Dear Customer Service

Awhile back I received an email from Dave at Garden Shoes Online with a $50 gift certificate to introduce their company. They hoped I'd blog about my experience if I decided to place an order, but there was no pressure.

I'd never heard of them and thought about it for a few days. I decided to check out their website, and found they have more than garden shoes. I loved their hats, and their line of ergonomic garden tools looked very sturdy. I decided to give them a try. I invited them to become sponsors of Spring Fling, and it turned out they were already in contact with Mr.Brown Thumb about that. Since then they've become a sponsor, and several lucky garden bloggers will be recipients of Garden Shoes Online gift certificate door prizes.

After I received my order, Dave emailed me back, and also let me know they had become SF sponsors. This was the feedback I sent about my order, and thanking him for their sponsorship:

That's great Dave! Thanks so much.

By the way, I LOVE my new hat! It may be coming with me to Spring Fling to keep the sun off my head and face. I received my order the same day as a plant order from White Flower Farms, and I've already used the transplanter tool to get my new plants in the ground. I love that too, and I think it will become one of my favorite garden tools. It's so comfortable and sturdy, the long scoop works better than a trowel, and is great for when a shovel or spade would be overkill. It's my first ergonomic garden tool, and now that I know how much more comfortable it is to use than a traditional style garden tool, it won't be the last.

Thanks again for the introduction to your company and for your sponsorship of Garden Bloggers' Spring Fling in Chicago.

Sincerely
Me

Speaking of Spring Fling, there are still lots of seats available for Saturday's bus. If you're attending Spring Fling please be sure to register for the bus asap. The bus will give us the opportunity to travel together, enjoy each other's company, assure we get to where we need to be on time, and make travel easier on the most logistically-complicated day of the Fling. With a Cub's game at Wrigley Field on Saturday, you'll avoid the stress of driving from place to place in heavy traffic in an unfamiliar city or taking multiple trips on public transportation. You can register and pay for your seat on the bus here.

Dear Customer Service

Hello,

I received my order yesterday, and would like to provide some feedback and request assistance resolving a problem with the forsythia. When I received the box, it looked fine and undamaged. When I opened it I was disappointed with what I saw.

I was surprised by the small size of the root balls, (ok, the forsythia was in a larger pot and had more substantial roots than the witch hazel,) and both shrubs were at the bottom of the 6' - 12" range in their descriptions on your website. I've attached photos so you can see what I found when I removed the plants from the box.

The witch hazel's pot was cracked. The broken piece wasn't in the bag the plant was enclosed in, nor was I able to find it sifting through the straw after both plants had been removed from the box. This would seem to indicate the little pot was already broken before it was put in the plastic sleeve and into the box. (forgot to add an important detail - the soil was dry and the roots were exposed.)

Most of the tiny forsythia was broken off inside it's bag. I'm sure it wasn't me who broke it. Since the box was undamaged and it was well-protected by the straw, it seems unlikely it was broken during shipping. I assume it was either also broken before packing, or was handled too roughly during packing.

As a garden blogger I've been reading a lot about witch hazels on blogs across the country this winter and early spring, and was happy to find an online nursery (where I could order a small one since they are pricey shrubs,) even if it was small and knowing they're slow growers. I was happy to see the large variety of shrubs you offer, as my garden is large and young and I'm only beginning to focus on adding more shrubs.

I'm disappointed with my first experience with Girard Nurseries. The witch hazel, although smaller than I'd hoped, especially the root ball, in spite of the broken pot appears healthy and undamaged. It was fun to see that it's started blooming as well. (hopefully the dry soil and roots won't cause it to die, and of course it's been well-watered now.)The forsythia though, is a disappointment with most of the woody portion arriving broken off the tiny plant. Please consider sending me a undamaged forsythia to replace the one I received.

Thank you,

Signed, me

Anyone else ever order from this nursery? If so what was your experience? I looked them up at Dave's Garden and the reviews were mixed, though mostly positive. Although the size of the plants was a bit of a disappointment, they were within the range claimed on the website. (barely, but they were.) The sizes of the plants and the root balls are mentioned in both negative and positive reviews.

I'll let you know if they offer to replace the forsythia. (Since I killed the one I planted last year (too wet where I put it,) I figured I'd try again with a lower-priced model! ;)

Update Saturday, May 18th: I spent the day downtown with Monica, Mr.Brown Thumb, and On the Shores of Lake Chicago seeing Macy's garden show again, Millennium Park, and Grant Park. When I got home, I'd received an response to my customer service email, and I'm happy to report I'll be receiving replacement shrubs!

Here is their response:

Dear Linda,

Sorry to hear of your disappointment and I can assure you that is a rare incident. Our reputation since 1946 has been of the highest quality. We most definitely replace your order at no charge and they will be shipped next week. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Thanks,

XXXX

Girard Nurseries

I'm happy I brought my problem to their attention and they acted so quickly to correct it. Any company can have an occasional issue like this, and their quick and satisfactory response means I won't rule out a future order. It must be a challenge shipping live plants - so many things can go wrong in the process. I still think they have a nice selection of shrubs, and I don't mind starting small with some of the shrubs I plan to add to our garden.