Comments regarding Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange)

Posted on April 9, 2012, updated April 16, 2012
Posted on April 9, 2012, updated April 9, 2012
Posted on March 23, 2012, updated April 9, 2012
I ordered herbs from this company and the arrived yesterday (2 days for standard shipping is pretty good to me) The plants were packed better then I have ever seen with an on-line company. There was only one plant that got smashed instead of being placed in the u shaped area it should have been. It is not dead but may need to be replaced. I am sure this company will do so if I ask. I am going to give the plant a go first. The rest of the plants are in great condition and are "hardening off" in my basement while I anxiously wait to plant this weekend. :)
I WILL be ordering from this company again!!!

"On Mar 27, 2012 7:24 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Thanks so much for the kind feedback! We've worked really hard to develop shipping methods that would not only be sustainable, but would allow our plants to arrive in the best condition! We take the utmost care in packing our plants, because we certainly don't want you to receive something that we wouldn't plant in our own garden. Please contact us immediately if you see that the plant you mentioned has not perked up, and we will be happy to resolve things for you. Thanks again and have a great spring!

My plants were promised in mid-March, but did not arrive until mid-April. In this La Nina year, that means I can't put them in the ground until next fall & they will have to summer over in pots as best they can.

I had paid for priority 2-day shipping, but plants were sent by FedEx Ground. G'sX response was "wow it's good you saw that we probably never would have caught our error!" KEEP A COPY OF YOUR ORIGINAL ORDER!

About half the 25 plants arrived full-leaved and healthy. Another third are healthy but very,very immature. There is considerable evidence of fungal growth. One plant ( a $10 bay "tree") arrived with two leaves attached, one of them half-consumed by fungus and with fungal spots on the other. Closer inspection revealed a 1/4" long hole that pierced the cambium layer of the central stalk - i suspect, by a borer or other parasite.

G'sX has agreed to refund both the shipping error and two of the most damaged plants, but only after I sent them pictures and several emails back and forth.

The "wait and see" advice was also proferred to me as it has been to other reviewers. I can't help but suspect that they hoped I'd just say forget it and throw the plants out. If I had been complaining about wilted plants or a few leaves knocked off I would not have complained at all - but now I have to isolate all the G'sX plants as well as transplanting them twice, until I see what other problems might develop.

A most discouraging experience, all in all.

"On Apr 16, 2012 8:52 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Hello:

First, we are more than willing to accept responsibility for any shipping oversight - which we did.

As far as a 'wait and see' attitude is concerned: we know, from experience, that there are many times when plants need a few days to perk up after being boxed and shipped. That is not a natural state for any plant, and we provide detailed instructions for all of our customers in order to 'walk them through' the steps. Any orders that left in the past 10 days may have gone out without the instructions, as we underestimated the amount of guides needed and had to reorder.

If anyone thinks that we are hoping that customers 'throw the plants out' then we should just close up shop. We are growers - not brokers. We tend these plants from seeds or plugs to full grown plants. We are a small operation, family owned and operated, and we want EVERYONE to have success with our plants. The request for information, and photos, is a means by which we can solve problems. There are so many times customer feedback has helped us: box design, shipping times as well as issues with a particular crop.

In the case of the Bays: our growers (who have close to 30 years experience) reviewed your photos (many thanks). Bays are a broadleaf evergreen and the leaves in question are from last year - they are shedding old leaves. If we detected fungus, believe me, they'd be isolated. Bays are not a florist plant - a bit unattractive at times.There is no reason to worry that your plants are in any way in danger - we have greenhouses full and disease and pest control is a major priority.


We work hard to answer each and every customer and their issues. That is not always an easy task as our business is constantly growing, but we know that we can't grow without our customers. We don't like to loose customers, and we don't like to have negative ratings but at the same time, it's very important for us, as a company, to make sure any current or future customers to understand WHO we are and WHAT we do. We have shipped literally hundreds of thousands of plants, successfully, since becoming members on Dave's. A lot of happy and satisfied customers, and I wish they were members!

However, we are more than willing to work to at least let you leave with a better opinion. We don't pretend to think we can save you as a customer, but at least provide you with some satisfaction besides this review.

"

I ordered 4 Joe Pye Weed plants from The Growers Exchange. I read negative reviews about their packaging but I found the packaging to be very efficient and the plants in very good condition upon arrivial. I followed the planting instructions and a week later the plants seem to thriving and well on it's way. I did have to email inquiries about the status of my order several times before getting a shipping date but otherwise I feel I would order from them again. I've been very disappointed so many times before with poor plant products and small specimens from other big companies. Hope to update this review as my Joe Pye weeds grow through the season. I'm excited and hopefiul. Aurora Huston

Posted on April 6, 2012, updated April 8, 2012
The "plants" arrived broken and brown. Customer "service" said all the leaves will drop and new growth will emerge, roots are what matters. Well duh, I ordered plants not roots. They advertise full grown plants. With shipping the 3 pathetic specimens cost $10 each. Never again.

I just have to say I got all my plants about 10 days after I ordered them. My Chocolate, Apple and Orange mints and my lemon verbena. I got it so fast and the plants are just beautiful.So impressed and will definitley be ordering again from here. This was my first time and so happy.

"On Mar 27, 2012 7:25 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Thank you for the compliment! We're not happy until you're happy and we're so very glad that you love our plants as much as we do! Please keep us posted on their success and have a great spring! "

My plants arrived sooner than was expected & they were very healthy, all in all I was very impressed with the company

"On Feb 8, 2012 12:23 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Thank you so much for the kind feedback! We strive to give our customers the best experience possible and the highest quality plants available, because if we wouldn't plant it in our own garden, we wouldn't want you to, either. We really value what our customers think about us and try to improve and raise the bar on quality each year. Thank you again, we wouldn't be an exchange without you!"

I had a bad experience in several ways with The Grower's exchange. I placed my order March 31. They charged it to my credit card immediately. I did not receive my order. When I asked about it they said they were waiting for a few of the things that I had ordered, and asked if would I like to wait until May 1. I said yes. May and June came and went. Meanwhile the items I had ordered went on sale - I was still waiting for my full priced order and they were sending me e-mails about all the sales they were having on the items I never received but paid full price for. I asked again where my order was. They then sent 3 things out of the 7 things that I had ordered. They said they were sold out of 4 of the items. The main item that I had wanted they were not sold out of according to correspondence but they did not send it - a shipping error. I still wanted that item which was why I ordered with them in the first place as no one else had this item. I e-mailed them back several more times about this item, and no response. I got a pay pal refund, but you get charged a fee so I lost money also. This company seems very disorganized, I don't like how they charge your charge card immediately rather than waiting until the item is shipped, and their customer service was customer no service. I will not order anything from this company again.

"On Aug 29, 2011 2:02 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Wow! I thought the most recent hurricane we weathered was tough!

First, we charge customer's cards upon the order being placed. That's a pretty acceptable practice among internet retailers, and we are very transparent about that policy.

You did order on 3/31/2011, and we contacted you when we realized that our Holy Basil crop was experiencing some germination issues. You said that you wanted to wait. However, when it became clear to us that we were not going to have success with that herb, we shipped your order and refunded you immediately. Your order arrived on 6/15/2011. Your credit was issued on 6/6/2011, and that did include credit for 2 other plants that we were not able to ship.

Three weeks later, you contacted us regarding your order. You specifically asked when we would ship the Comfrey, and we responded that according to our records, it shipped. You never responded to our email. We have run a 'search' on our Customer Management System to try and find any of the emails you are referring to, but we are unable to find any correspondence from you after 7/7/2011.

We are not in the business of making folks unhappy, and we really pride ourselves on our customer service team. We are a family owned and operated business with 25 years of satisfied customers. We want to clear up any problems or misunderstandings. But, we can't do it unless we hear back from you. So, please feel free to contact us and let's see if we can figure this out."

I too have a problem with their packaging. Plants are taped into cardboard holders with nothing to hold the soil in the plastic pots. My plants arrive with soil spilled into the box (and out of the pots) and plant labels scattered. The plants themselves (tarragon, achillea) were in passable condition at best.

"On Sep 25, 2010 1:50 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with:

Hello Friend: This email was sent to the hundreds of folks that have received shipments from The Growers Exchange in the past 2 weeks. We really mean EVERY word we write - I've been in this business for 30 years now, and I wouldn't be where I am without the exchanges between me and my customers. I WORK hard to make sure that you get what you need - it's your hard earned money and my sweat and tears. We need to get this right. But, I can't help you if you don't help me. I am really sorry about the packing, and as you can see below we made a slight change and corrected it right away - I figured it out quickly thanks to customer response. I am growing BIGGER plants and not charging any more for them. I was hoping to get rid of the adapters with the larger pot size .. live and learn.

To my customers ...

"First, thanks much for your recent order. Whether a new or returning customer, we value your business and try to provide you with the best our garden has to offer. Our shipping season traditionally begins in mid-September, and holding to tradition, we began to ship on the 15th. Mother Nature is a cruel one at times, and this heat has been extreme. We have heard back from a small fraction of you, and are working on solutions to any and all 'issues' - mostly heat related. Please know that we are committed to both excellent plant material and quality customer service - each one of you is important and we strive to get it right. When we don't, we work hard to remedy the issues. From some feedback, we realized that we need to use our adapters; we have increased the size of our pots and thought we could eliminate this added packing. We quickly realized that we still needed it.

The Growers Exchange is an EXCHANGE and we can't grow without you and your excellent feedback. So, in this case, accept apologies for any issues and know that we are working hard to keep your business.

Thanks again and Happy Gardening!""

As there were not many ratings for this company, I was a bit worried...but they had a great selection of plants I was looking for and great prices as well...so I ordered.

My plants arrived with astonishing speed and in fantastic condition.

Thank you!!!!

Last fall, I ordered three small bay trees. They arrived in top condition and have thrived through the Michigan winter (indoors) and summered outside. Now they are indoors again for the winter and they are growing nicely in a pot with lemon balm, rosemary and thyme. Fresh bay leaves in soups and stews are unbeatable. I had planned to give two away as gifts, but got attached to them. Perhaps I should order more...

Ordered from this company recently and was very pleased at the size and great condition of their plants. They were well packed with cardboard separators to keep them in place and prevent plants from rolling around. The first order must have been placed at an opportune time, as they rec'd my order via Internet on Thurs. afternoon and I rec'd the entire order of six perennials in 48 hours. Amazing turnaround time! My second order was delayed a day or two by the Memorial Day holiday schedule, but, again, was received within six days of placing the order. What more can you ask for?

I ordered a few days ago form the fall sale and my plants arrived in the best condition! packing was wonderful and the size of the plants unbelievably large!! I wish I would have ordered more. I give them a A++ rating Great job! :) will be a return customer, maybe yet this week!
Thank you much
dori

I ordered a Eucalyptus "Silver Drop" and it's arrived in awful condition. The packing job was terrible, I've never before seen a company send live potted plants wrapped in newspaper, laid **on their sides** and buried in styrofoam packing peanuts.

Naturally, when I dug out the plant wreckage greeted my eyes. Half the dirt was in the newspaper instead of the pot, most of the roots were exposed and the plant looks like an elephant not only sat on it but also farted on it. Completely predictable.

I've contacted the company and will update my feedback once the situation is resolved.

Ordered Heuchera from these folks in the Fall and items were in great shape and growing vigorously