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I have ordered from Horizon Herbs for about two years. The products I receive are very good quality, sealed, and there are very few problems with the goods themselves as far as I can tell.
However, I am no longer ever going to order from them again due to a horrific customer service experience that is not a unique event.
Upon receiving my package the USPS postage clearly said "$1" on it, and that is how much USPS charges if that is what is listed on the postage. Upon checking I realized that I had paid over 9 dollars for shipping and politely contacted horizon for an explanation, and was open to this being an error on the part of USPS, myself, or horizon.
I did not get a response.
I queried again 2 weeks later.
I got a one lined response telling me that they are sending a coupon in the mail.
At this point I was irate and asked for a manager.
No manager was provided. They then proceeded to try to explain why the cost was what it was, and to inform me that they don't care if they keep me as a customer because they have other "honest" customers.
I know lots of people embelish stories to make themselves sound more righteous than they are, but in truth this is exactly what happened. I will never order from them again - they were completely unapologetic for ignoring my first email, not answering my question, and then being rude to top if off, as if I am trying to steal from them. My focus is and always is clarity and honesty - I don't care about the shipping cost, I paid it without thinking twice. It's this completely unapologetic and insulting customer service. Even if they offered me a full refund on the whole product I wouldn't take it at this point. It's not about money.
Horrible, horrible customer service. I never heard from a manager and only dealt with one person who deals with online orders. Switching to a new company for my herbs.
On August 15th, 2009, Decius added the following:
"Decius claimed that a package that weighed 2 lbs sent airmail from the US to Canada only cost a dollar to ship. Actually, anyone who is familiar with airmail costs to Canada knows that this is impossible."
Case in point - The founder of the company is publically calling me a liar and opportunist, chasing 8 dollars. It is indicative of my rating that a customer has to scan and upload an image to be taken seriously:
"However, Decius was upset, so upon hearing his complaint, we sent him a $5.00 coupon."
No you did not - you ignored me for two weeks. It was after my second complaint that you sent a coupon without addressing my concern which is WHY I was charged the difference.
"After further complaint, we refunded his card for the shipping cost minus the $1.00 that he felt was a fair charge."
No you did not. This was what your customer service representative sent me, after consulting you:
"You will not get a refund and if this is your last order that's ok. We do
not need your custom. We like our positive, honest customers who value our
service and company. Please refrain from contacting us again with further
negativity."
"After further complaint, we refunded his card for the shipping cost minus the $1.00 that he felt was a fair charge."
No, you didn't. You sent me an email about the refund and issued the refund shortly after I posted this complaint, not before.
"Decius, I personally apologise for any rudeness you received from us, and I hope you will find it in your heart to nullify this negative vote on Dave's."
How can you apologize to me when you've lied 3 times, called me a liar and opportunist yet again, and to top it all off now have proof that from the start you charged me 5 times the shipping cost of the item? You ignored my statement that I no longer want a refund and issued one anyways.
Does it take a customer becomming so irate that they have to go and make a public complaint about you for you to stop calling them liars and thieves? The attitude of your company seems to have changed dramatically after this post of mine.
I run two retail companies, and let me tell you - even if the customer is wrong, you find a way to make it right. You never, ever call the customer a liar, even if you think they are one. And in this case, you've called an honest loyal customer a liar and a thief, and run with your adamant unapologetic behaviour to this nasty point.On August 15th, 2009, Decius added the following:
"real or imagined" - I need not further my complaints as in plain view we see the arrogance of this horrible company and its employees.On Aug 14, 2009, Horizon Herbs, LLC responded with:
Decius claimed that a package that weighed 2 lbs sent airmail from the US to Canada only cost a dollar to ship. Actually, anyone who is familiar with airmail costs to Canada knows that this is impossible. However, Decius was upset, so upon hearing his complaint, we sent him a $5.00 coupon. After further complaint, we refunded his card for the shipping cost minus the $1.00 that he felt was a fair charge. Decius, I personally apologise for any rudeness you received from us, and I hope you will find it in your heart to nullify this negative vote on Dave's.
Best regards,
Richo (founder)
On Aug 14, 2009 7:41 PM, Horizon Herbs, LLC added:
Actually, all coupons and refunds were issued prior to Decius's comments on Dave's. In addition, we have tendered our public apology for all transgressions, real or imagined.
Richo"
On Mar 21, 2007, Natural001 Idaho Falls, ID wrote:
I ordered some books and seeds from this company last year. I was impressed by the selection of products that they had and that they were a family company. I wanted to have my own herb garden and wanted to grow several of the plants from seeds, even though I knew this to be difficult at times. I ordered several different seeds and was meticulous in planting them to the careful specifications to assure the most optimal plants that I could grow. Unfortunately only one of the seed packets that I purchased ever grew. I was quite disappointed in this. I thought that perhaps I had done something wrong, but even in contacting my local county agent, it didn't sound like I had, but I knew that sometimes seeds won't germintate for whatever reason, however so many varieties, and none of them to even germinate? That seemed odd to me. I contacted the company about my experience but never heard back from them, so I don't believe I will order any seeds from them again. I still believe they have excellent products as others have said, but I was very disappointed in the lack of help as I had requested for my poor luck with the seeds I purchased. The books I got from them were excellent. I received my products in good time and the transaction was good. Perhaps mine is a rare case, but they do happen. I have since purchased seeds from another company and they did germinate and I had a good variety that grew. I would hope that in the future if I order from them again I'll have a better experience.
On Mar 21, 2007, Horizon Herbs, LLC responded with:
"
On Mar 21, 2007 8:55 AM, Horizon Herbs, LLC added:
Hello everybody,
In my work with seeds, I always find that, even with my best efforts, some things that I expect to do well simply fizzle. This the reality of starting plants from seed, especially wild-derived medicinal herbs that can be naturally loaded with germination inhibitors and often require extended periods of time before germination is even remotely possible--there are so many variables--from moss in the pots, to drainage aspects of the potting soil to hungry little birds--I've seen it all. Since Natural 001 has not specifically identified the seeds that he/she had trouble with, I can't give any specific advice right here in this venue. What I do know is, I treat people as I would like to be treated, and I'm dedicated to distributing LIVE seeds. Once those live seeds arrive at the customer's door, then its up to THEM to make it work! I do sometimes send people free seeds so they can try again. Bottom line, my best advice for how and when to plant the seeds is all in one or the other of my seasonal catalogues (fall planted seeds in the fall catalog, spring planted seeds in the spring catalog). And, if the seeds don't do the job, I often have the plants available. Sometimes self-described "beginning medicinal herb gardeners" go through the catalog and choose, from among the 800 or so species offered, the most challenging germinators, things like Gentian, Rhodiola, Goldenseal--even relatively robust plants like Black Cohosh can be quite challenging to start from seed. When I see orders like this, I really wonder if they will result in much success at all, and knowing humans as I do, I realize that some of these gardeners at least will blame me specifically for their failure, instead of using the failure as a learning experience, and trying again, with modifications. Try planting some in outdoor conditions, and some in indoor conditions, some well-watered, some with watering on the shy side--this kind of thing--to gain more information--little garden-derived experiments--fine tuning the skill of gardening. Sometimes I get orders for poppy seeds in June, and I think, wow, this person is planting poppies just about when my poppies are in full bloom--how can they possibly expect to get results? So, sorry to Natural 001, you can e-mail me at herbseed@horizonherbs.com and we can try to work together in a positive way to make sure you get those plants in your garden. This is an open invitation.
Best regards,
Richo"
