freedominphilly
Active member
Hey folks. A friend of a friend asked me to post a letter he wrote to Better Grow Hydro, out of LA, California.
Mods, if this is inappropriate, please delete this post and I apologize ahead of time. Although I feel it's important folks are informed.
Good Morning Joel and BGH Team,
I'm writing this letter to express my utter and complete dissatisfaction with your company.
I suppose it all started with my very first order. I ordered roughly $500 dollars worth of equipment and supplies, including a carbon air filter. When I received my shipment, I got an empty box which should have contained the air filter. It took 2-3 weeks and me calling my credit card company to withhold funds and initiate a dispute, for me to finally receive an actual filter.
Ok, not the best first experience with a company, but you folks seemed nice enough that I would attempt to business with you again.
So I place another order for supplies and lighting totalling $700. Everything seemed smooth enough; every item I ordered was there and no empty boxes. However, when I examined the light kit you folks sent me, the bulb was already screwed into the socket and was broken. In my opinion, that has got to be the stupidest way to ship a light kit. The bulb is sitting in the socket with no support whatsoever. So I contact your store, and Joel was nice enough to send out a replacement. It took an the entire length of a week to ship to me, which was fine because I wasn't firing the bulb up immediately.
Three days ago I set up the light. Yesterday I find that the bulb was exploded in the inside. "Wonderful", I think to myself. At this point I actually *NEED* the bulb for my plants to be healthy. So I contact your store and speak to Joel and explain the problem; about how important it is for me to have a working bulb and so forth. He said that he would ship another one out to me and that it would take 1 week. 1 week that my plants are supposed to go without the light they need. I ask Joel to upgrade the bulb to a better one (what's that, a $30-$40 difference to you guys?) to compensate me for my troubles. His response? "Dude, you're evil." I really didn't think it was that big of a request, seeing as how in 4 months I have personally given your company close to $1500 worth of business (there was a 3rd order for roughly $200 for another light and when I recieved the ballast, the entire insides had become detached and mangled and I had to put it back together myself). Joel doesn't even offer to overnight the bulb to me, fully knowing that I need that bulb *right now*.
To make matters worse, I check my email this morning hoping to find that the bulb was shipped yesterday as Joel said it would, as time is very much of the essence at this point. Nope, nothing. My needs are clearly not important.
Customer satisfaction does not seem to be a high priority to you folks. At least not to a "smaller guy" like myself. After all, I'm not some bigtime California Hydroponic "medicine" grower.
I will never do business with your company again. I am going to tell 5 real life friends of my completely unsatisfactory experience with you folks, and ask them to tell 5 of their friends, and so on. I am also a member of several online gardening forums and I will inform everyone there of my experience with your company.
A simple $40 dollar upgrade and an overnight shipping could have prevented all of this and I would have been quelled. But apparently a request like that makes me "evil".
I would like the replacement bulb shipment to be canceled and the cost of the bunk bulb be credited to my account. I will be happy to send the defective bulb back, so long as it is at no cost to me.
I wish the experience could have been better. Online grow shops are a dime-a-dozen and I am confident that I can find better prices and better service.
Regretfully,
xxxxxx xxxxxxxx
Mods, if this is inappropriate, please delete this post and I apologize ahead of time. Although I feel it's important folks are informed.
Good Morning Joel and BGH Team,
I'm writing this letter to express my utter and complete dissatisfaction with your company.
I suppose it all started with my very first order. I ordered roughly $500 dollars worth of equipment and supplies, including a carbon air filter. When I received my shipment, I got an empty box which should have contained the air filter. It took 2-3 weeks and me calling my credit card company to withhold funds and initiate a dispute, for me to finally receive an actual filter.
Ok, not the best first experience with a company, but you folks seemed nice enough that I would attempt to business with you again.
So I place another order for supplies and lighting totalling $700. Everything seemed smooth enough; every item I ordered was there and no empty boxes. However, when I examined the light kit you folks sent me, the bulb was already screwed into the socket and was broken. In my opinion, that has got to be the stupidest way to ship a light kit. The bulb is sitting in the socket with no support whatsoever. So I contact your store, and Joel was nice enough to send out a replacement. It took an the entire length of a week to ship to me, which was fine because I wasn't firing the bulb up immediately.
Three days ago I set up the light. Yesterday I find that the bulb was exploded in the inside. "Wonderful", I think to myself. At this point I actually *NEED* the bulb for my plants to be healthy. So I contact your store and speak to Joel and explain the problem; about how important it is for me to have a working bulb and so forth. He said that he would ship another one out to me and that it would take 1 week. 1 week that my plants are supposed to go without the light they need. I ask Joel to upgrade the bulb to a better one (what's that, a $30-$40 difference to you guys?) to compensate me for my troubles. His response? "Dude, you're evil." I really didn't think it was that big of a request, seeing as how in 4 months I have personally given your company close to $1500 worth of business (there was a 3rd order for roughly $200 for another light and when I recieved the ballast, the entire insides had become detached and mangled and I had to put it back together myself). Joel doesn't even offer to overnight the bulb to me, fully knowing that I need that bulb *right now*.
To make matters worse, I check my email this morning hoping to find that the bulb was shipped yesterday as Joel said it would, as time is very much of the essence at this point. Nope, nothing. My needs are clearly not important.
Customer satisfaction does not seem to be a high priority to you folks. At least not to a "smaller guy" like myself. After all, I'm not some bigtime California Hydroponic "medicine" grower.
I will never do business with your company again. I am going to tell 5 real life friends of my completely unsatisfactory experience with you folks, and ask them to tell 5 of their friends, and so on. I am also a member of several online gardening forums and I will inform everyone there of my experience with your company.
A simple $40 dollar upgrade and an overnight shipping could have prevented all of this and I would have been quelled. But apparently a request like that makes me "evil".
I would like the replacement bulb shipment to be canceled and the cost of the bunk bulb be credited to my account. I will be happy to send the defective bulb back, so long as it is at no cost to me.
I wish the experience could have been better. Online grow shops are a dime-a-dozen and I am confident that I can find better prices and better service.
Regretfully,
xxxxxx xxxxxxxx
:. 
