Oh Christmas Tree: 07 ver

[Dark Psion]

Yes it's that time again, time to sell the Christmas trees!

Now this season has not started off that good, the trees usually arive a day or two before Thanksgiving and this year they came the Saturday after and our other store had a few people who complained that we ruined their Thanksgiving because they didn't have a Christmas tree

And then my flocking gun broke, but the new one got here real fast and it is a much better gun.

Last Saturday was cold, windy and on and off sprinkles, so of course I sold almost 20 trees.

Now there are certain rules when buying a Christmas tree, and of course most people ignore them.

Rule 1: If you want a perfect tree, it comes in a box. Nature does not do perfect, nature does unique. Each tree is different from another.

I had one couple that looked for almost 30 minutes and as usual, the wife wants a perfect tree, the husband doesn't care and the kids want to get out of the cold.

Then I had a guy I almost took the chainsaw to. First he wants us to cut the tree after we delever it. No, we cut it just before they leave on delivery. He says we did it before. Unless he bougt it over 10 years ago we didn't. So he goes in and asks them inside and of course they just come back out and ask me and I tell them we will cut it just before we bring it. He looks, and looks and looks, and almost an hour later he finally chooses a tree. During that time he must have asked if we would cut it just before we bring it at least 12 more times.
I am about to cut something.

Rule 2: Water the damn tree!!! Maybe this should be number 1, but even a hour or two in a warm house without water can let a tree seal up and then it will not take water. And yes I have heard all the alchemical formulas of sugar water, 7-up and water and pre-packaged tree formulas, but the simple truth is, it the water that keeps it green. So get a stand with as large of a reservoir as possible... or get a tree in a box.

Oh and people ask me what kind of tree I have, mine comes in a box too. With over a hundred live ones at work, why would I want another at home?

[sms001]

Yes it's that time again, time to sell the Christmas trees!

I can just imagine the suckitude this brings out, but the thought of getting to use a "flocking gun" would almost make it worthwhile

[cinema guy]

Do you get to use the flocking gun on the flocking customers?

[digilight]

Do you get to use the flocking gun on the flocking customers?

I can imagine running around with a little war paint on screaming flock you, you son of a birtch!!!!

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Or make a styrofoam costume of the power loader in Aliens (like someone did this past halloween) and walk out saying "Get away from her you BIRCH!"

[LizaMarie]

I just went to a tree farm this past weekend to get mine. While we were there one of the employees and I were chatting, and she told me about this family who spent an hour or so picking out there tree, then after they cut it down they saw the stump was a little bit crooked and decided they didn't want it after all. After, of course, the tree is cut down. They didn't even pay for it, and spent another half hour or so picking a new one out.

Honestly. It's a freaking tree. What do you expect?

[Knightmare]

Tree in a box: Easy to set up, holds their shape, no watering needed, needles don't fall off all over the place, can bend it to a crazy position if desired (sounds like a woman I know), looks like a real tree unless you get up really really close, and you just have to buy it once. It lasts for years

I'm going on 6 years for my artificial tree.

This year I may even buy some "Pine in a can" to get that pine tree smell.
Nahhh...

[Interior Desecrator]

People no longer seem to understand the concept of "natural." I run into that in my business as well. Trees are natural, and therefore they (and the wood they produce) will all be unique in some way. It's not a hard concept to grasp.

I, on the other hand, understand this concept and am looking forward to the thrill of the hunt! We're going to the tree farm next weekend. Half the fun is wandering around and looking for what we think is the "best" tree out there. Mom and Dad are a bit picky (Dad's father used to grow Christmas trees), so it's usually an all-afternoon event. Can't wait!

[trunks2k]

We get our tree from a local tree farm. Every year on the day after thanksgiving, we all get up at 8AM (which especially stinks if we had thanksgiving at our house which means we were up late cleaning up), pile into the car then drive down the street to be literally the first people at the tree farm. Then we tromp up the big ass hill, then walk around in the cold and wet for an hour with my siblings and I complaining while my mom can't decide on a tree. We find a tree, tag it, then come back a few weeks later to cut it down.

One year we set a record. Took us less than 5 minutes to find a tree. It was probably the best tree ever. It was almost pure perfection. We tagged it and left. Came back a couple weeks later and we can't seem to remember where the tree was. We looked around and couldn't find it. I happened to glance down at the ground and saw our tag, which was laying right next to the freshly cut stump of a tree. These tags don't just fall off, plus there's other stuff that shows the tree has been tagged. Somebody had stolen our tree!

[Jester]

I think I am going to reuse my tree from last year. I just need to go get it reinflated.

Yes, I said reinflated.

My Christmas tree from last year was a large helium-filled cactus balloon. Reminds me of Christmas back home in the desert, where everyone puts lights on the saguaros in front of their houses.

What? Yes, I AM serious! Both about the lights on the cacti in Phoenix AND about my inflatable cactus Christmas tree.

Hey, you do things your way, I'll do them mine!

[morgana]

I don't even put up a Christmas tree anymore. Not since the year the German Shepherd chased all three of the cats up it. While I watched. Took three days to find all the little glass shards and pine needles.

And now that I've got a cat that's 23 pounds and an incurable climber, it still just doesn't seem worth it . . .

Drape a garland over the top of the bookcase, put the presents on the shelves, and I'm good.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Or make a styrofoam costume of the power loader in Aliens (like someone did this past halloween) and walk out saying "Get away from her you BIRCH!"

Shouldn't that be BEECH?

Luckily for us, our trees come pre-cut. Of course, our store doesn't sell as many as some of the other Kitty stores.

Bad part of ordering them was the minimum order was 75 . . . no way could we sell that many, so Beavis called our old store and asked their Produce Manager to order the 75 and he'd take 35 of them.

Out of those 35 we got . . . we've only had 6 stolen so far. Of course, we still have 2 1/2 weeks to go, so we won't be surprised if there's any more trees that walk.

[mattm04]

One of our cats died before christmas last year. We got a new one in February of this year, it as about 1.5-2 years old and still very playful and energetic. I am fairly certain the tree will get knocked over at some point because of the precious furball.

[cinema guy]

Or make a styrofoam costume of the power loader in Aliens (like someone did this past halloween) and walk out saying "Get away from her you BIRCH!"

Or maybe Arnie, "I'll be bark."

[Dark Psion]

Today I got to my favorite tree, the last one I have to drill and put up for sale.

It is a special moment when you realize you no longer have to replace each tree that sales with one bound in Spiderman's left over webbing.

The weather here is letting us know that it is winter and I m not sure what to expect tomorow. Either I will have very few sales because nobody wants to get out in the cold or I will sell every tree I have in one day because everyone will want to get it before the real cold and ice gets here.

I did have one SC today, they bought a flocked tree that was delivered yesterday, brought it back because the trunk had a slight curve, I re-cut it and sent it back to them. Today they called and after they decorated it, it fell over (gee too many decorations? ) and they want a new one and the boss lets them switch trees. She brings her stand, which is a cheap crapy plastic one that explains why the tree fell over, and picks out a new tree. We deliver it and bring back the flocked one, which I will re-flock and sell for twice as much as she payed.