My raintree order of seven trees was out for delivery today. Within a few blocks of my house it changed status to damaged in transit. I contacted Raintree and their UPS portal is still showing in transit. The shipping manager contacted me later to tell me that UPS can take several days to report damaged packages and if that is the case they will have to offer a refund as all of the trees I ordered have long sold out. Upon calling UPS to request photographic proof of the damage all they could tell me was ot was filed as damaged but will take at least two days for a report to be filled out. I pleaded with the customer service agent that these trees were ordered a year in advance and if they can be salvaged the clock is ticking. She forwarded an urgent request to the center that has the package and they are supposed to call me back tonight with more info. With my work schedule I really have to plan planting in advance, so now I have seven prepared holes and strategically placed bags of compost ready to ammend with. All I can say is I am beyond frustrated because I will be waiting yet another year to reorder. Probably not worth persuing small claims court but this is the second package of mine they destroyed this year. Not to mention the time and labor I spent in preparation that will now have to be back filled and be reseeded. I hope some of the order can be salvaged at bare minimum. Thanks for listening to me rant!!!
If you can recover it I think many will make it. I had a mulberry get smashed in half by them. Planted it anyway and it launched. They delivered mine damage and all. Completely broke in half.
Amazingly they just called me. Seems like the outside box split and was re boxed so it was listed as damaged. Pictures they sent me look fine. I’m going to expect it in person tomorrow morning. Their customer service was actually stellar this time. A few years ago I had to threaten legal actions over a guitar they damaged in shipping just to get the claim resolved.
Sorry to hear about your frustrating situation, I hope I don’t have to deal with a similar one…
I feel for you. Cummins Nursery put the wrong address on my label…it was shipped in March and I still don’t have it. Re-shipped last Monday…I still don’t have it!
So, “brown” isn’t batting much better than the postal service or FEDEX, which are horrible!
(But in my case, though the package probably got within 50 feet of my door, it got returned for incomplete address. UPS driver, though I’m a fairly regular customer, he probably was not a regular driver.)
This too would have driven me nuts! I hope they will release the box to you, all you have to do is sign a release form saying the damage is fine and acceptable. Just take a look at the box, you’ll know.
That has to be so frustrating… I hope that when you do get them the trees will be in better than expected shape.
When my daughter was 10 she begged for a puppy… we got her an Australian shepherd pup… which grew to be our most loved dog ever ((eventually))… but those first few years… puppy years…
I had orders of fruit trees and berry bushes delivered in perfect shape I’m sure… but by the time found then the box and all plants had been shredded into little pieces by very sharp puppy teeth. Unsalvageable completly.
I purchased 6 nice red raspberry plants locally… worked up a nice bed and got them planted… looking good… I went in and took a shower… and then looked out my bathroom window to the new raspberry patch… and not one plant was still in the ground… they had all been pulled up and the canes and roots chewed to pieces…
And then a bit later… I had 2 grapevines planted… this was their 3rd year… hoping to get some fruit… the aussie pup chewed both of them off below the graft… down at ground level…
Those were trying times for sure… l thought more than once about getting rid of the dog… around year 3 or 4 she calmed down and finally stopped chewing up everything… she was very smart most loyal, loved to be with the kids and us any time we were out.
Good Luck with your order !!!
TNHunter
I picked them up this morning. The top of the box came off in transit so the driver deemed it as damaged. No damage whatsoever to the packaging or the trees. I should have taken pictures as they were the best trees raintree has sent me yet. They are now happily in the ground and hopefully all is well!
Yayyyyyy!
So… just as requested… better than expected… excellent !
Happy Happy Happy.
TNHunter
You probably annoyed a delivery driver…but they get paid pretty good. Glad it ended on a high note.
I wish I had taken a picture of the package Big Brown dropped on my doorstep yesterday, looked like someone put their foot through the box.
And to top it off, it was not ours.
I took it down the street to the correct address.
Anything around here delivered by Big Brown is normally roughed up, FedEx usually delivers pristine packages and is the only one to ring the doorbell when they do.
I am glad your trees were unscathed and now happily in the ground.
Bummer! We had hold ups this year with Trees of Antiquity. They have a system that only charges you a deposit, then you have to pay the rest later. For whatever reason the amount owed wasn’t showing up. Eventually the trees arrived and in good condition.