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Two years ago I purchased Plum and Big Boy plants for my small 10 foot by 2 foot patch. I received a moderate amount of tomatoes, the 2nd year, I planted the same, after regenerating the space, and doubled my crop. This year, I purchased the same and within 3 weeks they started producing tomatoes. I have had a bumper crop. I can eat them off the vine, but have furnished others with this succulent red produce. Now, it is a few days until December and I just harvested more ripe tomatoes, with more on the vines. I know I am about to harvest what is left and have some great "fried green tomatoes". Next year I will start again and see if I can best this years 7 month production.
On Nov 6, 2009, lawexpress East Falmouth, MA wrote:
I have been a Burpee mail order customer for over 50 years. I have never been disappointed. All plants and products I have received have performed as advertised. I have been thrilled with the quality of the packing of live plants which gives me plants which arrive in a condition similar to that I would find if I were shopping for them in a quality nursery.
When I have had questions, such as, I ordered a recycler years ago and didn't finish putting it together. I emailed customer service and they researched the product and sent me assembly instructions. I would strongly recommend Burpee to the novice gardener as well as the person who has years of experience. One will always find a plant or a product that they haven't seen before that they can't resist adding to their garden.
I only bought seeds from burpee, so I can't comment on the plants. Their seeds are great even though the price is a bit higher than the other vegetable seed companies. On the other hand, their selection is very good and the seeds stay viable a long time. I have had great success with 4 or 5 year old tomato seeds.
I had bought the Burpee Burpless Cucumbers and have had a bountiful season . The cucumbers are absolutely delicious . I have shared these with the neighbors , since I have had so many cucumbers . These are absolutely fantastic and will continue to buy Burpee Products as well as recommend them .
On Aug 11, 2009, Martiradonna Orland Park, IL wrote:
I am very happy with the new seedless tomato. It is seedless and with a great balance, one of the most delicious tomatoe I ever ate. It is great for me since I can not eat any seeds due to medical problems. I buy many Burpee's seeds, some from the catalog and many from Hardwares, Walmart etc, I never had a bad experience, the plants always produce what Burpee advertises for.
Franco Martiradonna
On Aug 11, 2009, sojerseyusa Manahawkin, NJ wrote:
William Beuckman Sr.
1058 Rudder Ave.
Manahawkin NJ 08050
8/8/09
To whom it may concern @ Burpee Signature;
This letter can not really express how I feel about your product or how well it really works. It has worked so well that I’m going to expand another garden just for this product all by itself. The product that I am referring to is Wildflowers, rainbow colors mix, bar code #041530960501.
My yard is 75 ft by 150 ft. I like to garden and do themes in my yard to make it interesting and fun. My yard is a certified Animal Habitat and a certified Monarch Relay Station. I am very specific and cautious in what is in my yard and what does not go in my yard. I’ve tried a lot of products to attract and keep wild life in and around my house, and some of the products on the market are rip offs just to get your money with little return to you. I bought your product being skeptic of just what it was going to do. Needless to say it has greatly surpassed anything that I have used before for many years that I have been doing this.
Preparation was minimal. I cleared an area that I wanted to plant. Shook the seeds out of the can onto the dirt. Used a leaf rake up side down, once, to lightly cover the seed and than lightly water. The rest was up to mother nature.
Results was nothing less than fantastic spectacular. The variety of flowers and colors seemed endless and constantly changing. When you think that you have seen all the flowers you had put in your can , there are more, and then more. It seems as soon as one type of flowers bloom and die there is another set just starting to blossom. The height variation and thickness of the garden keeps getting higher and fuller. People who have come to my yard and see this are absolutely amazed at what they see and can not believe how I had done it. Look at the date on this letter and it is still going strong from spring. I have taken pictures of this from the beginning to present, just to show my friends what was going on with this product, who have the same interest as I do.
The application started next to my fish ponds as a garden, and then some flower pots mixed with bulbs, then to the flower boxes on my arbor. I had a little left over and a spot in the front yard that needed a cleaning and planting, so I finished it up there as a filler till I get some perennials in it. So as a filler, or a garden it does great.
This product is everything it should be and more. It adds lots of colors and lots of varieties to any garden or pot arrangements project that you are doing. One can does cover a lot of area and I was surprised at this. I thought that I might have planted too much and kind of backed off in shacking the seed out. It was more than enough and the results are fantastic. The product does bring the nature to your yard in living, colors by way of butterflies and humming birds.
I was a first time Burpee customer this year. I ordered 8 varieties of tomato seed from them. The order arrived within a week and the seed germinated well. No problems at all with this company.
My first buying experience with Burpee was positive. I ordered 3 packs of Marigold seeds and sea magic. The order arrived very fast. I ordered from 2 other companies the same day and i'm still waiting for there items to arrive. If I order again in the future, i'll let you know how it went.
This spring, for the first time ever I purchased tomato plants from Burpee. In my garden I have 27 tomato plants, 6 from burpee, 9 from a friend, and 12 from a local north Jersey nursery.
To my amazement the Burpee plants are my most vigorous and productive . I will next year buy all 27 from them and to my usual delight their California Giant Zinnias seeds are a heavy provider for our cuts flowers. Bravo Burpee.
Clifton NJ
I have been a Burpee customer for about 30 years. This year I ordered tomato plants. One set of three came through just great. ONe set of three was broken and showed the inward signs of the outward box being crushed on one side. When I complained to Burpee about this, they were so kind as to replace the 3 tomato plants that were destroyed in shipping. The new shipment came within days and it was fine. I am a happy gardener this time and will continue to shop with you. I think Burpee should seek other shipping options besides United Parcel Service. They don't seem to be able to read the "THIS SIDE UP" words on the outside of the box!! Thanks again, Burpee!!
I am so pleased because I feel the courtesy with which the folks at Burpee treat their clients is with old fashioned respect. That's how I like to do business, and will remain faithful to Burpee because of that.
Recently, I placed an order for tomato plants. Since we live VERY far off the beaten path, the UPS delivery person often leaves packages in a neighbors shed in town, and when we pass through town every couple of weeks, we check for mail. Well, with a box that said, "Live Plants," I would have assumed the delivery would have been made all the way to our remote ranch, not left in the neighbors shed. But it wasn't, and the fault is mine as much as anyones for not checking up on this. So of course, weeks later when we found the package, the plants were dead.
I was sad, but knew I was as responsible as anyone for this mishap. But just the same, I wrote the folks at Burpee and told them this story. Rather than just a quick, "oh well, sorry," as I assumed they might say, they gave me a full refund for the tomatos.
That's honoring their word.
That's how I like to do business.
If I had read all the negative comments I would've been afraid to order from Burpee, but I had a fantastic experience with the company.
I ordered Little Mama tomatoes, Big Beef tomatoes, Banana Peppers and Pinot Noir Peppers, Eggplant, plus cucumber seeds, bean seeds, swiss chard seeds and lettuce seed tape.
The seeds of course, came first and then the plants arrived on or about when they were supposed to. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well they were packed. One package had two tomatoes that were damaged, but I called customer service and had plants at my door in 3 days. I call that fantastic service.
I've planted everything and they all look great. The seeds started sprouting within three days!
You've made me a very happy gardener!
I will always be ordering from this company.
Thank You
On May 28, 2009, nathanhamm Leavenworth, KS wrote:
I just received 9 tomato plants and 6 pepper plants. Most arrived in good shape in the green packages that kept the plants from moving around too much. The Pinot Noir peppers, however, lost most of their leaves, and some of the tomatoes looked a bit tired out. It all looks like it will bounce back with a bit of care, and if this foray into mail-ordered plants turns out well, I'll give it another whirl next year.
On May 28th, 2009, nathanhamm changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
On second thought...
I checked on the plants again today. The Pinot Noir and Ancho peppers are looking fairly good, and the Black Truffle tomatoes are recovering nicely as well. However, both the Sugar Snack and Tomande tomatoes are starting to look like salad that has been left on the counter for a week. I don't know if that's because leaves got caught and smashed in the packaging or if these just don't handle shipment well, but they're looking like a loss.On June 4th, 2009, nathanhamm changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
Customer service got in touch with me and were great. They arranged a refund for some plants and sent out replacements for others.
I will ALWAYS order with Burpee! I just recently purchased a LARGE order from 4 Seasons Nursery & received a bunch of dead roots in baggies & I was missing items from my order. Customer Service was terrible & rude. They wouldn't do anything unless I paid to ship everything back with a note of what was missing & what was dead & then they would reship the items (if they have them), ALL MY HASSEL for something that is their fault! I placed an order with Burpee within days of ordering from 4 Season's & received beautiful, green plants (in dirt)! They exceeded my expectations & their customer service is wonderful! VERY FRIENDLY! Thank you sooo much!
I have ordered plants from Burpees for many years. This year I was pleasantly surprised with the new packaging on the tomato plants - not only did all of my tomato plants arrive in perfect condition, but the plastic containers they were put in were also recyclable!! All plants are doing well, and I plan on ordering again from them next year.
On May 22, 2009, Karldan Norfolk, VA (Zone 8a) wrote:
I planted the 5 mixed variety Hot Pepper seeds, mixed Banana Pepper and Bulls Horn, and the Biker Billy Pepper. All germinated about 95%. "Biker Billy" Hufnagle also devotes a lot of time and energy for charity. Last year I planted Candy Cane zinnias from Burpee, and the new colors, especially the primrose and pinks, were fantastic.
On May 22, 2009, lily_bud Indianapolis, IN (Zone 5b) wrote:
I ordered tomato plants from Burpee this year with some trepidation, as I have had mixed "luck" in the past. In the last 2 or 3 years, I've gotten some plants that are only about 4 inches tall, broken, and half (or more) dead. One year I called about my dead tomato plants and was offered a refund, but I was left disappointed because there were no more of the heirloom tomato plants that I had wanted.
Another problem has been untimely delivery. With our last frost date at approximately Mother's Day, my garden was ready and waiting for the tomatoes to arrive but I did not receive them until the very end of May. I was told that the orders are sent out not only by zone, but by the date that the order was placed.
With this in mind, I ordered tomato plants in mid-February this year. I was delighted to see my plants arrive, just on time, in mid-May. I was even more ecstatic when I opened the box. The cardboard packing system inside has been replaced by clear plastic cases, each holding 2 tomato plants, with the pots and soil pretty much intact. The plants were all of reasonable size. None were broken or bent, and all were perfectly healthy.
This is a significant improvement in service. I will not hesitate to order again next year
On May 20, 2009, revclaus Denver, CO (Zone 5b) wrote:
I ordered from Burpee for the first time this year. The first part of the order arrived, an astilbe for $10.50 and a Broadway Lights Shasta daisy for $9.95. The astilbe was the smallest plant I have ever received by mail order, and I've ordered by mail for 20 years. I received another astilbe from Bluestone Perennials a few weeks ago, lower price, much, much bigger plant already budded out. The Burpee daisy was battered, but eventually recovered enough to plant. Again, though, I had ordered the same plant from Garden Crossings a couple of years ago and it came as a much larger plant already budded out. I complained to Burpee. They responded appropriately by refunding my money, although it took a few days to hear back.
However, the second part of the order came today, a flat of impatiens. As somebody else said, some of them were in great shape, but most looked like cooked spinach after being in a blender. Even if they refund my money I'll not order from Burpee again, too iffy. I could have bought impatiens locally or from some other mail order plant house and had them planted by now. Now it's back to the drawing board with that part of my planting.
I'm really disappointed, and will be asking them not to send me a catalog next year. The catalog is seductive, but the plants -- not so much.
On May 21st, 2009, revclaus added the following:
Here's the Burpee reply. I'm disappointed that I won't have the impatiens -- I've coveted this variety for a long time, but I'm happy with how well Burpee responded, except I'm not sure how it could be a shipping problem.
------------------------------
Dear Ms. Clausen:
I believe I had addressed the issues with the Astilbe and Shasta Daisy plants on 5/18/09.
It is very unfortunate that your impatiens had also arrived in bad shape. The nursery would not put damaged plants into the box, so the damage is occurring during shipping. Your information is being sent to the nursery.
A refund is being issued for the impatiens.
Please feel free to email me at custserv@burpee.com if you should have any other questions or concerns.
Respectfully,
Marsha
Customer Service Department
W. Atlee Burpee & Co.On May 23rd, 2009, revclaus changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
Okay, time to change my rating. Burpee performed "over the top" Nordstrom type customer service for me and restored their good name in my eyes. I can't ever remember somebody going out of their way so much to please a customer. I grew up in Minnesota and the Burpee name was the gold standard in garden seeds. That's why I was so disappointed at my initial experience. But no more!
Today a Fedex overnight shipment arrived with 7 flats of beautiful, perfect impatiens, 2 perfect Snowcap astilbes -- one in bloom, and 2 perfect Broadway Lights Shasta daisies. If I could post pictures here I would. They arrived in two large boxes ready to be hardened off for planting. It was like Christmas!
It was a difficult day for me, since I had just placed my husband in a rehab center after 4 days in the hospital. I was feeling pretty depressed about everything until these beautiful packages arrived. It lifted my spirits, and my sincere thanks go out to Burpee for the lengths to which they went to make me happy.
On May 14, 2009, imagal49 Monterey, TN (Zone 6a) wrote:
After years of dealing with Burpee, I happily placed my order in early January of 2009. I was miffed at the tacked-on 'fuel surcharge' which they hadn't rescinded even though fuel prices had bottomed out at around $1.75 a gallon. Ok, I'll give them that one. My initial reaction after waiting 3 1/2 weeks was, where's my order? I'd received no communication from them, and checking their website for status is an exercise in futility. Another 1 1/2 weeks went by, and I received part of my order. As with other comments here recently, the balance dribbled in 1 and 2 packets at a time. As planting time arrived, I was surprised to find that many packets labeled '50 seeds' contained, in fact, 20-25 seeds. What's up with that? In all fairness, I have to give them kudos for the asparagas roots - though pricey, they were huge, clean and worth the price. Even so, I've definately crossed Burpee off my list of future seed suppliers!
On May 19th, 2009, imagal49 changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
I owe Burpee a huge apology -- my sister and I placed multiple orders and in the confusion of sorting things out, I erroneously attributed my comments to Burpee, when they should have been for Park Seed Co. Mea culpa, Burpee.
I have been buying seeds and seed-starting formula from Burpee for 25 years and have never had any problem with any of their products. I am especially appreciative of their tomato seeds. I have bought tomato seeds from a broad range of companies over the years, but always find that good old Burpee's comes through best, especially for disease resistance. The information provided in their catalog is thorough and clear. I also recommend their cucumber seeds "Burpee pickler" which always provide a bumper crop.
I did receive the tomato plants that I ordered from you at Burpee's. They are lovely! And I want to say that
I am extremely impressed with the green plastic containers that they
were enclosed in. They were well from the shipment due to the
containers. Who ever thought of that idea for shipping deserves a medal.
Thanks again, I am honored to do business with Burpee.
Suzanne Hendrix
Received order of peach fusion impatients that were securely boxed and delivered by UPS. Plants are in fantastic condition, far better than any I've seen in local nurseries.I ordered annuals in 2008 that thrived so I had no qualms about ordering again this year.I will continue to order annuals from Burpee in the future as they guarantee your satisfaction unlike local box store garden department.If a person has a
problem they should contact Burpee rather than leave negative comments.
On Apr 27, 2009, RDZinny Mechanicsville, VA wrote:
I ordered some seed and Perilla plants from Burpee. Everything arrived as promised and the perilla plants were packed well and looked great. I have been ordering from them for 35 years and never had a problem.
I ordered several tomato plants as well as a few peppers from burpee. They arrived 3 days before the shipping date for my zone, and the plants looked very healthy. Instructions for planting were included. My plants are in the ground and off to a great start.
Burpee was the first mail-order garden company I was introduced to when I first developed an interest in gardening some years ago. Over the years I have ordered seeds and seed starting supplies from the company, which were always promptly delivered. I have had good luck with varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers and basil from seed. I have also ordered basil plants which were very healthy and had great root systems. As a beginner, this company was a great place to start out.
I ordered the ultimate growing system and some tomatos and peppers, along with beans & lettuce. All of the items were shipped quickly. The growing system was easy to setup and kind of neat to watch the little pellets expand after adding water. The tomatos and peppers germinated very well with Burpee's system. The bottom of the tray holds extra water, so you don't need to worry about the soil drying out. Nice indoor seed sowing system. Had a good experience with this company - will order again.
I've done two orders this year with Burpee and both were professional and came with no errors. I'd have no reservations about ordering with them again.
My family and I have ordered from Burpee since time immemorial without any negative or neutral experiences. For this year's planting, I ordered several vegetable seeds and, as usual, they arrived very quickly. Burpee always tends to put full labeling on their seed packets which can eliminate a lot of note-taking or re-researching when it comes time to remember what needs to be started indoors or not as well as where, when and how seeds need to be prepared and planted. I have always had very good germination with them and don't foresee anything different this year. Likewise -- perhaps because Burpee is so big -- I don't ever remember receiving any substitutions or being told something I ordered was out of stock.
On Mar 23, 2009, gmap Santa Cruz, CA (Zone 8a) wrote:
Recently I ordered several plants from Burpee and selected a ship date. The plants arrived in a timely basis and were in great condition. They were small but very healthy.
I've been in the process of swapping over to heirloom veggies only so the sheer volume I order from Burpee is decreasing with time but it is sure no reflection on their service!
I've always received my orders, no matter how large or small, in super quick time. They are very responsive to feedback on the germination of their seeds, after all, hybrids can perform very differently by location and they do their research.
Good and fast service, intuitive website and a very nice selection if you're not entirely focused on heirlooms.
Like most gardener's, I really look forward to those beautiful catalogs in the mail and trying to decide what I want to plant for the year. I have about an acre of flower beds so every seed is really important to me.
Having said that, I had a problem with some seeds that I ordered from Burpee. They just did not come up. The rest of the seeds I had going did just fine. I called Burpee, and Liz in customer service was so nice and friendly. She replaced the packet and assured me that they were on the way? WOW! No trouble, no hassle, just, " HOW CAN I HELP" Way to go Burpee, you have just earned a repeat customer!
This is the first year that I ordered plants from Burpee, previous years having ordered my seeds.
My seeds arrived more than early enough to start them indoors. I ordered their Tomato Hall of Fame which includes 9 of their best tomatoes, including the 4th of July variety, which bears fruit in 49 days!! The tomato plants arrived a little later than I would have liked, but right on time in regards to my hardiness zone. I can't blame them for not taking the chance that I would plant them too early!
8 of the 9 tomato plants arrived looking good, a little tired from their travels, but good. Of course they were a tad smaller than those growing in my local nurseries, but I knew they would catch up. The only problem was that one of my tomato plants didn't come at all. It was just an empty container with dirt and the identification tag. Sure enough it was my poor little 4th of July tomato, or what was supposed to be my 4th of July tomato.
I called Burpee's toll free number immediately and their response is the number one reason that I am rating them positively. They immediately sent me not one, but three replacements of the 4th of July tomato. They apologized and I got the replacement plants within a week.
They have great customer service. I would have been happy with just the one plant I had ordered, but sending me two extra guaranteed them my business for life.
Also, I must note, that I put my tomatoes in the ground and they shot right up. They already look much better than my neighbor's tomatoes which she bought at a local greenhouse and planted 2 weeks earlier than mine!
I will be ordering from Burpee again and again. Mostly because I know that if I have a problem they are easy and quick to resolve it.
I have dealt with Burpee for several years. Even when I get seeds that don't germinate as expected, they have always sent me a replacement. I got live strawberry plants and Zavory Hot Pepper plants this year as well. Other than the apes at UPS shaking up the dirt to the pepper plants, I was able to transplant them and all is well. Burpee might want to modify their shipping to allow for this. The strawberry plants came up excellent. I have always received my packages on time with no problems. I am another satisfied customer and look to do business with them in many years to come.
This is my second year ordering annuals from Burpee. Last year I had no issues or complaints. My Lisianthus flowered into October. They were so beautiful and easy I ordered more this year. Half of the shipment was fine although they seemed smaller than I remembered. The other half were smaller with most of the plants were broken. Burpee told me they would refund the damaged plants.
The seeds I ordered last year were wonderful. I had left over seeds that I started this spring and while I was expecting them to not do very well I have been pleasantly surprised, 100 percent germination and strong healthy plants.
I'm still a novice in online discussions ... just did not find a need to bother going through the posting steps (it turned out easy). Yet there was one point that Park Seeds really irritated me. So I posted a negative rating for them. Now, I'm into this related series of comments. I posted a positive one for Territorial Seeds.
I mention this because during a recent positive experience with Burpee's, I confirmed that all in all, gardeners truly love plants and can get sensitive/demanding/emotional/etc about them ... to the point that this has got to be one business where good customer service can make much difference. I believe gardeners are not out to maliciously try to get refunds or free replacements from businesses where they get their plant stuff. Gardeners just seem to have an expectation of sustained good feelings when they buy their seeds/plants. For them to take the time to communicate (complain) with the business means they really need to to sustain that good feeling and correct something that does not seem or feel right. Is it too much for these businesses to compromise or do a balancing act between losing a few dollars or so and maintaining goodwill with its customers?
For example, I ordered tomato plants from Burpee's. When they arrived, I was so excited opening my package of goodies. The plants all looked fine, but smaller than I thought. Instead of feeling let-down, I told myself, oh, I did not check the plant size on the catalog, I just assumed the plants will be bigger ... but no biggie ... if I put them in the ground at this time, they will quickly fill out. Then one day, I checked my tomato plants and two out of nine seemed fizzling out, getting ready to die. My thought, was no, oh no, especially not the Sungold! Then I remembered they were smaller than the others, so maybe they were prematurely included among plants that were shipped out. Perhaps they needed a week or two more in Burpee's cozy facilities, not boxed, shipped, and introduced into a different environment so soon.
Note that I did not think Burpee's intentionally meant to short-change its customers. They're in the business of moving fragile little things subject to weather and other factors beyond their control, so not everything can be perfected. Although I did not think negatively of the plants in 2"-pots they sent me, now that two of them looked unable to survive (I followed care instructions, by the way), I thought: "I want my money's worth, but most of all, I want to see my little babies go from this seedling to a tower of yummy tomatoes. I will really be sad if they do not make it. And I will miss the Sungold. Maybe I should go to the nurseries and see if they have Sungold. But I already spent the money for a nice future crop of Sungold. How about if I call Burpee's and ask them to replace what I got with a plant that would clearly have a chance to survive, or refund me so I can re-buy them from somewhere else? Then all will be back to normal and I will have Sungold tomatoes this summer and also taste what Health Kick is like."
I did not seriously want my $6.50 back, but I was disappointed and I wanted to do something about it so I can go back to feeling good during my gardening moments ... that of course include nurturing my tomatoes and imagining the joy during harvest time. It's all psychology. Gardening, after all, should be more pleasure than stress.
Well, Burpee's offered to refund my $6.50 since they cannot promise they could send replacements. Imagine, for $6.50, it made much difference to my psyche! I felt I was treated fairly, with goodwill, that I went ahead and ordered more from Burpee's. Just to make a gesture that, Burpee's, you may be out $6.50 now, but you are looking at a more-certainly lifelong customer. If in the future I will need to complain again, and a less "evolved" or less "aware" customer service person takes my case and messes it up, do you think I will turn around and hate Burpee's? No, because I will still give them credit for the past goodwill.
Customer Service is such a tricky area. As they say, one just cannot please everyone all the time, no matter what the business does to respond accordingly. But just the act of trying to be responsive to a complaint (not auto form letters or canned responses) is commendable enough. You lose some, but you win some. I believe most people are not chronic or malicious complainers who complain for the heck of it. There is no pleasing those rare cases. But, an unhappy customer just knowing that some effort is being made to try do something about a complaint is precious enough .... especially in the zen world of gardening.
I had a mainly positive experience with Burpee. I ordered tomato blossom set spray, some fertilizer, and the tomato best of show collection. The spray and fertilizer got here in a timely manner, and my tomatoes came on time as well. One box of tomatoes was pretty smashed up, with broken stems and what not. But the other box on the top arrived beautifully. I don't, of course, blame them for the condition of those tomatoes, as the box they came in looked kind of beat up, and I know that has a lot more to do with being thrown around. My only concern is customer service.
Before my tomatoes arrived I sent them an e-mail asking a few questions, and it took two weeks to get a reply. Even before sending an e-mail, I had called customer service, and never got in touch with anyone. So, I just recently e-mailed them again asking if I could replace the broken-stemmed tomatoes I have or if there was anyway I could save them, and I'm afraid it will take weeks to get back to me again. I'll update and see how this goes.
On May 30th, 2008, KKraver added the following:
I recieved an e-mail from Mr. Hofer yesterday, and got a call from customer service today. The woman I spoke with was very friendly, and my replacements should be shipped monday! Hopefully UPS doesn't just throw the box around this time.
And by the way, my three healthy tomato plants that arrived safely are doing very well.
On May 18, 2008, FlyerElite Philadelphia, PA wrote:
I placed an order for Brandy Boy tomatoes and the hot Pepper Zavory. They were delivered last week and except for a bit of loose soil were in great condition. They've transplanted well and don't appear to have any transplant shock. Very happy with this transaction.
I'm a new gardner and ordered three beefsteak tomato plants from Burpee. When they arrived they were obviously dead. But new to gardening, I read the instructions and they said they may be wilted upon arrival. (they were more than wilted but I gave it a try)
So I tried for three weeks to get them back to life.
After the first week, I emailed customer service to let them know so they could contact me and maybe send me new plants. I received no email back. I tried to email them once again. Still no response. I called them last week, Monday May 12,2008. I talked to a woman in customer service who apologised on the plants and she said she would refund my money to my bank account.
I just checked my bank statement today and I still haven't been reimbursed.
I emailed them again today and this time I was very angry. I told them if I found the number to their corporate office I would call them.
I was planning on using Burpee for years to come. I've heard they were a very reputable company but my first experience tells me that maybe I should start looking elsewhere.
I am getting ready to retire and planned on gardening for a hobby. I wish they would of just stood behind their Burpee guarantee and I would of used them for all of my gardening needs.
Now I have to look elsewhere.
On May 21st, 2008, deehall5 changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:
I changed my rating from a negative to a positive for Burpee because:
After reading some other posts I found a specific persons email address at Burpee. Mr. Hofer emailed me the very next day in regards to my complaint. I also received a phone message from a woman named Jesse who also apologized. They explained that my credit card was credited on the day that I had called but after reviewing my account with Burpee realized it didn't take. They put my credit card info back in and it worked this time.
So it possibly was just a mix up.
I don't blame Burpee for my dead tomato plants. Who knows it could of been UPS throwing the boxes around. I don't know it was the first time I had ordered from them.
I will order from Burpee again, just not tomato plants.
I think I will pay the extra money and go to my retail store or farmers market and get those.
But on everything else. BURPEE'S it is.
Both my parents and I have been using Burpee seeds for over 20 years now and have never had a problem. We buy them more from local shops than through the mail but have been very happy with the quality of seeds we have purchased- without exception. I will continue to use Burpee seeds- and ONLY Burpee seeds- and will pass this on to the next generation of gardeners in my family. Thank you, Burpee!
