TERRIBLE Experience with Garden Grocer

[littleowensmommy]

I used Garden Grocer during our recent trip. The service was terrible. I scheduled delivery for 6pm. I received a call at 7pm saying delivery would be more like 8pm. No problem. I starting calling them around 10pm looking for my delivery. I had 4 small children in our party and I needed milk and water. Had I known that I wouldn't receive my delivery until MIDNIGHT I would have picked up milk for the kids at the General Store which of course was closed. The guy I spoke with on the phone (OWNER) was rude and unprofessional. He told me to give him break as he'd been working for 18+ hours. I was afraid he wasn't going to show up at all.

I've used wegoshop.com twice on previous trips and they were great. I'll never use Garden Grocer again.

 

[VMS]

We had a delivery last Sunday from Garden Grocer to BCV and everything was fine. I had posted a thread here the week prior because I was not getting any return phone calls from them. It was the first time I was using a service like this and had some questions (and needed to give them my credit card info) and it took them 4 days to get back to me (I had left a number of messages). When I finally did speak to the person there, it seems they have been overwhelmed by orders. They did come through with everything perfect in the end, but I was a bit worried.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I used Garden Grocer during our recent trip. The service was terrible. I scheduled delivery for 6pm. I received a call at 7pm saying delivery would be more like 8pm. No problem. I starting calling them around 10pm looking for my delivery. I had 4 small children in our party and I needed milk and water. Had I known that I wouldn't receive my delivery until MIDNIGHT I would have picked up milk for the kids at the General Store which of course was closed. The guy I spoke with on the phone (OWNER) was rude and unprofessional. He told me to give him break as he'd been working for 18+ hours. I was afraid he wasn't going to show up at all.

I've used wegoshop.com twice on previous trips and they were great. I'll never use Garden Grocer again.

We had a similar bad experience on Sunday August 20th. We were verbally promised a 3 PM delivery when my DSis called around 12:30 to say that she was in the room. That never materialized nor did the order come at 3-4 subsequent promised times. We had to order the bedtime snacks from room service, and the incorrect order arrived between 9 and 9:30PM. We also had children, 3 little ones.

I have sent a note to the owner but have not heard back.

This order was sent in days ahead of time. I think there should be some sort of system that if they have too many orders for a day, they should decline. We all would have preferred other arrangements. Declining an order would have been a better "answer" than what the owner said to you.

Bobbi

 

[dsneygirl]

I hope this was just an off day or 2 since most reviews I have read are glowing for this service and was planning on using them for our trip in 4 weeks.

 

[TCPluto]

I hope this was just an off day or 2 since most reviews I have read are glowing for this service and was planning on using them for our trip in 4 weeks.

We used them at BWV last Sunday with no problems at all. The order arrived on time and complete.

 

[kahluacream]

We also had a bad experience using Garden Grocer this May. Like the OP, our groceries arrived late. We requested delivery within a window of 4 to 6 p.m., but the groceries still weren't there by 7:30. When I called, the owner said he'd be over within 15 minutes. 15 minutes ticked by, still no groceries. He then called us from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, said he'd mixed up the "lodges", and he'd try to get to where we were staying at VWL shortly.

When the groceries finally arrived, he apologized profusely. He was nice enough, and got the order right except for a missing bunch of bananas.

I was disappointed in Garden Grocer after reading such positive things about them on this forum. It makes me wonder if the good reviews have increased business to a rate that this apparent one-man operation can't keep up with.

I definitely WOULD NOT use GG again-- not worth the hassle. We purchased the dining plan, and wound up being way too full to snack on anything in the villa anyway. Just my two cents!

 

[buzz5985]

We just had the opposite experience with Garden Grocer. We arrived on 8/20 at OKW. I had requested delivery between 1 pm and 3 pm. We arrived around 11 am and our room wasn't ready, so Adam from Garden Grocer called us around 12:30 about our delivery - we explained what happened and he delivered the order to Bell Services.

We called Garden Grocer 3 times while we were there, and all the orders came when promised. We were there for 14 days at 3 different resorts.

Janis

 

[slp87]

I hate to hear that. We too had a good experience with GG in March and plan on using them agree. Could he be trying to bite off more than he can chew??

 

[TAKitty]

I am so sorry for your experience. We had great service this past July. I plan to use them again in Jan. Maybe they need to work out the kinks as their business has seemed to pick up.

 

[snowwite]

I used Garden Grocer during our recent trip. The service was terrible. I scheduled delivery for 6pm. I received a call at 7pm saying delivery would be more like 8pm. No problem. I starting calling them around 10pm looking for my delivery. I had 4 small children in our party and I needed milk and water. Had I known that I wouldn't receive my delivery until MIDNIGHT I would have picked up milk for the kids at the General Store which of course was closed. The guy I spoke with on the phone (OWNER) was rude and unprofessional. He told me to give him break as he'd been working for 18+ hours. I was afraid he wasn't going to show up at all.

I've used wegoshop.com twice on previous trips and they were great. I'll never use Garden Grocer again.

Thank you for posting! We planned to use them in April but I will be looking at other options. I can see being 30 minutes late but 5 hours? That is just unacceptable. It sounds like the guy has an attitude. Treating customers like thst could very well put him out of business.

 

[GardenGrocer]

We were overwhelmed for a couple of weeks in August and recently made changes to our website to only allow a certain number of orders per day. We had a 3 week stretch where we had more than twice as many orders as at ANY other time in the past. Although we brought on new help it still wasn't enough and we had about 5-7 customers who were very dissappointed in our service, most for good reason. We did have several of us working 20+ hours per day for about 17 straight days to try to keep up but there is only so much you can do. We have had over 99% of our customers be very pleased with our service and don't like to have ANY displeased customers but as with any business there will be times when the effort you put forth may not be reflected in the end.

Brian Coleman
GardenGrocer

 

[Loubon]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Our delivery on 8/9 was fine. We even received two calls (we were at the parks so we got the first as a voice mail). And the selection was also great. I also applaud Brian for the above post. I would definitely use them again.

 

[brasey]

We also used them on 8/19 and put the order in several weeks before arriving. We had to play phone tag as the order was over an hour late and luckily my wife checked it as one tote was missing with several items. The order was all picked it was just left out in the van so no harm done. As several have noted, I think in most instances they perform but it may be getting overwhelming. Every time I spoke with Brian he was apologetic and seemed sincere.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I did not write a nasty note, and I do expect a response from a company that hopes to do business with me. Some sort of explanation is at least in order. We'll try another service or we will always take at least a 1 day car rental and do our own shopping. Our order was about $180 plus tax and the other charges.

Bobbi

 

[smjj]

We used GG and had no problems. We knew when we arrived our room would not be ready. We also knew that OKW Bell Service can store in their food locker delivered food for later delivery. We had CG deliver the food early and told them to have Bell Services store it for us. That way if they were running late, we had a window of a couple of hours. When we arrived, our room was ready but since we were still in our window, we went to DTD. When we arrived back, the food had been delivered to Bell Services and we had them bring it down to our room. All item including the beer were there and just as ordered. I guess you just have know how to work the system...smjj

 

[Esmerelda]

We used them in July while staying at the WL....it was the first experience we have ever had with grocery delivery and it went off without a hitch.

Brian the owner was the person I spoke to on the phone about 4 times total from the time the order was placed until we actually had it delivered at the WL on our arrival day. He was professional...courteous...and everything (even non listed items) were delivered to us with a smile!

Perhaps maybe they did have an off day but ya know what...I work in an emergency room....usually with 4-6 doctors...about 70 patients most every shift. Some patients may walk in and be seen/treated and out in 4 hours. The next day, that same complaint might be there 8-10 hrs depending upon lab...xray...nurse staffing..etc. My point is...we all have our off days (even weeks in ER!) and it can happen in any profession. I have learned after 18 years in my profession that you cannot please all of the patients all of the time...no matter what you do.

Brian...I will be giving you an order next June for our trip to SSR!

Esmerelda

 

[mbhoxsie]

We were overwhelmed for a couple of weeks in August and recently made changes to our website to only allow a certain number of orders per day. We had a 3 week stretch where we had more than twice as many orders as at ANY other time in the past. Although we brought on new help it still wasn't enough and we had about 5-7 customers who were very dissappointed in our service, most for good reason. We did have several of us working 20+ hours per day for about 17 straight days to try to keep up but there is only so much you can do. We have had over 99% of our customers be very pleased with our service and don't like to have ANY displeased customers but as with any business there will be times when the effort you put forth may not be reflected in the end.

Brian Coleman
GardenGrocer

I work in customer service is well.. At times, my team is overloaded with work and we have too few resources to go around... My customers do not care how many customer service calls we took on which day or how many problems we resolved. What each customer truly cares about is their whether their needs are being met, and whether we are able to provide the service we promise. It is my responsibility in management to make sure that gets done...

While I can certainly understand and sympathize with his plight (being a victim of his own success), I think that going forward, he should make sure that he does not over stretch his resources again. By promising too much, it sounds like he stressed out his employees, and upset quite a few customers. He would have been far better off to take orders on those days on a first come first serve basis, and then personally call customers up afterwards and either waitlist them or state that he was already booked solid those days. Those customers could have pursued other options at that point. It sounds like he has made some changes to the website to do just that... Hopefully that will work...

While I applaud Brian for coming out and explaining the cause of the late deliveries, one thing that concerns me is talk of the poor customer service.. (IE.. rude phone comments and not returning phone calls..) He may consider offering some sort of compensation for those unsatisfied customers (which he admits were upset for good reasons)... Voucher or coupon for discounts for the next time they order... Part of their delivery fees back... Even an apology card... Actions like that go a long way... Especially in today's world...

 

[speakupjc]

I also had a terrible experience with him

I had contacted him prior to my 10th wedding anniversary, left a message and sent him a list. He said he would take care of me but the day arrived and I still did not know the cost of the items etc. because he never called me back I had to call him and cancel the order. He was shocked that I was cancelling the order (even implied that it was my fault which it wasn't as I had only instructed him not to leave a message or talk to anyone but me) and when I suggested that he give me a discount to make up for it he blew me off and was implicted that he would not. As a result he not only didn't get my business that day but won't get it in the future as well. This wasn't during the 3 weeks that he was referring to but instead in March.

I am sorry to see that his bad customer service continues to this day. Don't get me wrong I am glad that some of you have gotten good customer service but as a business owner (I used to own a concierge service in Ohio before moving to Kentucky) the last thing you want to do is give bad customer service (there is no excuse for it).

I feel that reviews both good and bad should be given on these boards.
By educating the public we can help other disers make the best decision for their families (do they want to take the risk on bad customer service. They need to make the decision for themselves.)

My problem with the Garden Grocer is that not only does he sometimes give bad customer service but he is unwilling to make it right when he does. I don't know about you but when I receive bad customer service at a restaurant etc. I will keep being a customer at the ones where the managers and owners are willing to correct a problem by standing behind their product and service (A discount, your order is free this time etc. in other words they do something to say I am sorry I made a mistake and want you to please try me again). Without customers a company wouldn't exist and I respect those business owners that remember that each customer is valuable.

 

[buzz5985]

I would like to add - we tried to call in an order when Ernesto was heading towards FL. We were told they had too many deliveries for that day. But we were called when the storm did not materialize, and told they had a lot of cancelled orders and could make a delivery if we still needed it.

 

[solgent]

We decided to use Wegoshop because GG did not carry all the items that we wanted. It went perfectly (good communication, on-time delivery, order was complete and accurate) and we plan to use Wegoshop again.