General Chat forum: Unhappy with your order?

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AlohaHoya
Jan 18, 2012 11:50 PM CST
Name: Carol Noel
Hawaii (near Hilo)
It's all about choices.
Spring brings a rush of growth and a rush of wanting to grow new species....and what to order? And who to order from? As you know, I am not known for shying away from potential conflict nor backing away from a potentially sticky situation. It is my firm conviction that 99.9% of all conflicts (disappointments etc.) can be avoided thru good communication. I have been a seller of hoyas (and still will be untl my surplus is exhausted) as well as a buyer. I have bought/sold plants and cuttings and, yes, I have been disappointed with a purchase (once) which I take full responsability for. I have had good experiences selling and have only refused to continue to sell to one person who experienced an inordinate number of busted plants in busted boxes...too many in my opinion.

SO...how to avoid problems....

1. EVERY seller has (or should have) a "return" policy. If the return policy states that within one month from the time of delivery the cutting is returned to the seller for a replacement....that means one month. Not 3 months. Not anything other than one month and that means the full cutting, not the piece you kept after sharing the rest with others. Rolling my eyes.

2. If the plant is busted up because the box was crushed in the Post Office (or FedEx or...or...), take a picture of the box, get the USPS, FEDEx or whoever to sign a statement that the box was crushed along with the plant/plants. Any seller should take out insurance against the possibilities...and should stand by their product.

3. However, if you order a cutting and have no clue how to root it ....or.....if you order a plant and have no idea how to grow it....don't expect the seller to fund your learning experience.

I speak about this as very few people want to talk about the sticky stuff...("oh dear...can't talk about that in public, can we?"). It is a fact of life.

It is very important to have the information YOU need to order the correct species/size etc., and terribly important for the seller to know that what you order is what you really want. And...believe me...the more information WE have from you as to what you want...the happier it is for everyone. Big Grin

Ask questions. Yes...ask questions...but don't expect the seller to read your mind. Do your homework...know what you are ordering!!! Know if that hoya you are ordering will grow in your conditions. Know what thehoya you order looks like (you can't believe how many order a hoya and believe it is something different than what it is). If you have questions, ask the seller. Ask questions on this Cubit....lots of us would be delighted to help you.

The secret to good communication is....(tahdah)....good communication!!! There are NO stupid questions!!! There ARE unhappy results.....

Anyone wanting to add, argue, extrapolate, digress, question or chat about this...please do so. Big Grin

Leap. The net will appear.
ImageJulieK
Jan 19, 2012 3:42 AM CST
Name: Julie Kennedy
UK
Sound Advice - thanks Carol Smiling
Imagethreegardeners
Jan 19, 2012 7:23 AM CST
Name: Lee Anne Stark
Ontario, Canada
Perpetually happy!
I agree Lovey dubby
Iochroma
Jan 19, 2012 10:09 AM CST
Name: David
San Francisco Bay area
Totally with you Carol! I find that a very polite and carefully-worded letter will usually resolve any shipping problem, but other issues are more thorny. The big one for me, is discovering months (or years) later that the species sent was not the species ordered...

People can and do make mistakes when they, in good faith, thought they had one thing and sold it as that; other people of weaker moral fiber will sell something even when they know it is not truly the variety advertised.

One rarely gets a seller to replace those plants... Its a problem as old as the plant business.
AlohaHoya
Jan 19, 2012 11:28 AM CST
Name: Carol Noel
Hawaii (near Hilo)
It's all about choices.
I agree Dave. I believe that Caveat Emptor pertains to buyers in this instance of IDs. A seller can, in all good faith, sell a plant with a given ID....IF the issue is important to the buyer they should know what the plant they want looks like and check pictures. Too many times buyers are going for the cheap $$$ from an unknown and untested seller....
Leap. The net will appear.
RandyBoatwright
Jan 19, 2012 9:14 PM CST
So what else is there to say?! Good job, Carol, and I bought several plants from you and during the Oct power outage they died. Does that mean you won't replace my frozen plants? Ha!
You did a great job nailing the hit on the head!
AlohaHoya
Jan 19, 2012 11:35 PM CST
Name: Carol Noel
Hawaii (near Hilo)
It's all about choices.
Ears perked up! So, Randy...when did you first suspect your frozen hoyas were going to croak? Any indication when they arrived late summer? No? Well, gee...let me consult with my board of ghekos who control my quality control.... ah, no. They say it is simply out of the question, unless of course, you can return the plants to me in a condition where cause of death is easily determined.....

.......

Big Grin
Leap. The net will appear.
ImageJulieK
Jan 20, 2012 1:49 AM CST
Name: Julie Kennedy
UK
Rolling on the floor laughing
RandyBoatwright
Jan 20, 2012 2:00 PM CST
Carol, you are as devious as I am! Love your sense of humor!
AlohaHoya
Jan 20, 2012 5:45 PM CST
Name: Carol Noel
Hawaii (near Hilo)
It's all about choices.
Hurray! Hurray! Randy...without a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves...life would be pretty bland, eh? Big Grin
Leap. The net will appear.

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