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For almost a year now, I have been buying an orchid for my wife every two weeks. I take her word for it when she tells me that they are healthy and beautiful. Recently, after having read some customer's experiences, I decided to try and get some questions answered. All of my orders have been placed over the internet. On this occasion I called to place the order and inquired as to the sequence of the process from the minute an order is placed to the final packing. This is what I was told. Once an order is placed, it is assigned a "work order number" and is sent to be filled. This is when the orchids are pulled and matched up to the order. It is only when the orchids reach the packaging stage that the name of the recipient is matched to the order number. In other words, there is no preferential treatment for somebody who orders an orchid a year, nor for one that orders 20 orchids a week. That sounds pretty democratic to me. And as long as my wife is happy, so am I.
It would be safe to say that I have purchased at close to 200 orchids in the last 5 months from orchids.com. Once they made a mistake in my favor; they sent two orchids I had not ordered. I offered to mail them back and Michele said it wasn't necessary. On another occasion, shortly after placing an order, I rec'd a phone call from her advising me that the weather in Potomac, MD was too cold, and that shipment would be delayed for this reason. So they are not only looking out for a well deserved profit, but for the recipient as well. On numerous occasions, I have had the pleasure of speaking to Michelle or Kyung (mostly Michele) asking whether they could find a single or double spiked phal for me. They have yet to disappoint me. I am considered a very exigent person, yet I never detected any frustration on their part while ensuring that my questions were answered - on the contrary, and to their credit, they have been extremely helpful & polite. (I would have hung up on myself given my testiness) As for the product itself, the fact that I continue to order on a weekly basis speaks for the orchids themselves, as well as Norman's vast horticultural knowledge (whose brains I have picked regarding several of my orchids and their origins). I examine the orchids upon arrival very carefully, roots, leaves and all, and I have yet to lose a single one. It's not luck............it's the product and customer service!!!
Roxanne von Nordheim
I have purchased phals from this company on two different occasions. Recently I purchased five. All arrived in excellent condition and were exactly as advertised. If they were advertised in spike or flower, they were exactly that. The orchids that I purchased from them before have all done well. I've been growing orchids for about two years so I'm neither a novice or an expert, but these phals have been as nice as any I've purchased anywhere. Also, they were shipped practically overnight. I've also used Norman's twice for gifts. Again, both were phals. The first one was advertised as with spike and indeed, it did have one. However, the spike never developed into buds and a year later has never flowered. I don't believe this was the grower's fault. The second gift was in flower and arrived in fine condition. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again for gift-giving.
On Jul 20, 2007, davef11789 Sound Beach, NY wrote:
I'd ordered two phalaenopsis from this fine company. Plants arrived well packed, nicely labeled, and bursting with roots and nice fresh leaves. They're both mericlones, so I'm not going to be disappointed by expensive duds.
December 2005, ordered a denbrodium on a Wednesday, it shipped same day, arrived on Friday! Well packed for trip to Minnesota in winter. I did have it held for pickup at our local FedEx since it was single digit temps on the day it was due to arrive.
Plant looks great. Advertised as in bud/spike and it had 5 buds almost ready to open.
I have dealt with this company many times before. I actually found them by chance several years back when I needed tips on repotting my orchids. While trying to research on the web I came across this wonderful website called orchids.com. They had all sorts of tips on how to grow and take care of many different types of orchids. I have also emailed them at their Support@orchids.com and received a response back almost instantly! One time I had problems with my computer and had to call my order in and their Customer Service was great! They took my order in a speedy, precise and professional manner. Their selection is wonderful! I always gift my family and friends with orchids from their Gift Basket & Arrangement Section! For me, I always go for their exotic orchids. I have been a happy repeat customer for many years and many more years to come. What an awesome company! I have never had anything but good things to say about them.
Purchased a plant at the Houston Orchid Show in April and was terribly pleased with the plant and the consideration of the vendor. I did try to email them from their website and the email was returned as undeliverable. Link should be fixed.
I've used this company more than a dozen times for gifts and have never had a problem. Almost always the orchid is in bloom and as lovely as pictured. Very satisfied. But if you want your orchid delivered on a particular day, you might want to give them several days notice and also call then up on the phone on the day or the day after it was supposed to ship and make sure they didn't forget.
On April 9th, 2005, Subversive added the following:
I should also mention that I haven't found any other online orchid companies from which you can sort a wide inventory on fragrance, low-medium-high light, in bloom/spike, as well as other categories. They really do try to make the most of web technology--they have even started a blog.
On Mar 19, 2005, fredbuster North Scituate, RI wrote:
I have nothing but good things to say about Norman's Some of my best orchids are from them. My wife dosen't grow the orchids but whenever I show her plants in bloom she can tell right away if it came from Norman's. His customer service has always taken care of any problems that I have experinced be it with mailing or plant wasn't right the matter has always been taken care of and always politely and in a friendly manner I have been buying from them for about five years now and look forward to many more great plants in the future. hope your experince with them will be just as rewarding Ray
This is one of my favorite vendors. I have a Phal. Bonbori that was sent to me in bloom in June that is still blooming and is now sending up a second spike! Norman's website is one of the best, very easy to navigate. A+!
On Jul 14, 2004, CentrlFlaOrchid Cocoa Beach, FL wrote:
Wow! My Phal. Brother Sara Gold 'Peach' got here today. Just like Norman's promised. That was the first thing that pleased me, their customer service. Then when I opened the box (which was just cardboard, but with specific and clearly displayed instructions of immediate unpacking and temperature conditions for the 'perishable' contents therein) I carefully dumped out the styrofoam peanuts. My orchid was literally "pretty as a picture". It was listed on the website orchids.com as "in spike/in bloom," and came with twenty-one flowers, all opened and smelling like ROSES (I wanted this because the Phal. is fragrant). I did call in my order so I could speak with a person, instead of doing an impersonal internet order. It made me feel assured my delicate item would arrived unscathed. The staff (I called a few times) were all very nice and informative as well, and when asked if they froze their orchids the answer was, "No." I wouldn't've shopped there if it were the case. I will be doing business with this orchid company in the future, I am BEYOND pleased.
On September 9th, 2004, CentrlFlaOrchid added the following:
I would like to add that since I have dealt with this company, my opinion has only improved.
Since I live in a disaster area of Florida now thanks to the recent hurricane (Frances) I had ordered some 'mature' orchids from Norman's before we knew the hurricane was definitely on our way. Mature means they'll bloom within 12mos. Anyway, I was evacuating from my home with my present orchids and had the 2 mature plants arriving FedEx the following day. That was going to be too late, it was 9pm here on the east coast, so I called Norman's and told my plight. They called me back immediately upon contacting FedEx. Fabulous customer service!!!!
They held my package @ FedEx for me, and fortunately the building withstood the storm, as did my own dwelling. We returned from evacuating to Atlanta (the orchids LOVED Atlanta, by the way) and called FedEx- a week later. I got the package and was worried they'd surely be dead-- but not SO! They were anything but and were still MOIST! They are now happy on the window sill and I shall continue to invest my faith in Norman's because they have yet to let me down! Yay Norman's Orchids! That Fang family sure knows their stuff!!
We have had very good service from this company and have received plants in very good condition. Prices are a little high (orchids? go figure!) but they do give you a choice of "blooming size", "near blooming size" or "in spike" priced accordingly. We've ordered both individual plants and a collection and received excellent product. They have an excellent website but use caution not to hit "submit" more than once; doing so will generate multiple orders.
