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Got half my order and then waited for the remainder, finally I called to find out what was going on. Was bluntly almost rudely told that they had sold out. Saying "what"? Was told that when it came time to fill my order they were sold out, I turned my order in back in Feb, but because of my climate they would not ship till much later so thus they are sold out because I am not an early ship to. So then I asked why I was not notified about this. Again, bluntly almost rudely was told that is not Gurney's policy. So now would you like to guess what my policy is towards Gurney. Too bad I can not rate them worse than negative.
On May 16, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. I apologize you were not notified that we were out of stock and for all your inconvenience. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and see what we can do.."
On May 9, 2013, yrralrellim Staunton, VA (Zone 6b) wrote:
I ordered over $50 worth of plants and very common gardening supplies on April 27. I finally received my two blackberry plants on May 8 but I have yet to receive the normal gardening supplies! Poor, poor service! Apparently they do not stock all of the items that they advertise for sale. After ordering from this company numerous times prior to 2000 I have decided to scratch this company off of my list of sources and I would very highly recommend that everyone duplicate that procedure unless you want to be disappointed. After contacting their customer service they supposedly have put a rush on my order. Unfortunately the items will not arrive in time to help me this year! Maybe I can save the items for next year's garden.
On May 9, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your posting. I apologize for the problems you are having with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check on your order.
After contacting customer service several times over the past few weeks I still have yet to receive all the seeds ordered. They have offered no explanation to why they have not shipped. I am now over 3 weeks behind on where I should be with seedlings in my greenhouse for my gardens. I am so frustrated with the service at this point I will never use them again .
On May 6, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your posting. I apologize for the problems you are having with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check on your order.
I found this website during an online search for comments about Gurney's and when I read the negative comments, I felt a thud in my gut of buyer's remorse of wondering if I made the right choice to order from them. I have placed two orders with Gurney's, and have only received some of the seed packets I requested. I have gone online to their website several times to enter my order numbers to get a status on the remaining items, and there are no changes to the order pages. After several weeks, I decided to call the customer service today and spoke to someone name Leticia, who answered the phone, 'Leticia speaking.' What happened to identifying the company you work for and then stating your name?
I asked her to provide a shipping update on the items I have been expecting, and she told me that one of the them is out of stock, another one won't ship until later this Fall, and the others can be expected to arrive towards the end of May. I asked her why I didn't receive any email updates from Gurney's about the out of stock and late arrival items, and she stated that there didn't appear to be an email address on file. I asked her how was it possible then for me to get order confirmations to my email address after I pay for an order through the website, but couldn't get email confirmations about changes to my order unless I call the customer service number? There was no answer from her to that question, yet I provided my email address to her to update whatever screen she saw was missing it.
She stated that when an order is cancelled or out of stock, they just 'submit the credit' and the customer isn't notified beforehand. I was stunned. After having gone to the website to check on my remaining order items for several weeks, I wasn't going to get any updates through Gurneys website at all, and I was wasting my time. So, what I got from the call was, if you haven't gotten what you ordered, don't expect Gurneys to email, write, or call you about what happened. You will have to call them and be told that your items, that you've been waiting to plant, won't be delivered to you at all, or will be shipped out several weeks to months after you were expecting them to arrive.
One more thing, one of the items I ordered were a couple of lavender plants, and she told me that I wouldn't expect to receive those until October. I told her that I went to Orchard Supply recently and they have lavender plants in pots available for purchase. She told me that she isn't aware of what other merchants have available. I asked her to cancel the lavender plants from my order, process the credit for these and another plant that was out of stock that I was suppose to get this month, and please communicate to her customer service management to improve their order status communications to their customers.
By the way, I'm still waiting on the broccoli, cauliflower, watermelon, corn, squash, and spinach seeds that I planted weeks ago to germinate, and I really hope that I didn't get bad seeds from Gurneys as well. If anything, I feel more inclined to support my local gardening merchants and just buy directly from them.
I am a first time customer with this company and so far, I'm more displeased than pleased, but patience is a virtue and I'm holding out hope that things work out.
On May 3, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting. I apologize for the problems you are having with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and make sure things are taken care of for you."
On May 1, 2013, jandkc NORTHFIELD FALLS, VT wrote:
I am really disappointed with this company. I have been a customer for a few years now, but what happened to my order this year has changed my opinion of them completely. When I received my confirmation e-mail, all things looked correct... correct billing, correct shipping, etc. All things looked good, as I kept getting updates for order processing and shipment notifications as my zone came up for shipping.
I noticed my strawberries were taking an exceptionally long time to ship, so I checked the tracking info, only to find that 12 days ago, they had been returned by my local Post Office (I had it shipped to my house address and NOT my PO) sent it back because of an incorrect address. I e-mailed Gurney's as soon as I noticed this, and heard nothing back, so I decided to call them. The woman whom I spoke with was pleasant enough, and even accepted fault on behalf of Gurney's. I don't know how, with today's technology, and the fact that my confirmation e-mails had the correct shipping address, they messed this up... But she was able to determine that my stuff went to a completely different town and zipcode.
Was hoping for an easy fix, but noooooo. Everything in that shipment was now out of stock. In fact, there was only ONE type of strawberry plant left on their whole site. I asked for my money back, which she assured would happen in 3-5 days. I still can't help but wonder when they were going to fix this, since 12 days seems like more than enough time for them to receive the returned items, and somehow reach out to me or refund my money.
And wait, there's more... My order was two shipments, and the second one has yet to go out. Of course this also has the incorrect address on it, but she claims she can't stop it in this part of the process to correct it, and all three of the items are also out of stock. So basically I have to wait for it to ship to the address they made up out of thin air, get returned, and THEN I can get my refund. At this time of year, EVERY site is out of the stuff I initially ordered in March, so there goes my entire fruit portion of my garden.
This mistake cost me a lot, and is so baffling as to how it even happened... I could NEVER recommend this company to anyone, let alone ever give them my business again.
On May 1, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your post and I apologize for the problems you had with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and find out what is happening with your order and refund."
On May 1, 2013, LADYBUGLADY31 Erving, MA (Zone 5a) wrote:
I wish I would have found DG before I ordered from this company. I ordered a bunch of stuff that was delivered in the fall, mostly small bushes, a cool hosta, and some smaller little perrenial items. I planted as instructed (I garden a lot, so I know it's not my fault), and every single bush is dead, with no signs of node growth or anything. Completely dry and petrified. I'm so dissapointed, I had to at least warn others of this problem. Even my hosta died. Which I believe because it was one little leaf of a piece. My Periwinkle and a little perrenials seem okay though.
You cannot get a replacement without keeping your shipping label. I doubt I still have that. But I'll check, cause this is BS!
On May 1, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for the feedback, this is not accurate. We can locate your account with your last name and zip code to reship to you. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of this for you."
This company is a joke. I ordered from them years ago. I bought some honeysuckle. The plant was fine, but the company is just the worst to deal with. After all the years, I don't remember what my problem was, just that they were very unhelpful, and rude. I tried to get myself removed from their mailing lists, and spam lists, but to no avail. So I got a catalogue in the mail this year from them with a "free $25" coupon, with "no catch" right next to it, so I was thinking I would give this a shot, to see what happens.
I call in, tell the lady I have this coupon on my catalogue, and she said she would have to talk to a supervisor about it since she had no knowledge of this deal. After about 5 minutes on hold, she said ok, and I ordered a dogwood. I did not have high hopes, and I have yet to see the bush. Planting here in Montana has started, and I know they've been shipping their plants for awhile.
This company is a joke, if you want to risk it with them, go ahead. Buy local, not from some mail order customer service nightmare like Gurneys.
On Apr 27, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting us know about the problem you had with our company. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and check into when you should receive your order."
I have never ordered anything from Gurney's and never will after receiving the Spring 2013 catalog with the threat on the cover:
"WARNING! (In huge letters)
If you don't order something now, this could be your last Gurney's catalog"
Since when does a seed company think they need to bully their customers into buying from them???
I've never had this treatment from any independent seed company. I'll be sending back the WARNING cover with my address to remove me immediately from their mailing list and to never, ever, ever, ever, try to threaten me again if I don't buy from them!
On Apr 23, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for the feedback. I apologize, the catalog was not intended to be a warning not to order, more like "don't open till Christmas". I apologize for the way the catalog statement came across. I will make sure and bring this to our marketing attention."
How does this company stay in business? I placed an order in Febuary and have received portions of it in sporadic deliveries. Other portions of that order seem to have been ignored. Received a bean tower with missing parts and no instructions. Saw that strawberry plants were supposedly delivered but did not receive them. Received an eMail that replacements were being shipped. When no shipping information was received I checked the website on April 11, 2013 and saw that they were sold out. In response to an April 13, 2013 inquiry re shipping date I received a reply: the strawberry plants would be shipped in March 2014! I've requested a refund but will have to see it to believe it. I've ordered plants and garden supplies from other companies over the years with great satisfaction. My one order with Gurney's has been fraught with errors and frustration. I'll never deal with this company again!
On Apr 13, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting me know of the problems you had with your order. I apologize for the inconvenience. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and we can check and make sure your refund is issued."
Posted on May 20, 2012, updated March 22, 2013
Hello All,
I'm new to Dave's Garden and really happy to be here. In fact, it's a shame that I wasn't on here to read about gurney's before even placing an order with them.
I found it odd that a company would give steep discounts and play advertisement tricks like "claim your $100 free gift" only to have it actually be a 50% discount in reality.
Anyway, let me cut to the chase. I placed two orders with Gurney's and called back once to reduce an order. An employee decided to combine two orders or give an improper discount, I don't know...the point was, I was basically given a full refund and still had the plants shipped out to me.
I called back immediately after seeing that a full refund was issued and had them correct it (or I suppose) only to go through 3 different workers who were all lost?
They told me to purchase more items to correct discount rate and they did that by applying an over-ride refund.
So, I get my plants and seeds (strawberries, raspberries, trees etc and so many seeds I can't count) and half my strawberries are dying.. some are missing, but I thought w/e I have like 100 strawberries who cares if 10-20 go missing.
Then I got a shipment of grapes and some of those were missing.
Then I got a letter from gurney's telling me to pay some 45-50 dollars within 14 or 30 days or else I'd be reported promptly to collections.
????????????
I call and ask why this letter was sent to me. The same person who "corrected" the original issue turned out to be the supervisor and she told me that I had to pay it because they "over refunded me".
I'm not a guy to take anything for free, proof in the fact that I called and told them I'm getting over 100dollars back plus 200dollars worth of plants.
If I wanted, I could've ignored it and let it be, but I didn't.
The story doesn't seem to end does it? No.. there's more.
Gurney's then sends me a $6.40 check for "over charging me" and I haven't cashed it.
Now, 90% or more of my strawberries are dead and what's left is in the process of dying for some reason.
One of my raspberries didn't even want to grow a new cane or a leaf.
most of my seeds died after sprouting having a maximum 3 week life period.
The only things living are basically my trees and my canes and my grapes.
I've emailed them multiple times to get my things replaced and no response.
Due to all this, I was forced to go out and buy plants from a greenhouse and fork out more money and guess what, none of them were gurney's it was another popular company that I wont adv for free here, but all those are doing good.
Why gurney's, do you send out bad products, lie to your customers, and have bad customer service?
On March 22nd, 2013, PlanterJoe added the following:
A Gurney's customer service rep called me last year when I made the original post and claimed they would send me replacement plants. Also, I should mention I placed orders for garlic and still haven't received them after 1 entire year.
Anyway, so I think "wow, gurney's is sincerely trying to improve their customer service" she explains to me how she will replace the strawberry plants. Mind you 10-20 went missing originally and of the 80/90 plants I got only 10% of them survived.
Guess what?
Only ONE of each kind of strawberry was sent.
LOL this is a joke.
P.S. Please moderate the simply false comments on here with "great" reviews and odd screen names. Something seems fishy here. If any company needs to survive it's based on good product, customer service and honesty, NOT bad products, customer service and deception!!On Mar 22, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your post. We apologize for the problems and that no one has gotten back to you. One of our customer service representative will contact you for your account information and have this taken care of."
On Mar 20, 2013, chellelouise Laingsburg, MI wrote:
I also received the email for the $4.99 Goldrush apples trees. Even though we ended up placing our order online we actually spoke with a customer service rep. who never mentioned that the deal was only for one tree, this also did not some up as we placed our order online for 4 trees and paid the $20.00 for the trees. A few weeks later we received a postcard stating that our order was cancelled because of a lack of inventory and that we were to be reimbursed. Although I was disappointed and a little miffed that I wasn't able to get the trees it wasn't until the next day when I received a email stating that one Goldrush apple tree was shipping that things started to go down hill. At this point I didn't want any of the trees since I needed more than one apple tree and didn't want to order anything else from Gurney's so I called to cancel the one apple tree I was still scheduled to get, I was told that I could not cancel because it was already being processed. When I asked how it was possible that the other three trees in my order were out of stock but they happened to have one left to send me I was told that there was a limit on this special and I should've only been able to order one tree. I expressed my feeling of frustration that if the special was only for one tree then I sould've only been able to order one tree at this price and that this information was not clearly presented on the email that advertised the offer. The representative was not sympathetic or even apologetic over the "fluke" in their software. I again asked to have the order cancel and was again denied. I then was transferred to a supervisor in India and he finally agreed to refund all my money although it will have to be after the tree has shipped. I'm not holding my breath that this will really be refunded but hnestly I don't have the energy to go another round with this company, they can have my five dollars but I will never give them a penny more. Horrible customer service with no quality control or intergrity!
On Mar 20, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you and check on your account and make sure everything is taken care of. I apologize for the inconvenience."
On Mar 18, 2013, lisaq1965 Salt Lake City, UT wrote:
My partner and I are excited to be having a garden this year, our first :-)
I have used this company before. It was years ago and very satisfactory.
Not this time. From the moment they answered the phone things went wrong.
The agent was hard to understand. Apparently we were also hard to understand. After giving our name and spelling it (5 times), she decided that Emily Stevens was really
Larry Stewart.
We ordered three kinds of potatoes, asparagus and some grass seed. Our agent did not verify any of this. We did. We did her job not knowing that our order was going to Larry Stewart.
When we received our confirmation email telling us our order had shipped to Larry we contacted the company and asked for a supervisor. Richard the supervisor was very nice. He apologized profusely for the mistake his agent made and also for the fact that our order, now shipped to the wrong person, could not be rerouted.
Richard the supervisor replaced our order and assured us over and over that we would not be re-billed, having already paid for the order messed up by the initial agent.
That was on 3/13/13
Last night, 3/17, we wanted to check the progress of or order.
It was on hold for payment due...
Again we called customer service and asked for a supervisor. By some sort of coincidence, we got Richard. He remembered speaking to us and was again very apologetic for dropping the ball. We subsequently have canceled our our order and requested a refund for our original order that is still on it's way to Larry Stewart.
We have decided not to deal with Gurney's. The biggest reason is because the company is based in the United States (a good thing) but their customer service is outsourced. We believe this whole problem could have been avoided had the original agent been more fluent or better trained. It just seemed that she either couldn't understand that we were Emily Stevens. Not Larry Stewart. The only similarity in those two names is the corresponding zip code.
Posted on March 6, 2013, updated March 15, 2013
About 10 days ago I received an email special from Gurney's offering Gold Rush apple trees at $4.99 each. There was no limit in the email & when I went to the site to check it out there was no limit posted online either. I ordered two & was so happy.
This was my first order with Gurney's so before I ordered everything for my garden I wanted to see how this purchase panned out. I am SO glad I waited.
One week later I received an email telling me that I had ordered more than the limit of one tree. I sent an email back because there was never a limit shown. They responded - to my long dead father in law, who has never been on my account or lived at my address. They apologized & stated that they would fix my account & send me a credit - which was nice. I was still irritated, but at least I was getting one tree.
The next day I received an email that they are out of stock & I will not be receiving anything. That email was also directed to my dead father in law. When I responded I got an automatically generated email (again) stating that I was limited to one tree.... except that I am not getting ANY trees because they cancelled my whole order - which was what my email was about. Clearly they didn't bother to read it - again.
I am disgusted with their business practices & don't have any idea how they stay in business if this is how they treat their customers.
On March 15th, 2013, JenMagdech added the following:
After I left this comment, I called Gurney's customer service center to make sure they refunded my money. I was informed that the email saying I was getting no trees was mistaken & that I am in fact getting a tree in April or May. Depending on what happens in April or May I may change my rating to Neutral. On Mar 15, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your feedback and I apologize for the misunderstanding. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of this for you."
My wife and have been receiving emails from Gurneys for over two years, three days ago we wrote our first order...........do we regret it now.
We received an email right after we ordered saying there was a problem processing the card, no big deal there is more protection online now with some cards. I checked my bank account and the money was taken out of my bank. I waited until the next day when they "open for business", their call center overseas is always open, silly me. I spoke to some man, gave him my credit card info again, he said it was all set.
Since this phone call I have received five emails saying there was a problem, one email from "Charlie" in customer service saying everything was ok followed an hour later with a phone call saying there was a problem processing my credit card and the order was on hold. I HAD TO CANCEL MY ORDER before I exploded. I can't imagine trying to receive an order or doing warranty issues with Gurneys, STAY AWAY FROM THIS BUSINESS.
On Feb 23, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate you taking the time to let us know about the problems you had with your order. One of our customer service representatives will contact you so they can check into what exactly happened and let you know."
I'm currently sat here staring at the Gurneys catalogue, I want to be enticed by their offers and range, but my previous experience with this company borders on laughable. I ordered an olive tree, a goji berry, a paw paw tree and garlic. I thought they would be true to their word and ship when planting was viable in my region. NOT TRUE! I live in Florida, I ordered in March 2012. Way after the last frost date, I still didn't begin receiving my plants until the end of May, when the Paw Paw and Goji berry were delivered. In Florida this is entering the heat of summer and plants can not survive in it without care. They certainly can't cope with being dropped off in a post box! Luckily I caught the delivery, unfortunately, the goji (which was a single 4" stick with 4 leaves) was all but dead when it arrived, I tried to nurse it to health, kept it out of the direct sun, but it died. The paw paw is doing terribly, its dormant right now, but I'm not holding out much hope. What about the other items I hear you ask.... well the olive tree was delivered 8 MONTHS after ordering! It was delivered in a 2" pot and the stick is 3" high. As someone pointed out in an earlier review of this company, I'm not sure this is even legal??? Can a company legally take money for an item, they purposely decline to describe size wise, obviously don't have in stock and fail to deliver even in their own 'pie in the sky' delivery schedule? Since the delivery of the Olive tree I have complained and been refunded for the goji berry. I'm at a loss as to how this company can continue to do business this way. I will say that I have ordered seeds from this company in the past and been pleased with the results. So the bottom line, if you want live plants don't go here, you will wait an eternity and they will probably die. However, if all you want are seeds, then go right ahead and take advantage of their vouchers!
On Jan 2, 2013, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your feedback. I apologize for the problems you had with your plants. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of these issues for you."
We have used Gurney's for over 15 years. When my son and I saw the $100.00 off any order of $200.00 on their spring 2013 catalog that just came we were excited. Once we started looking at the prices our attitudes changed fast. Most items in this catalog are double what they would normally be. Why? Do they really think people don't notice? Do they think their catalog is the only one I get in the mail? What has happened to Gurney's? You used to be one of the best out there.
On Dec 26, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
In spring of 2011 I ordered two YELLOW trumpet vines from Gurneys.
After training, fertilizing and pruning them onto our new pergola they bloomed this year!
Both vines are blooming in PEACH blossoms - NEITHER are YELLOW.
I emailed Gurneys after the first started blooming the wrong color and they promptly issued a credit. I assume they will for the second as well. I received a credit because they were out of stock of 'yellow'.
While searching online for actual YELLOW trumpet vines I ran across some photos of yellow trumpet vines, and red trumpet vines. Some Gurneys and some Michigan Bulb Company. Surprisingly - the photos were the exact same photos with only the color of the blooms altered via digital editing. The photos were not of actual vines, they were digital fabrications of the colors and blooms.
No wonder the vines I received were not true to color - neither were the photographs.
I understand enhancing a photo to accentuate the product, improve lighting and contrast, and just make it look good. But, to completely alter the color is flat out fraud.
I'm very disappointing in having wasted time and effort in a product which was truly not representative of Gurney's photographs. After all, how can their product compete with a fabrication.
On Aug 5, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We apologize and we have brought this to the attention of our web department and they assure us that this was not intended to mislead our customers in any way and they are working very diligently to fix this error. Please know that we are continuously updating our website and replacing old photography, that may have existed with the previous owners, with newer and accurate images. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you, and we ask that you consider giving us one more opportunity to provide you with world class service. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information so we can reship the Yellow Trumpet Vines to you."
On Jul 14, 2012, countrysweet16 Mill Plain, WA wrote:
A few years ago I found out I have a major green thumb like the rest of my family has for many generations. I also found it has made a huge impact on making my depression less visible, or go away. So I decided to take a chance buying plants online instead of in my local store so I could possible get better deals....well I did....but it went south.
I made multiple orders through Gurney's this year, when I should have just made 1 big order and saved the shipping and made it less confusing to remember which plants died for what order. I ordered: dwarf lemon, dwarf lime, dwarf orange, everbearing strawberry(25 bulb count), canby raspberry, anne raspberry, apache blackberry, dwarf northblue blueberry, dwarf northsky blueberry, triple crown blackberry, black hawk raspberry, and a thornless boysenberry(which hasnt shipped yet).
The citrus tree's were the first order and looked great when I received them. I planted them and they did great for a while then the orange tree died so I was sent a replacement, which is doing great still. The lemon and lime started to lose their leaves so I wrote to gurneys and got advice, it seemed to work at first but they both eventually died. I was sent a replacement certificate for them but I dont know how to use the certificates.
Then the other orders just did not work out at all. All my items looked amazing when opening the boxes and planting them. Shortly after I planted the northblue blueberry it sprouted like crazy...then died out of no where(I got a refund for this one.) The canby raspberry and triple crown blackberry also looked like they were doing good then died, I got replacement certificates for both of them.
Shortly after planting the 25 strawberry bulbs they all died and got moldy. I asked for a refund considering I couldnt even keep 1 of the 25 alive but yet my store bought strawberry plants are doing great....they are sending replacement bulbs instead next year.
I still havent written to them that the other blueberry bush is doing the exact same thing the last one was before it turned into a brown useless stick. I have helped my friends plant blueberry bushes so I have no idea how both mine went green full of leaves to all the leaves turning brown within a few days and then the whole plant dies.
I have tested the soils and made sure I have done everything right and have yet to figure out what I did wrong to all the plants. I have bought many plants at my local stores and farmers and have never had this type of problem before(killing plants), I figure it has to do with their end because I have a greenhouse filled with all kinds of hard to grow plants that I have yet to even have a problem with. I figured when I wrote to them about the multiple plants dieing they would just send replacements but instead I got certificates which I didnt want. I just want plants that live, grow, and can stay alive after they start growing. It would be nice to buy more plants from them down the road(I love to give them as gifts) but I need the current ones to survive like all my other plants to trust that the next ones will live. I dont have the kind of money to keep wasting on paying for shipping everytime a plant dies and they just send me the replacement money for the plant instead of a replacement plant.
I would love to give them positive feedback but as it stands their plants seem to do well within the first few weeks then die. Out of all 11 plants I have received only 3 have stayed alive with no problems(yet), and 1 that was replaced which seems to be doing well. Would be nice to have trust in them to make more orders in the furture for myself and for friends.
On Jul 14, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We apologize for the problems you had with your plants. We do offer a lifetime guarantee on any of your plants. The replacement certificates can be used on any order. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information to further assist you."
On Jun 9, 2012, EarthWarrior Lemmon Valley-Golden Valley, NV wrote:
Well I called Gurney's customer service today to tell them that the Pink Pampass Grass I bought for my mom died. It wasnt really a surprise because it didnt look like it was doing that well when it was shipped anyway. They said they could give me store credit and I accepted because I couldnt understand the man because hes probably from freaking India or something! He was nice but his accent was so strong I had to say "what" on several occasions.Then after I hung up, I thought what did I say yes to? I dont want store credit!, I want a new freakin pink pampass grass plant!! This is just irritating! My mom is sad because I got her that plant for Mothers Day and it didnt even survive shipment.
On Jun 9, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for posting and we apologize for the problem with your plants. We would be happy to reship them. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information."
On May 30, 2012, RockWhispererOK Bartlesville, OK wrote:
Posted on June 18, 2011, updated May 30, 2012
I have been trying to be open-minded about Gurney's service.
Last year I submitted an order for two bundles of white Candy onions and two of red. When the order came, the count in one of the bundles of the white was only about half what it should've been, due to the fact that they were larger. For one thing, I'd like to see more uniform sizes in a bundle of onions. The teeny tiny ones don't get very big and have to be saved over for the following year, and the big ones tend to bolt unless I hold them till all danger of frost has passed. So both end up being a little more trouble to get them to produce a decent onion. But I realize I could direct that complaint to most any seller of onion plants, unfortunately. I e-mailed Gurney's Customer Service and asked them for additional white onion plants because of the short count. Instead, they completely duplicated my order. By then, all my gardening friends had theirs planted and I just hated to throw all those onion plants away. So I planted them in every raised bed I had, and along the edges of the front flower garden, and the tiny ones went into flower pots. There were some things that I planned to grow that spring and didn't because I didn't have room.
So this spring, because I still had lots of chopped onions in the freezer, I ordered only two bunches of just the white Candy onions, thinking that would give me enough for fresh use through summer and fall, and some to share with friends and neighbors, as I always do. They sent three bunches and again, I was hard-pressed to find places for them all, since we had moved and I didn't have all my beds developed yet.
Yeah, I realize these things happen and since I had the choice of throwing what I couldn't use away, I thought it was better to get too much than too few.
I subscribed to get notices of sales and I found myself getting notices at least once a week, which got to be a little annoying after awhile. Most of them I didn't take advantage of because it isn't worth it to me to pay the shipping charges on just one or two little items since I can get things on sale locally. But the most recent one I took advantage of offered Stella cherry trees and Olympic pear trees for a pretty good price. There were also Josee everbearing lilac bushes. So I ordered two of each. I got the lilac bushes right away. They are small but doing ok.
The pear and cherry trees did not arrive. I had about decided, since it was already so hot here, that they would send them in the fall. So I didn't think anything of it until I got a postcard in the mail saying the pear trees were not available. Yes, they credited my credit card. When I went to check my order status I found that the cherry trees had been cancelled as well.
At this point I e-mailed Customer Service and told them that I would not be ordering from them from now on. These sales that they offer are only good for a certain period of time and I did order within the window. If the item is out of stock the computer can be set up to reject the order when it is placed, or just plain not have an "order now" button at all. Since the website accepted my order it just seems like it ought to be honored.
Barring that, I would have appreciated that if 2/3 of the order (and more than that if you're going by $$) cannot be fulfilled, they might e-mail me of this predicament and give me the option of cancelling the entire order.
At the very least, I would have liked to have received this information in an e-mail, which they do use to confirm my order and to tell me that the order has been shipped. Instead I get this CARD IN THE MAIL about the pear trees and no notification at all, at least not yet, about the cherry trees.
I received an apologetic reply to my e-mail and the representative added that a $10 coupon would be mailed to me because of my inconvenience. Except that I won't be using it because I believe I did say that I'm not going to be ordering from them any more.
The next day I got e-mail notification of yet another big sale, and I unsubscribed. I don't have time to make out orders for plants that they don't even have. Walking away now.
On May 30th, 2012, RockWhispererOK added the following:
This is an update, since I posted a new complaint and it was never logged in, I guess this is how I have to do it.
Last year, I said then that I was done with Gurney's because of the previously documented issues. But I yielded to the temptation when I found out I could use their $10 coupon WITH their $25 off promotion when the order comes to $50. NEVER AGAIN.
On 3-25-12, I ordered a Sea Buckthorn, two Hansen's Bush Cherry and a Red Lake Currant. The order came to $50.96. With $25 off, and my $10 credit, the order came to $15.96, but then there was shipping, which bumped the cost of the order up to $27.91. I ordered online at their website because their website has the capability of preventing orders from being placed on items that are out of stock.
On 3-27-12, I get an e-mail from Customer Service saying there was a problem with my credit card and I needed to call them and give them a different credit card number. I responded that I was having no troubles having my credit card honored and that, this being a last ditch effort on my part to convince myself to continue ordering from them, just cancel the order. I only use one credit card. They have no 800 number and I'm not paying long-distance charges to call them.
Then I get a reply stating that my order was reviewed and the credit went through. So I don't know what happened there. And no mention of when my order will be shipped. It doesn't arrive for three weeks. The Sea Buckthorn is not in the package. The shipping statement says, "Shipped Separately". I wait another week. I go to the website and look at the order there. It says simply, "Not Shipped". The Red Lake Currant plants were laying inside the box OUTSIDE the plastic and the roots were dried out. The Hansen's Bush Cherry had come out of dormancy and was budded out with fragile, almost white, leaves. Fortunately, we were having some cool, rainy weather and it adapted, with a little additional protection, after being planted immediately. So I send an e-mail to report the Red Lake Currants, which did not show any signs of life a week after being planted, and ask if I'm going to receive the Sea Buckthorn or not. They reply that it will be shipped between May 6 and May 27, and that they have sent me a credit slip for the Red Lake Currant since it is now out of stock and therefore they cannot reship. I respond that I don't want a credit slip, that I want a refund check that I can cash at the bank or a substitution of Manchurian Bush Apricot, which comes out at the same price as the two orders of Red Lake Currant. They respond they are out of stock for that. I respond that I will take an Aronia bush, then, which is priced a little lower, but that I would be willing to call it even with that. I say to ship it WITH the Sea Buckthorn. They say they can do that. Then on May 5, I get a package containing ONLY the Aronia plant. And I get a replacement credit certificate in the amount of $17.43, the price of the two Red Lake Currant plants, in the mail. I look at my credit card transactions and they put through a refund of $2.44, the difference between the price of the Aronia and the price of the Red Lake Currants, on 4-25. Something I didn't ask them to do, but I guess they were trying to go the extra mile. So I email them. I tell them about the replacement credit certificate and how I don't understand why they sent that, as I requested a substitution. I mentioned that the Sea Buckthorn was again not in the package. They respond that they used the $17.43 credit for the Aronia, and put through a refund on my credit card for the difference of $2.44. They tell me the Sea Buckthorn would be shipped between May 20-24. I e-mail back that I am not comfortable with them putting transactions on my credit card without my knowledge or approval and to please not do that again. I tell them May 20-24 is really too late for spring planting in Oklahoma, so just cancel that order and send me a refund. Not a credit slip, a refund. By now I'm so confused I don't know where I'm at, and I'm totally annoyed. They respond that they have put through a refund of $8.04 ON MY CREDIT CARD (@@%$#&*^%#^*&!!) and issued me a credit slip in the amount of $10.00, good on my next order. Geeze, if they were going to put the refund on my credit card anyway, why not do the entire amount and not bother with the credit slip? Oh, I guess I know why. I respond that I'm never ordering from them again, something I have, by now, already told them a couple of times, so I can't use a credit slip, and I asked for a refund CHECK to be SENT to me. I reminded them that I had told them to put no further transactions on my credit card and they did it anyway. A supervisor responds to me that they have been very busy trying to fulfill orders but that this has been done. On May 14 I get the credit slip in the mail, which I throw away, thinking the check will follow. Then, today, on reviewing my credit card activity, I see the refund of $8.04 on 5-8 and then, on 5-10, a refund of $17.43. *Sigh*.
Now that all the dust has settled, I total up all the credit card refunds and I end up getting the entire cost of the order refunded to me. I hope I don't get a check for $10 in the mail now because that will have me making a profit on this order. I ought to be happy about my free Aronia and Hansen's Bush Cherry plants. But I'm annoyed. If it isn't already obvious, here's why:
I ordered on their website, which is supposed to not have an "order" button to click on when the item is out of stock. Yet it's quite obvious the Sea Buckthorn was out of stock. They took the money for the order out of my credit card nearly a month before they sent anything. They should wait until they ship, and if it's a partial shipment, only draw the money for what's being sent. They have your e-mail address. They should e-mail you when they ship. They should e-mail you when something's going to be back-ordered or when it's out of stock, and ask you what you'd like to do: substitute something? refund? credit slip?. Other places do. If you ask for a check, they should send you a check and not a credit slip and not put the refund on your credit card, especially when they tell you they've done as you asked.
Clearly they are understaffed. Good customer service is impossible in their current situation. Apologizing and saying, "we try but occasionally we stumble" just falls flat with me when there is a problem with EVERY ORDER I PLACE. Maybe later I'll be happy with my free plants. Right now I just feel like I earned every penny of their value. On May 30, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We apologize we did not have all of your items available for shipping. We will pass on your suggestion about emailing our customers if items are not availalbe. A customer service representative will contact your for your account information."
I ordered four plants: two never did anything, one is barely hanging on, and one has made it ( a grass ). They arrived in poor shape which could be delivery time, but all were very small to be able to reach the sizes stated in the catalog or internet. I have pictures and am going to contact them, because they emphasize100% satisfaction. But how do you reach them other than email which hasn't worked many reviews state. I will try calling and later report how that works.
On May 27, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting. We would be happy to help. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and take care of this for you."
Posted on April 6, 2012, updated May 27, 2012
Gurney's offers great coupons in the spring, which is the only reason I order from them. I've ordered several years in a row, hundreds of dollars of plants and trees. Unfortunately, their quality is deteriorating. They shipped me a baby peach tree this spring that was literally a dead stick, and were supposed to reship me an Asian pear that died last year, but did not. When I called about the pear, they had no record of the order, and the CSR couldn't find my order or the item number of the tree. I had to go onto Gurney's website, while I was on the phone with the CSR, log in, pull up my own order records, and find the information for the guy.
The reason I'm not giving them a negative review is that they are going to re-ship the peach and pear trees for free. But I am not going to order from them any more. After seeing the quality that Stark Bros. ships for the same price, I'm not going to buy the low quality trees again. I guess I've learned a lesson, and that I get what I pay for.
On May 27th, 2012, GardenRiot changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
My experience with Gurney's this year has been so poor that I wonder if it's changed management. The replacement Contender peach that they sent me is skinnier than a pencil, out of 100 strawberry plants that I set (two different varieties) only 60 are growing, out of 10 asparagus plants two came up, and one variety of sweet potatoes came to me so dehydrated that they never perked up, not even when I put one shoot in a vase of water in the house (no sun stress). I also order from other companies and buy locally, so it's not my gardening technique--my other strawberries are looking great, my other asparagus came up 100%, my other sweet potatoes I only lost one plant out of 50. I will never, ever buy from this company again--even if they replace the plants, I've lost a year on my asparagus, the peach is so tiny it won't bear for five or more years, and I can't replace the strawberries until next spring. Gurney's has really set my garden back. Take a look at their feedback--more neutral and negative than positive. This isn't just a few disgruntled customers, this seems to be pervasive. On May 27, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for sharing your experience with our company. We apologize for the problems you had but happy to see it is being taken care of. Please consider giving us one more chance to offer you our World Class customer service."
On May 23, 2012, plantgnome1 nowhere land, NY (Zone 6b) wrote:
Posted on May 20, 2012, updated May 23, 2012
Posted on October 8, 2011, updated May 20, 2012
I had purchased a dwarf meyers lemon and a lime tree in June and have contacted them three times in the past two months looking for a shipping date. The first answer I got was the usual "the correct shipping time for your planting zone" My second request has gone unanswered and today I sent a third request. As the account number for Guerneys is the same as for both michigan bulb and springhill nursery I know they are affiliated. Hence the lack of customer service and the stupid answer about proper shipping for zone. Well it is now mid october and since these trees (i am sure they will be seedlings) will be overwintered in my house, I would like to receive my order. I can't tell you how tired of the BS answers i get with these companies. This will be the last order I place with Guerneys. I have received every order from the reputable companies all ready. I am sure these reputable companies know what the proper shipping time for my zone is. Evidently guerneys, michigan bulb and springhill choose to ship whenever they feel like. Awful customer service and will probably ship me near dead trees using the slowest shipping methods available. Don't bother with Guerneys-purchase your plants with your hard earned money from one of the top rated companies where you can chose your shipping date.
On May 20th, 2012, plantgnome1 added the following:
I received my sticks ( dwarf meyer lemon & Key lime) plants on October 13 and immediately repotted into a decent sized pot. The lemon tree was about a foot tall or a little less -no branches and a few leaves. The lime looked a little better at least it had branches and more than a few leaves. I put them under grow lights for the required amount of time a day. They did grow a bit. I put them outside when the weather got warm enough. The lime looks pretty good a bit fuller and taller-no flowers or fruit. The lemon is still 1 stick which just keeps getting taller and growing leaves-one little nub of a possible branch. These were seedlings in my honest opinion. I don't expect flowers or fruit for at least another year. I think the good reviews on their website are put there by their employees. Their website should tell you when to expect flowers and fruit, not make it sound like you'll get a bushel full of fruit the first season you plant them. Should have purchased older plants elsewhere.On May 23rd, 2012, plantgnome1 added the following:
After emailing these people for for information on what they shipped me. I finally got the following:
Thank you for your email. Our dwarf citrus trees lemon, lime, fig, and orange are not grafted. We produce these plants from cuttings; therefore, they are on their own roots.
And this info is not on their website description of this plant. Then they decided to add (only in their email to me) THREE years before bearing fruit. They tried to make it look like it was on their web but its not. I am now waiting to here the age of the twigs they sent me. On May 23, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting, we appreciate your feedback to improve our services to our customers. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information and check into the delivery of your order.
On May 21, 2012 11:35 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added:
I apologize for the inconvenience. Starter plants, as opposed to larger plants, do the best when being shipped across the country. Large plants are also more likely to suffer from transplant shock. Grown under carefully controlled conditions, Gurneys starter plants do not suffer from transplant shock, are easy to plant and reward you with amazing growth. Within 2 yrs, your starter indoor fruit trees should be the size of the larger plants you may purchase locally. In addition, most local nurseries do not offer a lifetime guarantee"
Among a number of other items, I ordered a packet of Scallop Hybrid Mix Summer Squash from Gurneys. I started the seed early inside and planted 9 of these in my garden. Now I have 8 Zucchini and one Pattypan... I sent a note in to the service department and received no answer. Several weeks ago I did a review on the product and never heard back from them AND the review was never posted. I am posting a negative review per day until they either publish or spank my hands. A week ago, I started responding to every sales email sent to me by Gurneys with a request for help on the item. I did get a "standard reply" from Eddy, but nothing meaningful.
On May 22, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for posting. We apologize for the problems you had and we would be happy to help. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information."
flush your money down the commode, and beat your head against the wall. Easier than trying to deal with "Customer Service". Placed on on-line order, site would not accept the coupon for free shipping. So, I e-mailed customer service, received response from "Larry" and "Dave", as well as "Susan" telling me I'd left stuff in my basket. Susan sent me another coupon - used it, and 50% off prices became full price. Called company twice, long distance, hung up due to extended wait times. Called AGAIN, "Customer Service" can take orders, and transfer you to an "immediately available" supervisor - who takes 5 minutes to answer your call, doesn't understand WHY you are frustrated, and hangs up on you. Guess what, Gurney's. Keep your plants, and your coupons, and your Customer Service. I'll pay more to shop elsewhere. I didn't unsubscribe; I just blocked your emails. Catalogs? I recycle at the dump - won't even open them anymore. Do yourself a favor, shop elsewhere.
On May 22, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate you taking the time to post. We apologize for the problems you had trying to use your coupon and our service. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information so we can work on getting this corrected. "
On May 21, 2012, June_Mo Carrollton, MO (Zone 5b) wrote:
After months of clicking the unsubscribe link in emails, I've been unable to unsubscribe. I finally set it to go into the spam folder, and I see it's still coming.
On May 21, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your post. We apologize the un-subscribe did not work. One of our customer service representative will contact you for your account information and have this taken care of."
On May 4, 2012, Nell495 Manassas, VA (Zone 6b) wrote:
The first plant arrived totally dead. I emailed the problem and got a response within a day or two. They said they would send me another. The second shipment arrived and the plant was alive, but full of bugs. I made the mistake of opening the package near my houseplants. Now my houseplants are full of bugs. Sheesh.
Seriously, stay away from Gurney's!
On May 4, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting. We apologize for the problem with the plants. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information.
"
I had a decent experience last year ordering seeds, so this year placed an order for both seeds and plants -- a collection of three tomato plants and rhubarb.
The tomato plants arrived in April, even though it was 40 degrees and there were still frost warnings for the Chicago area -- so I have to try to keep them alive and healthy indoors for over a month -- not something I'm really that good at. And to top it off, I paid $12.99 for three of the mangiest, puny tomato plants I have ever seen. I wouldn't buy them at Home Depot for $1. I feel ripped off.
I called the customer service line and was offered no satisfaction. In fact, when I told the customer service person that I was disappointed and would rethink ordering from Gurney's in the future, she said "That's fine" and hung up.
On May 4, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting. We apologize for the problem with the plants and for the agent. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information this way we can reship to you."
Gurney's Seed & Nursery is the worst mail order company I've ever dealt with. If I could give it a worse that negative rating I would. It took the plants 10 months from the order date to arrive. All plants arrived wilted, dead or moldy. Had replacement certificates issued. The customer rep told me that there was no shipping charge for replacements. I tried to order new plants and was told that the rep "lied" and ALL plants were charged shipping even if the original plants arrived dead. Company would not honor the replacement guarantee. I told the guy that I expected them to honor what the rep told me regarding shipping, they refused. Next stop-Better Business Bureau where there are TONS of complaints about this company. I'll be adding one more!! BUYER BEWARE-DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY OR ANY OF IT'S AFFILIATES. It goes under many names including Gurney's, Spring Hill Nurseries, Henry Fields, The Garden Store, The Michigan Bulb Company, Breck's Bulbs, Audubon Workshop, Flower of the Month Club, and Gardens Alive--all companies are held under the umbrella company of Scarlet Tanager LLC.
On May 2, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We apologize that the agent did not honor what was agreed upon and for all of the inconvenience. A customer service representative will contact you for you account information and take care of this for you."
Don't get on their e-mail list--I couldn't get off of it. Finally called and talked (?) to their customer service in INDIA who couldn't understand me. I requested to talk to his supervisor who said he would have removed. We'll see.
On Apr 28, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
IWe apologize for the inconvenience. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information and make sure email address had be opted out."
Posted on September 19, 2011, updated April 26, 2012
When I was 10 years old, I used to sell Gurney's seeds. We could order a minimum order of 20 large envelopes of garden seeds to sell to our neighbors and I was able to make enough money to go to the fair. That was 54 years ago, and since then I've always looked forward to getting the seed catalog in the mail. I have ordered many seeds and orchard trees from Gurney's over the years, and I was always pleased with the quality and timing of orders. I have many apple, pear, cherry, peach, and apricot trees from them. I usually get my sweet potatoe plants sent as well, and they arrive in a timely way. They look a bit shabby when they get here, but a day or two in water, and they spring back and can be planted.
More recently, I have had some difficulty trying to buy a Sugar Pearl Apricot. The first year I ordered it, I sent the order in March. I got conformation for the order, and then later was told that they were out of stock, and I was refunded.
The next year, I sent the order in the day after I got the catalog in December. Again, I got a conformation notice in the mail, but later was informed by mail that they were out of stock, and I got refunded again.
Year #3, I sent the order in early again, and the same thing happened as in year one and two. I was so disapointed that I called a service rep, and shared my disapointment. (Since on the cover of the newest catalog sent were Sugar Pearls on sale) The guy from Gurneys was polite, and told me that they were out of stock, and that the catalogs are published long in advance. He said he was sorry for my disappointment, and would send a $5 gift card, which he did. I wasn't able to use it, as it expired long before the next growing season. Later a funny thing happened, I received an empty box from Gurneys. It was the size of the box the tree would have been shipped in. It had all the paper things that come with a tree, but no tree, and a notice that my tree was out of stock! How cost effictive was that? (I learned that Henry Fields and Gurneys are one and the same company.)
Year #4 Against my better judgement, I sent in my order early for the sugar pearl apricot, (I really wanted it!) And Guess what? I got it, along with another plum tree to replace the one that died. I didn't really know about life time guarantee, but I didn't care about that. The Sugar Pearl was very crooked, and mis-shaped, but it has started growing and with some bracing, I'm getting it straitened out.
Now I'm in year # 2 trying to get a TruGold peach tree. Next year will be #3. I do hope I get it while I'm still young enough to care for it and see it produce.
Advice to Gurneys: I think your sales deparment is doing such a great job marketing your products, that your production department can't keep up. It seems that better internal communication between sales and production needs to occur. You can't make money of you don't have the product to sell. I do understand with plants sometimes you have crop failures. But when you market a product as the best thing since sliced bread, and then can't deliver, it makes for very bad customer relations. Just my opinion. I will update this saga next year.
On April 26th, 2012, tveguy changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
Well, after the original posting, I did recieve a reply from customer service on Sept. 25th. They asked me for my order number etc. I responded with their requested information, and I told them that I had been refunded, so they didn't owe me anything at the time. I have yet to get a responce to that e-mail. Then I sent in an order early this spring for some seeds and of course, the Tru Gold peach. I received intermitant e-mails telling me the status of my order, and I remember thinking, well, at least they're communicating. On april 24th I recieved an "out of stock" e-mail. I've copy and pasted it below:
Janesville, WI% %$bill_zip$ship_name$ship_addr1$ship_addr2$ship_city$ship_st$ship_zip$order_item_no$order_item_descforeach "ord_item_count" article "ordered"if brand_num = "1" then includearticle "gasurvey"if brand_num = "2" then includearticle "awsurvey"if brand_num = "4" then includearticle "shsurvey"if brand_num = "5" then includearticle "gusurvey"if brand_num = "6" then includearticle "hfsurvey"if brand_num = "7" then includearticle "brsurvey"if brand_num = "8" then includearticle "mbsurvey"if brand_num = "1" then includearticle "gafooter"if brand_num = "2" then includearticle "awfooter"if brand_num = "4" then includearticle "shfooter"if brand_num = "5" then includearticle "gufooter"if brand_num = "6" then includearticle "hffooter"if brand_num = "7" then includearticle "brfooter"if brand_num = "8" then includearticle "mbfooter"if brand_num = "9" then includearticle "bpfooter"if brand_num = "10" then includearticle "pgfooter"if brand_num = "12" then includearticle "bcfooter"if brand_num = "14" then includearticle "sgfooter"if brand_num = "15" then includearticle "hcfooter"if brand_num = "16" then includearticle "pcfooter"if brand_num = "17" then includearticle "atfooter"if brand_num = "18" then includearticle "iocfooter"if brand_num = "19" then includearticle "spfooter"if brand_num = "21" then includearticle "tsfooter"if brand_num = "24" then includearticle "tmfooter"if brand_num = "25" then includearticle "tcfooter"if brand_num = "29" then includearticle "rshfooter"$brand_cs_phone.
I replied to their e-mail asking them what this was all about, and today, I recieved another e-mail telling me that the tru-gold peach was once again out of stock. This make it 3 years now and still no tree. I think I have figured out the scam! They get to use my money interest free for 6 to 10 months, then send it back, Just think how much money they can use this way interest free! What a scam. I'm seriously considering reporting this to the state's attourney gerneral as a scam. Has anyone out there who has ordered this tree gotten one? I'm sure that they need to send out a few just to keep it from looking like the scam it is. I am finished with Gurneys!On Apr 26, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for your posting. We apologize for the problems you have had trying to get the Tru Gold Peach. I will have a customer service representative contact you for your account information and check on the peach tree for you.
Thank you for your post. We checked into this for you and it looks like we had a near total crop failure this year. One of our representatives will contact you for your account information so we can work on sending you one this fall."
Posted on April 26, 2012, updated April 26, 2012
Posted on April 19, 2012, updated April 26, 2012
Posted on April 9, 2012, updated April 19, 2012
I ordered 16 plants and 30+ packets of seeds from Gurney's online in January 2012 after receiving a catalog in the mail with a 50% off coupon attached.
The good:
I am very happy with with the seeds I purchased. All have grown quickly and and have had consistently higher germination rates than the packet indicated.
On the few occasions I have contacted customer service, I have received prompt, professional, and helpful responses. I was especially happy to see that after reporting a problem with the "Check order status" feature on the website, it was fixed soon afterwards.
Most -- about 3/4ths -- of the plants I have received so far have ranged in condition from acceptable to excellent. (I have not yet received two plants I've ordered; one is a tropical that was recently shipped and the other is backordered.) Some that arrived looking quite pathetic (due to severe pruning) have turned out to be viable and vigorous. This is especially true with the dormant raspberry plants I received, all of which were 6" to 12" twigs on arrival but have grown rapidly.
The bad:
Customers have no control over the timing of shipping, although we're assured that plants will be shipped "at the appropriate planting time". The vast majority of my plants arrived at the beginning of March. Technically, I'm in zone 6b, but I live in a remote area on top of a mountain and no one in their right mind here plants anything outside before May 1st. We have frequent frosts in March and early April, usually including at least one hard freeze. I was forced to bring almost a dozen huge pots indoors when we experienced a hard freeze and I had to keep them inside -- taking up a huge amount of room -- until the cold weather had passed. They're back outdoors now but chances are they'lll have to come back in at least once.
When Gurney's says that it has shipped something via UPS Ground, they actually shipped it through the inexpensive UPS "Basic" service where the package is turned over to the post office and the mailman delivers it. This adds at least a day to shipment time because the post office does not deliver these packages until the following business day. It's also highly inconvenient in my case because my mailbox is roughly a mile away from my house and the post office does not deliver packages at all -- I have to pick them up from the post office the next day, adding another day to shipping time. Mostly this bothers me because the statement that most packages were shipped by UPS was a deciding factor in ordering from Gurney's (UPS delivers to my door).
Gurney's doesn't provide as much information about their plants and seeds as I would like to see. For example, they do not state the species of the passion flower they sell and some of the reviews at their website indicate that produces flowers of a different color than those pictured. There is also no indication of what root stock their fruit trees are grafted to.
The ugly:
Earlier I said that about 75% of the plants I received were in acceptable or better condition. The other 25%, well...
A passion flower vine I ordered was shipped in a "bio pot" inside of a cardboard tube. This plant was obviously DOA and had extensive damage despite the outer packaging being in good condition. Whoever packed this particular plant would have had to have been aware of its condition. The biopot was ripped nearly all the way through in two locations and the plant's main stem was broken (inside the intact cardboard tube). As a result, most of the potting soil had spilled out into the main cardboard box, the roots and remaining soil were completely dry and the plant was clearly deceased.
I requested a replacement for this plant and a $0.00 order for a new one was created almost immediately. It hasn't shipped yet but I'm confident that I will receive the replacement.
Unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to request replacements for at least three more plants. I just hope that Gurney's will honor their replacement policy on these and that the replacements will be problem-free.
One of the two maypop (passiflora incarnata) plants I received was in excellent condition when it arrived and has thrived. The other appeared very sickly, with only a few leaves attached, all of which had a "moth-eaten" appearance. Despite considerable TLC, this plant died after about two weeks.
One blueberry plant -- a dwarf Tophat -- appeared to be in reasonably good condition on arrival but rapidly died back and is now deceased after roughly two weeks. The other blueberry plants are doing great.
Of the two grapevines I purchased, one (the seedless Glenora) is thriving and gorgeous. The other, a seedless Concord vine, appears to be diseased or of extremely poor genetic stock. The main stem/trunk is non-viable, the shoots are stunted and thhe leaves are very small, cupped, pale (chlorotic), and dry at the edges.
Suggestions (since Gurney's staff seems to read these reviews):
Please consider offering your customers more control over shipping times and methods. It would be extremely helpful if customers could choose a preferred two-week shipping window (e.g., first half of March, second half of March, first half of April, second half of April, and so on) within your usual shipping schedule. It would also be great if you offered more shipping options, such as allowing customers to pay a bit more to get UPS or FedEx home delivery.
Please provide more information on the plants that you sell. There are numerous passiflora species, but the one you sell as "passion flower" does not indicate which species it is. Nor do your fruit trees indicate the root stock they're grafted to, and in some cases you sell mixed seed packets without specifying the cultivars that are included.
Please implement improved quality control measures. Even in my relatively small order of 16 plants, there has been a huge amount of variation in the condition and packing methods used for the plants I've ordered. Some bareroot stock was shipped out basically dumped into a box with the roots of multiple plants tangled together and only a scant amount of damp shredded paper. Others were clearly packed with great care, wrapped in several layers of cellophane to protect the roots and prevent the damp wood shavings from drying out. Some berry plants were stripped of thorns before shipping; others were not. Some plants were shipped dormant while others (of the same type) were shipped blooming.
On April 19th, 2012, isande changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:
I am changing my rating to negative at this time.
I contacted Gurney's via their website email form to request refunds for five plants. I have used the same method to contact Gurney's several times and have always received a prompt reply. This time they have not responded at all after more than a week (possibly more than two weeks).
Yes, I said before that Gurney's customer service is outstanding.... and it is, in my experience, at least until you expect them to stand by their guarantee and provide a refund for dead/defective plants.
I ordered 16 plants.
1 was backordered and has not yet arrived.
2 arrived dead.
4 arrived with severe problems and have failed to recover.
5 arrived with mild - moderate problems and will probably survive but will never be as large, healthy, or productive as the plants I got elsewhere.
4 arrived in good condition and are healthy and thriving.
I doubt I will actually receive a refund. This has been an expensive reminder of why checking reviews before ordering from any vendor is so important.On April 26th, 2012, isande added the following:
Surprise, surprise. I received a D-Mail from a customer service representative offering replacements, refunds, or credit. Of course I requested refunds for the five totally unacceptable plants... and then received a response that she would ship replacements (but only four of five were on her list). Two would ship this month, one in September and one next year.
When I replied and once again stated I had requested REFUNDS and did not want more sickly or dead plants... no response. This is exactly what happened the previous time I contacted them and this is the very reason I changed my review from neutral to negative.
ATTENTION GURNEY'S: I've already replaced the plants with healthy ones purchased elsewhere. I want the REFUND I was promised. I don't want more plants, especially not months or years from now. I want my MONEY BACK -- as your guarantee promises -- and I'll pursue whatever avenues I have to -- starting with the BBB -- until I get it.On April 26th, 2012, isande added the following:
The customer service representative came through with an apology and says that I will receive a refund. The amount she quoted appears correct, so I'm hopeful. I'll update this review once I receive it.On Apr 26, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you we appreciate you posting your experience with our company. We do offer the lifetime guarantee and anything that does not do well or that you are not satisfied with we will be happy to refund, reship or send a replacement certificate.
We will be happy to refund you or send you replacements whichever you prefer. Our customer service representative will contact you for your account information."
Last year I purchased three twigs which were meant to be a Fragrant Abelia, an Azalea and Butterfly Bush. All these shrubs looked stunted and unhealthy but I decided to give it a try. It wouldn't be the first time a runt has thrived in my garden. They were three inches at the time and now two are roughly 6 inches save the Abelia which is still around 3 inches but happily growing green leaves. I guess that's what you call progress. Anyway they are all odd shaped and barely hanging on to dear life. I have already replaced the Azalea with a hydrangea from White Flower Farm (the Azalea is in a hospice pot) and will replace the BB (also destined for the hospice pot) but will leave the Azalea just for fun to see if its robust enough to grow another inch this year. Just kidding, I'll replace the Azalea as well at some point. I will never purchase anything from this company again. There are too many other nurseries offering healthy robust plants.
I've been buying Gurneys since I was a kid. 35 years ago, they were pretty good, they really suck now though.
They have nice varieties, and really stay on top of that, which is nice. Their catalog is nice. They have nice discounts, although their list prices are so high it brings them down to reasonable. The bad part is, their trees are ALWAYS horrible. They are always seriously defective in one way or another. Normally, they are growing at some bizarre angle that is nearly impossible to correct. You will not get a good tree from them; it's just which shade of suck you're going to get.
On the other hand, some of their varieties are really good, and you can always kill the tree, and graft the scion wood on something else, or bud it on some root stocks.
On Apr 3, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate your feedback and we apologize that the tree you received was defective. One of our customer service representatives will contact you for your account information and reship a new tree to you."
Well where do I start? Gurneys in the past has been a great company to order from but a couple days ago I received my live plants from them, one a arctic beauty male kiwi and a gooseberry bush. Now I understand economically things are tough in the U.S. and I'm a firm believer that quality and volume is the only thing that will hold this country afloat. Today everyone wants to grow their own food and I'm sure nursery and seed companies are gearing up to be busier than ever with the high cost of groceries, but these plants I received were far from fair in their quality for price i paid. I received my 3 inch high hardy kiwi plant in a 1 1/2 inch dried out peat pot. If i saw a 3 inch tall kiwi vine at a nursery with my own eyes with a price tag that said $17, I would walk right past it with a serious laugh! This is what I got and it was so dry the leaves crumbled like dried oregano. My gooseberry plant was 5 inches tall and cost $13, one little twig. I have to say, it was alive though, but still not satisfied! I would rather buy from China if this is the crap we are going to pay for, for some rich guy to sit behind a mail order company desk and give us little cuttings for our dollar! I am really disappointed. Customer service was great though, the lady i spoke with was very friendly and understanding. I should have bigger plants coming and live ones. Hopefully this company will get its quality up to par and start selling plants the real American way with honesty, integrity, and a desire to please customers.
On Mar 30, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank for for letting us know about the problem with your order. We apologize for the problems and we will pass this along to our Quality Control Department. Our Customer Service Department does their best to help our customers. Thank you for the nice compliment. "
On Mar 27, 2012, southerngranny Gruetli-Laager, TN wrote:
Reading all the comments, like one gal stated. Wish I knew of this web-site before I ordered over $200.00 of plants.
Ordering wasn't the problem, it was "out of stock" after the order was placed, money sent. Dealing with Customer Service, not one but at least 5 different reps with different answers to one problem. I requested a swap for 1 product they were out of stock. Same price, plus I already paid shipping, plus customer service stated I needed to send an extra $7.34 for the shipping, which of course like decent person I sent. Now this past week,l I get an invoice with money due. 1st it was for the total amount of the product, now it turns out they want another $3.34 as of yesterday. Yet last week on email I was told this invoice was paid in full!. Go figure! Bogus, scam or just sloppy book-keeping on their part. Certainly hasn't been a good experience for this ole gal. I read somewhere they are customer oriented, will replace product with an upgrade if out of stock? Really? I will not buy any further plants/trees/seeds from this company. I've explained to them, they can send a complete refund plus the shipping, plus the extra $7.34 (They've cashed all my cks) I will send back their plants I graciously swapped . Customer service should reflect the owners, or do they? No more excuses or promises. I've heard them all
On Mar 27, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We apologize for any problem you had with your order and we appreciate you letting us know. A customer service representative will contact you for your acount information and take care of this for you.
"
I bought their 3 dwarf citris plants and the lime tree died. I had no problem with them sending me a replacement...6 months later along with a rose that was on back order. It wouldn't have bothered so much except the fact that the roses were to be "shipped at the proper time for planting". I received 4 at the proper time, but the last one didn't arrive until 2 weeks before Xmas. I live in SLC Utah (ski country) and the proper time for planting is DECEMBER????. The ground is frozen solid!! The rose was not a rose bush. It was no bigger than my dwarf lime tree (about 3 inches tall) and my lime tree died again!! I had no choice but to plant the rose bush in a pot and it has also died. After struggling to keep the lemon alive it has also died. The orange is the only one that has survived. The 4 rose bushes on the original shipment has also survived well, but they were actual bare root bushes, not sticks. It's not a lack of effort or know how. My house looks like a jungle inside because I am very good with plants. The quality of their product is just horrible.
On Mar 8, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
We appreciate you letting us know of the problems you had with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account infomation and see what we can do."
I spent about $245 with this company. I ordered countless seeds for immediate planting. Their website states that seeds ship immediately which is what I was counting on. After 6 days, nothing has shipped. Now I'm told that the "immediate" shipping on seeds is "if they're in stock". My gosh. How dishonest. At the time I placed my order I should have been told what was in stock or not. I will NEVER do business with Gurney's Again. I believe they are conducting shady and probably illegal business practices by charging my card and misrepresenting to me the "immediate" shipping claim. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. ANY COMPANY THAT OFFERS YOU $100 OF ON A $200 ORDER IS UP TO NO GOOD!
On Feb 20, 2012, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting us know about the problem with your order. I apologize for any mis-communication. A customer service representative will contact you for your account information and check on your order for you.
"
Posted on October 11, 2011, updated November 10, 2011
I placed an order in February 2011 for strawberry plants. They arrived within a month, but they were bare roots without any tops on them. I planted them and some of them did grow, but not very well. I watered them religiously all summer, but got no fruit and watched over half the plants slowly die. I thought perhaps it was the heat, but I suspect that some of them were dead when they arrived.
I placed another order in July 20011, for more strawberry plants, two elderberry bushes, and some garlic to plant in the fall. My credit card was charged right away, of course. By early September I hadn't received them so I emailed Gurney's to ask. They sent the standard answer "your order will be shipped at the correct time for planting in your zone". I replied by saying that I wanted the strawberries now, so they could get established before winter. No reply. I wrote again in early October and asked about my order and was told that it would ship in "3 - 5 business days". I replied and told them to cancel the order. They replied that my order couldn't be cancelled because suddenly it had already been shipped.
I logged on my Gurney's account and discovered that the strawberry part of my order had been cancelled and the rest had been mailed. Nobody bothered to tell me the strawberries had been cancelled and now it's too late to order and plant from someplace else.
I haven't received their package yet, but I will refuse shipment when it arrives, and will have AMEX recover my money. I wish I'd known about Dave's Garden before I ordered from Gurney's. Never again!
On November 10th, 2011, Mom_of_Four added the following:
Edited to add new comments. I received email October 12, 2011 from Gurneys here on Dave's Garden, promising me a refund. I got a partial refund (about half) on October 28th, and wrote to ask about the rest of it. The response was: "The remainder of your refund is in the procees of being refunded now. You should receive in the next couple of days."
As of 11/10/11 I haven't received any further refunds, and I am going to let American Express deal with this issue. I've been messing around with this company for FOUR months. Horrible, horrible!On Nov 10, 2011, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:
Thank you for letting us know about the problems with your order. A customer service representative will be contacting you for your account information to take care of this for you.
On Nov 11, 2011 9:09 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery added:
I checked on your refund check and it was mailed out to you on November 4th. Please let us know if you do not receive it."
