CREDIT OR NOT

[ALDABRAMAN]

OK, Here is my situation. About two months ago I purchased several hundred dollars worth of misc. grass seed for my tortoise pasture. I have done this for many years and have always had great results. This year no grass, not even one blade! I called the owner of the store that I have dealt with for many years, thousands of dollars worth of fertilizers, grass seeds, vermiculite, etc. and explained the situatoion and circumstances to him directly. I offered for him to visit our pasture and confirm the facts for himself. After our conversation was complete, he decided he would not provide any credit, refund, or replace the seeds. His position was that his seed supplier will not provide him with a credit, end of story. Well, my question to those of you that will vote, is this right or wrong? Please feel free to add comments on this either way, I would like to hear others opinions.

 

[EricIvins]

Personally, unless a guarantee was in the TOS of the sale, I would say chalk it up to bad luck and move on......Dealing with something perishable has way too many factors, of which both the buyer or seller can easily screw up.......

Grass/Plants/Trees/anything living isn't guaranteed to grow and thrive unfortunately, and to be honest, I think many people in the Business of selling Perishables are starting to get jaded with people trying to get something for free anymore.......

I've had quite a few people try to claim DOAs or failure to thrive animals to get a replacement for nothing........I'm not saying this is what happened or is happening here, but this just goes to show a clearly spelled out TOS is a must for just about any transaction these days.......Just so both parties are clear if certain situations arise.......

I will say that with the recent rain we've had, I'm seeing stuff starting to pop up that I thought were deader than a door nail.........

 

[dmarcus]

If it was me and I knew how good of a customer you were, I would atleast give you store credit. You never want to lose a customer who brings in a lot of money and I know in retail it would just be a write off no problems. Not sure what the guy was thinking..

 

[TortieLuver]

I think if you have been a long-standing customer, paying a great deal to this business without complaints before, I can't understand whatsoever why the business wasn't more attentive to the situation. He for sure should have done something to make things right. A store credit at least would have been nice or more seeds. I'm sure you would feel you are appreciated for your business transactions and continuing to go back to him... and continue to use him. I'm sure now you feel like going to someone else.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Personally, unless a guarantee was in the TOS of the sale, I would say chalk it up to bad luck and move on......Dealing with something perishable has way too many factors, of which both the buyer or seller can easily screw up.......

Grass/Plants/Trees/anything living isn't guaranteed to grow and thrive unfortunately, and to be honest, I think many people in the Business of selling Perishables are starting to get jaded with people trying to get something for free anymore.......

I've had quite a few people try to claim DOAs or failure to thrive animals to get a replacement for nothing........I'm not saying this is what happened or is happening here, but this just goes to show a clearly spelled out TOS is a must for just about any transaction these days.......Just so both parties are clear if certain situations arise.......

I will say that with the recent rain we've had, I'm seeing stuff starting to pop up that I thought were deader than a door nail.........

Thank you for the opinion, I do understand your point. I know of several circumstances regarding your testimonials to false DOA claims.

 

[TortieLuver]

ALDABRAMAN~ I think one major difference between your circumstance is that you are a long-standing customer. As a business, I would be more reluctant to someone who has purchased one time and wants their money back because it didn't work. I get it because the business doesn't know if you planted the seeds correctly or watered/followed directions. Believe me, I think there are many people that want something for nothing and complain to businesses, but that's not you. You have spent a ton of money with this person and probably would have continued. You have been planting seeds you have purchased from him previously and were successful right?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

If it was me and I knew how good of a customer you were, I would atleast give you store credit. You never want to lose a customer who brings in a lot of money and I know in retail it would just be a write off no problems. Not sure what the guy was thinking..

Thank you for your reply. This was my first thought. I know if I returned a plant, or anything to Lowes or Home Depot, they will not even think twice.

---

ALDABRAMAN~ I think one major difference between your circumstance is that you are a long-standing customer. As a business, I would be more reluctant to someone who has purchased one time and wants their money back because it didn't work. I get it because the business doesn't know if you planted the seeds correctly or watered/followed directions. Believe me, I think there are many people that want something for nothing and complain to businesses, but that's not you. You have spent a ton of money with this person and probably would have continued. You have been planting seeds you have purchased from him previously and were successful right?

Yes, we have purchased seeds, fertilizers, and vermiculite for years, thousands of dollars worth over the years. The seeds have always worked for many years, this is the first ever. I do understand that people will try to pull a fast one and want something for nothing. The owner was a little taken back when I explained Home Depot or Lowes might be my first choice in the future. His decission just does not set well with me, I still struggle with his responce.

 

[dmmj]

Ok I was a little confused at first but as I understand it you purchased the seed and then nothing grew from that seed. In that case since it was a long time customer at the very least I would have given you replacement seed at cost, if it was me and I had a customer who bought thousands of dollars worth of stuff, I probably would have replaced it .

 

[dmarcus]

If it was me and I knew how good of a customer you were, I would atleast give you store credit. You never want to lose a customer who brings in a lot of money and I know in retail it would just be a write off no problems. Not sure what the guy was thinking..

Thank you for your reply. This was my first thought. I know if I returned a plant, or anything to Lowes or Home Depot, they will not even think twice.

I was an assistant manager in retail for a few years and you expect to lose items due to theft, returns, etc.. and this was in the monthly budget, so that why so many stores offer in-store credit instead of refunds, because it's easier to write off a product than it is to return money.

 

[yagyujubei]

I talked to the owner of my local feed store about this. She said that they cannot guarantee growth because there are too many variables once the seed leaves their store. Then anytime a farmer has a lousy crop, they would want compensation. It's agricultural around here, and they probably sell tons of seed there. I would imagine storing seed in Florida could be problematic because of the high humidity and wetness. I think your only recourse is to either buy elsewhere, or forget about it and move on. In the future, you could have them notify you when fresh seed arrives and buy from that batch.

 

[Guggie]

For a good customer, they could have done something. I don't think I would have expected a full refund or even a 1:1 credit, but would think that they could have given you some percentage off my next order.

Even if they couldn't have done that, there must have been some gesture that they could have made to make you happy. That's what customer service is about - making the customer happy.

 

[Turtle Guru]

well if i was the guy that sold the seed, i would back up what im selling because there is no need to rip off good people that buy the seed.

Aldabarman try to seed it then put hay on top of it that is cheap and works very well. But is here in West Virgina I dont know about dwon there but it should. If you havent done that try it. Also your soil might be bad now because the grass sucked all the nutrients out of the ground (happens alot after a while). That is what i know to do but if they dont work please dont hold that against me . Good Luck .

 

[natsamjosh]

I think the issue is pretty simple. Legally they are not obligated to do anything, and yes, there are risks when dealing with living things, and so on. That's not really the point. They don't *have* to do anything for you... but given your circumstance (ie, an honest, long-time customer who has provided them a good bit of revenue), the question is *should* they do something to help you out. IMO, yes. It's bad business practice to **** off good customers.

 

[jbean7916]

My personal opinion would be no credit. There are just too many things that could have happened once the seed left the store.

Looking at it from the business owners standpoint: How does he know you even planted the seed? How does he know you didn't flood it out? I understand you are a long standing customer of his, but giving you a credit is solely up to him.

 

[CJSTorts]

I think the issue is pretty simple. Legally they are not obligated to do anything, and yes, there are risks when dealing with living things, and so on. That's not really the point. They don't *have* to do anything for you... but given your circumstance (ie, an honest, long-time customer who has provided them a good bit of revenue), the question is *should* they do something to help you out. IMO, yes. It's bad business practice to **** off good customers.

I completely agree, they don't have to do anything, but for a long standing customer, who has given them thousands of dollars of business something should have been done to make you happy. A partial credit, a percent off next purchase, something.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Thanks to all for your opinions and post, being a business man I do understand both sides of the issue. It is what it is and life goes on. Times are hard for most in todays economy, overall the $600 is a small price based on what I have heard others are going thru. I have purchased new seeds from another source, planting the new seeds today. Best.

 

[Tom]

This is just another example of BAD customer service. If this was a one time deal and the the guy had never dealt with you before, his response might make a little more sense. Yes there are people who try to "abuse" the system, but this is CLEARLY not the case and the business owner knows it. I'd take my business elsewhere.

I was in retail for 8 years, and in a way, I still am. It is pure business stupidity to NOT take care of long term loyal customers, even if that means taking a short term loss. If I had sold several hatchlings a year to one guy and everything always went perfectly and then one year he had one die for no apparent reason, you are damn right I'd send him a new one for free. I'd even pay the shipping. And guess who would probably be back buying more the next year AND recommending my tortoises to everyone he knows...

...OR... I could tell him,"Sorry, tough luck.", and never see or hear from that customer again. I can guarantee you that this customer would then vocally recommend AGAINST doing business with me to EVERYONE he knows.

There is a saying in retail. Do a fantastic job for a customer, and they MIGHT tell one friend. Do a bad job for a customer, and they will tell EVERYONE they know. So true...

 

[Edna]

I'm on the fence about credit or no, but here's a suggestion for the future: Do a germination test on any seed you purchase, if the results are important to you. And tell the seller you're going to do a germination test, so they are forewarned that you might be coming back with a whole lot of seed if it doesn't germinate well.
I once bought a 50 lb bag of Russian crested and it was still had 90% germination after 3 years in my garage... Recently bought plantain, chicory, and red clover from Carolina pet supply. The chicory and clover is great, but nothing from the plantain. I'm willing to eat that loss and learn from it, given that plantain looks difficult to harvest seed from and that there might be special circumstances for germination that I did not meet.

 

[October]

What a horrible deal. I most certainly would take my business elsewhere and make sure he knows that. Yes, $600 is alot, and for the owner it was even less. But the thousands that he will be missing out from now on end up being alot more. Also, trying to claim that his supplier will not reimburse him is probably garbage. The supplier wants the sellers business as much as the seller should want your business. I've worked in garden retail and have never had a company tell me they would flat out not replace something.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[Angi]

I just think it would be good customer service to give you a credit. No they don't HAVE too, but if you are a known customer that has not asked for a credit before then they should trust you and give you a credit. The risk of losing a long time customer is going to cost them more than the product would is how they should look at it.