I placed an order with Rob's after reading great things in this forum. It was $135 worth of plants. I think 17 plants in total. I even listed the plants in another thread and how excited I was about this order. I e-mailed them on Saturday the 30th because they had shipped on the 27th and hadn't been received. They told me that as long as they were at the post office it would be alright. I e-mailed them today because I didn't receive the package today and got a reply with the tracking number and they telling me that it had been delivered on the 28th. If they knew that it had been delivered by that day why didn't they tell me. I've got a really bad headache and I'm sure my blood pressure is sky high. I hate to vent but I need to. This is bad service. I lost my plants and my money. I know that in part the postal service must be held accountable but if Rob's violets knew that it had been delivered on the 28th why didn't they tell me when I e-mailed them on Sautrday ??? I could have called the post office earlier today. I'm extremely dissapointed.
Less than happy with Rob's Violet :(
What a mess! I would be terribly upset also. Is it possible for the PO to find out WHERE they were delivered? I would call and have them read the address back to me to make sure there was no typo in the zip code or something. Hope it turns out better for you > Lou
Roly,
How awful for this to happen.Maybe the plants will be okay.I would talk to the post office and also call Rob's and explain the situation.They are very reliable vendors.
Lynn
My experience with Rob's is just the opposite: Excellent and very professional customer service.
The zipcode was correct according to the delivery zipcode. And the address that Rob said that it was send to was correct as well. I doubt that the PO will be able to do anything at this time. They were delivered last Thursday and knowing the people here in Miami whoever it was delivered to most likely kept them. Was bothers me the most is that I e-mailed them on Friday the 29th and this was what I got as a response.
So long as package remains in post office over weeekend, they should befine, though they should have arrived by now.
Rob
www.violetbarn.com >>
This was my original message
Hello there, I was just wondering if you guys knew about the location of> my plants. Since it wasn't shipped express mail I don't have a way to> track it. I was hoping for them to be here today but they aren't here so> it would have to be on Monday. My concern is with the temperatures is> the high 80s to low 90s here that the plants will be damaged.>
Thank you;> Rolando Armentero>>>
They did put tracking information in the package but didn't tell me since they only provide tracking for Express mail and they didn't check where it was the first time.
Then I e-mailed them back yesterday
Hello Rob, I'm e-mailing because the package didn't arrive today either.> At this point I'm starting to get worried. I got the e-mail that they> were shipped on the 27th and it's the 2nd and they still haven't> arrived. My dad is at home all the time so he didn't receive them and> today I received mail including a package from another vendor that was> sent on Saturday via Priority mail. I'm starting to get concerned that> they might have been lost in transit. Again if you have any way to track> the package please let me know. I would hate to loose these plants. I'm> sorry for all of the incoveniences and thanks for the understanding.> Rolando
And this was what they told me
According to the USPS, the package WAS delivered.
See the informationbelow from their website (we put delivery confirmation on your order). Address we used was that provided to us: 75 SW 32nd Court Rd., Miami, FL33135. You may want to contact your local postmaster....
Rob
www.violetbarn.com
Label/Receipt Number: 9405 5036 9930 0082 6291 12Expected Delivery Date: April 28, 2011Class: Priority Mail®Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™
Status: Delivered Your item was delivered at 10:49 am on April 28, 2011 in MIAMI, FL 33135
So why couldn't they check on the status of the order on the 29th when I e-mailed them being concerned about the plants staying at the post office over the weekend. I don't think it was handled well.
It sounds as if your vendors weren't aware (even on the 29th) that your plants had reached a destination on the 28th.
Perhaps the USPS website had not been updated to that point. It's the Post Office that's really at fault here.
I'd also advise you to talk with the vendor to see what could be worked out for you.
I'm sorry but I have tracked packages before and they update within a couple of hours of delivery. I have tracked incoming as well as going packages and there are updates on the day received. They could have looked at their order and check the delivery. Even if it hadn't updated they could had look and told me what the status was.
How terrible. I almost always pay a little extra for insurance when sending packages. Do vendors not do that? They really should, especially on orders over $100. What plants did you order from VioletBarn? If I have any of them, I'd be happy to send you a replacement.
Jamie I really appreciate your offer. I want to wait to see if Rob will be able to do anything at all. I ordered a total of 17 plants which took me forever to narrow down and wait for them to become available. If nothing happens I'll post them here.
I haven't had any issues with orders with Rob's, so I can't comment on that . . . but I can comment on the postal service and their tracking system!
Recently, I was expecting a package, and checked the tracking information a couple of times a day. Fairly early on a Saturday (it was before noon, but after 10am), the last of the tracking info said "sorting complete at 8:40am". Nothing else. So, I thought I'd get the box on Monday. Still, I kept checking. Well, about 9pm saturday night, the tracking information showed that the box was out for delivery at 9:00am, and was delivered at 4:20pm. (Um, not to my apartment, anyway). I assumed it was delivered to the apartment office, which is ok, 'cause it has a/c. So, I get my slip out of the box on Monday morning, go to the apartment office, and guess what? No box! Oh, the box was redelivered later that Monday, but I still called the post office, and the supervisor did say the tracking info should have been updated to show that the box was not delivered, and that it was up to the delivery guy to do, etc.
Sorry for my rant against the post office . . . but their system could use some improvements.
I do hope that Rob will work with you on this, Rolando. He seems like a nice guy (at least, the one time I talked to him on the phone).
For the prices some vendors charge for shipping, I wonder if it wouldn't be worth it for them to get a signature when a package is delivered . . .
This message was edited May 3, 2011 8:35 PM
I do have to admit that the postal service has many many faults and I'm hoping that the package or Rob has some type of insurance to be able to get the money back. Ideally I would love to get my plants. After all I spent the time making the list and waiting patiently until after April 15th for Priority mail to becoma available. The money is not a big issue but the plants are at least for me. They make me happy.
The culprit usually is the postal service in general or the local post office in particular. Relying on the tracking info provided is iffy. I've had packages reported as "delivered" one day and got the actual package a day later...
Last year I had the local post office lose a package from Rob's for a month and then they sent me a notice to pick it up. Since it was June or July, by the time I finally got the package, most of the plants were dead. Some Kohleria rhizome pieces in the pots survived. Rob's would have replaced the whole shipment without any hassle if I hadn't insisted in not re-sending me the Kohlerias that I had "rescued" rhizomes of.
Again: Never had any problems with Rob's. My experience is that their customer service is exceptionally good.
I have repeated asked the at the post office, and they will not insure live plants in any form ! When I first started trading here on dg and ordering plants online, I asked for insurance. They will sell it to you if you ask, but will not pay a claim if it is for plants. They will say that they were not aware of the content when they sold the insurance for the box. A real rip, as they should ask before selling the cusdtyomer the insurance. But, who am I to say ! That is why most purchases of plants are gauranteed reploacement by the seller or not at all. Lou
I agree with Lou. The post office offers "insurance" but if you read the fine print, you're in for a surprise. Plants are one of the examples that aren't covered among quite a few others and making an insurance claim with the post office is more than a notion.
And then again: The one time I needed replacements from Rob's (about 10 plants), although it wasn't their fault, I got them without any questions asked. I wonder what went wrong with your order...
Rob and I have been e-mailing back and forth. I have to wait for the post office until tomorrow to see if they do give me a call back if not I'll call again and try to find out something then let Rob know. I have to admit that I was very angry when I wrote the first post and that the post office is probably at fault here. I just wished that they would be more reliable. After I hear from the post office I will let Rob know and we'll go from there. I've seen plants posted here from Lou that she got from the Bingo prize as well as some other people who ordered recently and they look very healthy and no broken leaves whatsoever in transit. This problem is just delaying me being able to order more plants. Hopefully I'll be a very satisfied customer and shop from Rob for many years.
I have never had a problem with Rob's,but I do know a lot about shipping.When something is sent Priority it has a tracking number that can be checked on their website.The post office normally updates in the evening after all the packages have been picked up from their different customers,but this does not always happen as it should.Also,if they attempt to deliver and there is no-one to leave the package with a notice is left for the first 2 attempts and after the third the package is returned to the sender(but sometimes winds up in a deadmail location instead).
It can be a real hassle to try and track down a package that has been delivered to the wrong address.If you talk to the supervisor at your personal PO,they can usually figure out where the package was left by talking to the carrier,but sometimes a sub is on duty.
You can request that your package has to be signed for and then it is not supposed to be left,but often a neighbor or an apartment manager will sign for it.You can find out from the PO who signed.
The PO has it's faults and UPS does too.I have dealt with both of them many times and it can be very frustrating.
Hang in there Rolando! Hopefully someone at Rob's will make things good.They have been around for a long time and are nice people to deal with (in my own experience).
Lynn
Right now, the USPS has cut routes and hired a LOT of subs while they figure out how far a route they can put upon a single carrier -- they've done this in my mother's town (NJ) and I've had a succession of subs (in PA) who are delivering mail to two individuals who have not lived at my address in over 3 years. This shakeup is causing a lot of problems for people who I work with in different towns in PA.
Sharon
Let's hope that everything can be resolved. The post office is investigeting as of yesterday and I should receive a call within 2 business days so by tomorrow at the latest. Not that this might do any good at this point since the plants were delivered on Thursday. My only hope is that whoever got them will be able to take care of them and know what to do. I got past the anger stage and I'm just trying to make things work. I just don't want to be without money or plants. Preferably I would love the plants. I love the AVs.
Sorry guys, I didn't realize the P.O. won't insure plants. They promise delivery within 3 days. What consequences do they have if there is no delivery?
Probably none or not too many. I don't know their terms and contitions but I'd be surprised if there wasn't a clause in there protecting the USPS...
That's so unfair! It'd be interesting to know their 'failure' statistics.
they sent mine to a po box with a different number 334 mines 344 and i got it two days late,most were in trouble but survivied,they were streps and it was when i first started growing them some years ago,for the most part the service is good,
Well as expected I didn't receive a call from the PO so I called them back today and was told that they didn't have any information. I was told that I would receive a call within 2 business days which puts it at Monday. At this rate it will be the end of the month and I won't have my plants.
im sorry
I have sympathy for a lot of the good workers at the USPS, but it's stuff like this that makes me want to slug somebody when the USPS whines about "decreased use of its services" and officials wonder out loud why their nnumbers are down.
It's pretty hard on the workers.Locally, many have been forced to take other jobs and their routes are being run by part-time flex people.They also changed many of the routes and some no longer have a regular carrier,just whoever is available.
Lynn
I agree -- see my earlier post. Lately, I've been getting mail for 2 men who haven't lived here for at least 3 years -- as I'm on my fourth lease, I know who's lived here for the past three or so years! I kept writing on the mail notifying the carrier that they were no longer at my address, thinking that they would sort the mail out and finally had to call the postmaster. What the USPS has done to their local offices lately has drastically changed the service to customers and put undue hardship on their carriers. If they thought people were using alternate services before, the upper management of the postal service just increased that trend.
It certainly did! However,we all have to remember that email and online bill paying has drastically reduced their revenue.
Lynn
I can talk to family and friends, colleagues and professionals with a much faster send and return -- and I can't resist that! As for bill paying -- I actually use priority mail to pay my rent each month -- because otherwise, I can't anticipate when it will get there and I can't pay a penalty if payment is late -- and that's why I use online or telephone bill pay. I could never tell if it would take 1 day or 10 days for a first class letter with a payment to make it to the next zipcode over!
I am a writer and while I am saddened at the loss of letter writing and I sympathize, but...
S.
So here is my question. If after tomorrow I don't get a response from the post office or don't get anything that will lead me to recuperating my box (which at this point I highly doubt it) Should I ask Rob for a replacement ?? I have 2 more packages coming. One with some chimera AVs that I got from eBay and another one with daylilies if these get here without complications should I ask to have my plants ??
If after you speak with the post office, and they still cannot locate your package, I would call and talk to Rob. Let him know what steps you've taken with the post office, etc. I'm sure something can be worked out.
In light of all this . . . I was wondering about signature confirmations . . . the price for normal delivery confirmation is about $.80. Signature confirmation is about $2.45, and includes the tracking that we mostly use already, but we'd also be able to see the signature of whoever signs for our package. Sure, it's an extra $1.60-ish, but if it can help resolve issues like this . . . I don't know, just a thought.
I would gladly pay for signature confirmation. I've been e-mailing Rob to keep him up to date with what's going on. He should know that tomorrow I'm expecting a call from the PO but it's been a week an a half and I still haven't received plants so I doubt I will. I wish I lived in a small town where you knew everybody in town. I told my parents than when I move it's going to be somewhere in the countryside and nowhere in south Florida.
I feel for you on this Roly. Include me with the group that has always been pleased with Rob's. I hate it involves several plants. I do live in a small town and it is true that I have not had problems here. Neighbors also watch out for each other and we who lives where. I guess I took that for granted until we visited our daughter. People there are always moving in and out. Never know who is living beside her. Anyway, I DO have the problem of slow delivery due to the size of the town and when the trucks run. I had a trade that took a little over a week to arrive. When I asked the P.O. about it being priority mail, I was told that was expected time of arrival but not guaranteed. The plants did survive...but thought the box got lost along the way.
Connie
Connie my situation is a bit different because the plants showed as Delivered as of April 28th so the PO delived them to somebody else. This means that whoever received them kept them instead of returning them which would have been the right thing to do. I remember back home that everybody knew us and they were always on the look out. I remember being like 12 years old and going to the beach with my friends and some people told my mom that we were at the beach. Luckily she knew that we were headed to the beach. What bothers me most at this point is the well being of the plants. If they got delivered to somebody who has any clue as to how to care for them then they might have a chance otherwise they might be doomed to a slow death which I would hate that to happen.
I do understand. Just referring to small town life. I always think of Karma in these cases but that won't put those plants in your hands. Sad that people are like that...boy that makes me love my neighbors!!!
Connie
I sure hope Rob will send you replacements. It must be tough on the vendors too, since their profit margins are probably narrow. Let us know if you didn't get all of them replaced and perhaps we can help out.
Well the post office wasn't able to locate the package. Why am I not surprised. The surpervisor told me to call back tomorrow between 9:00 and 9:30 to see if he could look for it one last time. I'm already mentally exhausted. I've been at this for a week and a half. I just want all of this to be over.
Oh Rolando,I feel so bad for you! Being in shipping for years,I had these things happen with just about every carrier.Hang in there and then talk to Rob's.
Lynn
I called again today in the morning. Spoke to the same person and after 40 minutes of waiting on the phone (while waiting went to Home Depot and got some milkweeds) The result was that the package was nowhere to be found. I have e-mailed Rob at this point to see what can be done.
Hello Rob,
I spoke with the post office yesterday as they had told me and they weren't able to find the package. The person that I spoke with was a supervisor; his name is Alex and if you'll like to inquire you can contact the Post Office at 3055412478 and ask for him. Was told by him to call again today at 9:30 which I did with no success either after being on hold for almost 40 minutes. At this point it's been 12 days since it was delivered according to the information provided by the post office. I'm considering the package as lost. I would like to know what can be done now.
Thank you;
Rolando
After this, any more packages you get you should ask the seller to mark the box "hold at Post Office". Jan did this because she got her mail at the end of the day and plants in a hot mail truck all day in the south are not happy...her carrier actually did not use air conditioning either, go figure. I'm surprised with todays technology, all packages are not required for a signature.
If Rob does not give you compensation, and if you paid with a credit card, you should call the card company and make a complaint asking for a charge back.
Its really such a shame this had happened and I hope you get some resolution...it wasn't Robs fault nor was it yours. He will be leaving for that convention in NJ any time.
tish