about to go all SC here....

[Sunshine]

Ahhh!!! Thats great!!!

[Kittish]

Good to hear you got it resolved, Seraph. I was gonna chime in on the full refund side too, as F3S had made it quite clear that they had no intention of fulfilling your order at all, so waiting any longer on them was going to be nothing but counter-productive. Too bad you can't charge them interest on the money you left in their custody under false premises.

So... what are you gonna plant?

[Seraph]

So... what are you gonna plant?

A nice vegetable garden - I'll post pics once I get it finished.

I plan on tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, a single jalapeno plant for the husband, strawberries for the kidlings, and maybe green beans. Next year, I want to grow some thornless blackberries - husband's grandmother has an AMAZING strain of them at her home...so I'm going to ask nicely for a cutting/root so I can get some of them.

[Ophbalance]

As an aside, should you find yourself needing a truck, most Lowe's that I've seen have a rent-a-truck deal. It's pretty cheap by the hour, and super handy.

[BexieSchmexie]

Get your refund in its entirety- you don't want to deal with that store anymore, anyway. Not after the shenanigans they've pulled. That's ridiculous.

Do you have a Home Depot or Lowe's nearby? If so, here's a possible option: Home Depot and Lowe's have a nifty program where you can rent a truck for 75 minutes for $20. I love it - when we redid our house, that's how we got the new furniture home (I wasn't paying what I'd paid for the furniture in delivery costs!). Order your compost at the other store - rent the truck, go pick it up, take it home, and then return the truck (I mean, check to make sure the Home Depot or Lowe's does the rentals, but I know a lot of them do.). To me, the 20 for the rental would be worth it, just to wash your hands of this ridiculous store. Especially since it sounds like they won't be getting your product in anyway.

[Seraph]

So, out of nowhere, I got a call today from the district manager...finally. His first thing was to tell me I was definitely getting in the order on Thursday.

Erm, dude, I canceled. And asked no less than three people to let you know that. This is a prime example of the miscommunication that has led to this ENTIRE THING. Seriously!

Anyways, so we talked for a while, I tried to be as polite as possible, but stated that I was extremely disappointed in the whole matter, and that no offense, but I was really not interested in shopping at the stores ever again, and that I hoped he had a nice day. Well, he suddenly offered me a gift card at that point. I was vaguely floored, wasn't what I was expecting, and I kinda went derptacular and was like "uh, well, um, thanks, I don't know what to say, I'm kind of like wellllll, um, I guess I can give it another shot, I don't know, I just really don't know."

Silvertongued Seraph, at your service. Don't ever ask me to make public speeches. :P

So he said he'd appreciate it if I gave the store another shot, especially as it's a "new store in a tight knit community". Ohhhhh, I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE. Yeah, he's got a point, word spreads FAST around here, and it'll make or break a business super quick.

Either way, I don't know what to think. Its nice, and granted, there's stuff there I would still be interested in getting...but darn. I'm also kind of EEEEGH that was a bad experience!

Eh, I'll see what happens, I guess.

As an aside, should you find yourself needing a truck, most Lowe's that I've seen have a rent-a-truck deal. It's pretty cheap by the hour, and super handy.

Will keep that in mind, only problem is they are 35 minutes away. There's an hour of it, right there.

[taxguykarl]

I plan on tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, a single jalapeno plant for the husband, strawberries for the kidlings, and maybe green beans. Next year, I want to grow some thornless blackberries

As a seasoned gardener, I should warn you about okra. Some of my friends nickname it Southern zucchini...once it takes off you can expect to be harvesting it daily. Consider a home canning guide for pickled cukes and okra....even the green beans as well. As for the tomatoes, you can't go wrong with a sauce. Green tomatoes also pickle well (something to keep in mind for the fall). Makes a good relish tray for Thanksgiving.
Say the word, I'll post my family's favorite recipes. An added bonus: you can make gift baskets and finish your Christmas shopping early.
If MIL's cuttings don't work out try Stark Brothers, that's where I acquired my thornless blackberries....and my dwarf pear tree and my peach trees and apple trees and an almond tree which is now flowering....I hope that means what I think it does.

[Seraph]

As a seasoned gardener, I should warn you about okra. Some of my friends nickname it Southern zucchini...once it takes off you can expect to be harvesting it daily. Consider a home canning guide for pickled cukes and okra....even the green beans as well. As for the tomatoes, you can't go wrong with a sauce. Green tomatoes also pickle well (something to keep in mind for the fall). Makes a good relish tray for Thanksgiving.
Say the word, I'll post my family's favorite recipes. An added bonus: you can make gift baskets and finish your Christmas shopping early.
If MIL's cuttings don't work out try Stark Brothers, that's where I acquired my thornless blackberries....and my dwarf pear tree and my peach trees and apple trees and an almond tree which is now flowering....I hope that means what I think it does.

I'm completely aware of it's disturbing tendencies, hehehe. But man, I've missed fried okra since I moved up to the Sweet Tea-less North. I plan on only one okra plant, to trim down on waste.

Ooooooh, will definitely have to bookmark that site for next year!

[Cia]

How can compost and topsoil be "out of season"? The stores around here have it in stock from spring through summer.

[Aethian]

Our have it available year round but in differing amounts.

[taxguykarl]

How can compost and topsoil be "out of season"? The stores around here have it in stock from spring through summer.

It's the same at my local Orange Apron--they, in fact, stock those items well into fall.

[Seraph]

Ok, so update, and some closure here.

Went to the store last night to get the gift card...and asked the managers as an aside if the dirt/compost they stated was on the truck, ever did some in.

Nope.

I was floored, and told the manager to...I mean, seriously, the DISTRICT MANAGER told me it was on the truck and coming to the store. The manager explained that nope, none had ever ended up coming in, and that the store had lost a number of big sales, and other orders, that people had placed for that item.

Thanks to all of this...the store's lost a huge amount of sales, and it's already not looking good because of this. Sucks, because honestly they have a great location, they could've done really well...but with whatever the heck is going on...they've ticked off the local community.

[Sapphire Silk]

Finally found a landscaper who was willing to tell me where they got their mulch/compost from....and lo and behold. They provide topsoil as well. And deliver to my area.

....icing on the cake was that once I explained my quandary, they offered it at half the price I was paying F3S. And said they'll do their best to deliver it tomorrow.

Now that is customer service. Holy cow.

Well, sure. They not only want your business, they want good word of mouth. Which you will probably provide, even if you don't buy from them on a regular basis. Good word of mouth is worth its weight in gold to a local business.

Well, he suddenly offered me a gift card at that point

I'd take the gift card and STILL warn everyone I knew to stay away from these clowns. You deserve a gift card after all the grief they put you through.

[EricKei]

I'm glad you were able to get a refund (and a gift card, no less!) by keeping your cool when you had every reason not to.

As for the place that DID help you out (the landscaper), however unexpectedly -- Consider sending them photos (and maybe a packet of goodies) of your veggies once they do come in They sound like the sort of folks that would appreciate that kind of thing ^_^

[redsox33413]

Seraph, if you lived in FL, I'd totally load up some bagged soil in the SUV and haul it to you!