The Violet Barn Reviewed
This site has been created to help gardeners make an informed decision when choosing mail order violet vendors. (Pretty small niche market, right?)
The opinions expressed are just that - personal opinions. The Violet Barn offers a a fair number of "unsolicited and unedited" kudos on their website - readers are likely to find the opinions expressed here to be quite different.
All references to The Violet Barn (TVB) refer to the business located at:
The Violet Barn
7209 County Road 12
Naples, New York, 14512
06/2018 Our first - and last - experience with The Violet Barn.
We regularly order specialty (carnivorous) plants online, and have always had positive interactions with our suppliers. The few times we have encountered difficulties with shipping or plant damage, the vendors have worked with us to reach a solution that kept us as returning customers. This was our first order with TVB, and it was placed to give as a gift. The plant we received was very, very small, but healthy. It was well packaged. Unfortunately, instead of the two day delivery for which we paid, it took five days to make it to the door, missing the important date. When we contacted CS to ask if an adjustment could be made to the shipping fee (not the plant - to the shipping fee), we were told "Nope. No adjustment, no credit and we pretty much don't care if you ever shop with us again."
Seriously.
The CS rep (Rob - whom we later realised was the owner) was brusque at best, confrontational and unengaged at worst.
There's a seemingly impressive page of "unsolicited, unedited" kudos on TVB website, but if you look at reviews elsewhere, you're just as likely to find folks who have had the same experience as us.
Update: We contacted TVB again by email and explained our concerns. Based on our experience with other live plant vendors we anticipated a civil and engaged reply. TVB's (as in Rob's) response was a pedantic (and fairly insulting) lecture on why they - the seller - were right in failing to offer an adjustment, and why we - the customer - were completely and indefensibly wrong. This included a copy/paste of their shipping policies - to make sure, I suppose, we understood why it was better for them to alienate a potential long-term customer rather than offer an adjustment on shipping. Or even a small merch credit. And just to make sure we never shopped with them again, the tome closed with - incredibly - their permission to never come back. " If this is not an acceptable response, and you which [sic] to shop elsewhere, we understand. We cannot make everyone happy. "
How forward thinking of TVB! Thanks, Rob! We'll be sure to take you up on that!
Update Two: No kidding. Update Two. We just received another email from Rob. We opened it happily, thinking, perhaps that Rob Customer Service isn't Rob Owner, and our concerns had been pushed up to someone with a little more business acumen. But....no. Instead, Rob wanted to expand upon his earlier comments. He isn't going to offer us an adjustment on shipping not **just** because we should understand that we were wrong to expect our plant on time, but also because if he offered us a credit, he wouldn't be able to make his payroll.
Yep.
If he offered us an adjustment, his employees would have to work for free
Update Three : ('cause it just gets better and better....) And Rob's final act of great customer service? To ban us from his Facebook page. ROTFL. This guy is incredible.
07/2019 Misrepresentation
Bonnie H.
The photo is of 'Rob's Humpty Doo' which is a stunning pink and purple in the photo they show which is a total misrepresentation. My review for them suggested that they take a photo that is more true to the plant. But, it looks like only the 4-5 star reviews get published on their site, so buyer beware!
Originally posted to Google Reviews
07/2018 Disappointing.
Danielle Y: Got to visit The Violet Barn this weekend on a trip to the Finger Lakes. It was nice to see but disappointing at the same time 😒
Marilyn W: Why was it disappointing?
Danielle Y: I was looking forward to exciting chatter about violets and there was no chattering. Basically just listening to the “rules” and telling her what I would like to buy, after looking online to see if it was available for purchase 🙁
Originally posted to Violet Reflections
Sickly Streptocarpus
David H.
I purchased a miniature Fernwood streptocarpus . It arrived in excellent condition and packed very well. I planned to add it to my terrarium to add a little color and interest to my other plants. I did not plant it into the terrarium immediately because the terrarium was under treatment for fungus gnats using a gnatrol solution. I also treated the streptocarpus plant outside the terrarium . The plant received the same amount of filtered light that the terrarium got.
After two months, the Strep never grew. It had several larger outside leaves and a new leaf starting in the center when I received it but nothing ever happened after that. No new growth whatsoever. In fact the new leaf that was in the center stayed the same and never got larger. It was like the plant was in a state of suspended animation. I finally gave up on it and threw it away.
Originally posted to Google Reviews
X 2
Robert G.
I ordered 10 streptocarpus after they came white fungus appeared on their leaves, I had to quarantine them so my plants would not be infected while I treated them with an Ozone Generator to kill the fungus and spores. The plants are sickly and hard to keep alive. I called the Violet barn and the guy there tried to blame me..Good thing I had a picture of my Strepocarpus that was full of 31 long big blooms on it to prove I know how to care for cape primroses. I lost one of the Violet barn streptocarpus and the rest are pathetic looking. Never will I buy anything from them again. They don't even get one star...perhaps half a star for packaging.
Originally posted to Google Reviews
05/2018 What's my Name?
Annette J.
I did not receive the promised "freebie" on my three orders. When I called to inquire, I was addressed condescendingly by the owner who implied that I must not know how to use a computer. He then stated that I might have used a different name. I even got the standard "thank you" for my submissions, but the owner maintained that there must have been an issue on my end. I see that I am not the only customer who has had this experience. What a shame. I was so excited to have found them.
Originally posted to Google Reviews
January 24, 2018 Three complaints:
kennedyip
San Pedro, CA
(1) The customer "service" (I experienced last month) after they had taken my money was bad. I paid for the most expensive express mail and yet I was not given the tracking number (even after I had asked for it). The end result was the plants sat at the post office for two days before I even knew it had arrived. When I asked why I was not given any tracking info, they told me they did not know and they essentially disavowed any responsibility. I got the distinct feeling they did not care about how I felt about their service or attitude.
(2) One of the plants I received was so fragile, so small, so weak, put in so tiny a pot that it had little chance of survival without some major intensive nurturing.
(3) Despite their promise in the website of a gift plant (of their choosing), they never gifted it, even though I reminded them to do so.
The rest of the 11 plants I ordered were fine.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
August 26, 2017
I stumbled upon this page and I have to add my experience.
Emilyhelene
Farmington, NY
I live in Rochester NY and as a houseplant collector, I was excited to learn that The Volet Barn was within 35 minutes of my home. Their website stated that they welcomed customers to visit their shop, so I was bery excited to go. As I walked in I was extremely impressed by what I saw, such beautiful plants, I saw several varieties right away that I knew I would want to purchase. . Both the owner and his wife were visible in the shop but I was not greeted. As I looked around I saw many many beautiful violets most of them with signs that said "Not for sale, do not ask." Being that I understood that most of their business was mail order I did not ask about purchasing any of the violets with those signs, however since there were several different species that I was interested in purchasing that did have those signs I did ask the owners wife a question about possibly coming back when they had more of them in stock or have propogated others. I was responded to with an eye roll and was told that they were not for sale, which I knew because of the many many signs saying so on almost every plant in the shop. I tried explaining that I was inquiring about purchasing plants in the future when they had more of the varieties I was interested in.
I was treated with condesencion and it was made very clear that, although their website says otherwise, customers in fact were not welcome. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. I love visiting local garden centers and I spend good amount of money buying new plants for my home greenhouse. I have always had good experiences with other local vendors. My advice to anyone that lives nearby The Violet Barn is do not visit there expecting to feel welcome as a customer. Be prepared to be treated as if you know nothing, even if you are a plant expert and order online if absolutely necessary to purchase from them. As for myself I will a NEVER return to, and NEVER purchase anything from that establishment, I prefer to spend my hard earned money supporting other local businesses that actually know how to treat people with kindness and care.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
January 28, 2017 The guy is just rude and a jerk.
jeanettie
Louisville, KY
The experiences that I bought violets and their were no conflicts with the order or the violet dying I had no problem. I've ordered from him about 4 times. The first time was my fault for assuming his website connected the information from my reviews to my order. So I let that go, because it was my fault for assuming. But he was indifferent when I had to deal with him. Talking down to me like I'm supposed to know how he organizes orders on his end of the business. Now one of my plants I got for christmas died and I asked him if there was a way to replace it . It wasn't so much his solution that he offered but yet again. He talks down to you like I'm supposed to have known. Guaranteed only applies if you use the 35.00 express shipping option. And then he infers that I overpotted it and killed it. " Looks like was repotted in a 4 or 5" pot? In any event," then he begrudgingly talks about if I order again in the next year and they have a spare he'll send it to me. I wanted to tell him to F- off.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
March 17, 2016 Mine arrived dead.
Linnie_T
Cleveland, GA
March 7, 2016 These violets are guaranteed on the Violet Barn Facebook page. Not true. Mine arrived dead and Rob refused to replace. Further more upon contacting Rob and explaining that I intended to dispute the sale with my credit card company he proceeded to yell in my ear "GO AHEAD, I DONT NEEDTHE BUSINESS ANY WAY". And promptly hung up the phone. I love plants but you can find yours at a local dealer or Amazon with far better results.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
May 27 2015 Lost Cause
EaglesSparrow
Allentown, PA
May 27, 2015 Ordered 5 small plants from the Violet Garden in early May 2015. While 4 of the plants arrived in good condition, one, the Sinningia Bright Eyes - ($10.00), was OVER-packed and "mashed" due to the ridiculous over-packing.
I immediately contacted the Violet Barn, as they request when there is a problem with an order, included photographs of the damaged micro-mini and was told "that is what it should look like". The tiny plant was sopping wet when received and rotted. There was not a single healthy leaf on the plant.
I wrote back and stated this is NOT what a healthy Sinningia should look like. Again I was told that I was wrong and that I received "many, many" tiny plants in this quarter sized micro-mini.
I waited a week and the tiny plant turned into a small rotted patch of dead green. I wrote back again and not wanting to deal with another micro-mini Sinningia, asked them to replace with a mini violet I ordered and that arrived in good condition. I also included more photos of the now completely dead plant.Again I was told, "My answer remains the same. You have a clump of MANY plants of 'Bright Eyes' with many tubers. Remove the brown leaves if you wish, but keep all else and do not discard the soil/root ball!"
As an online retailer myself, I never argue with a customer and do whatever I can to satisfy my customers. However, Violet Barn's repeated denial of the plant being a lost cause, is more than annoying.
While 4 of 5 arrived in good condition, I will never shop at Violet Barn again and will never have a good thing to say about the arrogant customer service I received.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
October 17, 2014 Don't Expect Service
lengle
Kansas City, MO
I was a first time buyer a couple of weeks ago. I ordered (2) violets.
Packaging was nice...plants and root system were very small. For the price I was disappointed and surprised. One plant looked fine, one not so much. After 2 weeks I have lost 1. I contacted the not so friendly Rob at the Violet Barn. Only answer was I had to do something wrong. First No Perlite (yes I did) 2nd pot too big (plant in same pot came in) 3rd I over watered. (I had only watered 1 time, putting 1/2" water in the bottom of my pot in a pot) I asked he replace and will not.. he will give me a free plant on my next order.
I think not... why would I re-order from a company that will not back his products... and only places blame. sounds like many has had good luck.. but if you are one that does not.. don't expect any service.. only attitude.
Originally posted to Dave's Garden
12/03/2015 Violet Barn Just Wants Your Money With No Decent Customer Service and No Return Policy
I am a newbie in violets. Seeing that my husband ordered some violets from ebay, I ordered nearly $200 worth of African Violets from violetbarn.com (with Express shipping) as a Christmas gift for my husband, thinking that a place run by a PhD must be the best place to order. I wrote in the order request that I need big plants in bloom or near bloom to make my husband happy, and if they have small plants, they need to contact me. No one contacted me. My husband stayed at home one day to receive the package. And we both were so disappointed. They sent us tiny little plants and I am not sure if they can be nursed to grow. One is even smaller than the 2-inch diameter of the pot, smaller than the pictures in their Term and Conditions webpage. I would rather have a few that are large enough and in bloom than 14 tiny, pathetic ones. I called them to no avail. They said that they did not have time to contact me. Liar, they must have spent hours to wrap the tiny plants for shipping because it took my husband an hour to unwrap them. My conclusion: they just want my money and are careless about my satisfaction. I feel so betrayed and cheated.
So lakesflowers' review about Violet Barn on the web: He is right and spot on. If you want to see the picture of my $200 worth of african violets from Violet Barn, let me know. They do not think that a customer who spent nearly $200 the first shot deserves any decent communication and satisfaction. Alice also yelled at me on the phone, as if the whole thing was my fault. I just stopped by a local nursery and for $12/each I got a full grown size, beautifully blooming one. What happens to all the pictures about blooming violets on their website? Now I am stuck with $200 worth of worthless tiny violet plants. For their customer service, they really deserve ONE star or ZERO star!
Originally posted to TrustLink
the violet barn - robsviolets.com - caveat emptor!
lakesflowers
July 29, 2010
What you need: #1, good luck, #2, greenhouse or like conditons, #3, patience to nurse your premature infant plants, #4, be able to watch your little plants slowly die.
Thats what I needed to know before getting two shipments of dying plants and that this man ships plants with immature root systems or no roots in poor soil and that he would ship over a long hot holiday weekend without asking first and that he would cheat me out of a few dollars and that he was a grumpy greedy man.
#1 is best, Good Luck, Caveat Emptor.
...a big hearty NO!
cameronb
Hello. I had some good luck and bad luck with Rob's Violets (Violet Barn). Where the packing is great, some of the plants are too immature to send out. I have a degree in landscape design; BUT my passion is violets...and anything gesneriad, lol. Within days after receiving a mini (Jolly Jubilee), it died. I contacted Violet Barn and I was told they would replace in my next order. Since I only order once a year, I figured I'd remind them when I was about to place an order a few weeks ago...even though I have an email I kept about the replacement they did not live up to their email. The plant was so immature that upon inspection after it kept declining, there was very little root mass...maybe it was an accident they sent it out, BUT...
...I will not order again after the ripoff and their inconsiderate email to me when I was going to place my June order with them. Do I recommend them...a big hearty NO! Still have the email that they would replace if anyone wants proof...and the email that they have no record of them saying this.
Originally posted to houzz
4/16/2016
Aggressive, Don't Need the Business...Are we seein' a trend here?
Problems with Product/Service
Complaint
The plants were delivered dead. I called Violet Barn and spoke with Rob. I explained that the Facebook site guarantees safe delivery. He became aggressive and said its not true. I told him it would be disputed with the credit card company and reported here. His reply was "go ahead, I don't need the... business".
Desired Resolution
I would like the product ordered in good condition. Dead plants are not safe delivery. Or, I would like the money credited back.
Consumer Business Dialog
Business
Pasted below is the reply we made to the complaint Ms ******* made on a gardening review site (****** ******). We did offer to replace plants, though not ship cost. As expected, chargeback was processed--we did not dispute this--we'll just absorb the loss as cost of doing... business. Here is our original reply--you may edit as needed:We've never done this, but have to respond to the last review and 'fill in' the missing details. No such statement is made on our 'facebook' page (orders cannot be placed via this page). We do guarantee safe delivery in winter (her order was early March) only by EXPRESS (overnite) mail. This is stated on the first page of shopping cart (large purple box, bold capital letters), as well as a minimum of 4 other times during the ordering process. Our email confirmation of orders (should customer change their mind before we ship) and also clearly states this as well as in our 'terms and conditions' and 'shipping' pages among others. This customer chose PRIORITY (2-3 day) mail, which is $20 less costly, but also is more risky--these are perishable plants and it is winter. We ship in excess of 2,000 orders during winter months, and more than half of these customers willingly take the risk with priority mail in order to save money, mostall without incident. However, it is their risk and their money to spend. If WE are to bear the risk, we will only do this when shipped by the safest means available--express mail. Yes, we don't want this customer's business--she is asking for something we cannot provide. The phone conversation was ended only after she had already made a number of threats...among them her review below and the chargeback to our account that we expect to see soon. P.S. We begin guaranteeing safe delivery via ALL means (including priority mail) to all areas, beginning April 15, for those wanting to save money on shipping and still have our guarantee.
Originally posted to BBB