Comments regarding Gurney's Seed & Nursery

F.Y.I.
Gurney's OUTSOURCING

We all know that plant material can come from many places in the world and this is positive.
I just placed an order with this company two days ago and it was very unsettling. I had ordered from them years ago and still got their catalog.

THEIR CALL CENTER FOR ORDERING IS IN INDIA!
No Americans employed there.

I did not realize this until after the order was completed and my credit card three digit code was taken and I could not cancel it. I could not understand the person taking my order and I finally mentioned that she had an accent and I was having trouble understanding her, she replied that she was in India taking my order! It was a headache because of the language barrier and of course she was not familiar with Colorado growing conditions and I could not seem to get her to understand that I wanted my plant material earlier to grow in the greenhouse.

I want to support AMERICAN companies that employ American workers and NOT companies that outsource jobs that Americans can perform and need.
I will have to wait to see if I get my order correctly and will update the review at that time. I wish that I had read the reviews before I ordered.

P

"On Feb 26, 2010 11:23 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We have many call centers and do have a call center outside of the US. This is to ensure 100% customer service and to assist you in placing orders 24 hours a day."

Like so many others, I used Gurney's when they were still in South Dakota, but since the ownership change and after reading all the comments here, I would not dare use them again. Money is too hard to come by to gamble it on a company that may or may not perform and doesn't properly respond customer's complaints. The "Boilerplate" comments left by the company in response to each Negative comment, doesn't help. I have the Gurney Catalog on my desk right now, but I think I am going elsewhere. All I can say is I miss the old company and say Goodbye.

"On Jan 18, 2010 5:58 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

We always do our best to strive for customer satisfaction. We are always here to answer any question you may have. Your feedback is greatly appreciated to help us improve our products and service to our customers. A customer service representative will be contacting you personally."

I recieved a contender peach tree last year they just never would grow. Other than that everything else I have bought in the past few years has been good.

First, I still order seeds from Gurneys. However, I would like to point out that the current Gurney's Seeds and Nursery has nothing to do with any living or past Gurney other than the format of the catalog and the branding. It's just a mail order house. I am a descendant of the original Gurneys from Yankton and its really not that great of a story how it all transpired, but I don't believe the company that currently holds the name is responsible for that. I do hope that they do their best to provide good service and products for the good of the family name.

Many years ago, in our first home, we magically received a Gurney's catalog -- and it was one of the best things that happened to our family -- 30 years ago. We ordered seeds, plants, and even chicks and all was wonderful.
Now, we guess 32 years later, nothing is wonderful about Gurneys. Having been living in England, then in Utah, we returned to the east coast. We were starting a new garden. So we went to Gurney's web-site. Our order -- designed to meet our new planting schedule came to our post office box so out of phase that we had to pot blueberry plants in our garage -- just to keep them alive until our ground was frost-free. Many items on our order became "Not Available" or were shipped at the wrong time. Finally, their customer support is based in India -- an American Seed Company who cannot find a housewife or two in North Dakota to talk to me?
But, the worst thing was Gurney's sold our name. There was a typo in our address -- a little thing, but enough to know when we got another seed catalog or other offering that we knew who had "sold us". Now we get offerings from not only seed and plant companies, but from "The Classic Composers" who sent us a CD for "free".
It seems that Gurney's sells seeds and plants as a side-line, but it's real business is selling lists of names.
So, if you are silly enough, as we were, to order from the current "Gurney's" be prepared to have your mailbox stuffed with offers from any company who buys lists.
We, by choice, read our chosen newspapers on line, receive no printed bank statements or credit card statements -- all our transactions are paperless. Now, thanks to Gurney's whole forests of trees are being destroyed to send us catalogs we did not request and do not want. This really makes us very angry. If you do not want to be covered in excess paper, avoid!

"On Jan 11, 2010 2:17 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. We will be contacting you to see what we can do to help rectify the problems you have had"

I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered seeds and plants on their web site this past winter. I took advantage of their 25$ off a 50$+ order on Februrary first. My seeds arrived a couple of weeks later, which was still earlier than I needed to start ahead here in zone 6. My perennials and veggies arrived the end of March. My Jersey Hybrid Aspargus roots were mostly thick, fleshy roots with defined crown tips. The few that looked like thin stragglers I planted close together. The potato eyes were blemish free 50 cent piece size. I planted the aspargus and potatoes in tubs that week. After shoots came up and frost danger passed I planted the asparagus in the veggie garden. The perennials came in individual plastic pots 2" square and 3 1/2"deep. All had plenty of foliage, were packed well and still slightly moist. This was my first year ordering from Gurney's. I am happy. Everything performed well! All perennials bloomed and have formed substantial clumps considering their small but healthy starting sizes. I will try ordering from them again this coming winter for more sping fever planting fun in 2010.

Posted on April 01, 2008, updated October 16, 2009
I have ordered from Gurneys Seed and Nursery off and on since the 1950's and always got good results. However, I have never had to have anything replaced until now. I ordered two Asian Pear trees and one was skinned by a mechanical digger and I ask for a replacement. I got the replacement within three weeks. This was outstanding service for a mail order company showing that they do honor their warranty. They sent an email acknowledging my request and promptly sent out the replacement. I would recommend them to anyone.

I love this company! When something doesn't live they replace it as soon as they can. I have recommended them to numerous friends and family and all have been pleased! The prices are reasonable and the pawpaws I just got arrived in seperate boxes and were very well packed! I'm picking out places to plant more trees now.

"On Sep 22, 2009 2:49 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Dear Valued Customer:

Thank you so much for your very kind words, and for taking the time to post them! We always strive for Customer satisfaction. We are always here to answer any question you may have. Again, your feedback is greatly appreciated!"

I've never ordered hardware products from Gurney's so comments only relate to seeds and plants. First of all one needs to understand than Gurney's sells most of their plants at very low prices, in my opinion they are so low that one should not expect most of the transplants to be equal to some of their high priced competitors. If a person understands that about Gurney's live nursery stock, then some very nice bargains can be found. Sometimes I want the best well rooted nursery stock available. On those times I don't buy from Gurney's. Other times I'm happy to get a relatively small sprig of a plant, place it in a nursery pot, and let it grow for a year or two before tranferring the plant to the gound. I have been quite pleased with such inexpensive plants purchased from Gurney's. The plants almost always live, and eventually end up thriving. For my uses, Gurney's seeds are second to none, as long as one is happy with older, proven varieties which have mostly been around for a while. Those suit my needs so Gurney's supplies almost all of my vegetable seeds each year. This past year I bought several bunches of strawberry plants and raspberry plants. Once again they were not equal to more expensive vendors, but most of the plants have grown and thrived, and next year there will be no difference between having bought the plants from Gurney's or having bought them from a more prominant vendor. So I have to give Gurney's an A+ for providing lots of very reasonably priced nursery stock to shoppers who understand and appreciate what they are actually buying from the company.

I have probably ordered from Gurney's every year for the past six to ten years, and fully intend to continue ordering both seeds and some nursery stock from them. I generally order early in the season when Gurney's offers a $25 discount on a $50 order. That price is almost obscene as the prices are so low to start.

Last year I ordered 75 stawberry plants, six raspberry plants of two varieties, and all of my seeds for ordinary vegetable varieties. All have grown extremely well, with lots of fresh strawberries even though only planted this spring, and with a bountiful raspberry harvest this fall. Of course my seeds from Gurney's performed well just as they do every season.

"On Sep 10, 2009 12:58 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Dear Valued Customer:

Thank you for your kind words; we greatly appreciate you taking the time to post your feedback. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction, and are always looking for ways to improve. We are always here to answer any questions you may have or assist in any way we can. We look forward to serving you in the future. Happy Gardening!"

Decided this last spring to use a $ 25 discount coupon and place a order with Gurney's. I ordered alot of vegetable seeds , seed potatoes , blueberries & clematis plants.

I ordered in late March. I received the shipments in three different shipments. The vegetable seeds were the only shipment that was received in a timely manner. The vegetable seeds were some of the best I've used. You can check your order status online and I've got to say that was a total joke It changed every day and was terrible.

I did finally receive my blueberries & clematis after a long wait. The killer was the 2lb bag of seed potatoes I ordered. It was past June and I still didn't receive them. I sent a e-mail to customer service requesting them to cancel my order and refund my money as I had my garden planted. They told me they couldn't do that since my order was about to be shipped.
After looking at their online shipping status I fired back another e-mail saying their practices were not right and let them know the attorney general should know about their practices.

A short time after my e-mails I receive a package of 2lb potatoes that weren't the same type I ordered. Then out of the blue several weeks later I receive a refund check for the potatoes.

I believe Gurney's could be a good company but need to make changes in the way they do business. I will probably buy vegetable seeds from them again this year but will pass on eveything else. I just went through to many headaches to give them a positive rating.

"On Sep 10, 2009 12:50 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Dear Valued Customer:

Thank you for your input; it is greatly appreciated. Please know that your feedback will be forwarded to the proper department for them to look into. We are always striving to improve our service, and occasionall we do stumble. I do apologize for the inconvenience you experienced this year, and hope you will contact us in the future for any planting needs. We look forward to serving you again."

I will NEVER order from Gurney's again! On 02/07/09, I placed a phone order for 8 bunches of Candy onion plants to be sent the week of 05/18/09. When I didn't have them that week, I called on 05/29/09 and talked to a Rachel, who said they don't ship past 06/11/09 and it didn't show they were out of stock, so I could expect them the week of 06/19 to 06/23. I mentioned that Gurney's had charged my credit card on 02/09/09, and she said they (and more companies) are doing this now. I told her I had never had a co. do this to me and I won't do business with any companies that do.

When I didn't receive the order by 6/17/09, I called the co. again, and a Shawn (who had a definite dialect) said the order was shipped on 06/05/09 and that the delay was by the carrier, that it was in Illinois in transit.

On 06/20/09, I talked to a Debbie, who said it didn't show any tracking other than vendor shipped it 06/05/09 by U.S. Mail, so she didn't see how the person I talked to on 06/17 could have tracked it to Illinois. I asked if they outsourced, and she said, "Sometimes, if it is busy." She suggesed I wait a few more days, and if I didn't have the order by then or if it was in bad shape, to call back. She said they could give me a credit for next year for more since they aren't available anymore this year.

I told her I wasn't going to call back as I had already spent too much on phone calls since they don't have an 800 number and that they have had my money for over 4 months now, so she had me hold until she talked to a supervisor. She came back on the line and said they would credit my account, and if I did receive the onion plants, then "Merry Christmas."

When I told our Postmistress about it supposedly being sent U.S.PS., she had me fill out a "Mail Recovery Center Search Request" and sent it for me, but nothing was found (nor did I expect that it would).

Not only did I not have any plants to give to my grandchildren to plant for a 4-H project for their fair, but I won't have any through the winter like I always count on as no one in our area stores had any onion sets or plants left by the time I found out I wouldn't be getting my order. I wish I had checked your ratings earlier to see that Gurney's have more negative than positive feedback.

"On Aug 18, 2009 10:16 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service. I will be contacting you for more details to help rectify the problem."

Last winter I ordered some blueberry plants from Gurney's. I received them at least 3 weeks earlier than any other nursery stock I have ever received. If I had not prepared the planting holes beforehand, planting would have been delayed for several weeks. I was advised to heel the plants in, but that's hard to do when the ground is frozen and snow covered!.

But I am happy to report that the plants are all growing well.

"On Aug 14, 2009 2:54 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We strive for 100% Customer Satisfaction. I will be contacting you through email via Dave's Garden so we can look into this matter. Thank you!"

Have done business with Gurney's (Henry Field's as well) now for six years. I've ordered plants and seeds with typically good results. When things have not done well, I have always been able to get resolution to my satisfaction. Only one time was it necessary to ask the CSR to connect me to their supervisor, but the situation was resolved on that call. The $25 certificate is what got me started and helps every year. I had bad luck with one of Dave's highly rated companies and couldn't get even an email response. Good customer service and excellent products from Gurney's has been what I've found.

"On Aug 6, 2009 1:59 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service, so please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."

I can almost echo the same complaints of other posted negative comments. I placed an order in March 2009 through US mail with check enclosed for a dwarf pomegranate. The check cleared the bank. Near the end of the shipping schedule for my zone, I had not received my order. Sent an e-mail to customer service, received an apology for the inconvenience and was told a re-ship would arrive in 2-3 weeks. Didn't receive the re-ship near the 3rd week, send 2nd e-mail and was told the delivery date would be March 2010! Requested refund, was informed to expect refund in 30 days. After reading the posted comments, I am not very hopeful that I'll actually receive a refund.

"On Jul 1, 2009 10:12 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

I gave up last summer trying to start my own sweet potatoes , so I put in an early order for them at Gurney' s in Feb.2009. They arrived in the mailbox-US mail on a cool day in late May (perfect). I planted them, and there were a lot more than the 50 plants I ordered. They were very healthy and took off pretty good. They are doing fine, we will see what I will dig up this fall, but so far I am really happy with them

"On Aug 6, 2009 2:28 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you so much for your kind words. We are very happy to hear you are satisfied with our product. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance.

I ordered several times this season. most orders were fine, simple transactions and reasonable shipping time. everything was as described.

one order, for two clearance priced (and cannot find elsewhere!) fruit trees did become a bit of a comedy of errors. they could not ship a Honeysweet pear, they were out of stock. to their credit they did not just substitute. after a couple weeks I emailed asking for a refund.
this went on for two months, but each time a different customer service rep DID respond very quickly, and promise to forward to billing. but this was just not happening.

finally they had an end of season clearance, and I emailed asking in lieu of refund, just ship me a Bartlett pear (which was on sale for approximately what I had paid for the Honeysweet). after several back and forths regarding possible amount I might owe (I refused to pay anything, actually) this was agreed upon, and they shipped an ENORMOUS caliper semi dwarf (more expensive) Bartlett pear, who is leafing out nicely. because they'd run out of the cheaper standard Bartlett pear trees.

I definately will continue to do business with Gurney's. I am of fixed income, and I have to order what I can, at sizes and prices I can afford. each year I deal with all the "disreputable" nurseries, and have found that with patience I get what I ordered, or replacements, and they do fine.

"On Aug 6, 2009 2:31 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your kind words; it is greatly appreciated. I do apologize for the error that occured with your order; I am happy you were satisfied with the end result. Our company is based on 100% Customer Service; if you are not satisfied, then we have not done our job. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We look forward to serving you in the future."

I had planned to do quite a bit of ordering online this year, collected catalogs and decided to order from Gurneys. Long story short.. I order a cherry tree, blueberry and some raspberries.
Did not get the cherry tree shipped notice and called to find out. They happily told me that it would not ship until fall. In Colorado that is the worst time to plant a tree, we are too dry during the winter, we have irrigation now!! Confirmed this via my local nursery. Was told by Gurnerys that I could not get a refund until the rest of the ordered arrived....waited...waited and then called with plans of exchanging the tree for some blackberries.Told the person that, and 45 minutes later was told that a check would be in the mail, what, I asked to exchange for berrys?? opps she messed up and canceled the order...no going back.. Was not able to get the berries unless I did a "new" transaction to buy them with my credit card..
BTW I paid originally with a CC....6 weeks later, still waiting for the "Check" and 10.00 we are sorry coupon was promised....contacted them again and smuggly told that they had refunded my cc weeks ago? Ok..great communication here!
My thoughts....
1) Henry Fields, Gurneys, Springhill Nursey are all owned by the same mother company a Scarlett something or other.
2) Customer service is terrible!
3) Website sucks... does not really tell you the RIGHT date item will ship... so only THEY know... Also the website does not let you know that items are OUT OF STOCK,,and will sell them to you. Am ecommerce web developer and these 2 options are easy peasy to fix! No excuse there unless you want to get peoples money and fix it later, in my mind
I order alot of items online, not just gardening stuff and this experience was bar none, the most unpleasant and a bit maddening!
If you do order, I would recommend calling to make sure you are informed of shipping dates and stock levels... not the website

"On Jul 1, 2009 10:14 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

I apologize for not replying sooner as I have been out of the office. Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

I ordered sweet potato plants from this company back in December of 2008. Product, according to the invoice, was packaged on May 5th. However, it was not shipped until June 5th. Obviously, the plants were completely dead and moldy when they arrived.
After several failed attempts to contact the company over the phone, I was able to reach customer service over email. The company did agree to a full refund, however the amount of the refund was almost half of what I had been charged for the product.
I have yet to see any refund at all, much less the paid price for the dead plant material.
I had been a loyal customer of this company for many years prior to this bad experience with their customer service.

"On Jun 19, 2009 10:09 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

My advise is don't do business with Gurney's.

However if you do decide to do business with Gurney's don't order online, instead order over the phone. The website does not reflect actual inventory. If Gurneys is out of a product and you order online you will not be notified. Also they send out their refund as a check in the mail. Example I ordered two apple trees among other items and they were out of stock on the apple trees and I was not notified. I was told I would not get my refund for the apple trees until the last item in the order is shipped. My order was placed on 4/26/09 and I did not start receiving my order until 5/17/09. I did not receive all of the items in my order until 6/10/09. Today is 6/12/09 and they have not mailed out my refund check yet.

Also their after hours phone support is in India. Need I say more.

As far as their product goes the strawberry's that were shipped to me were in a descent condition but not the greatest. I had about a 75% success ratio. The bare root trees that I ordered were no more than a twig. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they sprout and survive.

"On Jun 19, 2009 10:07 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. "

I ordered from them over the past 2 years. Overall, only the strawberries grew well. Everything else was subpar for the price they were charging. The almond tree was promised to be 2-4' and all I got was a 1' stick which was dead. Money-back guarantee is FAKE. While they are pretty good at sending replacements, if you ask for your money back, they'll only offer a replacement certificate (or plant replacement). This happened when I asked for a refund. Instead, they send me a replacement cert! I advise sticking with your local garden centers. I've found much bigger/healthier plants usually lower prices at places like Home Depot and Costco.

"On Jun 8, 2009 1:40 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you, and we ask that you consider giving us one more opportunity to provide you with world class service. Please understand that our company is based on 100% Customer Service. We are trained and qualified to answer any questions you may have or assist you with any problems that may arise."

I ordered on 4/8/09 their HEIRLOOM RAINBOW BLEND TOMATO to be shipped 4/26/09. I called and spoke to Dave on 5/20/09 and asked were my shipment was. He told me they had a freeze and would ship in a week or two. I wanted to cancel the order and was told I had to wait till I received the order. I received them on 6/3/09, this is to late to plant were I am at (90 days to maturity) we get snow in October, and the plants were mush in the package when I opened them ( were they frozen in shipment?) No tomatoes this year. I will buy all my plants locally from now on. NO MORE MAIL ORDER

Never never never again.

I ordered three items about two weeks ago. I got an email with a link to check the status of my order. I was not too happy to see that two of the items were going to be shipped in the fall -- not the best time for planting here in cold New England (indeed, now, June 1 is ideal,,,,,)

Wondering where the other item was I went to the web site using the link. It only showed one item, and back ordered till fall. I could not see if other items had been shipped or not.

I called, and went through auto attendant hell, till I got a human (likely not in the US) who could not have cared less. He informed me that the other two items were now out of stock and been cancelled. I asked why I had not been sent an email to that effect. He mildly apologized, but said that is how their system works.

I cancelled the rest of the order, made sure I am off their mailing list, and will never consider them again. I would rather pay a bit extra for good service to a company that cares about its customers.

Generally speaking, Gurney's is worth doing business with for as long as you are not in a hurry to get the plants and have patience for them to correct their mistakes.

Pros:
- Cost is lower than many other online nurseries, especially considering the $25 off for new customers.
- Plants arrive 99% healthy.
- Offers some of the more rare plants that cannot be found elsewhere.
- Charge is applied only when the plants are ready to be shipped.
- "E-mail" customer service is responsive and VERY helpful.

Cons:
- Shipments arrive slower than many of the other online nurseries.
- One order is often divided into multiple shipments without advance notice.
- When an item is out of stock, the website does not update the info. In addition, Gurney's will substitute the item at their own discretion without informing the customers first.
- "Telephone" customer service is not most helpful, although they do try.

And if you have time to read the rest of my review, here are the details...

Issue - website does not always list when the plant will be shipped (i.e. spring or fall). --|||-- Resolution - info is provided in shipping e-mail. When I wanted to exchange to a plant that can be shipped immediately, it was relatively easy to do.
Issue - when exchanging a fall shipping plant with a spring one, I could only exchange for items that are not on sale. --|||-- Resolution - the customer service rep on the phone did what he can to work around this in their system. He was not exceptionally clever and I had to wait for a long time. BUT, he did tried to help. I ended up exchanging a full price item and order the climbing rose that was on sale separate and pay the extra shipping. Luckily the shipping cost was low.
Issue - when item is out of stock, substitution is sent without advance consultation or even notice. --|||-- Resolution - my Whopper Strawberries were replaced with Camarosa Strawberries (also very nice but not what I ordered). I e-mailed customer service and they immediately offered to refund the cost of the item and have me keep the 56 Camarosa Strawberries they sent.
Issue - shipments took quite some time to arrive. No shipping status is available for tracking. --|||-- Resolution - grow more patience and plan ahead the next time.
Issue - one order is divided into multiple shipments. Sometimes one shipment can arrive a few weeks after the previous one. The shipping confirmation does not inform the customer when the remaining shipments will arrive. The confirmation only indicates what is being shipped. --|||-- Resolution - treat the shipments as surprise presents. You never know what you will get next and when. It's fun.
Issue - because the shipments always arrives late and somewhat unpredictable as to which one will arrive next, it's difficult to be prepared to plant the plants as soon as they arrive. --|||-- Resolution - the plants from Gurney's are very healthy and well prepared, I was able to hold off on the planting for as long as two weeks after receiving the plants.

Again, in general, Gurney's is a decent online supplier of plants. They provide a good variety of products at a very good price. But if you are not picky about what plants to get, I would highly recommend shopping from BulbsDirect.com. They sell very healthy plants at very low prices. See my comments for them under the company's review page.

Happy Gardening!

I didn't what to expect when I ordered from this company. The reviews seems so negative.

But I was pleasantly surprised, even impressed their service. My order came in a couple of weeks, everything was fresh and alive and thriving. The packaging of the plants was the best I have ever seen. And I am not easily impressed. Maybe they've change management or something, but I will continue to order from them because they have given me the best product and service from a internet order ever!

I am happy with my 6 new bi-color butterfly bushes and they are now planted (and still alive) in my garden.

I have been a long time Gurney's customer. Last April, I ordered 6 raspberry plants. 3 were dead upon arrival. I scheduled a replacement that was supposed to be shipped this spring. I called to check its progress in April and was told that it would ship out at the end of April. I called again in the middle of May to find that they had cancelled the order. They said that they had sold out---- apparently it is company policy to ship new orders before reshipments. They said they could send me the plants next spring- ?!?!?!

I requested a reimbursement, tried to cancel another order I had going with them (they suspiciously said that it had shipped out already that day- fine- I will refuse delivery), cancelled all catalogues, and removed my email address from their mailing list. I am finished with Gurney's and, because they are a sister company, with Henry Field's as well. They didn't even apologize! Terrible customer service.

We just sent a letter to Gurney's:

WE ORDERED FROM YOUR COMPANY (USING A DIFFERENT NAME) ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO AND YOUR SERVICE WAS BAD, SO WE UTILIZED OTHER ONLINE COMPANIES. WE OWN OUR OWN LANDSCAPING COMPANY AND TRIED A SMALL ORDER FOR OUR HOME GARDENING FROM YOU THIS TIME AND YOU HAVE VERY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE.

DO YOU KNOW THAT THE TIME IT TOOK YOU TO SHIP OUR ORDER, WAS TOTALLY UNACCEPTIBLE AND UNBELIEVABLE. IF I PROVIDED THAT SAME SERVICE, I WOULD NOT HAVE A CONTRACT AT ALL.

YOU ALLOWED US TO ORDER ALL THAT MERCHANDISE; WHILE YOU KNOW YOUR INVENTORY AND DID NOT SAY THAT MUCH OF IT WAS NOT IN STOCK.

I HAVE MY OWN CALENDAR/FREE TIME AND SCHEDULE, BUT YOU SHIPPED WHEN IT WAS BEST FOR YOU AND WHEN MY BUSINESS DID NOT ALLOW TIME TO BARELY GET MY OWN PLANTING DONE.

YOU SHIPPED THE ORDER IN PARTS; REMINDING ME THE OTHERS WOULD FOLLOW OR YOU (FINALLY) DID NOT HAVE IT AT ALL!

BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AND YOU JUST SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE ORDER TO GO THRU IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE PRODUCT; AS THERE ARE MANY OTHER GREAT SUCH SERVICES ONLINE TO CHOOSE FROM.

YOUR SERVICE SUCKS!!!

I ordered 2 trees and a blackberry. They were shipped in separate packages several weeks apart. Everything arrived in great shape. With a $25 off coupon, the price was excellent.

This company cannot get an order shipped to the correct address. A month and a half and and 6 phone calls later I have no seeds yet, and they should be in the ground by now. The one thing they did get to me was yellow onions. The problem is , I wanted red onions. Seems they were out of those so they decided yellow would be okay. WRONG .... When you call, they cannot help because COMPANY POLICY , prohibits them from giving a refund or sending another shipment because the order they shipped to the wrong address has not gotten back to them. UPS tracking numbers don"t work and they give me phone numbers to call to try and locate the package.Why should I do their work, I made no mistake. Then they get rude and say I'm going to put you on hold, and leave you there, never to return. AVOID THIS COMPANY . THERE ARE COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT ARE REPUTABLE, AND HAVE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENTS THAT WILL HELP YOU WHEN THERE IS A PROBLEM. This company is an internet / mail order company that only exists on paper. It is afiliated with several other questionable entities which also have more negative reviews than positive reviews. You can do much better, stay away from this company.

Very early this year, I ordered multiple tomato plants from Gurney's. My plants arrived at my house the second week of April. They were beautiful, but I live in Zone 6, and our last frost date here in the mountains isn't until mid-May. I potted the plants, kept them in a relatively warm shed and babied them, but they were not happy and soon were droopy and mostly dead. I called Gurney's and spoke to a customer service rep who was very pleasant and helpful. She quickly set up free replacement of my plants with no problems. My new plants arrived today and are even prettier than the first ones.

Oh, where do I start with this horrible experience? When we started getting catalogs this Winter, we began the long process of careful planning for our garden this Spring and for future harvests of nuts, fruits and berries. Gurney's use to be in South Dakota so we decided to place our order with them. That was our FIRST mistake! I had an original order for over $350.00 but when I phoned in the order on 30 March 2009, many of the items on my list were not available. [I am on my knees saying prayers for Divine intervention for that!] I placed an order that came to $264.70 on 30 March 2009. That amount was charged to my credit card on 30 March 2009. I waited, waited and waited. Finally I got #69937 Watermelon seeds and #69948 Gotta Have it Sweet corn seeds. I planted the watermelon seeds in peat pots and placed them under my grow table to germinate. [We start all of our seeds and the Burpee tomato and Cucmbers were already 4 inches tall. My $4.95 packet of 12 watermelon seeds germinated one plant. I waited for the rest of my order and I finally got #15300 Candy Onion plants for $14.95. If it wasn't so awful I would be lol. They were no bigger than the eraser of a pencil! The Butternut Trees #13323 that were $9.50 each should have been listed as twigs. They were 8" tall and the diameter of a toothpick. The Contender Peach tree #65837 at the price of $31.95 was 24 inches tall and about 1/4 inch in diameter. The Heritage Raspberries #084732 cost of $10.95 at least had some size but they still have not had one leaf. I was still waiting for #65808 Honey Sweet Pear Tree for $28.95...I called Gurney's to ask about the Pear tree to find out that it was NO LONGER available. hmmmm..it was available when I placed my order and I paid for it. I asked to have the $28.95 refunded to my charge card immediately. Guess what? Gurney's has a policy of NOT REFUNDING your money to a credit card. They will issue you a refund check that you will recieve 4 to 6 weeks after YOUR FINAL order is shipped! This was 30 April 2009 and I was still waiting for shipment of 3 different potatoes, Asparagus [3 orders], Honey Berry bushes [2 orders], Sweet Potatoes [1 order], Pioneer Soft Neck Garlic [1 order] and 2 orders of their Shady Places Hosta. I was speaking to someone in the call center, three times I requested to speak to the Supervisor. Three times I was put on hold and this man would come back on the line and NO SUPERVISOR. Finally after paying for 30 minutes of long distance charges, I get to speak to "Brad". No employee id #. He was rude and abrupt. Again, I explain my concern and he said that it was the Company Policy to not refund to credit cards. I asked to Please speak to his supervisor and he told me that there was no one else to speak to-he was it. I requested a mailing address and phone number to the headquarters of Gurney's and he told me that there wasn't any mailing address or phone number. He was in charge of Customer Service. He told me that he would cancel the rest of my order and that a refund check would be sent. I requested that he send me an email with a reference number so that I could track the refund and he said that he would send me an email. I have never received an email from "Brad" as promised. On 1 May 2009 I called Gurney's Customer service again. This time I spoke to a "Crystal" who seemed to be helpful. She agreed that I should get a refund of $228.50 for the canceled order. I requested that she send me an email with a reference number and she agreed to email me. I have not received the promised email. Today, 5 May 2009 I once again phoned "Customer Service" to ask about my refund check-again put on hold, again spent 30 minutes on the phone that I paid for only to be disconnected after 30 minutes. I called back immediately and asked to be reconnected to this person only to be told that they couldn't do that and I would have to speak to the person that answered. aaarrrggg
So....I am still waiting to have my money returned to me and it comes as several checks-not one and MAYBE I might get it before July?! Oh, and the final blow is that I paid 15.95 shipping for my 2 packets of seeds and that is not refundable. This is for the $4.95 watermelon seeds that only one germinated! so, I paid $26.35 for two packets of seeds!
If I didn't need my money, If I hadn't spent hours on the phone and paying for long distance charges, If I wasn't a year behind on the growth of the trees and shrubs, etc...this would almost be funny! You couldn't make this up it is so bizarre.
Here is my advice;
NEVER consider buying anything from Gurney's or compaines owned by them. You will be very sorry and lose your money. Does anyone have a phone number or mailing address for the company Headquarters? I really need my $228.50 returned. I would also like to turn them into Better Business but I don't know which state to do it in. Should I complain to my state or who?
Happy Gardener but a shafted Gurney's EX customer,
indigosd

"On Jun 8, 2009 1:00 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

For this customer the entire matter was taken care of and she was fully refunded for her order."

I was nervous about ordering from this company after seeing so many negatine reviews, but I wanted a Sundance apple tree and Gurney's is one of only two nurseries authorized by Purdue University to sell them. I ordered two apple trees in January '09. Received confirmation, and they showed up on March 18, optimum time for planting. Five weeks later, both trees are vibrant. I am pleased with my experience.

I have ordered from Gurney's fairly often over the last few years, but will find another supplier next season.

First, UPS Basic is unacceptable. Tracking OFTEN shows that my items have wandered all over, literally passing through my town before landing at a distribution site three counties away. THEN they're to us sent via USPS, adding nearly a week of additional transit time. And considering the long delivery time, very expensive!

It takes them FOREVER to ship, and the estimated ship dates change almost daily. I have an order in now that will ship more than three weeks after ordering (if we're lucky!), which means that it will arrive more than a month after my order (maybe). Don't solicit business if you can't fill the orders in reasonable time!

A CSR I spoke with this week was unable to understand a word I said. He finally just said "computers down call back later."

I have (reasonably and pleasantly) expressed my problems with UPS Basic to the company when the service was begun. No use, a lot of "we're not responsible for shipping time" stuff.

Maybe if you didn't take weeks to fill the order, THEN use the worst way of shipping, your customers would be satisfied!

"On May 15, 2009 11:46 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with:

Replies were sent to the customer on May 7,13 and 15th. A rush was applied to her order and it is shipping, gooseberries included."

I am a first time customer. I heard rave reviews from a couple ladies I work with and I thought it would be so easy to just web shop and then wait for my plants to arrive. I also thought that taking part in a 'special' would make it worth my while.
I placed my first order online from Gurney's. Each of the grasses I ordered stated "for each offer ordered, get 1 plant". So I thought great!!! I ordered 2ea Fountain Grasses, so that in my mind would lead me to believe I'd qualify for at least one plant free, as it states 1 to 2 $5.95. Ok, then I ordered Golden Forest, 3ea of those, and it states the same statement about the "offer" and I thought I'd get at least 1 free plant. I also ordered Gracillimus Ornamental Grass, 4ea of those and the "offer" for "3 or more $5.45", so again I'm led to believe I would get a free plant.
On early morning on 4/27/09 I emailed their customer service thinking I'd get a response and it was just an oversight. No response. So today the 28th I called as I just had my account number and order number, but not the printed out pages I had at home to 'question' the "offers". I was told I did not qualify for the "offer". So what is the offer?? Is it hidden on the page somewhere?? I'm confused and angry at the same time, and I doubt I'll do any reordering with Gurney's in the future. I'll just go back to supporting my local nursery.

Well, here we go again...
Last year I posted a negative review for Wayside Gardens. After being a loyal customer for 5 years I had a terrible experience with them (so much so that the VP of the company emailed me and apologized). I vowed to never use them again. It's a shame too, because their catalogs still come to the house and everything looks so beautiful.
This year, I decided to give Gurney's a try. I placed my order online on April 1, '09. My 13 items were supposed to ship on April 21. I thought 3 weeks was a long time, but I live in Zone 5, so I trusted them on the ship date.
Then on April 20, my order status was updated and everything was set to either ship on April 28 or May 1. That was disappointing, but I was fairly understanding about it. It was only one week later.
Today, my order status was changed again. Now some of my items are not expected to ship until May 24, while the others are not expected to ship until June 18. June???? What is going on here? I'm starting to think I am better off giving Home Depot and Lowes my money instead of these smaller internet-based companies... I'm very worried that I am going to get burned again. So far I am pretty disatisfied. 10-11 weeks for delivery is unacceptable.

I ordered fruit trees from Gurneys and Willis Orchards. They were both about the same price ($25-$30) and height but the ones from Willis Orchards turned out to be much larger diameter. The ones from Gurneys are about 3/8 inch in diameter and the ones from Willis Orchards are about one inch in diameter. The ones from Willis Orchards appear to be several years older and initially appear healthier. Gurneys substituted a dwarf apple tree for a regular apple tree that was out of stock. That was a little disturbing.

Bought seeds with free root. Received root but no seeds. Customer service told me I ordered roots only. I pointed out what my order was. Rep told me they would give me a voucher. Didn't want a voucher or anything to do with Gurney Seed. Now promised a refund, but haven't received a refund. Lousy company with liars as customer reps.

I've ordered vegetable and flower seeds from them this year, and I received my order quickly. It's too early to tell so far how the seeds do, but as far as ordering and shipping time, my experience has been positive.

I have positive, negative and neutral points in my first Gurney's experience. Mathematically a neutral, 2 positives and 2 negatives would be a sum of zero and logic would say that is a "neutral" rating. The negatives are pet peeves of mine and slightly overwhelm the positives and while I most likely won't patronize Gurney's again the reason is simply taking a stand as a consumer ideologue just on principle and what I wanted from them I won't need to plant again.


Positives:
1. Web site - The site is truly awesome, compared to others, and the ease of navigation as well as the information listed for each product is more "professional" and informative than photoshopped pictures of models along with a few sentences that say absolutely nothing.

2. My order arrived earlier than initially estimated. At first it was 22APR09 and then it got moved up to 11APR09-13APR09. I was fortunate but since I'm discussing shipping I'll move onto the negatives....


Negatives:
1. Shipping - Gurney's uses UPS "BASIC" shipping for no reason other than lower costs. I understand cost cutting, especially these days, but cost cutting with live plants is probably why I've read about so many DOAs.

I got my UPS ship email on the 8th and on the 9th my plants arrived in the Dallas area. On the 10th UPS had it listed as "in transit to final destination" - headed from Mesquite (east) going past my house to DFW Airport (?) and this status didn't change from the morning of the 10th to noon on the 11th so I called UPS to find out why.

The UPS rep told me that with UPS "BASIC" shipping UPS delivers to a local USPS "snail mail" center in your area and your regular letter carrier does the actual delivery portion. I asked the nice lady what my estimated delivery date was and I was informed 15APR09... IN OTHER WORDS... those LIVE PLANTS would sit in a box drying out for an ADDITIONAL 5 DAYS simply because Gurney's CHOOSES to use UPS "BASIC" instead of UPS "GROUND" like everyone else who, apparently, believe the least time in a dark box for live plants is the best way to conduct this business.

The GOOD NEWS is an hour or so after I called UPS on Saturday 11APR09 my USPS letter carrier delivered my dry root strawberries... which were dry enough on the 11th and probably wouldn't have made it 4 more days drying out in that box.

I like to think that some kind-hearted plant lover saw "live plants" on the box and got it out immediately because according to the "schedule" UPS had I probably be posting this a few days from now talking about dead plants - they were really dry and no so much as a single moist or even dried out polymer crystal in any of the bags... just dry, dry roots.

I think they'll survive but adding more days of darkness and dryness leads to stress and even though I lucked out it seems asinine to use "BASIC" shipping... especially when the CUSTOMER wasn't given the choice and where Gurney's says "we use UPS or USPS" it needs to be amended to using both and illustrate what "BASIC" shipping means.

I'm certain if given the choice CUSTOMERS would opt to pay a little more for "GROUND" shipping to both get their plants planted sooner AND to make it easier for them to get live plants instead of dead plants... ESPECIALLY when they're shipped dry root. IF Gurney's was giving free shipping, as in paying the bill, then there might be some logic to cost cutting with "BASIC" shipping. It makes no sense - if I'm ordering seeds, supplies or something that won't dry out and die then "BASIC" is sufficient unless I'd rather have it quicker but giving me the OPTION would be excellent service of this customer and IF I ever ordered LIVE PLANTS from Gurney's again I can only do with with UPS "GROUND" because I don't want the hassle of refunds/reshipment that I've read so much about.

2. Customer NO Service:
I called Gurney's once and unlike some others my call didn't go to the Punjab Province. My call was answered by a female with a distinct American accent... the problem is that while I detest outsourcing especially with over 5 million unemployed if what I got is the BEST an American can do then I'd rather listen through that thick Indian accent if the Indian person would actually answer my question and at least PRETEND that I wasn't annoying the hell out of them at their job. I literally almost said to the lady, "I'm sooooo sorry I bothered you". Silly me to think someone paid to answer the phone and help customers would actually be helpful. I've been treated more enthusiastically at the DMV and the Veteran's Administration...

Gurney's site didn't say, unless I'm mistaken, that I was getting dry root plants but with the package weighing 4 lbs for 75 plants dry root seemed obvious. I informed the lady that I was a new customer and I had NEVER planted dry root plants and WITH MY PLANTS ARRIVING (I thought) within a few hours I had a few questions:
1. Are there instructions in the box?
2. Is there anything I need to make sure I have before they arrive?

I explained that I had time to run to Lowe's and pick-up anything I DON'T KNOW I NEED and if she'll tell me I can go get it. She told me I need fertilizer and I asked what kind and after an audible long sigh and an even longer and uncomfortable silence I jumped in and said I know they sell strawberry fertilizer but that does me no good a few hours from delivery.

Her response was (verbatim), "Well..... you'll just have to ask your local garden center what to use."

To my credit I bit my tongue and just got off the phone. I didn't even say that at my local garden center they actually answer my questions which is why I've spent thousands with them in only a year and just $30-something with Gurney's. Other than seriously not wanting to be at work I'm sure she wanted to sell me Gurney's strawberry fertilizer but unless Gurney's had a retired SR-71 Blackbird handy and could fly their fertilizer to Dallas at Mach 3 departing immediately it does me no good. Something like suggesting _N-_P-_K of some sort or a website, etc. would have been sufficient. In the end I used Google and went to Lowe's.


Neutral:
I think the price for 25 everbearing and 50 junbearing strawberries is more than fair if not generous BUT my only reference as a control for the assumption is the $9 potted strawberry at Lowe's. I'm not complaining but 20% of each were significantly smaller and a few of the everbearing were even itty bitty within the 20%. I'm sure there's a range of acceptability and a margin for error in packaging, I actually got 2 extra junes because of a "packaging error" but 20% of the everbearing were small and about 15% of the junes were smaller... but I got 2 extra AND they were on sale so, again, I'm not complaining.

This phone call is THE REASON my review is neutral when I happen to luck out and although I'm less enthused about the "deal" I got than I was when I bought it, less enthused than before I called they all seem to be good to go having gotten planted and watered on Saturday verses on Wednesday as UPS told me. *I* didn't have a shipping debacle but using UPS "Basic" I see why I've read about this. I *was* going to post a negative but while posting I changed my mind and edited it to a neutral thinking I was being too harsh... I may not buy from Gurney's because of a phone call but my rigidity over a personal pet peeve probably doesn't warrant an overall negative.

To be perfectly honest... HAD I posted my review before they miraculously arrived on Saturday when I was told they'd be in that box an EXTRA 5 days because of "BASIC" shipping it would be a negative. HAD I posted after that phone call it would be negative. HAD I posted immediately after I opened the box and planted them it might be negative. But, 2 days in the ground and while there's not much above the surface and maybe a few too many with not much below the surface what is above the surface is standing strait up so I take that as a good sign and thus I'm letting the phone call slide some.

SUGGESTIONS:
I'd suggest Gurney's revisit the UPS "BASIC" shipping and if the CUSTOMER wants to save on shipping then let them do so, inform them of the extra time and the possible risks to live plants but if the CUSTOMER is more concerned about expediency and minimization of plant stress than they're concerned about a few dollars let them CHOOSE UPS "GROUND". Adding a shipping drop down menu on their website would take 5 minutes and I'd bet money that it would reduce negative ratings related to shipping. I'm brand new and I already figured this out so it seems simple, easy, cheap and in the best interest of Gurney's to make a minor adjustment and see a major difference.

I'd also suggest that whomever is in charge goes over the image they want to portray to customers who need customer service. We all have bad days but I don't expect anyone to really want to remain my customer if I or anyone else blows it on the phone or email. Customer service is the ONLY thing that can really set any business above its competitors.

FYI:
This is my 1st post but I also ordered from 4 other places (one is an Amazon store so I don't know if it applies here) but I'll post the other 3. One, a "Watchdog 30" got here too fast (lol) so I have to post about it and the other 2 I'll post after they get here. I'm appreciate the input on this site and since I found it helpful I hope others find mine helpful.

I placed two separate orders with Gurney's to take double advantage of the $25 off (with a $50 purchase) offer. But I messed up the first time and didn't hit the $50 minimum. I found their customer service (via email) to be very helpful. They immediately added the requested items to my order to help me qualify for the discount. That's impressive to me because they took the time to add items that generated no extra charge. Let me say that again. They spent extra time on my order to give me free products. That's why, no matter what else happens, they automatically get a positive.

The plants I recieved are the exact size described. They came rather poorly packed as bare root plants in a plastic bag with clumps of loose, damp newspaper not necessarily on the roots and plenty of loose space to bounce around in the box. Out of the six raspberry plants I ordered, one was clearly dead, and showed no greeen when clipped. The native plum trees are perfect specimens.

I'm still waiting on my Carmine Jewel cherry tree and my dwarf meyer lemon plant, and I'll update this review as needed.