T and M now charging 'protection money'?

I was amazed to read this on the Order Form with T and M's latest catalogue.

They actually want an extra pound for your plants order to have healthy roots, green leaves and to arrive un-stressed!

I expect stuff to be like that without having to stump up an extra quid. What are they going to say when you complain about pale leaves, poor root systems and dying plants - "sorry but that's what you get if you don't pay the extra pound" ?

Sounds like a protection racket to me.

 

Just another little add on as used by most firms to up their profits . I think they must treat all the stock with Maxicrop. It would be a post and packing logistical nightmare to treat this order , don't treat that order, treat the next three orders.......

Are you still doing the mail order haircuts ? I can post mine off to you tomorrow

 

Not the same, but it reminded me.

It's decades ago now, but when I used to insure my cars through Swintons, they came out with a "nice little earner" for them, charging "commission," on top of their policies. I rang them up and pointed out that they got their commission from the insurance company, why did they think I was willing to also pay it? They dropped the charge, but I dropped them and went elsewhere.

Wasn't it Ryanair, who said recently they make half their profits from the "add ons?"

As for GDPR, I'm still getting e-mails from previous suppliers, pleading with me to register, despite the fact that for most I've opted for "unsubscribe" months ago. Fat lot of notice they take then. I just delete the e-mails.

 

I never use T & M for anything now due so many wrong seeds and damaged plants.
I thought the whole idea of a plant supplier was to deliver good healthy plants this is just extortion
However my recent purchase of Tomato plants were a disaster (not T&M) they were healthy but extremely small. When plants costs a fiver apiece with postage you expect decent plants, mine were so small and are still so small I will be lucky to taste a fruit by September if at all.
That is the last time I buy plants online
Regds Sandy

 

Conversely, we've never had any problems with T & M which weren't resolved to our satisfaction.
Just scanning through my credit card purchases for last year, I see we spent £132 with them, but we also got back £50 in refunds for two purchases, one of which for something which didn't arrive and for one, where they'd already replaced it once the year before. (Some gardenias which didn't thrive).

We spend more with local garden centres.

 

So they aint very good then are they

Sounds like a bad track record to me.

I prefer things right first time.
As for charging a pound for a bit of seaweed feed.

 

It's somewhere most people go to sit in a restaurant after looking at plants and then buying overpriced non-gardening tat.

 

Should not need to be resolved should be right first time. T & M were for me wrong most times. why would you keep ordering from someone that causes you problems and set backs. I need to know what I ordered is what I get, I lost loads of time with them something which they can not refund.

 

Each to their own of course.

For me it's a question of degree.

Since 2010, we've spent six and a half thousand pounds on anything I could call "garden related" including equipment, but not including the koi pool. (We spent nearly twice that on meals out).
We've bought a lot from T & M though probably more from other sources. My wife who has M S likes to look through the catalogue and make occasional choices, it means she doesn't have to traipse around a garden centre.

In that time we've only had I think three or four problems with T & M, each of which has been resolved to our satisfaction. I've had more problems with Wyevale, but they too have resolved situations.

All I do is take photographs of anything that doesn't do as well as it should. In either case this has been sufficient for the problem to be resolved. None of this digging it up and taking it back nonsense.

So I really can't complain, can I?

 

But you did, on three or four occasions

 

Actually, getting away from the humour, it's you who have done the most complaining.
I presented an alternative view based on personal experience.

Handled correctly, I've found that most suppliers will do their best to satisfy their customers.
I can see it from both sides having been both a customer and a retailer for all my working life.