Hammett's Landscaping & Garden Center

Great little place!

Great selection and nice lady that runs the place.

Great selection of healthy plants and knowledgeable staff.

As the owners of a newer local lawn maintenance and landscaping business serving the Bayville and Forked River area, we were disappointed by our experience at Hammett’s Landscaping & Garden Center yesterday. We visited the garden center to purchase trees, shrubs, and flowers for a customer project and, during checkout, asked whether they offered a contractor discount. We were then asked to provide proof that we owned a landscaping business. While my husband was wearing a company shirt, we were asked whether we had a business credit card, business paperwork, or company branding on our truck. We explained that we do have a business credit card, but do not carry our business registration paperwork in our vehicle. We also explained that while our daily-driver truck is not wrapped, our business trailer is fully branded and was on the job site. The employee then commented that my husband could have borrowed someone else’s shirt and credit card and stated that “everyone wants to be a landscaper.” She insisted that a vehicle with business logos on the side was required and concluded the conversation by patting me on the arm and saying, “Next time bring your paperwork and we’ll give you the discount.” We completely understand a business needing to verify contractor status before offering discounted pricing. However, there is a respectful and professional way to do so. The implication that we were being dishonest in an attempt to save money was both unnecessary and insulting. As a local small business, we make every effort to support other local businesses whenever possible. We had hoped to establish a long-term relationship with Hammett’s for future landscaping projects, but this interaction left us feeling unwelcome and undervalued. As a result, we will be sourcing materials for our upcoming projects from other local garden centers. Hammett’s has a beautiful selection of products and clearly possesses extensive horticultural knowledge. Unfortunately, customer service and professionalism are equally important parts of the customer experience, and in this case, those qualities were lacking. If contractor verification is required, that’s understandable. But customers should be treated with courtesy and respect throughout the process.

These are some nasty old timers in there… just NASTY… if you wanna have some fun go in there and ask them a question… any question…. Let me know how that works out for you