Hoffman Hatchery, Amazing Customer Service (Not)

[blue90292]

and here's a link to bird shippers of america. they are our backbone in getting legislation passed and concerns diminished for shipping birds across the states.

http://www.birdshippers.com/archives/2006/03/we_need_your_he.html

 

[greyfields]

The funny thing to me about this is with all the correspondence, the original question has still never been answered!!

 

[alaxsxaq]

Quote:
Don't count on getting 'local' chicks. I just received an order from Hoffman and, though the chicks are healthy, I have a few problems with the way they do business and won't use them again.

1) The whole order process is a pain. Through email and phone calls, I learned that some breeds I wanted weren't available - no mention of availability on their website or even the need to check in advance. Email takes 3+ days for a response, so a phone call is the best method of contact. They should at least state that much on their website.

2) I received a postcard confirming my order and giving an expected arrival date of 7/2. My birds arrived on 6/27. Thankfully we were home. Being a procrastinator, my plans were to get feed and everything on Saturday, so Friday turned into a bit of a rush getting everything together - we're in a rural area, so finding supplies is pretty easy. The local post office, by the way, did not follow instructions to call before delivery - Hoffman does state that they require confirmation from the post office of any dead birds; something I wouldn't have been able to get.

3) Hoffman didn't hatch these birds. They were shipped from Cameron, Texas! A little research tells me that these birds most likely came from Ideal Hatchery, a large operation in Cameron, Texas. The big reason I went with Hoffman was the fact that they are only an hour away from here - I assumed they hatched the breeds they list on their website - next time I know to ask. This also might explain why Hoffman wouldn't allow pick-up; there are a few things I like to do in the area of Gratz, so I asked if I could stop by the hatchery and received a long email reply with all kinds of reasons why I couldn't do that - now I know the real reason.

Hopefully this information is of benefit to someone. I wish I had found this forum before I ordered my birds; I would have picked a different source.

--Glenn

 

[blue90292]

glenn, what breeds did you order that you received from cameron? i'm sorry but that is too funny since the gentleman i spoke with specifically told me he couldn't ship to texas since it was too far.