Mann Lake Bee & Ag Supply — Attraction in Hackensack

I just wanted to share my experience buying bees from Mann Lake. They emailed me the tracking 2-3 days before it shipped and said it would ship either Sunday or Monday. They sent me a tracking number that did not tell me anything. It said awaiting pick up until the day I was notified by USPS to pick up the bees.

About 1/4 of the bees were dead in the cage and admittedly I did not take a photo as proof. The response from Mann Lake is quoted below. I just got unlucky and had bees near the end of their lifespan (right). Just want to share my experience so you can decide if you want to buy bees through the mail with Mann Lake with the risks they outline below.

"It is normal to find up to 1 to 1.5 inches of dead bees in your package, which can occur due to the lifespan of worker bees, the timing of their entry into the package, and possible stress during transit. Our suppliers ensure that enough bees are included in the package to account for this expected loss. However, there are inherent risks involved in shipping live animals. Once the packages are in USPS's possession, we have limited control over transit times or how they are handled during transit. To protect our customers from these risks, all bees are insured against damage or death in transit. As mentioned earlier, proof of damage is required to file a claim. This is similar to any other insurance coverage; for example, if your home were damaged in a fire, your homeowners insurance would require photos and proof of damage to process your claim."

This was my experience so you must make the choice for yourself.

Mike...

Warning Will Robinson, DANGER! DANGER! I recently purchased an HH200 electric extractor from a Mann Lake Distributor and it quit working the second time I went to use it. I called Mann Lake about the process of getting warranty service (it has a one year warranty, they claim) and they advised to call the dealer. The dealer does not respond to my calls, and I call back to Mann Lake who tells me it's not their problem, as they did not sell it to me. DO NOT BUY A HH200 extractor, it's junk. I've never had this poor of an experience with a company standing behind a product under warranty. They've essentially told me I'm out of luck unless my dealer gets back in touch with me. If I could give a negative four star review, I would. In the meantime maybe I'll take a road trip to their offices in Minnesota and burn another $850 just for the heck of it...hopefully the smoke will drift into Mann Lake LTD customer service offices and make them sick. It was clear to me on the phone the customer service rep was almost taking great joy in finding no help with my issue and stonewalled any attempts to help me with my issue. Any company that does not empower their employees to find solutions to a problem with a product bearing their name deserves to get dragged into the social media mosh pit. This was an entirely pathetic excuse for "customer service" and is a new low for making me hate a company I've done business with in the past. Hello Dadent, bub...

I have ordered from this company forever.

They have good quality supplies and USED to have good customer support and took care of any problems quickly and simply.

Over a half of a season, no one seems to answer the phone - at all.

I order in large quantities and I found it easier to input my order via the telephone.

I have called them many, many, many times and no one answers.

I did place an order by their website and usually that meant that the order would be filled rapidly and shipped quickly.

Now, when I haven't gotten any e mails about the order or any calls about a delay, I again, try to call to see what the holdup is.

And you have already guessed what happened - no one answered the telephone.

So, here I sit, it is Spring our busy time and I haven't a clue what the status of my order is.

This never, never used to happen.

The company used to be great about solving problems or answering questions.

Sadly, not so now.

CCC

So, fair is fair and I did order again recently - some cases of deep supers to replace time worn ones.

I attempted to use the on-line ordering, but that system refused to take my order.

I attributed this, perhaps, to my Firefox browser.

So, I waited until morning and called and a very pleasant woman answered and took care of the order quickly, just like in the old days.

I'd say that Mann Lake is back in the game and doing well.

I am much...