woodmort
RIP 1938-2020
- Jul 6, 2010
- 3,524
- 996
- 301
Has anyone, besides myself, dealt with this mail-order nursery located in Bloomington, IL? I've had a huge problem with them that went like this:
Last March I received a nice, colored catalog from them--first time I remember having received one--and it had a couple of items that interested me so I made an order via the Internet which I paid for by credit card. Within 24 hrs. I received a receipt from them acknowledging the order and listing the items I had order: 2 dwarf dogwood, 2 yucca plants, 2 hazel nuts and a witchhazel. A month or so later the order arrived: one of the dogwoods looked a little peaked, the yuccas were dried up roots and the other 3 were dried up, 2.5-ft high sticks with roots. Aside from the dogwoods-which were growing--there had been no attempt to provide moisture to the dormant items.
At any rate, being an optimist and because I've rescued plants received in worse shape, I moisten everything and immediately planted them. I used my "$100 hole for a $1 plant" method--large hole, mixture of peat and soil, water in well, mulch and flag. It was a good thing I did the last thing because at the end of May I wouldn't have been able to locate 6 of the 7--only one of the dogwood is alive. The roots never showed a sign of growth, the sticks never leaved out and one of the dogwood lost what leaves it had and disappeared.
Now, normally I don't make a claim for a plant or two that I get via mail-order because most make it and if there are any loses I'm willing to accept responsibility and write it off. 6 out of 7, especially when they were so poorly packaged, was a little too much. So, using the email/reply that I received from the company I informed them that the plants hadn't made it and asked for replacements. That's when the problem started.
The customer service informed me that the company's policy is that no refund or replacement can be made unless you return the mailing label. Now I have the receipt they sent me via email and I have the packing list that they sent with the order but the mailing label when with the box to be recycled, probably within two weeks or less of receipt. Who saves boxes, especially soggy ones that got that way because one was trying to revive dry plants? They insist, however, that the mail label is the only proof that I ordered and paid for the items. I was told it was like the receipt one receives in the store. (I asked how someone could make a claim if the package was missent but got no answer. I assume they had it tracked which, in-of-itself would prove that I received it.)
Now I will admit, at the bottom of the receipt they originally emailed me this policy is listed--far enough down that I never read that far--and it is listed in the inside page of their catalog but, regardless, it has to be a policy designed to make their guarantee tough to claim. After 4 emails back and forth--they did offer to refund on a one time only basis if I sent my cancelled check or credit card statement as proof I purchased the items with a letter informing them the label was lost. This is something I wasn't about to do and, since the had a copy of my order number, something they could have used to check payment for themselves.
So I am out $38 but have gained experience. My feeling is that since they don't trust their customers to be truthful then they must be of a mindset that makes them less than honest. Certainly the quality of their merchandise and customer service would indicate that.
So, assuming you've gotten this far in the rant, I'd suggest not dealing with this company if, for no other reason, that their return policy--unlike all the other mail-order nurseries--leaves a great deal to be desired and, quite possibly they are scamming customers.
Last March I received a nice, colored catalog from them--first time I remember having received one--and it had a couple of items that interested me so I made an order via the Internet which I paid for by credit card. Within 24 hrs. I received a receipt from them acknowledging the order and listing the items I had order: 2 dwarf dogwood, 2 yucca plants, 2 hazel nuts and a witchhazel. A month or so later the order arrived: one of the dogwoods looked a little peaked, the yuccas were dried up roots and the other 3 were dried up, 2.5-ft high sticks with roots. Aside from the dogwoods-which were growing--there had been no attempt to provide moisture to the dormant items.
At any rate, being an optimist and because I've rescued plants received in worse shape, I moisten everything and immediately planted them. I used my "$100 hole for a $1 plant" method--large hole, mixture of peat and soil, water in well, mulch and flag. It was a good thing I did the last thing because at the end of May I wouldn't have been able to locate 6 of the 7--only one of the dogwood is alive. The roots never showed a sign of growth, the sticks never leaved out and one of the dogwood lost what leaves it had and disappeared.
Now, normally I don't make a claim for a plant or two that I get via mail-order because most make it and if there are any loses I'm willing to accept responsibility and write it off. 6 out of 7, especially when they were so poorly packaged, was a little too much. So, using the email/reply that I received from the company I informed them that the plants hadn't made it and asked for replacements. That's when the problem started.
The customer service informed me that the company's policy is that no refund or replacement can be made unless you return the mailing label. Now I have the receipt they sent me via email and I have the packing list that they sent with the order but the mailing label when with the box to be recycled, probably within two weeks or less of receipt. Who saves boxes, especially soggy ones that got that way because one was trying to revive dry plants? They insist, however, that the mail label is the only proof that I ordered and paid for the items. I was told it was like the receipt one receives in the store. (I asked how someone could make a claim if the package was missent but got no answer. I assume they had it tracked which, in-of-itself would prove that I received it.)
Now I will admit, at the bottom of the receipt they originally emailed me this policy is listed--far enough down that I never read that far--and it is listed in the inside page of their catalog but, regardless, it has to be a policy designed to make their guarantee tough to claim. After 4 emails back and forth--they did offer to refund on a one time only basis if I sent my cancelled check or credit card statement as proof I purchased the items with a letter informing them the label was lost. This is something I wasn't about to do and, since the had a copy of my order number, something they could have used to check payment for themselves.
So I am out $38 but have gained experience. My feeling is that since they don't trust their customers to be truthful then they must be of a mindset that makes them less than honest. Certainly the quality of their merchandise and customer service would indicate that.
So, assuming you've gotten this far in the rant, I'd suggest not dealing with this company if, for no other reason, that their return policy--unlike all the other mail-order nurseries--leaves a great deal to be desired and, quite possibly they are scamming customers.
