Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply

I am rejecting this response because: I fill this company needs to be held accountable for their bad Business practice. They did give me me a refund after I turned them in. If I had not turned  them in, I would've never heard from them again.

09/15/2016   Case# 11705734   Customer: ST380213 Invoice: [redacted]   Billing Address:   [redacted] KS 66749   Shipping Address:   [redacted] KS 66749   Customer was made aware of our Bare Root Policy and agreed...

to it prior to making the purchase online. This customer issue has been resolved directly with PVFS and the customer. We agreed to allow her to use her bare root credit towards the shipping costs of her replacement order [redacted]. $9.99 for shipping was refunded back to her Discover CC on 09/14/16. The bare root credit of $19.99 was moved to her current order [redacted] and was used to cover the shipping fee per customer request. She has credit balance of $10.00 that will be left on her account to be used towards her next purchase.

Our 3-N-1 Multi-Graft Trees come with at least 3 grafts, some come with 4 grafts, however we only guarantee 3 of the grafts to leaf out by 05/15 of the same year planted. The picture provided by this customer shows the tree has in fact 4 grafts, and three of the four have leafed out and she does not...

qualify for a partial credit.However, as I stated to customer, I made an exception to our policy for this customer and issued her a partial credit for one graft that did not leaf out.The credit in on file and a copy has been send to the customer.Please note: Per our policy on the 3N1 Multi -Graft Trees, if for example 2 of the 3 grafts leafed out we would issue a partial credit for the 3rd graft that did not leaf.This customer, although she does not qualify for the credit, I issued her one for the one graft that did not leaf. Thank you,[redacted]

This incident was incorrectly handled by the store employee and has since been resolved to our customers satisfaction. Thank you,[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have received a response from the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

I am rejecting this response because:A.  I made a refund request only hours after the deadline not five days as you stated. B.  The tree may still be alive for now, but the scratch test is a great way to refuse a refund and then you can simply state, sorry it's past the deadline.  The tree will not survive long without leaves.  I planted the tree months ago and watched as all the other trees leafed out.  I gave it the benefit of the doubt to wait as long as I did.  C.  The other items I requested a refund for where not thrown out.  They dried up and they never grew!!! Therefore I have nothing to take a photo of. You can state your polices all you want, my compliant is against your policies.  They are clearly designed to be able to reject refunds easily.  You can lie and hide behind your policy if you want to, like I said I am just going to take my business elsewhere.

The garlic you purchased was tested for nematode by the grower (upon our request, as this is our standard procedure before we purchase any garlic seed), it then received a satisfactory phytosanitary certificate allowing it to be cleared through the US Department of Agriculture then customs, and was...

finally cleared by our local county California Department of Agriculture after it was inspected.When [redacted] told you not to plant anything you weren’t comfortable with planting and that you would receive a refund for what you would return, he was obviously not aware that the entirety of the seed garlic you received had been already cracked and then soaked. As our policy so clearly and unequivocally states everywhere (website, catalog, checkout, literature in the box), customers can return any quantities of garlic they received that they not deem acceptable, provided they contact us within 3 days after delivery (to allow time for a thorough inspection) and that the returned garlic be intact and not cracked.  We cannot and will not issue refunds for good, viable garlic that is cracked.You should have inspected your garlic earlier as you took twice the allowed time to do so.  Furthermore, once you cracked a few heads apart and noticed things that were not to your liking, you should have stopped and called us right away.  Instead, not only you cracked every single head into individual cloves but you soaked them in kelp and baking soda (which require them to be immediately planted).  The fact that you found some bad cloves here and there is not in dispute (that’s what Mother Nature does) and we will accept for you to cherry pick the good cloves (the vast majority of what we have seen in your pictures) from the bad ones.  Furthermore, we will make another exception to our policy and accept you to return the bad ones (at our expense) and will refund you for them, although you were 3 days late in contacting us.However, your position (which is to say that because you found some bad cloves, everything is bad) is not only unacceptable but totally absurd.  It is as if an orchardist would quarantine his whole apple crop after finding a few wormy apples or if a potato farmer would abandon his entire crop after finding some rotted spuds upon harvest.What you did, using the same metaphor, is cutting every potato you bought in quarters (rendering them unusable except for immediate planting), then after finding a few rotted ones, changed your mind about the quality of the entire lot, deciding against planting any of them, and then demanding to return cut potatoes (here cracked and soaked garlic) and requesting a full refund.As [redacted] explained to you, the bruising on the garlic will not affect the ability of the garlic to germinate. As the garlic is mechanically harvested, it is unavoidable for some of the cloves to be bruised.  These bruises in turn get moldy while in storage.As far as the origins of our garlic, we buy garlic from various growers from many locations in the USA and Canada. We do not grow anything ourselves, but as our company name clearly states, we are a garden & farm supply business that buy and resell inventory suitable to farmers and gardeners. As we did not disclose where our garlic comes from to begin with, how could you accuse us of misleading you about the fact that some of the seed garlic we sell is from Canada?  If garlic not sourced from the USA (or from any other particular location) was of such a concern for you, why haven’t you asked us where our garlic is from?  By the way, we are somewhat puzzled as to why you would consider Canada sourced garlic inferior to American sourced garlic.  If it would be from China, we could understand, but from Canada?!Addressing another issue from your complaint to the Revdex.com, you incorrectly state that we are certified and that our farms are certified. As above mentioned, we are not a farm but a farm & garden supply business.  However, we are certified by CCOF to handle organic seeds, which is irrelevant to your situation as the garlic you purchased was conventionally, not organically grown.In the meantime, we strongly recommend you talk to the Canadian grower where your garlic was sourced from.  We asked him to call you, which he did but had to leave a message.  This is for you the perfect opportunity to talk to a real professional garlic grower who will give you the right advice and walk you through the path of success, instead of listening to mis-informed or un-commital “experts” you consulted with.  Warren has grown millions of pounds of garlic over 30 years and he really knows what he is talking about.If you still want to have the good cloves (that you obviously need to segregate from the bad ones that will be returned to us) tested before planting, please send a pound of the good cloves right away to the lab Plant Disease Diagnostics 780 Palmer Road Walnut Creek, CA 94596, do so (at our expense for the shipping and the testing, the label for shipping the sample to the lab is attached. The nearest FedEx facility in you area is a FedEx Express Drop Box located at Hwy 51 & Hwy Six in Batesville.), but you absolutely need to dry the good cloves (now that you soaked them) and store them in a breathable bag (preferably netted) or an open & flat container in a fridge (not a closed plastic bag) so that they can stay in good condition until we get the results confirming viability and lack of infestation.  If the lab tests come negative (infestation), we will issue you a refund.  If the lab test come back positive (no infestation), we will expect you to plant the garlic immediately.However, it is essential that in earnest, you do your very best to preserve this cracked & soaked garlic as it will otherwise continue to deteriorate in the meantime if not properly cared for.Josh Duncan[redacted] Gerpheide

I was hung up on by the customer service "overseer", who did absolutely nothing to alleviate my issues or apologize. For two orders I have had to wait 1-2 weeks in addition to the "available to ship" date without being notified of the delay. I allowed my order to be shipped by the AUTOMATIC most economic method for shipping, which I've come to find isn't even mentioned on the website shipping descriptions tab, which ended up taking 11-12 days on live agricultural products! I've called in several times wondering why my order had not shipped 10 days after it was supposedly "available" with a 1-2 day processing time, and they gave me two different answers on two different occasions. Terrible customer service. Essentially it is now solely my problem that they shipped almost two weeks after the date that was on my invoice, and now the customer service overseer exclaimed that now I should buy more products to compensate for the damage of planting after the recommended planting time.

Review: Do NOT rely on Peaceful Valley for your garden needs. I've never been so disgusted w/ a business--and this is a nursery--but PV's employees like [redacted] Tietjen conducted themselves in such an unprofessional manner so as to go out of their way to create and exacerbate problems that never should have emerged! They abandoned common sense and ignored my clear written instructions when the website kept failing. This resulted in a several avoidable problems and created unanticipated ones b/c PV disregarded my express wishes. [redacted] was "in charge" of resolving these problems but only compounded them--and created new ones--by repeatedly exhibiting her lack of business acumen and professionalism. I am bewildered how anyone rewarded such characteristics with being in charge of anything.Here is a synopsis of what transpired:-Ordered $400 gift card which qualified for a 20% coupon.-Tried to place two separate online orders. Website malfunctioning, wouldn't recognize gift card. Used credit card instead to at least keep the items in the cart but included a note in the "instructions" section, describing the problems and to combine orders for free shipping and seeds offer.-PV emailed that they saw the note and corrected the problems, i.e., charged the gift card and not the credit card, and would combine the items for the free shipping and seeds.-Placed 3rd online order a week later. Now problem w/ shipping fees which used up remainder of gift card and had to charge on credit card. I advised that I had two other orders, to combine, that shipping fees should be credited.-PV emailed that they received the note, but CHOSE TO IGNORE it. PV fed ex'ed five free seeds (I had 10 others pending) & a rubber tie--and charged me $10 for shipping!-[redacted] admitted this made no sense.-I asked to change payment of the orders from gift card to credit card, [redacted] cancelled entire order, then advised that several hard-to-find items were no longer avail. Now I have no order, and a $400 card that I cannot useDesired Settlement: [redacted] ignored my express wish to change the payment method. Instead she independently cancelled all of our orders which took us a very long time to place on PV's user-unfriendly website (which she and [redacted] admitted was useless and discouraged customers from using it at all). We lost our priority and several items sold out. We carefully chose $400 as the gift card amount b/c that was the cost of everything we ordered. B/c of PV's irresponsibility, we cannot use it as intended.

Business

Response:

This customer purchased over $400 worth of products on our website and attempted to pay with a gift card she had previously purchased. We had a temporary glitch on our site at that time that didn’t allow her to use that payment method (gift card). Our web team was aware of the issue and it was their top priority to fix. The customer then decided to pay with a credit card to force the order to go through. She then contacted us to inform us of her predicament and we subsequently refunded her credit card and applied said purchase against her gift card.

Because of the large number of seasonal items she ordered that were either not combinable (to ship together, in order to prevent them being damaged) and/or became ready to ship at different time, her order was set to ship in a total of seven boxes and were split into that many orders. This was clearly explained on our website and catalog during the checkout process.

Along with her order, she wrote a note instructing us to combine (as best we could) items to save on shipping. There were only two orders that could be combined, potentially saving her $9.99 in shipping. Our sales rep that worked on the order overlooked her note and did not act upon the customer's request. This was our mistake and we promptly refunded her that charge. We did apologize and notify her of the $9.99 refund.

See email exchange below when the customer asked to have all the money put back on the gift card, wanted to return the gift card and would call with her credit card. We do not accept returns on gift cards, this policy is clearly noted on our website. We never cancel an order without telling the customer and she received notification in the last email.

Customer email on 12/12/12 at 12:18PM: Rather than paying with the gift card, I need to pay for the orders with my credit card to keep everything straight. Thus everything should be refunded to the gift card to restore the original $400 balance and I would like to return it. Please let me know once this is reversed and when you are ready to take my payment over the phone.

PVFS rep email on 12/12/13 at 1:08PM: This is in the gift card description on our website:

Please Note that there are no returns for gift cards.

Customer email on 12/12/13 at 1:15PM: This a request to change the method of payment. Pls reverse the payments on the orders to restore the original balance on the gift card. I will pay w/ my credit card when you are ready to take the information on the phone.

PVFS rep email on 12/12/13 at 1:55PM: All three orders have been refunded back to the gift card. Attached are copies of the unpaid proposals. Since there is not payment on them, we will not hold the inventory.

We subsequently never received a phone call from her providing payment for her order, which was turned into a proposal.

Regarding the $400 gift card: the gift card is usable and has its original full credit balance just under $400.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because it is factually incorrect. Peaceful Valley (PV) exploits and engages in charging exorbitant shipping fees for items that can clearly be shipped together, e.g., I had 15 FREE packets of seeds and it sent me only five of them plus a tiny item that cost 19 cents for a $10 shipping fee. Yes, PV indeed charged $10 for items that cost no more than 48 cents to mail AND failed to combine them with other items that could be shipped together. I had to ask repeatedly for the incompetent supervisor [redacted] to refund the shipping charge which she did reluctantly. Then she cancelled the entire order without calling me as I clearly requested.

Customer service representative was extremely unprofessional and made no attempt to resolve our complaint. The seed that we got from them did not germinate and they would not refund or replace the seed. Instead all we received was snarly responses.

Review: The business shipped me the following products in January 4 months before any other business would ship them because the weather does not allow these products to be shipped to WI in the winter. I called 3 times begging them not to ship them, I then had to buy multiple buckets and dirt from [redacted] and put them into my rootcellar in an attempt to keep them from dying. Only 4 of the trees leaved out. I missunderstood thinking I had to wait until after June 1st to file a warranty claim. I ordered 100 more trees from [redacted] which were shipped in April like they were suppose to be and all 100 lived. So it was not my planting practices it was the fact that they shipped the trees when it was -20 degrees outside.I am asking for a refund of the payment of the trees.2 [redacted] Peach Redhaven SmDwf Tr 19.992 [redacted] Peach Eva's Pride SmDwf Tr 19.992 [redacted] Nectarine Harko SmDwf Tr 19.992 [redacted] Nectarine Honey Kist SmDwf Tr 19.992 [redacted] Plum/Prune Italian SmDwf Tr 19.9910 [redacted] Apple Honey Crisp SmDwf Tr 19.99Desired Settlement: They need to reimburst me for the dead trees

Business

Response:

Hi [redacted],

Review: This is very similar to other complaints filed against them. They shipped without regard to current weather conditions. Assured me that if the tree did not survive it would be replaced. When I did call to let them know it did not survive they told me to give it more time. [redacted], very fond of cutting people off and less than honest, neglected to mention that the deadline was June 1st - probably hoping I would miss the deadline. Judging from the other complaints I have found here and other places online (many, many people complaining about [redacted] and their arbitrary cutoff date that they share only in fine print), I see little hope that they will do anything to rectify the situation or the Revdex.com will actually hold them accountable.I am recommending, unless a refund is made immediately, that my mother (who bought this as a gift for me) file a dispute with her credit card company to get the charges reversed.Desired Settlement: I was initially wanting to get a replacement, but the way I was treated (phone hang-ups, avoiding taking responsibility, and horrific customer service), I want to end my relationship with these people as soon as possible.

Business

Response:

Customer says: “They shipped without regard to current weather conditions”. On our website and catalogs, Peaceful Valley clearly states in the item description of bare root items the following: PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATIONWhen placing your bare root orders, please be aware that AS SOON as the trees/plants are available to ship (Dec. for trees, Jan. for plants), we will begin shipping IMMEDIATELY - no matter where you are located !!!There are several factors why we must ship immediately:• We can only ship bare root items when they are dormant. With us being located in CA, trees/plants can come out of dormancy well before the rest of the nation is ready to plant.• We receive our bare root items in successive deliveries. We need to move them out quickly, as our space is limited.• It is very challenging, if not impossible, to keep track of who gets what when dealing with ten's of thousands of trees/plants and 200 varieties over 3 months, hence we must adhere to our policy.Furthermore, on our website and catalogs, our Bare-Root Limited Replacement Guarantee For Dormant Bare-Root Trees clearly states:If your dormant bare-root fruit tree (including fig, pomegranate, almond, kiwi and potted goji) or nut tree does not leaf out above the graft by May 15th, we suggest you do a scratch test - checking for green under the bark. If it is brown, the tree is dead and you should pull it from the ground, take pictures including the roots, and email them ASAP to [email protected]. Watch our video for more information about the Bare Root (Dormant) Warranty.Once pictures are received, they will be examined for damage (from rodent, mechanical...) or root rot. If none is evident, we will issue you a store credit for the price you paid for that tree (excluding shipping, not a refund). This store credit is redeemable toward the purchase of any other bare-root item of your choice the following season. We reserve the right to not issue credit for replacement of already replaced items.Bare Root replacement claims MUST be received BY JUNE 1st for consideration. Concerns received after June 1st will be denied for credit.Even though our policy was not followed, our customer service representative offered a solution. This was offered on 7/22, almost 2 months after the original deadline of 6/1. This is cut and pasted from the email correspondence, “Even though you did not follow the policy as required, we will make a one time exception for you provided you send in a picture of your tree that shows the scratch test and the roots. Once the picture(s) has been received and inspected for any rodent or mechanical damage and none is found a store credit (no refund as per our policy shown above) will be issued for you to replace that tree for next season. Please note the credit does not include shipping and replacements will not be given on trees that have already been replaced.”The customer did send in some pictures of the tree and we will be issuing them a credit for a new tree this coming season.For the record, of which we are quite proud, the failure rate on our bare root trees is historically and consistently under 2% of trees sold. We are more than willing to meet customers’ expectations as long as our policy above is followed. We cannot otherwise accept responsibility for lack of care, generally not enough or too much watering (bad drainage) when the weather heats up and the rains dry off, that will kill any young trees not properly tended to.

Review: Prices ring up differently then marked on their shelves. When Challenged they they refuse to talk and throw you out

I went to purchase an item at this business today it was marked on the shelve as $12.99 it was rung up to me for $109. The checker said that the items (being more then one) were in the wrong place and she wasn't able to honor the advertised price. The manager admitted that his staff had stocked the shelves incorrectly but wasn't going to honor the price. The owner came down in a confrontational manner and said he was "Absolutely would not honor the marked price" he also told me to read the fine print on the label under the price. I told him I thought that was a horrible business practice he to me to "Get out of his store and never come back". I took pictures to prove my claimsDesired Settlement: I want the item sold to me for what the price on it was labeled as. I have pic to prove my claims

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

Let's first establish for the record that Peaceful Valley is in full compliance with CA state law requiring (1) the price of displayed merchandise be adequately marked and (2) the merchandise be sold for the price it is marked for (California B&P Code, XXXXX.2)

Furthermore, Peaceful Valley's shelf tags have detailed descriptions and part numbers, along with the price, to prevent any confusion in case items are moved as they often are by customers (inadvertently or not).

The Claber Electronic Water Timer "Duplo" (duplo stands for 2 outlets) in question was on the shelf above its own tag very clearly bearing its own description along with its correct price ($109.00).

To the right of the spot for the Claber Electronic Water Timer "Duplo" were displayed two other Claber Electronic Water Timers (models Video 6 and Logica), and then the Gilmour Mechanical Timer Single Outlet retailing for $12.99 and finally the Gilmour Mechanical Timer Double Outlet retailing for $21.99.

The spot for the Gilmour Mechanical Timer Single Outlet was empty as this item was out-of-stock (having being discontinued).

When the customer checked out, he was informed that the Claber Electronic Water Timer "Duplo" he was purchasing retailed for $109, to which he retorted that it was tagged for $12.99.

The Lead Sales Associate then went to check the display which is when the customer told him to have allegedly found that Claber Electronic Water Timer "Duplo" sitting on the shelf right above Gilmour Mechanical Timer Single Outlet price tag.

When told that the $12.99 price tag was clearly marked for the Gilmour Mechanical Timer Single Outlet, not for the Claber Electronic Water Timer "Duplo", the customer insisted on being able to purchase the Claber Electronic Water Timer Double Outlet (priced at $109.00) for the price of a Gilmour Mechanical Water Timer Single Outlet ($12.99).

The Lead Sales Associate told him he couldn't do that as the price tags were very clear as to what is being sold at what price.

The customer then insisted to talk to a manager which is when the Lead Sales Associate went upstairs to seek Peaceful Valley's President's help.

When the President re-iterated to the customer that we wouldn't accept to sell him a Claber Electronic Water Timer Double Outlet (priced at $109.00) for the price of a Gilmour Mechanical Water Timer Single Outlet (priced at $12.99), the customer proceeded by telling Peaceful Valley's President that (1) Peaceful Valley was "breaking the law and would be reported for it" and that (2) the customer would "post bad reviews on social media" if Peaceful Valley would not accept to proceed as he demanded.

Facing what Peaceful Valley's President perceived to be both a threat and a blackmail, he asked the customer to leave the premises and invited him to no longer patronize the business.

As the proverb says, there is always two sides to the story and this pushy customer really went beyond the pale.

Consumer's Final Response

I disagree completely with their response. At this point I want nothing from them other then a bad mark on their file. I have photos that back up my claim showing where on the shelve the entire inventory was stocked. In addition this owner didn't look into this manner as she should have because she Identified the sales clerk as a him instead of a her. This leads me to believe she didn't do her due diligence. At the end of the day had the manager approached me in a mature professional manner, explained someone made a mistake, stated that he couldn't honor the price but could give me a discount we wouldn't be here having this discussion. I did not black mail or threaten them I told them what I was going to do which was the only recourse available to me. If you review their yelp page you will see they have 9 reviews 7 of which are poor and most of them it has to do with how they treat their customer. This is the third bad experience I have has with them the previous two had to do with their posted return practices not matching their actual practices and their staff not being properly educated on those practices at the time of sale. If you have any other questions please feel free to let me know

Review: I asked for a refund because of defective products and they refused. I have been in contact with [redacted] to receive a refund. I find the customer service received to be rude and offensive. They would not give me a refund because a so called scratch test was green instead of brown. But since it is past the deadline and still has not leafed out a refund is not allowed.Desired Settlement: Refund

Business

Response:

This customer tried to return for credit a living viable tree, from his complaint you can see that they clearly state that "a so called scratch test was green instead of brown". Our grower has been using this scratch to test the viability of trees for years, and it works. In this case, the customer simply needs to wait longer for the tree to leaf out, the purpose of the scratch test is to determine whether or not the tree is alive or is dead. When you scratch just a little bit from the surface of the bark on a tree, you can easily determine if the tree is living or dead. Since the pilth under the bark was green, their tree is in fact still alive. We can not control weather patterns and growing seasons that determine when exactly a tree will leaf out. We send living viable plants. All Regions are different, especially now a days with the interesting weather we have been experiencing. The customer also tried to make this transaction after our June 1st deadline. It has always been June 1st and this customers knows that. In the past they have received credit for a non-viable bare root item. Our return policy for perishable items is all over our website and on the instructions on what to do once a perishable bare root has been delivered. Our limited replacement guarantee for all bare root items clearly states the steps necessary to receive this credit. The customer did not comply, even after our customer service representative (Laurie that was referenced above as rude and offensive) extended the deadline by 5 days. The customer's unwillingness to accept the fact that their is still alive is mind boggling. As for the other items, they were thrown away. What proof do we have that these items were not viable? We can not simply hand out credits/refund on hearsay.The growing instructions for the items ordered and screenshots of our website clearly stating our return policy and limited guarantee are attached. We do not offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee because there are more factors and growing conditions that could kill plants than there is room in this text box. Thank you for your time.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:A. I made a refund request only hours after the deadline not five days as you stated. B. The tree may still be alive for now, but the scratch test is a great way to refuse a refund and then you can simply state, sorry it's past the deadline. The tree will not survive long without leaves. I planted the tree months ago and watched as all the other trees leafed out. I gave it the benefit of the doubt to wait as long as I did. C. The other items I requested a refund for where not thrown out. They dried up and they never grew!!! Therefore I have nothing to take a photo of. You can state your polices all you want, my compliant is against your policies. They are clearly designed to be able to reject refunds easily. You can lie and hide behind your policy if you want to, like I said I am just going to take my business elsewhere.