I have to confess, I laughed when I opened the note. I love it when people don’t mince words and get directly to the point.

“It is ugly and poorly made.” And it was, too, now that I saw it though Sandra’s eyes.

That’s my kind of customer though. No drama, just “I don’t like this.”

It was perfect. I love that kind of feedback.

After I finished laughing, I realized that Sandra went to a lot of trouble of sending this wee birdbath back to me. No phone call or email, she actually packaged it up and sent it back. That took time.

I removed the listing from the store, and promptly refunded her money and the cost of shipping it back to me. It was the least I could do.

Our company policy states: “If it’s not fun and cute, we don’t want anything to do with it.”

And I need to stand by that.

It’s been a bit of a challenge growing this lil’ company of mine. There wasn’t a “How to Start a Miniature Garden Business” book in the library 12 years ago when I was doing the research to see if I could start one. There still isn’t, but I’m working on that, too.

This huge void of information on miniature gardening did work in my favor, and was a mark against me, too. I had to figure this stuff out. What worked outside? What worked in the freezing temperatures? (Uh, yes, I put stuff in my freezer – I’m in Seattle.) What worked over time? What worked, period?

And after devoting the last nine years, full-time to this idea, I can safely bring out the tips and tricks that I know work. And work through time too. But I still only know from my own point of view so it helps me tremendously when I can get feedback from other areas of the country.

And, now that I have customers in every state of the union, I have the opportunity to get a wealth of feedback from all climate zones.

So when I got that note from Sandra, I realized the error in my ways. But I also realized that I love feedback. May all of you who do not like any products of mine, come forth and tell me so!

Because, sometimes I can see the forest for the trees… all puns intended.