Burgess Seed & Plant Company

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2016/08/01) */ We are in receipt of recent correspondence regarding the order you placed with us in MarchPlease note, our guarantee is as follows: If any item you purchased from us does not live, for a FREE REPLACEMENT just return the original shipping label along with your written request within year of receipt...Replacement guarantee is void unless original shipping label is returnedFor a refund of purchase price, return the item and the original shipping label, with correct postage affixed, within days of receipt We are sorry you are unable to return the Based upon the above, we do not believe we have any further obligation to youHowever, since we do attempt to satisfy all of our customers we are willing to replace the unsatisfactory merchandise if you will send us a photocopy of your proof of purchase (charge card statement or both sides of your cancelled check)and a list of the unsatisfactory stock Please send all necessary information to my attention for quicker processing Very Truly Yours Honey Creek Nurseries Susan Phelps Customer service Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2016/08/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I sent this information to them twiceThe first time per e-mail (which they rejected) and the second time per Mail which they returned to me saying they need the original shipping label They knew all along that I don't have the original label and told me a copy of the credit card and order [redacted] be ok and they would replace They didn't Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 27, 2016/10/05) */ Dear Ms [redacted] : We have received your inquiry regarding an order you sent to usYou state that you have not as of yet received your replacement order We regret that you have been inconvenienced in any wayHowever,we have checked with our shipping room and find that your replacement order was processed 8/23/and was shipped 9/8/Tracking of the package shows that it was delivered on 9/20/(Tracking # XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)Our letter did not say that shipment would be made next Spring, and we are sorry if there was any confusion in that matter Thank you for your interest in or merchandise, and we shall look forward to serving you again soon Very Truly Yours, Honeycreek Nurseries Susan Phelps Customer Service Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (2000, 33, 2016/10/07) */ I received the replacement END of SeptemberThis is not the best time to plant especially since I requested replacement in JUNE This experience taught me a lesson NOT to order from catalogues and I [redacted] tell my friends from the garden club the same

[Page 1/2]RE: Kent Cooper#12171263Dear Sir or Madam:Thank you for your inquiry concerning a complaint from one of our customers, Kent Cooper of Huron, SDWe are enclosing a copy of our letter to MrCooper, which we feel is self-explanatoryThank you again for your inquiry and we hope our method of handling this matter is satisfactoryVery Truly Yours, Burgess Seed & Plant Signed: Susan PhelpsCustomer Service -enclosure- [Page 2/2]Kent Cooper206th St.Huron, SD 57350-5054Dear MrCooper,We are in receipt of recent correspondence regarding the order you placed with us in AprilYou stated that some of your plants appear "dead" or have not yet started to bud and leaf outMuch of our nursery stock is shipped in a dormant, bare root condition or in starter pots that require transplantingAlso your plants may stressed by shipmentTherefore, the plants may look "dead," be droopy upon arrival, have lost leaves in shipment, or may leaf-out later than an established plantIF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE PLANT ALL PLANTS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS IN OUR PLANTING BOOKLETWATER REGULARLYGIVE THEM A CHANCEIn nearly every instance the plants will grow and thriveIf after WEEKS of planting, your plants do not leaf out or if you are already certain they are not alive, return the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL from the package as required by our guaranteeUpon receipt a replacement order will be scheduled for youPlease include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantityThe replacement guarantee is void unless the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL (not a photocopy) is returnedAs an alternative to giving the items a chance and if you prefer a refund, you may return the plant(s) immediately (within days in accordance with our guarantee), postage prepaid along with the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABELPlease include a full explanation of the problem by item and quantityThe refund guarantee is void unless the plants and original shipping label (not a photocopy) are returnedThe refund guarantee applies only to items on an original order and not a replacement or voucher orderThank you again for your communicationGive you plants a chance and in all likelihood they will be strong and beautiful in your yard or garden Very Truly Yours, Burgess Seed & Plantsigned: Susan PhelpsCustomer Service

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 10, 2016/01/04) */ Dear Mr***: Our records show that you placed two order with usThe first on 7/7/for $110.88, which was split into two packagesPackage shipped 7/9/and package was scheduled to ship in Spring The second order was placed 8/4/for $and was shipped 8/11/ Please note our guarantee is as follows: "If any item you purchased from us does not live, for a FREE REPLACEMENT just RETURN THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL along with your written request with year of receiptReplacement guarantee is VOID unless the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL is returnedFor a REFUND of the purchase price , RETURN THE ITEM AND THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL, with the correct postage affixed, within days of receipt." In November you wrote stating that some of the items were deadNo product was returnedIn accordance with our guarantee, we issued a merchandise credit certificate for $on 11/16/15, which reflects the amount of the dead items In addition, we will now have package cancelled and will issue a credit to your charge card in the amount of $ Very Truly Yours, Burgess Seed and Plant Co [redacted] Customer Service

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/09/08) */ Dear Mr [redacted] : We are in receipt of your recent correspondence regarding the order you placed with us in JulyThe shipping label, that is required for our guarantee, is the brown paper that would have been taped to the outside of the package and lists the items in the package and your name and addressAccording to what you have written, we believe you have the information/paperwork we needPlease send the label, along with the additional paperwork to my attention for reviewBe sure that the information included provides a list of how many of which item is dead Very truly yours, Burgess Seed & Plant Company Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/09/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The question is "Why is a large, profitable seed and plant company giving a new customer such a hard time replacing a simple $order of plants, most of which died in transit or soon after receipt?" This should have been a simple no-brainer response to a replacement guarantee, but instead the Burgess company has now sent me nearly responses over months denying the replacement because it "believes" I have the mailing label in question that I needed to provide, despite the fact that I have told them repeatedly that the mailing label was damaged, the bulk of which was thrown away by my grandchildren after opening the shipped package I'm not a plant expert; I'm just a retired guy who likes colorful plantsI simply used a catalog I got in the mail to let my visiting grandchildren pick and plant some seedlings for some recreation and learning when they visit meWhen the package came, the kids ripped it open, damaging the mailing label and tossed the wrapper in the trashI was, however, able to retrieve most of the mailing label, which seemed to include the relevant order informationWhat troubled me was that, of some delivered seedlings, only about survived or were not dead on arrival So, I took the opportunity to get the Burgess replacement "guarantee" and sent them the attached letter and all of the pieces of the now discarded mailing labelI figured that the label contained enough information and that Burgess could also verify my order from their computer records for any missing informationI clearly stated in my letter that the label had been damaged and partially lost on opening and I was providing all that I had No such luckNot only did Burgess not apologize for the defective plants, they told me no replacement was forthcoming in the absence of a complete mailing labelYou have to wonder, what kind of 21st Century multimillion dollar business wouldn't be able to just enter my name in their computers and pull up the order information? To add insult to injury, they kept insisting that they "believed" I had the complete mailing labelNow, why would I withhold other label pieces if I indeed had them? Furthermore, they were implying that I must be lying and was trying to rip the company off for $worth of plantsAs a retired business executive, what galls me the most here is all the staff time (read $$$) that Burgess has spent arguing with me has to have cost way more than $for the plantsWhy not just replace the plants and get rid of a likely unhappy non-returning customer? In my numerous correspondence exchanges with Burgess, they wouldn't budge on the "produce the entire mailing label" until they finally said, as a substitute action, I had to provide my credit card statement that documented that I had actually purchased the plants, which I did, even though the company already knew that the purchase was legitimate since it sent me my order As of right now, Burgess seems to have decided I was a legitimate customer and qualify for the replacement plants, until earlier this week when I got a new demand: I needed to document which plants lived and which diedI personally only selected of one plants; all died, and the rest of the ordered seedlings were selected and planted by the grandchildrenI'm not a professional gardener; neither I nor my grandchildren kept records or labels for the planted seedlings, so I have no idea the names or which plants lived or died; all I have to show are a bunch of driseedlingsBesides, one of the ordered items was for a bunch of miscellaneous seedlings, so I would have little knowledge of the contentsI have sent Burgess my list of the problem plants times now, yet they're still saying I need to provide the information (this original letter attached) This all comes down to unbelievable poor customer serviceInstead of apologizing for the order problem and simply replacing the entire order, the Burgess customer service people have been creative enough to keep throwing obstacles in my way, probably just so I would give upIn my business dealings of over years, we had a saying: "Bureaucrats can think of reasons to say NO instead of reason to say YES." It's not like it was an order for hundreds or thousands of dollarsmore like $My mistake was criticizing their performanceClearly they decided to show this customer who's the boss here Burgess has spent hundreds of dollars denying me their guarantee over a 3-month period that included nearly exchanges of letters and e-mailsTheir latest e-mail to me says they will no longer communicate with me on this matterWhy can't they just live up to their guarantee? I certainly will never do business with them again, and I would never recommend that any of my friends use them either

I am rejecting this response because: I looked at their messageThey are lyingWe sent back the original form and shipping label like they askedWe even took a picture of it before we mailed it inI am not satisfied with their responseHundreds of people have had the same complaint

Dear Ms [redacted] :We have received your inquiry regarding an order you placed with usYou state that you have not yet received your order.We regret that you have been inconvenienced in any wayhowever, have checked with our shipping room and find that your order has been shipped (tracking # [redacted] )It should reach you in the very near future, if it has not already done so.Thank you for your interest in our merchandise and we shall look forward to serving you again soon.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer Service

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/11/16) */ Dear Mr [redacted] : We are sorry to hear that you're not pleased with the merchandise you received.Therefore, in accordance with our guarantee and to expedite the handling of your adjustment, just RETURN THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL FROM THE PACKAGE OF REPLACEMENTS of Pecan trees to my attention, as it contains full information concerning your replacement order Thank you again for your letter and as soon as we receive the shipping label in accordance with our published guarantee, we will process our adjustment in a timely manner Very truly yours, Burgess Seed & Plant Company [redacted] Customer Service

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 10, 2016/05/25) */ Dear Mrs***: We are in receipt of a recent inquiry regarding your order with usPlease know that we show that we have received several emails from you and responses were sent on allIf we have a problem receiving emails we would like to look into the matter and would appreciate clarification on the email(s) to which you did not receive a response In regards to the order - it was processed and then shipped on March 28th via ground [redacted] Trace results clearly show that it was delivered to you on March 30th and to date the order has not been returned to usThrough a series of emails, we have provided you with this informationYou,however, stated that despite the trace results you had still not received the order We escalated the trace and begun processing a new shipment on 4/22/Processing generally takes 1-weeksIn addition, new stock for these plants has just recently arrived for us to ship The reshipment has, at this time, been shipped and should be arriving at any time via [redacted] Ground (tracking # XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)We would like to apologize for any frustration and are unsure where FedEx had delivered the original package if not to youWe have, however, processed the reshipment which will e to you very soon if it hasn't already arrived Very Truly Yours, Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer Service

I am rejecting this response because: If your plants were not so pathetic you would have seen that I returned plants and the package of cat grass along with the free seeds you sent I did attempt to plant these so called elephant "bulbs" where were merely a root, you will see this in photo labeled Elephant Ear No I also believe that I should at least get my shipping refunded because I have $into shipping cost ($come and $returning) If I had known how terrible the plants would have been, I would have never ordered from this establishment I also found out that you can not even answer your own phones and that you have a call center doing all the work and they mentioned that there are MULTIPLE completes against Burgess so there must be an issue some where

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/10/26) */ Dear Mr [redacted] : We are sorry to hear that you were not happy with the substitution sent in place of the AspenWe are issuing a credit to your charge card in the amount of &for their value Very truly yours, Burgess Seed & Plant Company [redacted] Customer Service Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (2000, 8, 2015/10/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) I am pleased with this action however it should be noted that I never received anything to replace the Aspens I didn't get

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meTHANK YOU VERY MUCH for your help

Dear Mr [redacted] :We are in receipt of correspondence regarding the order you placed with us 3/23/for $53.98, which shipped 4/8/(tracking # [redacted] )The information with the tracking number and trace results was sent to you by email on 7/17/Also, by email on 7/25/17, we explained that a merchandise credit certificate had been issued for the lost package.We apologize for any inconvenience you have been caused with this orderIt appears that [redacted] lost your package after it left their [redacted] ** locationSince you no longer desire the merchandise or the credit certificate, we are issuing a credit to your charge card for $53.98.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer Service

Dear MsHolmes:We are in receipt of your correspondence regarding the order you placed with us this yearOur records show that two orders were placedThe first on 1/13/was shipped in 2-packages on packages on 4/19/(tracking # [redacted] ) and the second on 5/3/(tracking # [redacted] ).The charge card on the second order, from 3/29/17, was declined and therefore the order was cancelledAn email was sent to you on 4/5/explaining this (see copy enclosed)We show receiving 3-emails from you, and we responded to all three (see copies enclosed)We suggest you check your spam filters or with your ISP regarding any delivery issues with these emails.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer Service

[Page 1/2]RE: [redacted] #12208374Dear Sir or Madam:Thank you for your inquiry concerning a complaint from one of our customers, [redacted] of [redacted] , **.We are enclosing a copy of our letter to Mr [redacted] , which we feel is self-explanatoryThank you again for your inquiry and we hope our method of handling this matter is satisfactoryVery Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer ServiceSP:RR-enclosure-[Page 2/2]Dear Mr [redacted] :We have received your inquiry regarding an order you sent to us You state that you have not as yet received your replacement order.We regret that you have been inconvenienced in any way However, we have checked with our shipping room and find that your replacement order was processed 6/9/and was shipped 6/15/(tracking # [redacted] ) It should reach you in the very near future, if it has not already done soThank you for your interest in our merchandise, and we shall look forward to serving you again soonVery Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer ServiceSP:RR

Dear Ms***:We are in receipt of recent correspondence regarding the order you placed with us 3/7/17, which shipped in packagePlease note, our guarantee is as follows:If any item you purchased from us does not live, for a FREE REPLACEMENT just RETURN THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL along with your written request within year of receiptReplacement guarantee is VOID unless the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL is returnedFor a REFUND of the purchase price, RETURN THE ITEM AND THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABEL, with correct postage affixed, within days or receipt.Each package that is sent has an original shipping label which lists the items in that packageThat shipping label is the closet equivalent to a receipt for those items.We previously sent you documentation requesting additional labels as the label you returned did not list all of the items you referencedTherefore, please return the original shipping label(s) that contain the items for which you need an adjustment, along with a list of how many of each item is deadBe sure to return all of the original shipping labels for the products that list the items that need to be replaced.Please submit the required information to my attention for quicker processingAs soon as we receive the requested information we will be happy to make an adjustment.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant [redacted] Customer Service

I am rejecting this response because:I sent in my original Shipping labels on June not the end of July I still have the receipt from when I mailed it to themSo there time I sent in a request is wrongThis is why I am rejecting this[redacted] ***

Dear Mr***:Thank you for your letter concerning some nursery merchandise you have received from us.We are sorry to hear that a mistake has been made in filling your orderIn order to expedite correcting this error please return your original shipping, label along with this letter, and a breif
explanantion stating which items were missing from your order.We are also sorry to hear that you have had problems through our phone linesThis is our busiest time of the year and unfortunately it can sometimes be difficult to get throughYou also referenced having received no response to emails sent to usWe do answer every email we receive, but have no record of having received an from you.Thank you again for your letter and as soon as we receive the shipping label, we will correct any error.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Plant*** ***Customer Service

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/24) */
We have we received your recent inquiry and understand that you have recently returned your plants and are requesting refundAccording to the information you have provided, we would expect that refund to be processed through our System
when the package is received
We are sorry, but our agreement with the credit card compony dictates that credits be issued in the some manner as the original paymentWe are not able to distinguish the difference between gift cards, debit cards, and credit cards, nor are we allowed to treat them differently
However if the credit is rejected by the credit card company we are then allowed to issue a refund to you via a different methodShould this happen, we will notify you by mail and send a refund checkIf the credit card company accepts the credit, you will need to contact them regarding receiving the funds in a different manner
Very truly yours,
BURGESS SEED & PLANT COMPANY
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/06/25) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I accept the response under duressWhy it has taken a month to come to these conclusions when I was told it would take two weeks is unacceptable

I am rejecting this response because:
I am sorry I referred to it as the order formThe information sent was indeed the ORIGINAL SHIPPING LABELYou have made it impossible to return any items even though we have followed every single directionAt this point I want our money back

*** *** *** *** ***Live OakTX 78233-2807Dear MsAllbrightWe have received your inquiry regarding on order you placed with us.You state that you have not yer received your order.We regret that you have been inconvenienced in any wayHowever, wehave checked with our shipping room
and find that your order has beenshippedIt should reach you in the very near future, if it has not alreadydone so.Thank you for your interest in our merchandise and we shall look forwardto serving you again soon.Very Truly Yours,Burgess Seed & Pant*** ***Customer ServiceSP:KC