On 2013-12-06 19:37:23 +0000, Frank Booth said:

"Spider" wrote in message
...
Well the roses finally arrived today - last day of November. Had they
arrived any later they would have been in breach of contract of their own
terms. However 3 of the 9 roses delivered were either damaged or of very
poor quality. Not good at all. They are going back. Not sure whether to ask
for a part refund and buy the remaining 3 elsewhere, or have the damaged
roses replaced (and no doubt I'll have a long wait again). I guess my early
misgivings of this company turned out to be well founded and I won't be
using them again.

Oh dear, Frank, how disappointing! I'm very sorry to be proven right in
this case, but I've had similar experience so I'm not that surprised.
If I were you, I'd cut my losses and ask for my money back rather than
replacements. Hope you can make a go of the better ones.

As I said before, Parkers bulbs are not bad, especially if you order
early. I still use them for bulbs because their prices are reasonable,
but I would understand if you wanted no more to do with them.

On a brighter note, I asked Parkers to replace the the 3 damaged or poor
quality roses (sent them photos). They agreed and the replacements arrived
on Wedmesday - 4 days after as opposed to a 2 months wait from my original
order. This time the quality of the replacements was A+. Pity they couldn't
manage that first time. Didn't even need to send the poor ones back. So I'll
have to wait and see whether those grow ok.

On another issue, when the original delivery came there was no invoice. When
requesting the replacement roses I poiinted out to them that I needed an
invoice, but still none came. Today I made a second request for an invoice
to be told that they don't normally do those for retail sales as it's not
part of their system??? After firmly telling them I need one for tax
purposes they agreed but would have to get one issued through their account
department. All a bit amateurish really. Whenever I've bought anything
online the goods always arrive with an invoice. Never had to request one
until now.

Online sales are a tiny part of our business but we don't send an
invoice unless asked to do so. That's never happened for a private
client but understandably, has been requested by e.g. NT gardens,
landscapers, or similar. As has been said before, you had to wait for
your original order because bare root plants are ONLY sent out when the
leaves have dropped. We get all sorts of bare root stuff here for e.g.
hedging (not roses) and impatient customers often ask when it will be
in. The only answer we can give is "when it's ready". This year, it's
been on the late side. There is no fixed date for these things and as
this has been a very mild autumn, many plants have held onto their
leaves for a long time. Right now, I see a mosquito flying round the
kitchen and we comment often on the amount of leaves still on oak and
beech trees, even after a couple of frosts.

As a matter of curiosity, if the damaged plants grow sturdily, along
with their replacements, will you feel morally obliged to send Parkers
a proportion of the cost of the new, freely and quickly replaced plants
you have?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon