I've been to Pantall Farm on a couple of occasions. The first time was fun, as we dealt with Mr. Pantall. He seems to be a very nice man. His wife, however, is a good ways away from him on the friendliness factor.
Let me preface this by saying, I am aware that the strawberry farm is their personal property, and it is how they make their living. I understand their need to protect their farm and their investment. I also feel quite sure that they must have dealt with, on more than one occasion, unruly children who are not watched or corrected by their parents when they don't respect the Pantall's property while picking berries.
However-
On our last visit to Pantall's Farm Mrs. Pantall was keeping shop. It seems she is the face of the farm lately. Before my friend and I even got all the way from our car to the building with our kids, Mrs. Pantall was nearly berating us about watching our children and almost angrily telling us that we would be asked to leave if we didn't follow the rules.
Our kids are not perfect, but they know how to be well behaved and respectful of others. And you better believe that when they are not, especially when it infringes on someone else, we are on top of it in a heartbeat. Not to mention that we had BARELY set foot on their property when she began to rant (not speak- rant!) at us. Our children were guilty of no rule breaking.
It's one thing to reinforce knowledge of your picking policies, but it's another to act nearly hostile to your customers when they arrive. I've never felt less welcome. Needless to say, we have found another strawberry patch locally that we are more than happy to give our business to. read more