Shelburne Company

On March 18, 2008, auctionmc from Rockville, MD wrote:

I wish I would had seen the reviews posted on this site before I invested the time and effort on ZFN. It only cost me the gas money to go to the farm over the weekend. I had called their office last week to inquire as to when their store would be open. They told me it would be open on Saturday, so I went on Saturday. I got there and the store was locked with no indication of life other than a few cars in their parking lot. After looking around for a while I finally found some ladies that tersely told me they "may open on Thursday". I understand that the weather could cause a delay in opening the store, but telling me with certainty that it would be open comes with at least some level of customer service obligation. Doesn't it? A "sorry about the misunderstanding"? Guess not.

Based on my experience I have to be thankfull I didn't get their product on Saturday. If I had problems I cringe at where that would have taken me. I judge my vendors by their customer service. ZFN failed the test. Thank goodness I only spent the gas money. It's time to move on and give their competitors a try.

We are sincerely sorry. There appears to be a misunderstanding. Our store for local grass pick up traditionally opens the last weekend in March, provided weather and harvesting conditions permit. All customers are asked to confirm 24 hours in advance about harvesting conditions and how much grass they require. We want to harvest enough to meet demand for the next day and insure the grass is as fresh as it can be. When the fields are wet we cannot harvest.

Because Easter is so early this year and because customers have placed orders and requestd pick up on Friday and Saturday (March 21 & 22) before Easter, we decised last week, to open a week earlier this year provided Mother Nature cooperates.

I'm not sure where the confusion occured about grass being available and the store opening on March 15th, as this was never discussed or under consideration.

All staff members were made aware of the decision to open a week earlier than normal. It is possible we said we hoped to open the store the Friday or Saturday before Easter but that of course would be March 21or 22.

We have apologized in person to this customer (a few staff members were working Saturday, explained the situation and said we were sorry) and again in an e-mail on Monday responding to his e-mail voicing his displeasure.

We continue to be sincerely sorry for this misunderstanding.