So I’m one of “those” customers to them since I don’t like having my money held by people just cause.
I was told that my items would ship in early October, late October, November, late November, then it’s with the shipping department so we can’t cancel your order. At first I asked if I could pickup since I’m kind of nearby now but they said that shipping would be quicker. Mind you, i ordered at the beginning of September with the notion that it would ship at the beginning of October. I asked to cancel since we’re moving soon and I was worried it may not arrive in time at this point or at all since they’ve done this to me in the past.
Anyways, emails back and forth then complete silence for about 10 days after someone said that they would check on it since it should’ve shipped a while ago since “its with the shipping department” for about 2-3 weeks. I’ve emailed a couple of times asking for an update since then too.
On Tuesday, I called my card company and told them what’s going on and offered to send them emails and phone records as proof. They reversed the charge and today, I got an email with shipping information.
In the past, when i preordered after again, having issues with shipment, they held my money until March and called me to tell me that “the grafts didn’t take” so they didn’t have a tree to give me. It was a 5 in 1 mirabelle… at that time, i was reading everyone else online had gotten their 4 and 5 in ones except me. I guess they just didn’t want to sell me one due to the previous order issues. I only bought from them again because i couldn’t find anyone else with the 2 varieties of blueberries at the time.
I’ve been a customer for almost 10 years overall but i think this is it.
Anyways, if you’re having issues as well… call your card company because it shouldn’t take 3 months, 7 emails, and a phone call to ship something that was told to be able to ship in a couple of weeks.
I’ve bought from many nurseries and this is the only one I’ve had issues with. I’m half expectating them to ship me dead plants at this point like they’ve done in the past when they were “with the shipping department” for weeks on end as well.
I couldn’t find anyone else that had blue ribbon. I got another top shelf but i wanted a few just in case the ones from other nurseries are mislabeled or something.
I have only placed two orders from them but also won’t order again. Similar thing, ordered in summer assuming they would be shipping then (wasn’t a preorder) but they didn’t ship or communicate with emails until the following spring. My first order was a really healthy apple tree which caused me to order again. The following order was two pawpaws (couldn’t find anywhere else in stock, wish I waited since they didn’t ship me them until the following year) they were very tiny, which I’m ok with, and they are surviving; however I bought them to hopefully get one extra growing season out of them. If I knew they’d come the following year (not until June also) I’d have preordered them elsewhere and likely gotten them in late winter/early spring. But that second order was the last one I’ll make from them (even if I had room for more trees) OGW is the superior PNW nursery and I’ll always shop from them
That sounds really frustrating. Communication isn’t hard, so I really don’t understand what the deal is. When you know that you won’t have a particular item, why not just contact all of your customers and let them know right away?
I’ve only ordered from them once and everything that I got looked good. They got new owners about 6 years ago. Wonder if things were better before the take over or better now.
The people at One Green World are super nice too and respond back quickly. I’ve ordered so much that it’s inevitable that a few things die and I’ve never been talked down to for accidentally killing something. They’ve been understanding with me too when i was seriously starting out and nothing’s changed since.
I don’t mind waiting months or years for something but it’s nice to know when and have it stick to said shipping terms.
Yeah since the new owners have come in… prices have more than doubled and communication along with shipping has been mostly a nightmare. I used to order random things here and there and never had an issue until about 4 years ago. But that’s also about the time where I’ve started ordering multiple things at once as well.
Like, i like how Trees of Antiquity and Grandpa’s Orchard would shut things down during the summer due to weather, let us all know, then start up again with schedules for the spring/late winter. I’ve found out that Rain Tree only ships at the beginnings of the months regardless of what their website seems to say. I get it saves costs when living in the middle of the boonies but Burnt Ridge also lives in the middle of no where, is a 2 person project vs multiple people yet they always ship within 2 weeks or less unless it’s too hot and such.
I may be wrong in what I’ve gathered, but it looks like Rain Tree is now owned by some young folks around my age. Which is great that they’re starting young however, there’s a lot we can learn from others doing the same things that we are. Also I’ve seen the emails about wanting to block certain people from shopping too and i think they’ve succeeded at this point. I know a lot of late 20’s, early 30 year olds don’t like to answer phone calls and emails but like, if you’re going into a business where it’s required for the betterment of the business, you should be willing to set those “anxieties” aside and do as you’ve committed to. Currently dealing with this right now with the seller’s agent only communicating through text messages and never picking up calls unless scheduled but like… that’s terrible. I did real estate myself in the past and random phone calls are absolutely needed to get things done quickly and efficiently and i have phone anxiety as well due to a stalker in the past. So frustrating. And social media only makes it worst and seemingly normal to only communicate through text, even when it’s in a position where calls are needed sometimes.
That’s too bad to see. All you wanted was your plants. I would imagine it’s also very tough to find good help today with so many factors involved destroying any integrity. But the bottom line is satisfying customers which it seems they have a problem with doing lately. Dave’s Garden - Raintree Nursery
I understand not wanting to answer the phone, but I don’t understand not wanting to answer texts or emails. They should probably hire a dedicated communications person. If they already have one, maybe they should fire them and get someone who understands how to communicate.
LOL, I went over to Dave’s Garden to take a look too after @Melon posted this. They actually don’t have a ton of reviews since any of the reviews before 2018 would have been a reflection of the previous owners.
I don’t know if they’re experiencing what I’m experiencing, but nine times out of ten the phone calls I’m getting are spam calls or weird silence and then hanging up. Definitely bogs down the process and makes my brain feel less priority towards incoming calls now than it used to.
They’ve just turned off their phone systems and instead, it directs you to a voice mail saying they’ll return your call within 24-48 hours but “emailing is faster”.
This makes me appreciate Hartmann’s even more. They answered the phone each time I called. When I called about size availability for the Cara blueberries, the young lady who answered the phone asked me if she could call me back after she found out if they had the size that I was asking about available. She called me back within 30 minutes. That’s really good customer service.
I’ve ordered from raintree nursery multiple times in the last two years and modified 3 orders after the fact. Not counting the one I’m modifying on Monday [I know, I’m terrible.]
I have not had any trouble with them communication or otherwise. I would not, however, even think of calling any nursery to order or make a change.
Like, Gurney’s nursery hires to the Philippines and India for their call center. It’s great but bad too. Sometimes it sends you to an American person too but not often. Because they hire outside of America, their customer service is usually more willing to help. Also because they hire outside of America… most customer service specialists do not garden (lack of space in other countries) so they really can’t help if you have specific questions to certain items Gurneys sells.
The first time that I called Hartmann’s, I was encouraged not to place my order online, but instead to call back and place it with the person who answered the phone. She said that they have been having trouble with their website and are in the process of replacing it.
I also placed my order with England’s, about 3 years ago, over the telephone too.
Other than that, it’s usually online ordering through a platform. And I don’t typically call the company, unless I can’t get an answer via email.
Yeah, they closed their call centers down a few years ago and went this route. I don’t really prefer this, not because I have something against folks in other countries (most definitely DO NOT), but I think companies should hire people who have first hand knowledge of the products that they are selling.
When I worked for a world wide known clothing retailer who sells online (many, MANY moons ago), we had regular product meetings. We were introduced to new products that we were carrying all the time. There was a full presentation all about the products and we were encouraged to touch and feel them, so when customers called in and had questions we were able to answer them with confidence.
Yeah, when you posted that about Hartmann’s in the other thread it caught my attention - especially with respect to their stock not being correct on-line.
but i think this is it.
they’re really nice over there too and it’s quite direct so answers are fast
most customer service specialists do not garden (lack of space in other countries) so they really can’t help if you have specific questions to certain items Gurneys sells.
