In an article compiled by David Wilson Homes and referred to recently by Business Cornwall, Trevena Cross came out top with the public, rated the best independent garden centre in Cornwall.
The David Wilson Homes article, which encourages homeowners to ‘shop local’ rather than heading off to the big chain stores, listed three of the top rated independent garden centres for different areas of the UK, and for Cornwall, Trevena Cross scored a higher star rating than the other two featured top rated centres, Carnon Downs Garden Centre and St Austell Garden Centre.
Shopping local and independent supports local businesses, the local economy, and puts money back into the communities where those people live and work. Without the corporate red tape or out-of-county head office to factor in, the business has flexibility to make decisions, make changes and adapt to changing customer needs and demands, quickly and efficiently. Of huge importance is understanding the area the business operates in and its people, its customer base – getting to know many people on a personal level and being able to offer a personal, tailored service.
Where plants are concerned, an understanding of the local area is the only way horticultural expertise can be delivered too – what will grow where?… what can tolerate salt-laden winds by the coast?… what will withstand exposed spots?… or Cornish winds? A family owned and run business for 45 years with all those years of growing experience on the same site simply can’t be matched by any chain store that crops up in the same area. And knowing that Mr Brown will come in for X, Y and Z every spring as he has done for the last 40 years is also something the chain store may not appreciate, as to many a store Mr Brown is just another number or another transaction.
Trevena Cross is so proud to have maintained an excellent customer satisfaction rating for so long, and recognition like this makes everything feel worthwhile and worth fighting for as the business continues to endure many of the challenges faced by local independent businesses in recent years. The business wouldn’t be here without its loyal customer base, and that continued support and accompanying feedback is very gratefully received and acts as a real motivator going forwards. So this really is a big thank you to all those supporters… Thank you very much.
