You have got to be Kidding! Not the Green Ching? OMG!

Get a hold of them and have them replace it. Keep calm, send photos and be firm. That should never happen. I ship spiked plants and have never had it happen. I have never dealt with them so I can't tell you what their reaction will be. awww! I feel so badly for you.

Clara

I doubt that you will get a replacement plant. Most growers state that they can't guarantee that a bloom will arrive undamaged. If the plant itself is in good condition, it will bloom again in its' cycle. Heartbreaking, but that's the breaks of the game.

All the on-line vendors I purchase from tell you up front they do the best they can to protect a budded/in-spike plant for shipping, but they cannot guarantee the plant will arrive without damage. 2 out of 3 specifically state in the terms of service they will not replace budded or in spike plants for broken spikes, expecting that with proper care the plant will bloom again next cycle. Unfortunately this does not help the person that purchased a plant as a gift expecting it to be in bud for the giving. I will say even though I have received some horrifically mutilated shipping containers I have had only 1 Phal arrive with 1 of 2 spikes broken. It put up 2 spikes again this year. The vendors I am purchasing from all state they will replace only (no refund) plants damaged, dead or infested at their discretion.

Though I have not ordered from Norman's I have read some pretty negative things about their service elsewhere (other orchid forums). Please post if they do offer to replace the plant though as I think it is easy to post negative things about vendors but we may tend to take for granted the vendors that do the right thing as far as customer service is concerned. I hope it works out for you.

Richard

well hey you guys. when i opened the box this is what i found i wanted to cry (brace Yourself)
{{gwi:199999}}
i knew immediatly that it was damaged and when i took it out of the box the full horror was realized
{{gwi:200000}}
so i called them and i gave them the bussiness and i put my foot down i was calm and was not rude and the woman said to me just send us the plant back and we will give you 10.00 dollars and i said ten dollars what am i supposed to do with ten dollars when i spent 45.00 dollars on the plant then plus shipping 60.99 dollars. what do you think i am going to do with ten dollars. so then they connected me to another representative and she said to send back the plant and then she will, once they recieve the plant will call me and give me either my money back or send me another in bud/in spike plant. so im happy but am defineitly still pissed that were gonna give me ten stupid dollars. but im definatly gonna shop around for a new vendor after this. i mean its gonna be hard cause they have given me two excellent plants before now, and there is no way im going to aloha orchid because every plant i got from them about one month later died from root rot.but im happy that they are going to give me what i want.

uhm you'll just have to wait to see it bloom. i know from personal expierience. and also theyr're on alot of other peoples watch lists as a problem seller. typically they dont have very good customer service.so. and even then. you always run the risk of having that happen with shipping. so theres not a whole lot you can do. sorry

Gaston

That would be frustrating to experience. Especially when you get so excited (I know the feeling). The plant looks healthy though. Imagine how excited you will be when you flower it next time!

That's gotta be frustrating to see the snapped spike and realize it was intact just before the plant got shipped, or that the spike snapped during transit.

As others have said, no grower guarantees spikes/buds/flowers will survive shipping.

Because Norman's customer service is spotty, you might want to hold onto your plant, if it's healthy, and look forward to its next blooming cycle. You might not be happy with the replacement, if you actually receive it. (You can search the archives for Norman's and orchids.com to learn others' experiences.)

Your 2 choices aren't Norman's or Aloha (Aloha has far worse reviews than Norman's). If you get out there on the Web, looking for plants that catch your fancy, you'll find plenty of growers to check out in the archives here. Forum members seem to relate their experiences honestly.

Whitecat8

im not sure what to do cause they said i could send it back and they would give my money back but i do think its a healty plant and i want to keep it cause there is a new growth that is forming on it and it may bloom but i just dont know. its just that i paid 45 dollars for it and it was money ive saved and i want what i paid for and i just dont know what to do. my friends are telling me to get my money back which i do want back.but the real crappy thing is even is i do send it back there is i chance that i wont get my 45 bucks back and just get 10 bucks and if that happens i will have only gained 10 bucks and no plant. and if i do decide to get a new one the same thing im sure will happen again. oHHHHHH !!!! desicions decisions.

I would send it back and have them send you another. Let them pay the postage. I've dealt with them over the years and have found them okay. Not great, but I would tell them it was a gift and you can't give a gift without a flower.

Norman's deals with many people who buy their plants as gifts. They want repeat customers. I think they will send you another plant in spike.

Jane

They offered you $10 because that's the premium they charge for spikes. You got the plant, but no spike, so they offered a $10 rebate. It wasn't meant to insult you or disparage your disappointment. Just a fact-- a spike from Norman's costs $10. Spikes from Odom's and several others are actually free, btw.

It's very painful to spend $60 for a plant plus shipping and then not get the spike. It's true. But to be forever outraged by it? To deprive yourself of a good source of sometimes unique offerings?

I have bought a lot of plants from Norman's over the last three years. They do make a mistake now and then -- who doesn't? Once or twice, among dozens of plants, there was one with poor roots, or they sent the wrong one. That's true of nearly every vendor in my experience. Oh, and btw, no broken spikes in the whole lot, tho I myself have broken spikes getting things out of a box..

IMO, it's unfair to other participants here to make Norman's out to be some kind of ogre. Some of the plants I've gotten from them were unique offerings, and really gloriously beautiful. Eg right now, they are the only vendor I know of offering Dtps Queen Beer, one of the most radiant, beautiful, floriferous phals there is. If someone wanted Queen Beer and didn't order it because of this thread, it would be a great pity.

as Jane points out, I have also gotten from them Drps with huge branched spikes that were outstanding enough to be able to give as a gift.

More than 98% of the time you get from Norman's exactly what they advertise-- a healthy plant of a particular variety in a specified size. Their plants aren't as big as Odoms, which are often so big they are falling out of the pot, but a lot bigger than Big Leaf for the same price.

Some of the plants I've gotten from them have been gloriously beautiful and I would have been deprived of something really nice if I'd listened to the bashers here.

Geez, I wish we could have a moratorium here on vendor-bashing.

I'll second the motion.

Brooke

Look i have gotten good stuff from tham as well and i agree that they do have some awsome plants that i cannot find anywhere else that are extremely healthy! ha even the plant that was busted was very healthy. But all that i am saying is that when it happens they arent great with the customer service and they werent that nice to me on the phone when i tried to explain what happend,and im saying to be careful because when and if it happens to anyone else be prepared. im not saying to anyone to never order from normans and that they are terrible because they have given me the best plants i have ever seen and i just want everyone to know that they might not be to nice when you talk to them. and no matter where you order from that should never happened

i understand your frustration. but i am basically a hippie and probably would have to say just love the plant for what it is. and someday you will see it in bloom. plus it would probably be more satisfying to know that you brought it in to bloom, noy bought it in bloom. you know what i mean? it shows that you are hard working and patient. it also means you are good enough with orchids to bring it in to bloom. (if any of this helps...)

I agree with mehitabel, but also feel your pain. I've had my share of problems with Norman's but I have also been amazed at their shipping. I have never seen plants shipped from Calif. so well packaged. Odoms does have the largest plants for the price and you are guaranteed of a robust bloomer, but Normans has the unusual. I think their prices are outrageous and only order from them when I am so depressed over my non-bloomers that I need a 'quick-fix.'I don't like their potting method using tight sphag in soft, plastic pots. I've had problems with root rot because of it. I only order plants from them which are not in bud so I can repot right away. This is the only time I repot when I first buy a plant. I usually leave new plants alone.

I would see if they would replace the plant. Tell them it was intended as a gift. That was terrible that the spike broke and I would be upset also. But it can happen and that's the risk. You can see how well they tried to protect the spike. Worse than this is breaking your own spikes. I was thinking this morning, that it is Phal, spike-breaking time. Each time I lean over rows of plants to water, I just know I'm going to snap one.

Mehitabel, I'm glad you mentioned Queen Beer. I think I'll take a look.

Jane

Mehitabel, Because you've said more than once that you've had good experiences w/ Norman's, I'm tempted to order from them. When they've sent the wrong plant or one w/ bad roots, have you always gotten prompt, polite, and fair resolution from them?

Also, do my responses in particular come across as bashing to you? My intention was to be accurate and neutral in reporting others' mixed experiences with Norman's, but - please let me know.

Cattleya, the $10 refund seems fair to me, too, for the reason mentioned above. One advantage - because Norman's charges more for in spike/bud, you can get some $$ back on this plant, whereas it wouldn't be an option w/ other vendors.

Jane - one person mentioned protecting spikes by sticking a support in the pot that's taller than the spike. That way, you're more likely to hit the support than the spike.

Whitecat8

From my point of view, Normans is just another corporation. They deal in huge quantities of plants and their customer service has been "outsourced." You're never going to get the same level of service as when you speak to an owner or grower. This approach represents a huge shift in traditional customer service from orchid vendors and it should be discussed and publicized that Norman's has a recalcitrant give-a-damn approach to customers. Even when you are fairly compensated for plant damage, one feels that it has been done reluctantly and with complete absence of politesse.

There are lots of vendors with gorgeous orchids AND great customer service. Given a choice, my support goes to companies who demonstrate that they care about the people who support them, not the ones who project a holier-than-thou attitude and really just can't be bothered to care.

John

Whitecat, no, I don't think any *one* person's responses seem like bashing. It's as the thread goes on, everything cumulates into a big piling on that I find really like watching someone being kicked to death by a mob.

I'm distressed by it because of the unfairness. We are talking here about decent people trying to make an honest living and providing a fair product as if they were crooks and needed to be shunned or maybe horsewhipped. In this case, I felt the offer of $10 for the spike was fair, not something to stay mad and be insulted over.

As for your reference to "mixed experiences"-- Sorry, whitecat, don't mean to be rude -- but I believe those words don't really describe what's happening here. The implication is that there are frequent, major problems.

A *few* people have complained here about Norman's. *One* person who bought several very expensive plants got one with crown rot. That's a serious complaint, but it was *one*.

It seems to me that your definition of a mixed experience is an occasional experience short of perfection. Then, you see, I've had "mixed experiences" with my husband of 40 some years, my son, other relatives, all my friends and neighbors, co-workers, and even myself! As you can imagine, I would call that kind of "mixed experience" quite lucky and blessed.

By that definition,then as I said, I've had those with every vendor at some time or other, even the ones I love to buy from. To sell enough orchids to make a living for even one person, there has to be *one* along the line that's got poorish roots-- those don't show up til the top of the plant starts to deteriorate. Why blame someone over it, and demand reparations if I can easily bring it back in two months with my handy root hormones?

If they're all like that, that's cheating people. If one out of 10 or fewer is like that, it's just what happens.

To me, the back and forth of arguing about whether a plant was or wasn't perfect isn't worth the time and the aggro, which necessarily goes on over a period of time. And shipping it back just adds to the time and aggro. I would complain only if the plant wwas unredeemable, or was visibly shoddy merchandise, so that it was clear I was cheated, or a very special plant was mislabeled.

A broken spike is something to be sad over for a few minutes, not something to ruin someone's reputation over, or to make broad generalizations about them.

It's not as if they cut off the wrong hand, for heavens sake. I just accept that when I'm buying something sight unseen, I might not get exactly the quality I would get if I could pick out for myself.

So I haven't had any experiences with complaints at Norman's. And I wasn't commenting on that. Just the tone of it, and the piling on. Unfair.

Sorry if I came across as harsh. I held back as long as I could, and it just didn't stop.

hey hey hey calm down (not to be rude) i never said i would be mad forever and its nice to hear what you think i appreciate it. but you have to understand that people can be upset with normans orchids if they wanna be and you cant change that. i being the person who started this "thread" am not angry with them and this happened a week ago! at the moment i was pissed and that was my perogative not yours. and no one said we should gang up on normans and ruin their bussines. but when people are rude to you and i mean you on the phone it does not matter what selection they have or what quality of plant they have, which happens to be outstanding, but it does matter how anyone is treated when they are dealing with them
The End

Hi, Mehitabel,

Thank you for your thoughtful, detailed response.

Someone mentioned recently that the archives don't go back as far as they used to. When I searched today, the posts that I've had in mind weren't there.

The experiences these people described weren't the occasional mix-ups in shipping or less than complete satisfaction with the resolution that can happen with any good vendor. Posters were reporting behavior by staff when they called to tell them about mistakes. In these cases, there were no offers to resolve mix-ups.

Here I was, thinking I was being so tactful, saying "mixed experiences" and suggesting people search the archives, rather than repeating the details. And Mehitabel, it wasn't coming across that way to you. Thank you for letting me know.

The archives now seem to go back about 18 months, which means it's been at least that long since anyone's reported that type behavior from staff. In my memory, it's been "a few months." So much for memory.

In the future, I won't caution people about mixed experiences w/ Norman's.

Every month or so, I go through all their Phals and develop a wish list. This time, I'll order!!

Mehitabel, I apologize for my more recent cautions to people about Norman's. Because of your post, I updated my brain, and Norman's has a new customer - all to your credit.

Thanks much for not holding back.

Whitecat8

I've only received one plant from Normans, it was a gift from my wife and it was a nice healthy blooming Catt.

Hopefully the 9 out of 10 good was a generalization by Mehitabel. If it's true, I really don't like those odds. I really think that 90% correct or good product is not acceptable, even in this business.

I also look at and drool over phals at Normans every now and then, but the prices always seem to turn me away. They have some really nice stuff, but $60 + shipping for a blooming phal is tough for me to justify when I can order 2-3 nice blooming phals at other places for that amount.

I also seem to remember seeing/reading some bad press here I'm not an archive searcher but it just seems like it was less than 18 months in my mind.

Bob

I agree with Bob and I stand by my post. I've had several experiences with Normans, both with orders that were fine and others that weren't. I've also had direct experience with their customer service people and I know how they work, so I'm not pulling this stuff out of my left ear.

It delights me to find businesses this day and age that inspire my loyalty by offering quality service on all fronts, and they're out there. Norman's isn't one of them. And that's the way it is.

It's not that Norman's is all that important - but this head-in-the-sand,sentimentalized wishful thinking in the name of not ruining a multi-million dollar business is misplaced and damaging both to the consumer and to the industry in general.

That's all from me, however much the winds continue to blow.

John

John, I think the point was that posts that slam Normans don't hurt Normans so much as they hurt people who won't order that one of a kind plant from them because they read the post. I'm not saying that people shouldn't post their negative experiences with a vendor, because this is clearly useful information, but titling a post "I'm pissed off" because a spike(!) was broken in transit and before you have even been able to get in contact with the vendor doesn't seem to be the action of a person who is looking at the situation rationally. This makes me think that the phone call was hardly rational (especially given the misunderstanding about what the $10 was for).

I'm not defending Normans and it is entirely possible that the person who answered the phone was not customer service oriented, but THAT should have been the comment posted about Normans not "im ... defineitly still pissed that were gonna give me ten stupid dollars". The later addition of "But all that i am saying is that when it happens they arent great with the customer service and they werent that nice to me on the phone when i tried to explain what happend,and im saying to be careful" is much more to the point and I don't think that anyone would have had a problem with a comment like that.

Ok, I've said my piece. I've rethought about posting to this thread for a few days, I couldn't stop myself today.

cattleya17, I would take them up on the $10 and keep the plant. Hopefully you will get some beautiful blooms which you will cherish oh so much more because they are your own. Good luck.

~Jem

Jem you are right that was a mistake to title the post that way. I being the one who started this am sorry my intention was not to cause people to never use normans. and i know that what i say can influence people in their decision. and that can cause someone to miss out on some great stuff. And mehitabel i apologize if i offended you as well.

I would like to redub this post as unhappy. although i know its way too late for that. Guys Normans is really great i should not have posted in the heat of the moment. they are sending me a new plant. i do agree with you jem, being able to flower orchids on your own is the greatest reward there is when you grow these plants. I did get treated rudely with two people with normans and that is upsetting but i recant my title of being pissed off when really im not pissed off. for the first two days i was but not anymore. and i do really wish i never said what i said. I really do mean it when i say sorry to everyone who saw my post. i regret saying anything at all now that i look back. Are you guys mad at me? if so i can accept that. I guess thats what i get for opening my 17 year old mouth without thinking things through first. my lesson is learned.

i cant change the fact that my post may have deterd someone from getting an awesome plant. if this helps at all normans in the end they do all that they can do to try to keep their customers happy even the ones more upset than i was. i did not know that about the 10 dollars and if i did or if i had that explained sooner i probably would have kept the plant and tried on my own but ive already sent it back to them. if anyone sees this post i hope that they do not listen to what i said and listen to Mehitabel and Jem because you are right and i was wrong to post this way. I do intend to stay with normans because this was just a one time thing im sure. I just hope you guys arent mad at me. when i went to post this i thought i should not put im pissed off!!!!!!!!!, i guess its true to go with your first thought. Please anyone thinking about ordering from nomans do it and dont think twice because really they are wonderful and have amazing plants you will not find anywhere else,you wont be sorry. I even hope the people of garden web will remove this post simply because i really messed things up and things got scrambled up because i did not represent my fellings clearly and im sorry : (

No I don't think that anyone is mad at you, or at least I hope not! We all do things in the spur of the moment that we may not look at with the same fondness later :) Besides, we're not the forum police, anyone can post anything that they want. We're just venting (at a general audience)...

On a side note, Normans, like anyone else, has a reputation to uphold, so they should care whether you are 100% satisfied with your experience or not. The only way to get them to change and improve their customer service is to share/post your experience, just give yourself a chance to cool off before you do it :)

thanks jem

catt, I'm certainly not mad at you or anyone, and you don't need to apologize. Not one bit. I didn't mean to imply that I was offended by anything you said, or that you shouldn't have posted what you did. And no way was I "offended", nor did I have a right to be.

There wasn't anything wrong with your original post, and you just said how you felt, which was real disappointment after saving for the plant, paying extra for the spike and shipping, waiting and looking forward to it, and then slam! Pissed off is exactly how a lot of people would feel, and no harm in saying so.

I hope you won't feel inhibited about posting again on any subject of your choice. This place is richer when more people contribute. I really believe that.

It just happened that people were trying to commiserate with your disappointment (which we all need from time to time, so we're generous with it).

As the comments cumulated, I just kept feeling Norman's wasn't getting a fair shake *in the whole thread*. The *sum* of the comments became misleading. I think they're expensive, and when I can I try to buy cheaper, but they have a kind of standard quality and really great variety, so I end up going there to look when I am able to buy.

I'm really glad they are sending you a new plant. It shows they are trying harder to please their customers-- which is good. I hope the boss picks out the very best one for you.