Gardener won’t eat dirt in case of refused refund

Although some companies promise 100 percent satisfaction, sometimes the only thing they truly guarantee is frustration. That was the case for Phyllis Worster of Bangor when she attempted to purchase tomato plants for her garden from Gardeners’ Choice, a mail-order company based in Hartford, Mich. A regular customer for years, Worster was surprised that this particular spring, a company that had always been dependable delivered only disappointment.

Willing to forgive and forget, Worster wrote Gardeners’ Choice 10 weeks after placing her order requesting a refund because her plants had not arrived and it was past the planting season. Within 10 days she was seeing red when she received a response from Gardeners’ – not the check she was hoping for, but a package of tomato plants. “Too late,” she replied in shipping the tomatoes back without opening the box, “it is way past the growing season.”

Three weeks later, and still with no refund, Worster wrote again, demanding her refund, clearly stating that the business wasn’t dealing with someone who didn’t know how to protect her rights. She had retained her money-order receipts and copies of her correspondence. She gave them two weeks to reply before taking further action.

Perhaps Gardeners’ Choice believed Worster was bluffing when the company continued to deny the refund that was rightfully hers. But this wise consumer had another card to play … Northeast COMBAT. Worster’s meticulous recordkeeping gave our volunteer mediator a head start. We promptly sent Gardeners’ Choice the carefully worded letter we often use to coax mail-order companies to pay up. We included copies of previous correspondence and reminded them of their complete-satisfaction guarantee, as well Maine law that protects consumers when a product does not meet the intended purpose.

Shortly after we mailed our letter, a happy Worster (with check in hand) called to thank us for helping her obtain a refund. After several months, Gardeners’ Choice had finally come through, but not after losing the respect and patronage of a longtime customer.

Perhaps Worster would have been willing to continue doing business with Gardeners’ Choice, accepting that the delay of her plants was merely a fluke, if they had promptly issued her refund. But for ignoring multiple requests for a refund, Gardeners’ Choice will be left alone holding their tomatoes, and a previously loyal customer will take her business elsewhere.

Gardeners’ Choice did what too many businesses do when a customer is not happy – nothing. Some high-volume companies actually do not respond as a matter of policy, because market surveys show that consumers usually give up after two attempts to get their money or product. Many consumers either don’t know what rights they have when they are not satisfied or feel it’s not worth the headache to pursue satisfaction. But ignoring customers will ultimately cost companies revenue.

With Phyllis Worster as an example, COMBAT wants consumers to know that there is no dispute too trivial for our attention. Sometimes it’s the principle and not the dollar figure that is worth fighting for. Maine households and offices lose an estimated $19 million a year in out-of-state transactions gone wrong. COMBAT tries to recover as much of that cash as possible and return it to Maine. If we have to do it $39.99 at a time, so be it.

If we have one bit of advice that serves all, we recommend buying locally whenever possible. It is always easier to deal with a local owner when a question arises, and doing business with local merchants bolsters our hometown economy.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual membership $25, business rates start at $125 (1-10 employees). For help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.