West Seattle Nursery & Garden Center — Attraction in Seattle

CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS! I want to preface this by saying that a handful of the nursery staff are actually friendly and helpful. They cancel out the rude and disrespectful ones, if that makes any difference. And they do have a nice variety of indoor and outdoor plants, as well as all things garden related - planters, tools, soil, decor, accessories, and even gift items. These factors are what kept me a loyal customer for years until a negative experience two summers ago.

We spent a few hundred dollars at the nursery on one of our visits. When we got home, I noticed a weird charge for a plant we didn't purchase. I counted the number of actual plants we had vs the number of plants on the receipt and we were definitely charged for one extra plant. I recounted a couple more times and the results were the same. When I returned to the nursery and explained to the salesperson in the greenhouse, she was apologetic and provided great customer service. While I was there, I ended up purchasing more plants and the same salesperson rang me up. When I got home, I noticed the same strange charge on the receipt, an extra plant I didn't purchase. I counted and recounted again. I didn't think to check the receipt when I was in the store because I thought the mysterious charge was a one-off, but I was shocked to see it had happened again. When I returned to the nursery again, this time in the main building, I had the misfortune of dealing with a very rude and condescending woman at the register. I explained the strange charges to her and showed her the two receipts with the exact same mystery charges. I suggested that maybe there was a glitch in their system, not wanting to assume that customers were being overcharged intentionally. She looked at me annoyed and as she reluctantly processed the refund, she said to me with disdain, "I guess I'll have to trust you", to which I replied, "Why would I lie about a $3 charge??" My question, which wasn't rhetorical, was met with silence. The negative interaction and the implication that I was lying left me very upset. In the almost 10 years that we had shopped there, we had spent a lot of money supporting this small local business. But after being treated this way and being overcharged twice, we started going to Swansons Nursery the past two years and we are delighted with the consistently helpful and friendly staff there, as well as no issues with what we are charged.

Not surprisingly, there was another customer from two years ago who submitted a similar review of being overcharged and being treated rudely about it. Apologies for the long explanation, but to the point, check...

A few months ago I came here with a Service dog, only to get verbally accosted over my choice of training style, including that I am a dog abuser and I cause pain to my animals. She asked some customers she was speaking with to "hold on a second" in order to come over and interrogate me before telling me these things about myself. I did not realize this at the time but this was one of the store employees, Kyle, approached me again today with a backhanded gift of a book on "positive" dog training.

I am a professional dog trainer with years of experience and education in many methodologies and areas of expertise, but that should NOT matter. It is absolutely unacceptable for an employee to approach me, especially with a service dog, and be spoken to like this. I feel absolutely violated. I love your other employees who have been patient and kind towards me and my dogs in training, your service and plants are impeccable, but I will not be returning due to this experience and I will be warning my clients not to come here as well lest they be beat down by this womans biases.

EDIT: After speaking with the manager, I'm glad to say that she spoke with the employee in question. Hopefully, this will not happen again. Still, the initial response received below feels very much like I'm being blamed for the inappropriate behavior of your employees, simply for doing my own job in a way you don't like or understand. Even saying I use shock collars just shows they don't understand my tools or training. The way that your employees treat and talk to customers is absolutely a part of the service and experience that I receive coming to this store, and is completely relevant for other potential customers to see in reviews. Again, I do think the plant selection is wonderful, and despite your comments the other employees (and clientele) have been nothing but welcoming to me. It is true this isn't a dog training center -- which is why it's completely inappropriate to be approached and chastised in such a way by one of your employees, and it's discouraging to see it brushed off by...

I want to love the Nursery. It's so close to home and has a solid selection across several categories. Unfortunately, I can't wholeheartedly endorse it because I never feel welcomed here. I don't feel unwelcome--no overt hostility--but every time I'm here I'm lucky to get acknowledged, even when im basically the only customer.

Today I visited ready to spend some money--I had a gift card plus my own money to spend, about $200 just for some fun stuff. I wasn't greeted at all upon entry to the south/main building by either of the two employees at the front counter. There was one other customer in the store. Another employee showed up soon after, and they were joking about something that happened in the back/break room. No one asking if I or the other customer needed help. I was in there 20 minutes, picked up a couple things, and wandered to the outdoor nursery. So many employees out there, just a few customers, and none said a word to me, even as they literally walked right in front of me. They did warmly greet a couple who arrived with who I assume was their landscaper. At this point I decided I was just too annoyed and went back in the main building to put back the items I'd selected. I'll be back because I still have a $100 gift card, but I'll be careful to not spend beyond that. There are so many other nurseries that actually appreciate...