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On Mar 31, 2009, botanica37 Oakton, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I ordered 2 linden trees through Ebay. Paid through Paypal on March 8 and received confirmation from Viola Wildflowers that their current shipping time is between 1-2 weeks. After two full weeks have passed, I send an email to Bobby checking on my trees. No response at all. Several days later I sent another email, no response again. My last attempt was on Thursday, March 26, through the Ebay system. This time I received a somewhat confusing response that my order was shipped "honestly" that morning. BTW all the emails from Viola Wildflowers seem to be boilerplate and not in any way a personal response. The trees arrived on Monday, they were packaged well, but my concern is that the root system was virtually nonexistant, so I seriously doubt that they will grow. I planted them immediately, as I had the site ready and prepared and now it is wait and see what will happen. Based on this experience I will not be ordering from them again.
On May 10th, 2009, botanica37 changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:
I followed up with Bobby from Viola about a week ago, just asking how long it will take to see if the seedlings are alive, as so far they just looked like sticks in the ground. The response was immediate shipment of 2 new seedlings, with an email saying that it is very expensive for him to dip the roots in gel and that so far all his customers have the linden trees grow, but me. OK, I truly appreciate him sending me new seedlings (a lot bigger and more branched than the original ones, with lots of roots), I do appreciate him taking on the additional expense to keep his customers happy. It may seem ungrateful on my part, but I didn't ask for new seedlings, I was merely wondering what is a reasonable time frame to see signs of life in the ones I already have. What really bumped me though during the whole communication was the implication that it is my fault that somehow the seedlings didn't grow. To sum it up, it is apparent that he does care about his customers and wants to make sure that they are satisfied with the order, but something is missing on the communication side. On July 6th, 2009, botanica37 changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:
One of the 2 trees from the first order finally spotted some leaves and while I am not a tree expert, this is most definitely not a Linden tree. The leaves are long and curvy and from what I've seen, all Linden have small round leaves. When I received the replacement order, I did notice that the stems were dark brown, vs the first 2 who were pale beige, but didn't think much of it. One of the trees from the replacement is growing and it seems that it is a Linden tree, but whether it is a little Leaf linden remains to be seen. So all the hassle and back and forth and being blamed for being a bad customer is not worth it for me and I wouldn't do business with Bobby again or recommend him. And no, I do NOT want any more trees, thank you and this is not a plot to extort any "free" plants. Just an expression of a genuine disappointment.On Mar 31, 2009, Viola Valley Wildflowers responded with:
We are deeply concerned for all our customers and reciept of any product that they are not satisfied with. If you would email thru the ebay system, as explained in previous email not thru the payment email address, you would get top priority email response as you did on your last attempt once they shipped. We ship 1-2 weeks from reciept of payment weather permitting. You received the freshly dug order and due to the emailing that you sent incorrectly, our customer service was jeopardized. All that work with ebay with us go directly through the ebay system for a response asap. "
I placed an order in late April, the payment for which was transferred from our Paypal account on May 1 (three weeks ago). I emailed the company earlier this week regarding our order and did not receive a reply, but did get an email with planting instructions (only). Does that mean the plants have been shipped?
I emailed again today and phoned the company. I actually had to call twice because the answering machine gave very little time to leave a message. I am hoping for 1) a response ASAP and 2) plants that reflect the very positive feedback VV has received from the majority of their other customers. I am hoping to change this review from neutral to positive....
On May 26th, 2008, mmcake added the following:
We arrived home this evening to find a box on the doorstep. When I opened it I found the bareroot plants to be well packed and in good condition.
I will leave the rating at neutral since the money was taken three weeks prior to shipping and communication was lacking. However, I do understand that this is a nursery's very busiest time of year and I am certain they are very busy. I would consider ordering from them again if the plants do well. On May 26th, 2008, mmcake added the following:
On May 23, 2008, Viola Valley Wildflowers responded with:
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On May 26, 2008 3:08 PM, Viola Valley Wildflowers added:
We filled all orders and nearly 200 a day to the best of our ability. My apologies if most know we ship within 1-2 weeks of shipment. We also state everywhere and in each and every email to allow 1-2 weeks plus travel time. We only ship 3 days a week and dig the 3 other days. We do the best we can and when there is a few days give or take all understand. I am very sorry you were anxious to receive but we strive to provide top quality fresh product and not rush our orders as we dig all fresh personally. We are a family owned/operated business. 5 years now we have held this policy and all understand. We can only do with what we have . We work from 6 a.m. till midnight daily. We work very hard for all. That is why they all come back for more and more. Sorry there is always going to be a few not happy. We do the best we can."
On Apr 4, 2008, lindalynn Pinckney, MI (Zone 5b) wrote:
I just recieved my order 2 days ago. The plants were not packed in peat moss, they were shipped in ziploc bags w/ planting soil. A minute amount of moss was on a few of the plants. The roots were not protected, and the soil was not moist. I had no choice but to put them in the ground immediately- I didn't want them to have to stay any longer in the shipping "package". That being said, the plants seem healthy enough; although several had very small roots. We'll have to wait and see how they do in the garden.
On April 5th, 2008, lindalynn added the following:
update- because the owner of this company does not want me to say that his plants were shipped in soil- let me just say this: whatever medium they were shipped in was dry. My point was that it seems like they could have at least been shipped so that the roots would stay moist. I live a long way from where they are shipped.On Apr 4, 2008, Viola Valley Wildflowers responded with:
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On Apr 3, 2008 10:42 PM, Viola Valley Wildflowers added:
WOW! We are certainly concerned as we only use top quality straight peat mix. If only a customer out of 20,000 customers would just. Linda received 5 beige trillium, 10 wood poppy, 10 dutchmens, 5 prairie trillium, 12 sweet william, 10 walking fern, 12 wild columbine, & 5 Yellow Trillium. I am so so concerned as all my customers know there flowers and soils. This is pure peat mix. I will call you in the a.m. I am concerned for all my plants. I state contact me if you have any questions. Bobby takes pride in all his freshly dug product. This is a shame. I am hoping they are honestly planted properly and also cared for. This would be a huge loss. We are a liscensed nursery and all inspected. We only ship in peat mix. Please disregard this information. Very false
On Apr 3, 2008 10:55 PM, Viola Valley Wildflowers added:
Ordered on Dec 26th. Asked for shipment First week of April. Bobby dug the order, packed it IN PEAT MIX as he is liscensed to only ship clean and in peat mix. I wish Linda would have contacted us. This is so misleading to my prospective customers."
