first thing to do. Unfortunately, in my eyes, there is absolutely no excuse for supplying a niche product to a business directly next door. We do have separate customers but we also share a lot too. This WOULD damage my honey trade and that is a fact. This very fact did pop in to Gloria's mind as she said herself, she did mention to the butchers that I sell it but rather than walk 10 feet to my door to ask me how I felt about it, she just took his word for it that it would be alright.

To anyone who thinks I was out of order and should have contacted her first, just ask yourself this. If you thought there may be a problem, would you have taken 2 minutes out of your day to talk to a customer who had been buying from you for years and years?

She will come on here and try to be the better person by "wishing me well" etc but I've always been honest about how I feel and in that honesty I'm afraid I do not wish her well.

I remember working at a garden centre that had a coffee shop, no other cafe nearby. They bought their salad and veg from a local greengrocer the greengrocer started to sell plants The garden centre was already under financial pressure from a supermarket closer to town that started to sell house plants then hardy plants then compost. The garden centre stopped buying from the local greengrocer and went to the wholesale market, it eventually closed down and the site is now a station car park. The people who formerly parked by the supermarket now use the station car park and shop elsewhere. Would you call it Karma or market forces. TTIP is coming people unless you get involved and stop it.