ComplaintsforRocky Mountain BioAg®

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sept 16 2023 Order #*****-OS I purchased a product from this company, expecting quality and effectiveness. Unfortunately, the product proved to be defective and failed to germinate despite following all instructions. My experience with customer service has been extremely disappointing; they were unhelpful and belligerent, showing little concern for my issue. Followed all instructions, ****** ****** seed product did not germinate. Waited many weeks. Despite multiple attempts to get replacment or refund. CS instead bullied me and tried to argue I was the one to blame making up lies and that I did not want to take there call. I was very clear I cannot with my work schedule and preferred email. Rather than try to find a solution to the problem I was facing as a customer they forced me to fill out pages of questions trying to find a reason why I was to blame for there defective product. Completely dishonest I followed all instructions. Upon closer inspection of other reviews on ****, I noticed more customers sharing similar negative experiences and the company trying to conceal this. I even wrote an honest 1star review on their website about the product and it was never published. Only 5 star on their site. . It's apparent there's a significant issue with the product, yet the company continues to mislead consumers. They refuse refunds, leaving customers dissatisfied. This has been my worst experience with a small e-commerce business, and I caution potential buyers to reconsider before purchasing. I simply want a refund for a product that is defective.

  

  Business response

  12/18/2023

  This response is for BBB complaint ********, regarding Rocky Mountain BioAg Order# *****-OS which was placed on September 14, 2023, and delivered with fast two-day shipping on September 16, 2023, for two each one-pound bags o* *** ******** *********** seeds.
  

  First, we would like to let all parties involved with this claim know that this is not how we like to resolve issues within our business. After 15 years of operations, we have successfully built a reputation for providing outstanding customer service by taking very good care of our ever-growing customer base. You can clearly see hundreds of reviews on ****** and our website proving these claims. Our customers are very satisfied with our company and how we treat them. We build very strong relationships and friendships with our customers, helping them to solve problems that they encounter and teaching them the best methods for usage of our products. We pride ourselves on live customer service that can be reached via telephone with little to no wait times to speak with customer service agents during normal business hours.
  

  This claim has arisen out of the fact that the customer planted the *** ******** *********** seeds and they did not establish properly, which has frustrated the customer and made them very upset. It is clear on our website in two locations, one in the return and exchange policy and the other on the product listing pages that there are no refunds, exchanges or returns on seed purchases. There are too many variables when planting and establishing seeds that our company cannot be held liable for. We can only provide a great product with third party verified germination reports to our customers. We are sorry that the seeds did not germinate. This is an isolated incident as we sell and ship thousands of pounds of these exact seeds every year into all 50 states and customers rave about their results. The seed producer which we purchase our seed from is a well-known producer of seed with an outstanding reputation. The first email contact we had with this customer was on October 22, 2023, and we responded to the customer the following day October 23, 2023, with questions to start evaluating why the desired results were not achieved. Our customer service was quick to respond and ready to solve the customers issue, which we fully intend to do. The customer did not contact our support team before planting for directions on planting, which we would have been happy to provide for the best results. Our customer support team did try to speak with the customer via telephone numerous times so we could give our exceptional customer support and figure out what may have happened and why the desired results were not achieved. We even asked the customers’ work schedule to see if we could speak with them when not at work to help them diagnose the issue, they wanted everything in writing via email, so we continued with email communication.
  After multiple email communications, we pinpointed the potential issues on why the seeds did not germinate. First, the customer used 4.5”-5” of ******* soil topper a soil building amendment to richen the soil which is twice the amount recommended on the bag. *********** uses very little nutrition to naturally thrive. No soil samples were taken to see if there were abundances or deficiencies before planting. We asked if the customer could take photos of the seeds that did not germinate in the soil as they should have only been planted 1/8” deep they never would send photos of the ungerminated seeds. Also, we asked for a detailed water schedule during establishment and that was never provided either. All the above are potential reasons why the seed did not germinate. The LOT# was also checked and verified that there were no germination issues on the product that they received. 
  

  A refund or replacement was never asked for, the customer threatened our company that they were going to contact their credit card company and give us a chargeback on the purchase and leave poor reviews which would hurt our small company. This threating tactic is meant to hurt and intimidate smaller companies. We are happy to explain the issues that arose from this transaction and stand behind our company’s policy of no refunds, exchanges or returns on seed sales. We have third party germination reports on all the seeds we sell so we can confidently stand behind a quality product and are confident of the germination rates.
  We never once said that the customer was lying, we were simply asking the questions needed to solve the problem of non-germination. There is no dishonesty involved in our interactions with this customer just the fact that the customer is irritated that they will not be receiving a refund or replacement for their product as this is our company policy which is clearly stated in numerous places.
  

  There is no concealment of the fact that we have two reviews that customers left which could not get their seeds germinated. This is a total of 2.5 pounds of seed compared to the thousands of pounds which we have sold. I would look at all the positive experiences customers have with our company and see that these instances are very isolated and obvious attacks on our company. Regarding the review not being published on our website, this decision was made since it is an obvious attack against our company which is 100% false and can be proven via email communication and third-party germination data of the seed the customer received. If the seed has been proven to not meet the proper standards, the review would be published, and a refund or replacement would have been issued immediately. Since it is felt that there is a significant issue with the seed, the next step will be to get *** ******** North America involved in the customer’s claims against their seed and the statements the customer has made against their company.
  

  Again, we are sorry the customer has had a bad experience with our company. We have company policies that we must adhere to for all customers and one of those is no refunds, exchanges or returns on seed sales.
  In conclusion, our number one goal is 100% customer satisfaction, and we do our best to take care of all our customers and provide outstanding customer service. We have built a great reputation on the service and dedication that we provide to customers. We do appreciate every customer, but we do have to follow company policies.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩