Advocacy · 3 min read
Asking retailers for the discard pile
A short, polite script that gets a surprising number of yeses.
Who to ask
Ask the garden department associate first, then the department lead. Avoid peak hours. Be brief, be friendly, and never imply the store is doing something wrong.
The script
"Hi — I'm curious what happens to the plants that don't sell. I take in struggling plants and nurse them back, and I'd be glad to take any you're about to discard. I can come by whenever suits you, and I'm happy to pay clearance price if that's easier for your system."
If they say no
Thank them and ask the follow-up that almost always works anyway: which day of the week they mark plants down. Then show up that morning.
If they say yes
Be reliable. Come when you said you would, take the plants as they are, don't sort through the pallet on their floor, and say thank you to the same person every time. A standing arrangement with one store is worth more than a hundred one-off asks.