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On Jun 22, 2003, PotEmUp Fremont, CA (Zone 9a) wrote:
Prices does count. They are very cheap and the products reflect the price. Stealing cuttings from the park would yield healthier and quicker growing plants. They arrive as twigs, soggy mats, moldy bulbs and thingies so small as to likely not thrive in my lifetime. They will replace plants, but the replacements are no better.
I think I will donate to the garden society next time, and steal a few cuttings.
Also be aware that they operate as House of Wesley, Royal Dutch, Inter-State Nurseries, Burgess Seed & Plant Co., Four Seasons Nursery, Kelly Nurseries, Richard Owen Nursery and Farmer Seed & Nursery. Catalogs galore.
My order, which included a climbing rose, arrived in a plastic bag, like a trash bag, toted cheerfully by the mailman. There was not even a token attempt to protect the rose and the five shoots that it had were all broken off. The liatris rhizomes/bulbs looked healthy enough. The dwarf asters were a joke: three tiny sticks (less than an sixteenth of an inch across, and about half an inch long).
I'll add to this review once the order has had a chance to settle in and grow, if any of them makes it. In the meantime, I would not do business with these people again however inviting their catalogue and however low their prices.
On July 9th, 2003, Madeleine added the following:
Three weeks later, and three of the ten liatris have emerged. The rose is completely moribund, the dwarf asters (aka the matchsticks) have, of course, not done a darn thing. Meanwhile, I've been charged for two lots of bulbs that were not shipped, and the "free gift" didn't arrive. So I essentially paid $25.00 for three liatris...
I don't think I'll bother dealing with their complaint folks, as all they'll do at this stage is send me replacement plants, and history shows that that's almost certainly going be just more useless crud.
Folks, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY OR ANY OF THEIR ASSOCIATED COMPANIES. Might as well just take your dollars, shred them and use them for compost.
i wish i had seen this site before i ordered from this awful, arrogant company in february. unfortunately, i feel like the $130 that i spent was at least half wasted, with little hope of getting a refund. i am trying to get one as i write this, using their twisted requirements, but have little hope of getting anywhere. among other things, i ordered a 5x1 pear tree this spring. they proceeded to process the full amount of money immediately, but not ship out plants(which was correct timing for my area) for at least a month. then, i only received a few, looking pitifully small, and some outright dead. followed instructions for the bareroot ones, and as of now, only half have shown any signs of life. received other shipments much, much later, with some of the plants being in better shape, and some terrible. of course, they made sure they shipped after the 60 day limit so that i had no chargeback rights with my credit card.
but, back to the pear- one of the main reasons i'd ordered from them to begin with. it was not at all what had been advertised. yes, there were 5 very badly done graft/buds- none of which appeared alive. they were dried out, fallen out, gouged or otherwise irretrievably damaged. oh, it was sprouting- all along the trunk stock, which was not labelled. in fact, none of the grafts were labelled, either. any other company i have ever ordered mulitiple grafted trees from grew out the grafts for a while to be sure they were viable, labelled them, and labelled the rootstock(very important). so, following their instructions, i asked for a refund and shipped the tree back on my own dime within 14 days, along with a request for a replacement on an obviously dead rhubarb root and the requested original label. i just(june!!) recieved the replacement rhubarb, which was about the size of a pencil lead, and another 5x1 pear tree; this one appearing completely dead. mind you, i quite clearly asked for a refund. so i called customer service and was told there was nothing they could do, and no, i couldn't speak with a supervisor. the customer service person was nice, but about as helpful as a brick wall. and he even admitted he himself received 1-2 calls a day just like mine. their 'policy' is that you have to write snailmail with your complaint/request, and ship back anything you want a refund of(which i followed to the letter the first time). so, i wrote a letter, again, directly to a supervisor this time. i refuse to reship a dead plant back that i didn't ask for. if i'd known what it was, i would have refused shipment. if they won't follow their rules, i am not going to, either. i have also asked for a refund on the half of the order that never grew or was so pitiful that it rotted. and, yes, i am an experienced gardener and have dealt with many, many reputable companies through the years. this company is the second worst i've ever dealt with, and the other was so cheap that i wrote that experience off.
i have warned them i will report this matter to the bbb if i don't get a satisfactory resolution. sadly, i have no confidence it will be handled any better. i was told that they won't even respond by phone- they will send another letter. forget email. i will certainly repost to update after all is said and done. the prior posts who didn't bother to go through this mess had the right idea. i hate to swallow $65 without a fight, though.
As the attached letter indicates, I have had trouble with DirectGardening. I did some research and found the CEO and additional companies owned by same. I suggest that others avail themselves of this address and complain as I did.
My order arrived last week. As with other postings here, the quality of the plants and bulbs is inferior to others. The so-called free gifts were pathetic, and 25 bulbs weren't even sent despite promised from Customer Service telephone operators (after 6 emails and innumerable attempts to get thru via phone).
A few plants do appear to be strong enough to survive, although it's too soon to know for sure. If they make-it, it might be coincidental that I wrote the CEO a week prior to receiving the order, but I think not.
All I can suggest is that if you use them, complain, complain, complain and let your credit card operator know too.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
May 29, 2003
Richard B. Owen
President & CEO
Owen Nursery and House of Wesley, Inc
1700 Morrissey Dr
Bloomington, IL, 61704-7100
Re: Customer Service
Plantron, Inc.
Direct Gardening
Farmer Seed & Nursery
Four Seasons Nursery
Inter-State Nurseries
Kelly Nurseries
ComeToBuy Inc
Dear Mr. Owen:
I am writing partly out of self-interest. As an avid container and patio gardener, I make ready use of mail order and on-line plant and garden supply companies as a time consuming method of shopping. Your companies reportedly send more than 20 million catalogs annually, and constitute some of the largest merchants in the industry.
Unfortunately, as you undoubtedly know all too well, the reputations of your companies are decidedly poor. In fact, an increasing number of websites warn consumers not to purchase from any of your subsidiaries. In the odd chance that you have not seen some of the comments, I have enclosed some from the Garden Watchdog website –both positive and negative- for your perusal.
Given your numerous interests, your business background as an Illinois Valley Bancorp Director and board member of the Grundy Bank Board, I am sure you realize the importance of quality customer service.
Taking a chance, I recently placed an order via DirectGardening.com [Order 30887408 and Free Offer 1130], I had the displeasure of dealing with Customer Service. Emails took three days to answer, and the replies received were not only inadequate, but unacceptable. The problem I encountered was due to a faulty website and all I had requested was a correction.
When I called your non-toll free telephone line, I had to call numerous times to get through. I was promised a correction, but could not get any confirmation number, etc. that would assure me that the problem had been resolved.
No one at Direct Gardening can confirm when my order will be fulfilled. I do not want to wait months for an order that should ship immediately. Your website does not have the capability to check on orders placed, status, shipping, etc. And your website had inferior plant information.
Mr. Owen, there is no excuse for this. Your various companies could easily dominate a fractured, nascent industry if as much attention is paid to quality control and customer service as to marketing and promotions. Inevitably, if the problems continue, your enterprises will suffer or fall under regulatory scrutiny whereas the alternative is customer satisfaction, repeat and larger sales. The choice is yours.
On June 18th, 2003, Ramnyc added the following:
FOLLOW-UP:
I received my "plants" from Direct Gardening and all I can say is that they were pathetic. Most died or were dead upon arrival, all were horribly small, and many of the "free" items were not included.
I also received a response from someone at Customer "Service" that simply said their records show the order was mailed... not a word about the contents of my letter to the CEO.
Is this a scam? Most likely not. They do sell things, but virtually nothing looks like the photos in their catalogs or on their websites. Avoid Direct Gardening, House of Wesley, and all other divisions of this mismanaged, misguided company.
I did not find out about your website until after I placed my order. I placed an order on May 20, 2003 for bulbs & bare root trees (total of $38.30). I contacted the company via email (phone # is always busy)to ask about delivery & shipping info. I requested notification when the items shipped along with a tracking #. Customer Service was unable to provide this info. They charged my credit card after I sent the email. I waited 2 weeks & 1 day and I still do not have my order. I called a different # for this company from one of the complaints on your website, but they would not take my call, so I sent an email requesting the order be cancelled & my credit card be credited. I also disputed the charge with my credit card company. So far Direct Gardening has not responded to my email.
Jackie
On June 5th, 2003, wubbi1 added the following:
6/5: Since they did not respond to my cancellation, I kept calling the # & got through this time. This person would not give a name & just stated she was customer service. She told me the email cancellation isn't valid because it needs to be in writing & mailed. She also said she doesn't know who the emails go to even though they were sent to customer service. According to this woman, it was too late for a cancellation anyhow, because my order was shipped in 2 shipments 1 on 5/31 & 1 on 6/3. She claims it went regular mail without a tracking # & that I needed to give it 7 to 10 days to arrive.On June 12th, 2003, wubbi1 added the following:
I actually did receive my entire order in 2 shipments by the US Post Office with tracking #'s. The first shipment was packaged nicely in a box with 4 live plants in pots with dirt & had plastic bags over the potted area only (very small plants). They were not broken, but 2 were droopy & had dry dirt. They roots looked pretty good, so I planted them and they seem to be doing ok. Since this shipment said 2 of 2 I called them to see if the first package was lost. Again, it took many tries, but I finally got through. The woman told me the first package went out last, but could not provide a tracking number. My second shipment was sent in what looks like a green trash bag with the trees sticking out the top. I received a bunch of bulbs I ordered & free bulbs. All were pretty small, but the majority looked good. My bare root trees had some broken branches, but some actually had green growth on the stems & new root growth. 4 of the trees look pretty dead. Since the dead stuff is a little over $6 worth, I will not try to return them. I think that will be more trouble & probably wind up costing me more than they are worth. As far as the tracking numbers goes, I am not sure why they wouldn't supply them. Compared to the majority of people who commented on this site, I think I lucked out. In addition, for future orders with anyone, I will keep in mind that you get what you pay for. I will not order from them again. I do not like their policies, inferior packaging with large items, constantly busy phone numbers, unwillingness to supply tracking numbers & representation under many different names.
On Jun 4, 2003, ahelms Kannapolis, NC (Zone 7b) wrote:
I waited nearly three months for my order and each e-mail I sent them they said it was in the shipping department. I finally told them to cancel the order and they said they didn't know if they could catch it in time.Well they must have been right about being in the shipping department for three months, the plants looked and smelled like they had been in the plastic bag for nearly three months. They were dead and some were mushy. I returned them in their plastic envelope with a note saying I did not accept dead rotting plants and I haven't heard anything from them nor has my charge card been credited.
Like most of the other hopeful buyers who've posted their comments here, my experience with Direct Gardening, was one of extreme dissatisfaction. My credit card was charged 2 days after placing 2 separate orders and after waiting for over 5 weeks, none of the plants arrived. I called up their customer service number several times and was given a variety of excuses, such as "It's being processed" to "It will be another week....... another 2 weeks" etc.
Finally I decided to cancel my order by email. 2 days later a small packet with 2 incredibly tiny stem cuttings of Angel Trumpet plants each with a few very fine hair-like roots arrived in a plastic bag. one was DOA and the other was almost dead. The one that survived. grew fairly quickly to approx 8" in height and is now completely dormant inspite of following the instructions carefully.
Several days after the first package, a second one arrived , all those plants quickly died. In the meantime I was writing almost daily emails reminding the company that I had cancelled my order.
Their email response was always that my requests would be forwarded to "the appropiate dept" and still the packages kept coming at roughly 10 day intervals. I refused acceptance of all except the first 2. Since they had been sent to me via UPS, I was able to track their return back to the company.
I'm still waiting for over 6 weeks now, to have my money refunded as they later promised to do. I have heard nothing from them since. My experience led me to the conclusion that Direct Gardening, practices purposeful fraud.
On June 30th, 2003, anjollie added the following:
UPDATE:
I finally received a full credit to my credit card for the total amount that I had paid for my 2 orders. I believe that the fact that I did send Direct Gardening a copy of this comments page with my own comments included, as well as the lengthy email communications between myself and them, helped them to see that a refund was the only way to go. While I'm happy to have received the full refund, it has not changed my impressions about this company. I still think that it would be difficult for any company to get it wrong so consistently and so often (if the sampling of negative comments here bear any reflection of their % of satisfied customers), by either simple error or sheer incompetence.
The plants I have received appear to be seconds or rejects from other companies. The variation in size was more than would be expected for plants of the same type. Only one of four plants survived and I think the company does not care if they do. They are selling plants that would at best be sarter plants for a nursery and charging high prices. They can afford to replace anything five times and still make a proffit. I could get a potted five year old tree from Wall Mart for $14.99 and they sell a 1 yr. bare root might grow if not damaged plant for the same price and hold your money for up to a year before you know you have been swindled. Never buy from them unless you enjoy being swindled.
I placed an order with Direct Gardening several weeks ago. Since the order never arrived, I called the customer service line and was informed by their VERY RUDE agent that they had recieved my order and it "was processing" but, that it would take ANOTHER 7-10 days to process - since they had received it a month ago, that will be a grand total of 40 days "in processing". If that's not enough, she also said it would take another 7-10 days in shipping. 7-10 days in shipping is FAR TOO LONG for live plants and flowers - when I told her this she frankly couldn't have cared less. Assuming that they DO arrive in the time frame she gave, it will be almost 2 months after the original order was sent. Pathetic. At the very least the rep. should have apologized for the delay but, she acted as if I was out of line for questioning their time table. Even if my order arrives is stellar condition, I will NEVER order from this company again.
On June 7th, 2003, Obie1 added the following:
Still waiting for my shipment. I called customer service again today and was told that my order had shipped over a week ago but, that it takes "7-14 business days" to arrive. I AGAIN questioned this time frame for shipping live plants but, the rep. insists "they will be perfectly fine". Doubtful. Stay away from this company unless you enjoy wasting time and money.On June 20th, 2003, Obie1 added the following:
Still waiting for my order to arrive. Direct Gardening states it was sent on 5.30.03 - 3 WEEKS AGO - but, they have no way to trace it until "30 days after it was sent" so, at this point there's "nothing they can do". I pointed out that the plants will almost certainly be DOA & was told "Well, you'd be surprised". I replied that I WAS surprised - VERY surprised - by the exceedingly poor service of this company. They are beyond worthless.
I wish that I had found this web site before spending $80 at Direct Gardening. After 3 weeks of waiting for my plants I received 1 package. In this were 7 items, 3 of which were in very bad shape. I told myself that I would wait on the 55 other items and mail all the dead ones back at one time. (Postage is high when you insure and send certified) After waiting a week and not getting the rest of my order I called the company, not a toll free number to be discouraged when it was constantly busy. When I finally got through I was told my whole order was in stock and it should ship that week. Over a week went by and still no order has arrived. I call back. After numerous tries to get through I finally get a live body who tells me again that the stuff is in stock and should ship this week. Well, you told me that last week. Where are my plants? I would like to give them a chance to come up before the temps reach the 90's around here. I get the runaround from the first person so I ask for a supervisor. Now there is a joke. She was less than knowledgable and ruder than the first 2 people I spoke with. Don't bother asking for the name of the company president from the supervisor, she won't give it to you and there is no one else you can speak to. I called back after talking to my bank to see if they could help me get a refund and/or cancel the order. For those of you who haven't found this yet they have another hidden clause about canceling an order. You can only do it through snail mail. They do not accept cancellations over the phone, by the internet, or by fax. I did send both a fax and an email regarding the order telling them how much they owed me. At the very beginning in very large letters I stated this was a cancellation and that I was taking a copy to my bank and was sending a copy to the BBB.
Being a single working mom with 4 kids I expect to get good service and goods from the people I choose to do business with. I would definitely say that this is not a company that I would ever do business with again. I'll be at the bank tomorrow to see if they can help me get my money back. Thankfully I used a charge card so that might get me some extra help but I don't hold high hopes. I have the feeling that I will never see my plants nor will I see the money they owe to me.
For those of you who are planning to purchase live plants or bulbs go to the local hardware/lawn store and get ones that you can see before you buy. While you might pay a little more for them from the local stores you will see what you are getting, not have to pay shipping charges, you will get the items now, not months from now and you will have a whole lot less headaches. If you do decide to take a chance with the plants, make sure that you read very carefully what you will get. After talking to customer service I found that most of what they had planned to sell was bulbs, tubers or bare roots plants.
Good luck to anyone who purchases from one of these sites. If you look closely most of them have the same phone number so calling another office won't help, I tried. I wish I had found this site first. I would have gone locally and bought my plants which is what I will end up doing if I want any flowers this year.
Boy do I wish I had found this site before ordering from this company!!! This was my first time ordering from them and I ordered the same kind of plants that I've ordered from another company. I had no problems with this other company, but was unsure about them after changing ownership. My credit card was charge immediately and it took awhile for my order to arrive. When it did arrive, it was in a large plastic bag. A lot of the trees, bushes, and vines were broken (probably during the shipping). I planted everything according to their directions and the majority of the plants didn't grow at all. A few of them started to grow and died. Of my whole order, only about 4 of the vines are still alive, but not growing the way the company claimed. What a disappointment! I will NEVER order from them again!!!
On June 23rd, 2003, C_D added the following:
It's been about 4 weeks since sending them 2 emails and the mailing label to replace the 20 out of 24 plants that didn't make it. I still haven't heard back from them and no replacements. By the time they get here (if they get here) it will be way past planting season. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Even if prices are higher, I will buy well established plants and trees from a local nursery from now on!
dealing with this company leaves me with a foul taste in my mouth. everytime i call their service causes my hyperacidity to flare up.
i ordered $130+ worth of plants from this site last April 15 and my credit card was charged right away and I got the first partial shipment which is about $23 worth after 2 weeks. there's still no word on when the rest of the shipment will arrive. of the first shipment of 13 plants 6 are dead already. they were also not what i was expecting. i got the run around when asking about my remaining shipment. a representative told me there was a delay in purple coneflowers but that they arrived several days earlier and that it would be shipped soon. calling the next day the lady told me the delay was secondary to the painted daisies i ordered. when I called again later the next week, a lady told me the story again about the purple coneflowers but that they just recently arrived. when i told her somebody told me that they arrived 1 1/2 weeks earlier she said that was not true. obviously one of them is lying. i tried cancelling my order but was told i had to do it by accepting the package first before i could return it for the refund and to clearly state the reason. the next time i called to cancel my undelivered order they said it had to be done by snail mail since it would have to go directly to the nursery and they were just an answering service for them. you can't even do it through e-mail. all attempts at making it most difficult to cancel are being thrown by this company. i get the distinct impression that their resorting to this tactic as most people would rather roll over than to have to continue dealing with their customer service. i've resorted to instructing the credit card company to dispute the charge. I haven't even attempted to get a replacement yet for the plants that died already. i'm sure that will be another pleasant experience...THIS IS THE WORST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD.
On February 3rd, I placed an order with House of Wesley, dba Direct Gardening. Two days later my account was debited for the total amount of the order, which was considerable. On May 5th, I finally called and after several attempts, received a live customer service rep. She was rude and not very helpful. I explained that I needed my order and she could not tell me when it would arrive. I finally told her to cancel the order and refund my money. She explained they could not refund via telephone, fax or email, that I had to send them a letter. That same day I sent them a letter. I had no response and today, May 20th, my order arrived. What amazed me was that $250 worth of plants could fit in such a small package. All in terrible shape, some completely dried out, some wet and moldy and for items I ordered that were out of stock, they sent off the wall replacements that I have never heard of and do not know if they are suitable for my zone.
Terrible experience. I will never use these people again!!!
Fraud. Plain and simple. Similar to others, my credit card was charged the minute I placed my order in early February. What arrived were not plants, but rotten roots, dried (not dormant) twigs), and rootless seedlings. Ridiculous and not even close to the website description. With 30+ years gardening experience to my advantage, I gave it my best shot.
The Warranty. More Fraud. After 6 weeks ago waiting for my replacement, countless long distance telephone calls where I'm given the runaround, customer service claims the items are now out of stock. But, the website store continues to offer the items.
Save yourself precious gardening time. If you're on a budget, don't be tempted by the appealing prices. Save your money and buy a little bit at a time from a reputable local nursery.
I , like many before me, ordered from this company before finding this website. I placed two orders within two days of each other. My credit card was charged right away on both and roughly half the poducts came in about four weeks later. 100 vinca(they looked cuttings with root hormone added. I will be lucky to get 25% to live. Bundles of twenty-five tied together using one of the vinca plants.) were shipped in a green plastic bag and so were my bare root trees. Could of broken easy. I thank the postal service for keeping the plants in great shape not the company. Four hydr.vines were sent in boxes and they were packed wonderful. Very small but green and alive with great root systems. I expected the plants to need a lot of love but I expected to have the plants. The 100 pots I ordered never came in along with other plant stock. I would not order from this company again. It may be okay for inexpensive bare root stock but there is a great risk it will get broken during shipping. So far,I do not have any problems with moldy stock being sent to me.
I had a terrible time with this company. I placed an order and waited for a long time, so I cancelled it but they were a hassle to deal with, lied to me, et.c etc. I had to phone them several times and write them letters and e-mails. I finally put a chargeback on my visa and filed a complaint with the BBB. I do NOT recommend this company. They also send out catalogs under the name of "House of Wesley". Buyer beware!
ordered several shrubs, bare root; three did not make it; sent them back. No response. I finally contacted them. They would replace them next season. they did, but one was pretty much dead from the start and never made it. the others did. these folks are too much trouble. I wont even bother requesting a replacement for the one that did not make it. i will not order from them again. save yourself time and money and order from someone else.
Ordered March 20th, was told they were on their way after inquiring 2 weeks later, still have recieved nothing (but a charge on my credit card bill). Have asked to cancel my order and credit my account, we'll see what happens! After reading this site, I think I'll call my credit card company and make sure they don't get paid.
I bought a lot of merchandise from this company - only TWO plants remain alive. Most of what I ordered I never got. They send DEAD plants labeled as "dormant" in plastic bags. I would catioun anyone fooled by their slick ads, but they are a good place to get ideas then look elsewhere for the plants. Absolute shysters.
On April 26th, 2003, ASnows added the following:
Considering the price - which while low is not THAT low - and the fact they don't tell you anywhere they will send you dormant plants, I consider this company worthless. EBAY sends better plants, fer crissakes! I have never been unhappy with an Ebay purchase, while I was livid at Direct Gardening. Other places send live plants. It isn't that expensive. I get hude clematis shipped from Chalk Hill clematis, large hibiscus, iris, and others from reputable nurseries/farms. Why should anyone have to settle for half dead plants when live ones cost a mere few bucks more?
I have yet to receive my whole order, and what I have planted so far hasn't shown any signs of life, the bulbs are shriveled, the potatoes rotted. The most pathetic assortment of plants I have ever seen. I would never order from this company again.
I ordered tigridia bulbs from this company in late spring 2002 after being unable to find any left in stock at companies I usually do business with. The bulbs were temptingly cheap, I confess - and most of them were moldy. I think 2 bloomed. I did not attempt to ask for a refund, figuring any company that sends out product in such poor condition is not worth the effort of dealing with - and my lesson was learned.
On Feb 27, 2003, kipoley Battle Creek, MI (Zone 5b) wrote:
Wish I would have read these comments before I ordered. Shipped wrong items, took forever to send replacements. Very little sprouted last year. Maybe they will be okay this spring? "It's not dead it's bare root"???? looks pretty dead to me. And I have planted bare root a few times in the 5-6 years I've been gardening.
If you buy cheap, you get cheap. I have ordered three times from this company, mainly because I'm from a gambling state and enjoy risk. The plants that I have ordered include bush cherries, gooseberries, a banana, roses, elderberries and Manchurian apricots. All plants arrived during a blizzard and were pigmy-sized. I treated them kindly, so as not to frighten the little ones, and planted them out when the weather warmed up. The survivors are the elderberries and apricots, who are ornery enough not to take any lip from blizzards. The cherries didn't take, the gooseberries were just pitiful, and the dead roses are covering Old Yeller's grave. Meanwhile I'm coaxing the remaining midget plants to grow, and I still look like Paul Bunyan in that corner of the yard.
This past fall I placed an order thru this company for 6 hibicus plants, some asparagus and hydrangea tree, I website stated "shipped at the proper time to plant in your zone". I received this order in the middle of November, I live in zone 7 and I have looked thru various resources and can not find one that says that the middle of November is the proper time to plant anything much less asparagus. I still don't know if the items will make it or not and if they don't I suspect getting replacements or a refund will be like pulling eye teeth. I will not be shopping here again
I am not affilaiated with any competitor and think maybe the only positive comments are people who work for directgarden. What a terrible experience! After ordering and trying to get any idea of when the plants would come since I had some vacations coming up, and of course no response from them. I finally cancelled the order through another email. 2+ weeks went by and then they said they wouldn't cancel my order! I got my [plants much later, most dead and maybe of the 65+ plants 5 survived. TERRIBLE customer service!!!!!
I just had a good experience with this
company. The Mountain Laurel & English
Walnut arrived within weeks along w/some
free bulbs. My only advice is to print
the invoice. They will not email a
copy or send a copy w/the plants. I will
order from them again.
On May 28th, 2003, Eggy changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
None of the plants survived the winter. The bulbs
weren't as labeled. I'll never order from them
again. Pitiful!
I'm having a terrible and frustrating experience with Direct Gardening. I ordered in August for fall delivery. They called me on September 30 to advise their order was returned by the post office because it wasn't labeled incorrectly. Verified address and they said they would re-send my order. Called several times to inquire and kept getting told it was still being re-processed. One customer service worked told me I just ahve to be patient. They finally confirmed the order was re-sent on November 30, a full month from when it was returned! My order arrived on November 14, and it was threatening to snow. Not great weather for planting. Besides about half of the order was missing. I called again and was told I will have to return the original package label and they would re-send what was missing, in the spring.
I will definitely never use these guys again.
I wish I had found this website prior to placing my order with DirectGardening.com (a division of Plantron, Inc.)!!!
I placed an order for $116.98 on or about May 5, 2002. I waited several weeks for delivery as they instructed on their website. I then called the company to see when I could expect my order. They told me it should ship very shortly. I waited another few weeks and then a partial order arrived about 6 weeks from my original order date. In the package was 1 of 75 items I had ordered. I made several more phone calls to the non 1-800 number betwwen the time I recieved my partial order and Sept. 7, 2002 (please keep in mind it is now 4 months later) to see when I could expect the remainder of my order. I was never able to get a straight answer. I would ask to speak to a supervisor and there was never one available. I then said that I would like to cancel my order and I was informed I had to cancel it via regular mail in writing. Now, they had taken my order online in May 2002 and charged my credit card the full amount at the same time and now they were telling me I had to send a letter to cancel my order. On Sept. 7, 2002 I sent a certified letter which was received by them on Sept. 12, 2002. I waited another couple weeks and watched and waited for a credit to be posted to my credit card account. This never happened. So I then called them again and they said that my order was in the process of being canceled, but I needed to wait 30 days for the cancelation and credit to be posted to my account. I told them I would give them until Oct. 12, 2002 to fulfill my request, but the remainder of my order better not be shipped in the meantime. Unfortunately, being a busy fulltime working Mom of 4 girls I was unable to contact them exacly on Oct. 12, 2002. Wouldn't you know it my flowers arrived yesterday Oct. 23, 2002. I contacted the company to complain and inquire whymy order was never canceled, but again no one had any answers. You are given many excuses i.e. That is not done in this dept., there is no supervisor available, No you can not have the owners name, etc. I was then informed that I can mail the package back AT MY EXPENSE I might add. I asked if I could refuse the shipment and have USPS return it to them and they told me I would not get credit for the items and they would intern refuse the order on their end and it may even get LOST!!!
I just can not believe the poor customer service I received from this company. Buyers please be EXTREMELY AWARE of this company. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau, The IL Dept. of Agriculture (Their packaging states their Nurserystock Dealer License has expired), and the IL State Attorney Generals Office. I will not get treated in this manner and I suggest anyone who may experience this or any other type of poor service from this company do as I have done.
On Oct 15, 2002, jkom51 Oakland, CA (Zone 9b) wrote:
This is not a company I would do business with again. Their plants are poorly packed and very few of them--about 6 out of 35--grew. Most were DOA and not even soaking/planting in rich compost revived them. The prices are cheap, but their plant descriptions are inadequate and care instructions almost non-existent. For inexpensive plants, go to Home Depot, Lowe's, Orchard Supply or even Wal-Mart/local drugstore chains. We replaced our entire garden area with new soil this year and what we bought from other mail-order and local sources grew like crazy, unlike this company's plants. Direct Gardening should definitely be avoided by the serious gardener.
I've ordered from them twice --the first time there was no problem. The 2nd time, they sent the wrong items. It took nearly five months to get this corrected -- customer service was awful. They don't respond to email and getting ahold of them by phone is a major pain --- its a long distance number, its almost ALWAYS busy, and then when you do get them on the phone they are not helpful at all.
My initial order was for 12 Canadian Hemlock trees. The order took several weeks to arrive, and if it hadn't taken so long I would never have made the mistake of placing a second order. The Hemlocks finally came and were all dead or dying, I have just one remaining that is still struggling. The second order was for fairy roses and an astilbe collection. The astilbe are in good shape, but the roses! There were 9 roses, and at least 7 are going to surive, I think, maybe all 9 will, but they took emergency care on my part by rushing them into a tub of water, severe pruning of dead, black, withered or moldy branches and daily pampering to bring them around. They ship their plants in plastic bags; small ones around the individual plants then the entire order into a larger plastic bag, providing no protection from crushing or breakage during transport, and they came sloooow mail. After the Hemlock trees had arrived in such poor condition I contacted them by e-mail to try to learn if the second order was enroute, because if it hadn't been shipped I wanted to cancel it. I received an automated response saying I would receive a personal answer within 2-3 days. I never heard from them again, and the second order arrived 3 weeks later. I won't do business with them again.
Terrible customer service! I will not order from any company connected with DirectGardening. My plants arrived dried out, half dead shriveled little roots. I planted them anyway & hoped for the best - it didn't work. When I contacted customer service, I found their e-mails rude, uncaring and impossible to follow their instructions for replacements.
I am having a very difficult time with them. They charged my account the day after my order was made. After 6 weeks and many attempts to talk to them they keep sending me e-mails stating that I have a backorder and all my plants are to be shipped when it comes in. They also state that it will take 2-3 weeks to ship at that time. If I'm lucky I'll receive my plants in July. I contacted BBB in IL and they said that there are many customers trying to get their money back without satisfaction. I am also in contact with my MC company because I don't want to be charge for these plants that I'll probably never see. Thank you for having such a site where companies can be checked out.
On October 26th, 2002, suzieq added the following:
When the summer was over I had received 2/3 of my order. Most plants had been on hold so long they were dead, one was so soggy it was rotten. The worst part was they never listened to me and they charged the full amount. My credit card company went into dispute with them and wouldn't pay them. Months later Direct Gardening, without my permission, charged my credit company again. My credit card company gave me a new card so it couldn't happen again.
This company is atrocious. I wished I had never ordered from them. They took over 8 weeks to ship the product. I had to hound them every step of the way to get them to ship the product. The product was in horrendous shape but so far, the plants seem to be making a valiant effort to survive. Their customer service is rude and uncaring. They can't answer your questions and you aren't able to talk to the supposed supervisors. Forget these guys. Their deals aren't worth the headache it is to have to deal with them.
My wife and I are new gardening enthusiasts and have ordered plants before from Springhill catalog with great success. I hate to admit it, but sadly I did not visit your site before placing an order from a site unknown to me - DirectGardening. In short it has been an absolute nightmare. I ordered and paid $139 for 77 plants two months ago. I have received 11 plants and only 2 of 6 bush roses. Three plants died. When I inquired about the missing roses and other plants, I was lied to and given no indication at all as to when I might receive the balance of my order though they had told me they could deliver everything in plenty of time for spring planting. Well spring in Georgia don't last as long as other parts. When I tried to cancel the unshipped balance of my order I was given contrasting stories by their order status and customer service departments as to whether or not I could cancel. I guess the moral is stick with the better-known suppliers!
I ordered a lot of different plants, including scotch moss, some pine trees, bulbs, and almost NONE of them survived, or even arrived alive! They stuck two different bare root plants into a bag, with no cover (like wet paper) whatsoever; they were completely dry. Another of the plants I ordered weren't just MOIST, but soggy! A big mushy mess. Many were moldy, and I wasn't even able to identify what type of plants they were (there were no tags on their bags, or on the plants).
I've ordered aome plants from this company on Feb 7th. They say they send their plants when the whether permits. Some of my plants arrived in March in a middle of frost. 90 percent of them were dead. 3 out of 4 lavenders were dry.
All Carnations were dead. Some plants were packed in air tight packets and were rotten. A tree came in with bare roots and completely dry. Some of them didn't come yet and I wonder if they plan on sending them.
No more orders from Directgardening.com
DIRECT GARDENING IN AFFILIATED WITH, (FOUR SEASON NURSERY)(BURGESS SEED& PLANT) (FARMER SEED & NURSERY) AND SEVERAL OTHER NURSERIES. I ORDERED SOME PLANTS FROM BURGESS SEED AND PLANT BUT I HAD TO GO THROUGH DIRECT GARDENING TO PLACE MY ORDER. I GUESS MY PLANTS CAME FROM BURGESS SEED AND PLANT, THEY WERE IN FAIRLY DECENT SHAPE BUT I DID NOT RECEIVE ANY DIRECTIONS OF PLANT CARE OR ANYTHING. ORDER AT YOUR OWN RISK
I ordered from Direct gardening on 7/2001 and have still yet to get a living replacement for the plants that I ordered! They will not give me a refund for the dead, not dormant, plants that they are sending me and they argue that I do not know the difference between dormant and dead. I mean a broke trunk on a plant usually means that it is dead. They were all DOA and have been every time they have sent a Replacement. Which by the way I have made them send at their expense 5 times now. I have also reported them to the better business bureau for false practices and am waiting on a response.
