Estes Hatchery Made Good! UPDATE***CHICKS ARE HERE***

[cochinbantam-lover]

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Oh ok!

Now I have to see them!

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

I just found them and oh boy they are very beautiful chickens!!! Oh no!!

Do I see some S.F.s in my future? Maybe?

 

[kathyinmo]

I got my chicks from Orscheln's, and they came from Estes. I have a variety of 44 layers, with no noted problems. They are now 4 weeks old. I hope there are no health problems with them. I am sorry for your loss. I think you should still phone them, and ask to talk to a supervisor. Tell them what you have told us. That is poor business practice, to be treated the way you were. Maybe someone should email them a link to this thread.

 

[RendonRoo]

I'm sure that the hatcheries read these post on a regular basis. I know that several of the people at Ideal do.

My salmons are about 3 mts. old and i love them so far. My wife freaked out when she discovered that they have an extra toe. LOL. They seem to be very shy but we didn't handle them as much as our first chicks.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

You know i had placed an order with them and a couple of days later i cancelled the order with them.. I just kept thinking they were way to far away from me. I have had great luck with Meyers Hatchery. Not one DOA yet. Next day delivery also. Gee am i glad i canceled with Estes.

 

[Akane]

I don't know of anything estes has that you can't get from any of the other major hatcheries. Personally I see no reason to order from them except that they are close.

 

[Opa]

I a little confused. I don't see how your losing 8 week old chicks could be the fault of the hatchery. I've dealt with Estes in the past and could not have ask for them to be more helpful. From my dealings with them and from reading other peoples posts, I'm sure that had you lost chicks the first few days they would have replaced them. Eight weeks later all any hatchery could do is try to offer suggestions. I'm really sorry that you have lost birds but to blame the hatchery for the loss of birds this old doesn't seem right.

 

[Mrs MIA]

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I'm pretty far away from ALL hatcheries, and I get my chicks shipped just fine. I don't understand the "too far away" stuff...

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Awww, I'm so sorry for all the losses, especially since you've been looking forward to having this breed for so long. That makes it all the more disappointing.

And I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with the phone operator at the hatchery. You were right to contact them, not expecting a refund at this time, but to alert them to your issues with your recent batch of this breed. If other customers were reporting similar problems, the hatchery might want to investigate their breeders. If everyone kept quiet, a problem that might be able to be resolved could just continue instead.

This operator could have been new on the job, and just reading from a list of required questions they're supposed to ask. Or they could have been on the job for years, and become jaded with other callers (NOT you) demanding refunds for things clearly their own fault.

Take some time for a few good cleansing breaths, some hot tea & some chocolates, and call them again, asking for a supervisor. At the very least, if it's true that SFs tend to be more delicate, they should know to advise others to give them extra TLC so they will be sure to thrive, perhaps not mix them with other breeds that are more pushy.

I hope your remaining chicks flourish!

 

[Calebs Acre]

In the customer service training world, the person on the phone should have expressed how sorry she was that you were disappointed and shown empathy that she understood your concern and thanked you for taking your time to contact them. Then, if it was MY employee, she would have told you that she wished there was something she could do to compensate you in some way, but the hatchery's compensation policy does not extend as far as 8 weeks.

THEN, she would ask if you wanted to hold while she double check with a supervisor. The supervisor would have come to the phone to apologize and offer a company apology, etc....and/or the receptionist could have come back with SOME sort of offer....it could have been an offer of a discount on a future offer....it could have been something really small.

I would judge it based on the sincerity and demeanor of the client. I can tell you, that if only a FEW people from this thread do not use the hatchery in the future, the company has lost more than the value of eating a discount or adjustment to your next, or replacement order. "I can't send you replacement chicks for free, but we can give you x% off on them." Any kind of appeasement.

But, that's just me....but I always train to apologize when someone is upset and express compassion. "I'm so sorry that you've gone through something so upsetting. Let me ask you some questions to see what could have possibly happened."