For me Oak Hill sets the standard. I bought an Onc. ornith%^$#@ (you know what I'm talking about)from them. It finally bloomed six months later and was not that plant. Contacted them and they offered to send out a new plant. I didn't have a pic and they didn't want me to send the wrong plant back.

I think you either get a refund or credit at the very least.

Kevin

Kevin
I would imagine Oak Hill would be excellent with issues like that.
Should I return the incorrect plant? Kind of stinks that I put all that time into blooming it

I call that Oncidium "ortho-novum" ;-)

Clara

My suggestion would be to write to them, in addition to your phone call. Address it to the owner. Be cordial; assume the best. Ask to hear from them by a certain date - maybe 6-7 business days after they get your message. If you send a letter, include your e-mail address.

Decide what you want - credit? Refund? Does their Web site state their policy on this?

Also, to keep up your end of the bargain, I'd return the plant to them.

About the only recourse we have as consumers is to let vendors know we'll share our experiences with (the numerous) members of our Internet forums.

The other is to let the vendor know you'll file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, if you don't get satisfaction. (Often, I look up a business there before deciding to buy from them.)

Can you let us know the name of the vendor, so we don't risk the same treatment? I've been staying up late nights, coveting plants from several places.

It's a rotten situation. That's too bad.

Whitecat8

Was waiting to hear back from them before I responded. They do not have another plant. :-(

I clearly recall this plant was advertised on the site as one price and when I got there it was 20$ more. They admit if it was a larger specimen, it would have cost more. My receipts are not accessible as I just painted the house.

Their offer: drive the NOID plant back to them (my gas, my time) and get the website price refund or get a $10 credit to my cc and keep the NOID, conditionally upon approval from the owner. The NOID is 1/2 the price. Again the "attitude" was as if I was inconveniencing them. No, "sorry", nothing. They never responded to the email.

I sent them a photo so they could ID the plant at minimum. They were unable to ID the NOID. It's not as if they carry many of these types.

This was entirely my fault. I know better than to shop there. It was a HTF plant and I got crazy one afternoon. This plant was a hand picked by an employee. I tried to be extra careful, knowing their plants have problems. I bought this plant knowing it would be a re-hab. The vendor is notorious for root rot or rootless. True to form the NOID was root rotted and severely light deprived. Got it back on track and it bloomed. Took a lot of effort.

It is my understanding by speaking with others (professional as well as consumers) is that they are very understaffed and like to penny pinch; using inferior media and poor light is the main cause of the global rot. They are not exactly competitively priced either. That day I also bought another Falcata. I posted about that some time ago. The new growth fell right off it one day. De-potted-the roots were rotten to the core. Probably beyond rehab. Same thing with the carnivourous plants. Burned like crazy in phal-oncid light

I am not alone with having issues with this vendor. Name of the vendor...
Hausermann's.
I know many people swear by them and that's fine. They slide along on an old reputation that was built on annuals and perennials. I didn't post to debate their reputation, but to let people know what to expect. Someone who has been in business for decades should be cordial and at least be able to ID their own stock. Shame on me.

Clara

Wow, you really have bad luck with them. I'm sure glad I didn't see this before I received three plants from them two weeks ago. Lucky for me, all three are in excellent shape with great roots - even a picky Miltonia.

Brooke

Clara,

That sucks major, so does their offer. If it were me, I would not let it go. I think my plan of attack would be by phone being very clear about what I wanted. If the first person you talk to isn't receptive, demand someone higher up. There's always the option of placing a comment on the GardenWatchdog too. You might want to take a look at that site.

Kevin

Most reputable growers will acknowledge the mistake and credit you or give your money back. Talk to owner, Eugene (Gene) Hausermann and explain the mistake. They are a good company. Mistakes happen. Tags get switched or are mistakenly placed by the growers. I wouldn't let this go. If I wanted a noid plant, I'd go to Home Depot or Lowes. And I'd pay a lot less. Reputation is everything in orchid business. Places like Carter & Holmes will guarantee that the plants are labeled correctly. There was an instance a few years ago where a batch of mericlones were advertised as a particular clone, but it was discovered that the plants were incorrectly labeled when they came out of the lab. But Carter & Holmes realized the mistake and told everyone who bought the clone that they could get credit or a refund. That's how you keep business. Hopefully you took a photo of the "wrong plant" as evidence that it was mislabeled.

Shes not alone thats for sure.
Let me tell you a story. Many years ago, I drove up there to their greenhouses. It takes me 12 hours to get there. Not a hop skip and a jump. All day! I was excited, expecting wonderful things to happen. I got there around 9am and wanted to spend all day there. I walked in and found 1 or 2 people unwilling to talk to me. I walked around the greenhouses for a while. No one came and ask me if I needed help. I went back to the desk and waited for someone. Not pleasant as I expected. I explained that I had drove from the south and wanted to buy plants. I talked with the owner and chatted with the lady at the counter. Nothing, they could have cared less if I was there. I went back into the greenhouses and looked at the catts etc...went back to see if I could find someone to help me. No one, it was bad. I could not believe at the poor service I was receiving. I ended up talking with the guy that did the flask work. He was nice and showed me around a little. Once I got some plants picked out, I wanted them shipped. Well, there ended up with a problem with that. I was spending $500, so you would have thought the problems could have been fixed. NO, it was a mess. They couldnt do this and that. I ended up with no plants, nothing shipped and I went home. I told me wife that was the worst bunch of people I have ever delt with in my life and to be orchid growers thats sad. The only thing I can figure out is it was because they were from up north. I have never seen a bunch of rude people like that before.

Hey, Clara,

That Hausermann's - they act like they want to go out of business, ruining their reputation in the process. I'm the same way about Norman's - drool over the plants but had a bad experience w/ them and won't order from them. If they were close enough to visit, who knows what agony I'd cause myself.

Yeah, talk to Gene. If he won't make it right, well, hopefully you can resist going there in the future. I suggest confirming the results of any phone conversations w/ him via e-mail, so you'll have a written record.

He's scheduled to be at the Chicagoland event in late September. The nerve. Maybe we should picket his booth. Heh heh

Orchid Dude, your experience sounds worse than awful, plus it sounds as if their problems have been going on for some time now. Maybe it's a good thing they wouldn't ship those plants - who knows what you would have gotten or what shape it would have been in.

If you haven't found out since then, please know it wasn't because they were from up north. I don't see how anyone stays in business, acting like that. I live in Minnesota but grew up in Little Rock and have found almost every single one of the growers up here and out East to be fine - sometimes exceptional. One time a grower replaced a plant that I'd bought primarily for the fragrance because that particular plant had no scent.

For me personally, I'm holding my breath about Hausermann's. I bought a certain Phal from them specifically because of the dramatic coloring. It hasn't bloomed yet. Others have said their Phals bloomed out as something else. If that happens w/ mine, I have no hope they'll make it right, and no one else is selling it.

Whitecat8

I wonder about some of these posts where a plant blooms out as something else.......could some of these plants be seedlings??????

Seedling. a plant raised from seed.

Hi, Arthur,

These particular plants weren't sold as seedlings, although, now that you mention it, maybe they *were* seedlings, and customers weren't told.

Some of the folks who didn't get the right plant are experienced growers and thought they were getting the real deal.

WC8