Comments regarding Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange)
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Comments:
Rating | Author | Content |
Negative | excellentjohn (7 reviews) | On Jun 5, 2020, excellentjohn Zone 5B, PA wrote: I have been a 5+ year loyal customer of the Grower’s Exchange and tend to order early when they offer a brief window to use a coupon offer they send out in email and I’m assured to get the herbs I am looking for. Yes, the plants are a little pricier than others (as is shipping) but generally the plants come lush and healthy ...except THIS year. One of my plants was out of the planting container and the other 4 looked like they were in very rough shape. I have a feeling they were shipped in poor condition because I am in NY and they are based in Virginia (not a big shipping distance). But I babied them, taking them in on cold nights and planted when the weather turned perfect. I emailed them within a few weeks to tell them the leaves on my holy basil plants and eucalyptus were brown or falling off and since they request photos, I did that as well. Today, I get an email stating they can refund me for my most recent order (basil) from a few weeks back BUT because the other 2 items were charged to my credit card more than 120 days, they can not refund me. So let me understand, because I purchased these plants early (before they sold out) and because you bill my credit card immediately upon order (and not when they ship like most companies), the customer is penalized??? You are a small company and if your computer system won’t allow you to do this, you need a better system or a new IT person. Lesson learned: don’t buy early from Grower’s Exchange or just find a new source for your herbs and plants. |
Negative | GWinn (1 review) | On Jan 3, 2020, GWinn Elwell, MI wrote: I’ve ordered from the Growers Exchange many times in the past, and I’m happy with the wide selection and variety of herbs they sell (not to mention the usual health of their plants and quality of shipping). I’m troubled by their lack of responsiveness to their on-line account holders. In spite of getting several e-mailed messages about discounts for ordering now, I’ve been unable to access my account, unable to get a password re-set after several attempts, and there has been no reply to several e-mailed inquiries—and there appears to be no one answering the phone at the business during their stated business hours. If they are closed for the weeks of Christmas and New Years (and perhaps prior weeks), they haven’t made any attempt to let customers know that they will be available to respond after a certain date. So I can’t access my account, can’t get any replies by e-mail, and can’t get a live body to help. To me, this is an unacceptable level of customer care that is leading me to doing business with others who want to take care of their buyers’ needs. |
Negative | ZurdoBA (1 review) | On Sep 21, 2018, ZurdoBA Traverse City, MI wrote: My first order with Grower's Exchange. The plants showed up, one was completely fallen out of the pot because it had no roots to hold it in. Thankfully that plant is bouncing back after transplant. On Sep 21, 2018, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Oct 8, 2018 2:14 PM, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hey: Tried to contact you a few times, and just wanted to know if you received your reshipped plants and hoping all is well. Let me know! |
Negative | Jlmyers72 (5 reviews) | On Sep 20, 2018, Jlmyers72 Commerce Township, MI wrote: I ordered 5 sweet woodruff from them. Pint sized. The plants came shipped on their sides, all the dirt had fallen out even though they wrapped them in plastic. None of them have any root system whatsoever and are about 1.5" tall. Looks like the took a clipping and stuck them in a pint sized pot. Won't buy from them again |
Negative | gracie_garden (1 review) | On Jun 16, 2018, gracie_garden Lockport, NY wrote: I order a LOT of plants online, year round pretty much. I also order trees and fruit trees online- (in most cases) purchasing from different companies depending on what I am looking for. In comparison to my vast experiences with other companies, I was very disappointed by my interactions with the grower's exchange. Most importantly the plants arrived on the verge of death. |
Negative | DonnaDuff (1 review) | On May 30, 2018, DonnaDuff Monroe, VA wrote: I have ordered many plants from online vendors. I have never had a shipment of plants arrive in such poor condition as the shipment that I received from Growers Exchange. The plants were yellow and wilted. Dirt and plant labels were out of the containers. One plant was totally disintegrated (rotten). I tried to revive the plants by replacing the dirt and alternately sitting them outside in periods of sunshine and inside during periods of down-pouring rain (waiting on excessive mud due to heavy rains to dry up before trying to plant them in the garden). Three of my plants started to look better; however, all of the rest were not improving, so 3 days after the arrival of my plants, I sent pictures to the company. On May 30, 2018, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On May 30, 2018 5:56 PM, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: We apologize for any offense taken at what we consider routine questions. |
Negative | Hortonwho (1 review) | On Jun 3, 2017, Hortonwho Woodward, OK wrote: I understand the 2 month wait for my Moonflower Vines, due to temperature. However, when I did receive the little vines, they were small and were eaten up. Every leaf had chew holes in them, made by an unseen invader. Even the tiny new leaves! The plants were sent to me with this damage. The vines are still small with some branches completely void of all foliage, and are still struggling to make it even now. I can only speak of my own experience, but as a new customer ordering for the first time, I would have thought that my order would have been looked after much better than it was, to at least insure further orders. And the minimum for orders was $20. I don't see throwing away good money by placing another order with this company, as they don't care much for their plants or their customers who order from them. And looking after sick plants, just received, is not my idea of a good experience. So I can't in good faith recommend this company to others, sadly. On Jun 3, 2017, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Jun 4, 2017 11:34 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello: Again, we are really unclear as to what occurred, and we appreciated the photos. We are a small shop, and all plants are checked prior to shipping and as we said in our email, it is very hard to say what occurred but again, we are just waiting to hear back from you as to how you would like to proceed - this message was sent yesterday but haven't heard back. |
Negative | Karenproulx (1 review) | On May 23, 2017, Karenproulx Toccoa, GA wrote: This was the first time I have used this company. Upon arrival the artemisia was NOT healthy, it had too much rot on it. It died quickly. The white sage was also in bad shape and I'm certain it will not survive. The bay plant had some damaged leaves, but I think it will be okay. I will definitely not use this company again. On May 23, 2017, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On May 23, 2017 3:29 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello: You didn't mention whether or not we've been contacted, and if so, I hope that your issue was resolved. If not, please contact us at info@thegrowers-exchange.com. We really work hard to make sure that any issue is addressed in a timely manner, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of the issue. Our mission is to help our customers grow great gardens with our plants. If we have failed you, we apologize but again, need to make sure that any problems have been taken care of ... we'd love 100% success, but not sure that we can do that considering we are shipping 1,000's of herbs each week! But, we do our best. |
Negative | gcolie (2 reviews) | On May 13, 2017, gcolie Columbia, TN wrote: This was my first order from this company, and it will definitely be my last. Out of the five plants I ordered, only two, the butterfly bush and the lemongrass, looked good and healthy when they arrived. The lime-scented geranium has wilting, brown leaves with grey mold, possibly botrytis blight, and I had to dispose of it. The heliotrope was tall and leggy, and had whooly aphids and ants on it. I removed the bugs, cut the plant back by a third, and it's in a pot and doing well. The feverfew had a lot of yellow foilage, which I removed and planted it. The butterfly bush, black knight, although very small, did look healthy and I have planted it also. On May 13, 2017, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On May 15, 2017 11:07 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: We would very much like for you to contact us via info@thegrowers-exchange.com so that we can figure out what has gone wrong. I am in charge of all customer issues, and any mention of a pest or disease would send us right to the growers. I can honestly say, with one exception, we have not had any customer report a pest issue and we are shipping 1,000's of plants each day. We are a small company, and our quality control is tight ~ so this is a concern for us, but we can't problem solve without knowing a few things about the order. We'd like to resolve in a way that works for you, and at the same time, allows us to figure out what went wrong. Disappointing customers is not acceptable for us, so please help us help you! " |
Negative | sjdumond (1 review) | On Nov 23, 2016, sjdumond Ogden, UT wrote: I ordered two white sage plants, and one lavender. Upon arrival the lavender was mostly fine for having been shipped, if not a bit dried out on a few ends, but both white sage plants were so tiny, with little to no real root system. The smallest white sage plant was dead and desiccated; beyond hope. The larger of the two only had a few small leaves near the center that appeared alive, as they were not dried out, curled up, & crumbling like the rest of the leaves & the other plant. Within a day both plants were undeniably dead. The lavender is doing ok. On Nov 23, 2016, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Nov 27, 2016 10:14 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: We are very sorry that you experienced an issue and we are always here to help, but honestly, we have no way of assisting customers unless they get in touch. |
Negative | Katibet (1 review) | On Oct 7, 2016, Katibet Cambridge, MA wrote: I have purchased multiple lavender plants over the past year. They arrive looking great but many (half of the most recent order) die, despite every careful care. On Oct 7, 2016, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Oct 8, 2016 10:37 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: We are sorry to hear that you have experienced issues with our lavenders, and are anxious to figure out what is happening AND resolve the issues. Could you please send us an email and include the order number, we'll get right on this ~ again, we are not in the business of upsetting customers and we want you to have SUCCESS with our plants!! |
Negative | jasarthur (7 reviews) | On Jul 23, 2014, jasarthur Brentwood, TN (Zone 6a) wrote: This was our first time ordering from this company, and I was so impressed when the box arrived. Everything was so well packaged...it looked like they truly cared about pleasing their customers. Then a couple plants took a turn within a few days and I immediately submitted a form on their website asking for replacements. They replied and opened a ticket, but requested photos of the plants in question, which I thought was odd since no vendor has ever made that request in our 40 years of gardening! But I went ahead and sent them photos--and heard nothing back. After almost two weeks, I wrote to them asking if they were going to honor their guarantee. NO REPLY. Then I submitted another online form from their site asking what the problem might be. STILL NO REPLY. My only recourse is to call them and hope I reach someone who cares. As it stands today, I am thoroughly disgruntled by their bad business practices and will never do business with this company again. On Jul 23, 2014, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Aug 1, 2014 10:50 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello! We are working hard to find you! We've searched out Customer Relations Management databank (where all communication comes in and out) with the ticket numbers above - unfortunately, we can't post a screen shot but it says: "opps, we couldn't find a match"! You may have just spoken to our Customer Support member, Cathy, who is trying hard to figure out where any communication may have gone using all the email addresses you provided. This is a really easy fix, but I can promise you that we HAVE NOT been ignoring you ~ the email address you provided doesn't turn up in a search either ... a quick call back and we'll fix the issue but it wasn't that you were being ignored. We have NO IDEA where any and all communications have gone, but we probably need to use the phone! On Aug 4, 2014 9:35 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) added: Please give us a call: 888-829-6201 so we can figure out a remedy! We are here to help and make this right but we need a bit of help! Ask for Customer Service: we are here M-F, 9-4 ET. " |
Negative | jrn (1 review) | On Jun 29, 2014, jrn High Point, NC wrote: Posted on June 29, 2014, updated June 29, 2014 On June 29th, 2014, jrn added the following: Of the ten plants I ordered, five are dead, one has started blooming, one looks like it may bloom soon, one looks like it may or may not survive and two are barely hanging on... On Jun 29, 2014, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Jul 2, 2014 4:33 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello Mr. Nelson: |
Negative | matp (1 review) | On May 28, 2014, matp Westmere, NY wrote: I had a poor experience with this company. Half the plants in my initial order were the wrong plants, and some of the others were in very poor shape (and did not survive). After they sent replacements for the plants I was supposed to have gotten, I find that these are the wrong plants too!! Now they are claiming that these are the plants I ordered. Nonsense. I have ordered from this company for years now, but they have really gone down hill, both in terms of quality and customer service. I would not order from this company again. On May 28, 2014, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Jun 17, 2014 2:20 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello: |
Negative | dodawa2c (1 review) | On Jul 19, 2013, dodawa2c Frewsburg, NY wrote: I will NEVER order anything from Grower exchange again ! The plants I ordered arrived in poor condition and half of them never made it through the hardening stage. I sent photos back to the company showing them how badly they looked right out of the box and instead of just sending me new plants they allowed me a CREDIT on my NEXT order! On Jul 19, 2013, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Jun 17, 2014 2:24 PM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Sorry that we missed this; a bit late but we did want to address the issue. We did provide credit as we had stopped shipping in mid-summer. We do stand behind our plants, in fact we really care about both the plants and customer satisfaction. No one would appreciate a box shipped mid-summer when our outside temps are in the mid-90's. We begin fall shipping in September, so the credit was intended to provide an opportunity to reship. |
Negative | Aeyla (3 reviews) | On Apr 16, 2012, Aeyla Lake City, FL wrote: Posted on April 9, 2012, updated April 16, 2012 On April 9th, 2012, Aeyla changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following: I had three of the 9 plants I order not make it. When I emailed them for replacements, I was told that I needed to send them pictures of the plants. This made me feel like they were accusing me of lying about them dying. I followed their instructions but the three just did not make it thru transplant shock. They were in the perfect place in the garden (two in pots) but they were not strong enough to make through the deliver and transplant. I told them not to bother with the replacements because I was offended & would not be doing business with them again. This is their reponse. Hello: No offense intended; we've been growing and selling for over 30 years. When we have an issue, we consider it a problem to be solved. The only way we can address problems is to know exactly what we are dealing with - and the photos are our best instrument for problem solving. You should be happy that you are working with qualified growers who only want to keep getting better. I can offer no apology - our policy is crystal clear and we stand by it. It is not intended to offend customers, it's a means by which we assess issues. We are sorry to loose you as a customer. Regards, Kenan W. So no apology because their policy is crystal clear. Only stupid people like me would be offended by their wonderfullness LOL Ok sorry but they are just a little to full of themselves. The other plants are doing fine and I have no problems with them. I only have problems with the attitude of the company. So this inexperienced (25 yrs is not enough I guess) gardener will shop elsewhere. On April 9th, 2012, Aeyla added the following: Oh and as you see below when I had a favorable post they were so willing to replace the plant that got smashed (this was one that did not make it) On April 16th, 2012, Aeyla changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following: Ok so I have again been called out as in the wrong, and this wonderful company the best of the best. Sorry guys look at the NEW negative comment above mine. You did the same to this person. All I can say to anyone buying from them. I think they have Quality plants and if you are willing to jump through hoops if anything goes wrong order from them. On Apr 16, 2012, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "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! On Apr 10, 2012 8:44 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) added: As I stated, there was no offense intended. The only intention is to make sure that we solve problems in order to get better at what we do. Requesting a photo of the plants in question allows us to review and assess. It's a vital part of our problem solving process and that is stated on all of our materials as well. The response that we received upon requesting the photographs: On Apr 10, 2012 8:51 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) added: We are not in the business of offending customers nor do we want to loose customers. However, we do want our customers to understand our policies and procedures and that is why we require our customers to read and accept our polices prior to check out. An overused but very appropriate term is 'transparency' - as long as we are open and honest with our customers, and as long as we feel that our policies are appropriate and fair, then we will continue to build on a business that has been growing and selling plants for over a quarter of a century. We are very sorry to loose business, but again, we cannot apologize for our stated policies. |
Negative | cjca07 (1 review) | On Apr 12, 2012, cjca07 Brunswick, GA wrote: 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. On Apr 12, 2012, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "On Apr 16, 2012 8:52 AM, The Growers Exchange (aka The Grower's Exchange) responded with: Hello: |
Negative | sylvanaranyani (1 review) | On Apr 8, 2012, sylvanaranyani San Diego, CA wrote: Posted on April 6, 2012, updated April 8, 2012 On April 8th, 2012, sylvanaranyani added the following: Growers Exchange does not stand behind their product, they did not offer to make good on the sale with refund or exchange. I'll shop at local nurseries for service and quality. |
Negative | Carolchad1 (1 review) | On Aug 27, 2011, Carolchad1 Fayetteville, GA wrote: 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 27, 2011, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "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! |
Negative | tmdono (3 reviews) | On Sep 20, 2010, tmdono Huntington, NY (Zone 7a) wrote: 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 20, 2010, Growers Exchange (previously The Grower's Exchange) responded with: "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. |