Dr Davies Farm — Attraction in Town of Clarkstown

My family and I went to Dr. Davies Farm Stand because it was fairly close and received decent reviews. Unfortunately, we did not have the experience we were hoping for. I will preface this review by saying that I try to support small business whenever I can as I am product of parents who worked hard for their own thriving small businesses. Having said this, I also feel that one of the big reasons small businesses are so appealing to customers is because of the personal connection we feel with the owners, the staff, and the product or service.

This was definitely not the case at Dr. Davies Farm Stand. First of all, the website allows you to reserve a certain time slot to go to the farm, even asking for the number of people in your party. I'm not sure why they do this since they let everyone enter as customers arrived. There was no one checking reservations, and when I asked about it, I was told it doesn't matter. To me, it seemed as though the Farm just wanted to get as much people in as possible without regard to the kind of experience the customers might end up having with such a crowd. Moreover, the large crowd seemed to stress the staff out, especially in the parking area, and they were quite annoyed and rude. Secondly, please be aware that the price is exorbitant. You are REQUIRED to purchase a $15 small bag for every person in your party in order to enter the orchard. If you are a family, you have the option to purchase a larger $57 bag. I am telling you right now that THIS IS NOT WORTH IT! Which brings me to my third reason for this 1-star review. They have more than half the orchard closed off. I'm not sure why, but on the day we went, everyone was crowded into a space that consisted of about 10 rows of apple trees (it took about 5-7 minutes to walk down a row). Finally, our experience was tainted further due to the loooooong lines for the hayride and the apple cider donuts - at least a 45 minute wait for both.

It's worth the extra 30 minute drive to head a bit farther north to the orchards in Warwick, NY where you'll get more space to roam, more choices in picking your own produce, and probably friendlier...

A few bad apples do spoil the bunch…Discrimination still exists.

I drove an hour and a half to visit Dr. Davies farm this past weekend with a group of coworkers for what I thought would be a relaxing day away from NYC. I pre-paid $32.70 for a package which included hayride, apple picking, pumpkin patch, corn maze, apple cider & donuts. On arrival, I received a small bag containing two donuts and a can of apple cider. At the beginning of the orchards is an apple pole rental stand, I noticed the area was muddy and decided to return to my car to change my sneakers and drop off the two donuts/can of apple cider. Apparently, that was a GRAVE mistake.

When my coworker and I returned from the parking lot, a security guard at the orchard accused us of STEALING apples. Apparently, we were under surveillance. The employee snatched the two empty plastic bags out of our hands and was speaking on the radio with somebody from the parking lot. I was shocked and embarrassed as this was in front of my coworkers, and I wanted to handle this situation as discreetly and unconfrontational as possible. This is supposedly a “family-friendly” establishment. I explained the situation and welcomed them to come back to my car to check. The employee realized he messed up, barely apologized, returned our bags, and let us pass. It felt like the “shoot first ask questions later” mentality.

In that moment my spirit was broken, and I wondered if I had looked differently would I have been approached that aggressively. This situation could have been handled differently and I did not like how a man snatched something that was paid for out of my hands. I’m not the one to leave reviews but in this case it’s a necessity. The employees need sensitivity training on how to approach customers or shouldn’t be working in areas with customer interactions.

Shout out to Wilklow Orchards, never felt...

DON’T GO HERE-rip off and mean people!! People that work here are rude and not helpful what’s so ever. They assume that all people just want “apples”—no education in what types or where they are located. I asked THREE different people where certain apples are and all of them had different answers as to why they didn’t know. One just didn’t know (the girl holding the dollar for stick rental-lord knows how someone would steal one of these), the older gentleman in the field said they were all “inner dispersed” and the older lady and young boy in the general store also had no idea even what type of apples they had in the farm period. Only a few trees are marked. MARK YOUR TREES. ISN’T THIS AN APPLY PICKING FARM???? They also nickel and dime you for everything. I mean everything. I’m surprise they don’t charge for the porta-johns. The worse experience we had was the rude cashier at the Apple picking station where you get your bag. He just recommends a bag for the number in your party. And ALL KIDS if over THREE are considered adults and must have a bag. Everyone that goes into the field must have a bag. He was very rude when we asked any questions. You pay per bag and not weight. Great way for them to rip you off.

Not a fun family experience at all. Oh and the pumpkin patch is not real. The pumpkins are off the vine already and just sitting in the field (they claim it’s to hard too pull off the vine).

No where to sit. We got pushed out of the picnic table (while I was feeding my 12 month old) for a party.

Also, someone spilled some apples and a lady that works there told the manager (he a walkie talkie) that some apples spilled and someone may trip and his reply was “good”. Other people could hear this. I get this is the end of the season and ppl are tired, but come on. This is a family place and they...