Last time, we talked about preserving and protecting your investment from the beginning of the season until the last guest leaves your gates. For now, we are focusing on your corn maze, but the principle applies to every aspect of your venue and to every small part. It’s equally important to make sure to maintain the camp fire pits just as much as the duck races and the corn cannon. If there is an overall feel of quality and professionalism, you will demonstrate that you care about providing a good experience from start to finish.

One of the biggest challenges for a venue that uses a corn maze is to make sure that it lasts until the end of the season. Most venues are open for at least 6-8 weeks, which means that thousands or even tens of thousands of guests will be on your property and in your corn! And since most venues wrap up around Halloween, the majority of your guests may come at the end of your season.

Long lines are one of those things we consider a “good problem to have”.  Unfortunately, long lines can be a frustration for your guests and not a good way to start their fun day at the farm.  Here are some tips to keep those lines moving.

1. Good Signage

Be sure you have easy-to-read signs at your check-in area.  Not just at the cash register but in several places that can be easily seen from the lines so customers can be more prepared when it is their turn to pay. 

2. Limited Options

Keep it Simple.  Don’t have too many combo packages or options.  Studies have shown that limiting options to 3 or less is the sweet spot in situati...

Last week we talked about how to be intentional about customer service and we focused on being relational. I was thinking about how that skill is sometimes easier for some than it is for others. Some people come by it naturally when others have to work at it. We recommend instructing your staff and maybe even role playing how to implement this quality. Let’s face it. Some of our guests make it very difficult to be relational. Confrontational maybe, but not relational! But our response to difficult situations will set us apart from the competition.

This week I want to focus on the second aspect of intentional customer service. While it is...

As Agritourism owners we find ourselves in a wide variety of stores for a wide variety of reasons. Even though price is a big determining factor for whether or not I frequent a store, there are other factors that are equally important. If you were to ask me my opinion about the 3 local hardware stores that I visit the most, I would most likely evaluate them based on price, inventory and customer service. And based on those things there is one store that stands out and one I will go out of my way to support.

There are few things more important to a customer than personal service. I believe they will even pay a little bit more if they thin...

Let’s continue talking about your traffic flow and look at the layout of your venue. Safety is a crucial factor when it comes to evaluating our policies and procedures, so we need to evaluate any safety issues when it comes to how vehicles enter, exit and travel throughout your property.

Traffic Flow

As I shared before, at one of our locations we were looking for a feasible way to redesign the flow of traffic. One of the biggest drawbacks to the existing design forced our guests to have to navigate the flow of traffic as it entered and exited the property. The entrance to our agritourism venue and the location of the farm store were both...

In today’s post we need to deal with a tedious, but important part of any agritourism venture. It’s that part of your business that will cause you problems from day one and your guests will notice as soon as they arrive. It’s that area of your business that makes no money in itself, but allows for you to be very successful! It can be your greatest asset or the source of your downfall. Sounds serious right? It is your parking lot.

One of the greatest stress factors for any guest begins when they arrive and attempt to enter your venue. You have heard it said that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”? Your parking area...