Business Type - Garden centre, cafe and seller of pet and livestock supplies
Founded - 1850
Address - Stone Lane, Lydiard Millicent, Swindon SN5 3LD
Telephone - 01793 771766
toomers.co.uk
When people go to Toomers they can expect all the expertise and emphasis on customer service that has been a hallmark of the business since it was founded 175 years ago.
Indeed, of all the businesses in the Swindon area only two - Deacons Jewellers and Arkell's Brewery - have longer pedigrees.
Six generations of the Toomer family have guided the company and built on its reputation, including current MD Paul and Director Josh.
The Swindon garden centre - the company has another site in Cirencester - is popular among gardeners of all levels of expertise and experience.
A recent addition, The Potting Shed Cafe, is already proving popular, with its selection of items including tea, coffee, home-make cakes, sandwiches and toasties.
Josh said: "We're a traditional garden centre with an extensive and interesting range of plants for the size of our centre. We're not a home store or a gift shop like a lot of garden centres these days."
For the Toomers team, being what they are proud to describe as a traditional garden centre simply means the emphasis is firmly on plants - and on ensuring there is always somebody on hand with the expertise to ensure the customer has not just, for example, the right shrub, tree, bedding plant or seeds for their location but also that they are able to secure the best results and see their purchase thrive.
In addition to plants, there is an array of garden essentials including high quality tools, equipment, soils, fertilisers, propagators and so on.
Pots and containers come in sizes ranging from ones suitable for potting on seedlings to much larger ones capable of accommodating large container plants, and are available in styles ranging from the purely functional to the beautiful.
For gardeners who prefer to care for their plants throughout their development rather than starting with more established ones, there are - depending on the season - a large selection of bulbs and tubers together with racks of seeds for people who want to try their hand at producing anything from carrots to cacti and from beetroot to begonias.
Six generations of the Toomer family have guided the company and built on its reputation, including current MD Paul and Director Josh.
The Swindon garden centre - the company has another site in Cirencester - is popular among gardeners of all levels of expertise and experience.
A recent addition, The Potting Shed Cafe, is already proving popular, with its selection of items including tea, coffee, home-make cakes, sandwiches and toasties.
Josh said: "We're a traditional garden centre with an extensive and interesting range of plants for the size of our centre. We're not a home store or a gift shop like a lot of garden centres these days."
For the Toomers team, being what they are proud to describe as a traditional garden centre simply means the emphasis is firmly on plants - and on ensuring there is always somebody on hand with the expertise to ensure the customer has not just, for example, the right shrub, tree, bedding plant or seeds for their location but also that they are able to secure the best results and see their purchase thrive.
In addition to plants, there is an array of garden essentials including high quality tools, equipment, soils, fertilisers, propagators and so on.
Pots and containers come in sizes ranging from ones suitable for potting on seedlings to much larger ones capable of accommodating large container plants, and are available in styles ranging from the purely functional to the beautiful.
For gardeners who prefer to care for their plants throughout their development rather than starting with more established ones, there are - depending on the season - a large selection of bulbs and tubers together with racks of seeds for people who want to try their hand at producing anything from carrots to cacti and from beetroot to begonias.
As with everything else sold at the garden centre, customers need only to ask if they require the advice of people with plenty of expertise in achieving the best results.
A proud reputation for excellent customer service and the highest quality
For MD Paul Toomer and the rest of the Toomers team, there is no mystery to the success story which has spanned then best part of two centuries.
"The garden side is very plant orientated," said Mr Toomer, "with a big choice and advice to go with it.
"We've always got people here who can give fairly expert helpful advice, whether it's for the garden, horses, pets or whatever.
"We've got a good idea of customer service, I would say. Things have changed through the years but it's always been important that the customer comes first and we do what we can to be good value, give good advice and supply quality products."
Josh Toomer added: "We tend to think quite far ahead in terms of the implications of things rather than trying to make a quick buck now!"
It is a philosophy which continues to secure Toomers a place in many a gardener's heart.
"We've got a good idea of customer service, I would say. Things have changed through the years but it's always been important that the customer comes first and we do what we can to be good value, give good advice and supply quality products."
Josh Toomer added: "We tend to think quite far ahead in terms of the implications of things rather than trying to make a quick buck now!"
It is a philosophy which continues to secure Toomers a place in many a gardener's heart.
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