Wind Chimes: Music to a gardener’s ears

Mayo Garden Centers began carrying QMT Windchimes more than a decade ago, and the chimes have been a staple for the long-standing Knoxville, Tenn., retailer ever since.

“Customers like the durability, quality and sound of [QMT],” says Pat Humphrey, office assistant at Mayo Garden Centers. “There’s a big difference in the sounds of [QMT] as compared to other wind chimes.”

QMT offers a variety in its collection — different soothing tones guaranteed to bring feelings of peace to customers’ gardens and homes.

“The tone of them is just very beautiful,” Humphrey says. “I even have a set myself, and I just love them.”

She also notes the wind chimes’ look — which is offered in several different color options and designs — as a great selling point. A popular product among Mayo shoppers is the Kromatix line, which sells very well at each of Mayo’s three locations and comes in bold colors like lime green, hot pink and neon purple.

“[QMT is] the higher end of the wind chimes that we sell, although the price point is still good,” she says. “Customers are willing to buy them just because of the quality. [Price] doesn’t really deter them. A lot of people who have [purchased] them in the past will come in and buy them for gifts.”

Mayo almost completely sold out of its QMT stock in anticipation of Mother’s Day a couple of years ago and had to place another full order for the holiday.

In addition to boasting satisfied repeat customers, QMT Windchimes also provides top customer service to retailers.

“We’ve really not had any issues about having to return any [goods],” Humphrey says. “Once we get something in, it’s exactly what we ordered. We’ve never had to do any returns for anything being defective, and we’ve never had any customers [complain].”

Mayo carries all of the product varieties available from QMT Windchimes, but Humphrey says that the Corinthian Bells are easily their best-seller.

The Corinthian Bells are unique because they feature centrally suspended heavy-walled tubes with a high-density striker to give the chimes a noteworthy tone and resonance. The tubes are also powder-coated to match the dome and sail, so they offer a noticeably different appearance from run-of-the-mill metallic chimes.