Dutch Flower Lady — Local services in Valkenswaard

Please do yourself a favor and avoid this shop!!

I apologize for the long text in advance, but I feel like it's the only way to address the situation.

I initially placed an order on the 29th of June of a plant that was "in stock" (said 4 plants in stock to be specific) on the webpage, and I also asked on Instagram how long it would take until it's shipped and they said 2 weeks. The day after placing my order I received an email that my "import plant" will be arriving after the 1st of July and will be acclimated for up to 6 weeks. I'm aware that their page has a separate section for import orders, but I did not place my order through that option. So thinking I was ordering something both themselves and their web page clamed to be in stock would actually be imported. After giving it a thought I was fine that the plant would arrive within the 6 weeks, although this was not what I signed up for.

On the 20th of July I was told that the plants haven't been sent from Thailand due to the pandemic, which is understandable, but considering it's not really yesterdays news by this time of the year and the company is making no effort updating their clients and me having to "beg" them for updates is quite disappointing.

On the 25th of August I received the information that 7 plants of the species I had ordered had arrived, of which 2 had survived. They also said I'm the next in line. On the 7th of August I asked if I will be the next in line for one of the plants they're currently acclimating, to which they answered YES on the 9th of September.

After this the communication stopped from their side. I sent several emails asking for updates, since based on their response I assumed my plant was with them and will be shipped soon. After sending them several requests for updates I completely lost trust in them. I asked them to refund me.

After this I received an reply, in which they blamed me for not reading their website about what's going on in Thailand. Why would the situation in Thailand be an issue for my plant anymore since they did said I'm getting a plant they're currently acclimating? They also said they there will be a flight from Thailand in the beginning of October, on which the plant might arrive. Quite confusing, right? Anyway, they agreed to refund me on the 18th of September.

On the 22nd of September I received a reply from them in which they said the plants are almost ready and I should keep an eye out for the shipping date in my emails and on Instagram. Why would they claim they're almost ready if the plants aren't expected to arrive before the beginning of October? I was very confused after this email assuming they would actually be refunding me. I have sent them a couple of mails after this, without receiving a reply.

Today I could luckily see a refund on my account, but as the cherry on top they've only refunded me 75% of my order. I have not received any type of clarification to this. I would understand if this was an rule for the imports, but again, I did not order my plant on their import page but ended up being an import due to some kind of error on their own webpage. I think it's quite harsh to put the cost of this issue on the customers.

I'm utterly disappointed and regretful about ever making an order with them. Their customer service is absolutely useless, and they make sure you will feel like a burden by asking for updates, which I think you shouldn't feel considering they do absolutely nothing to proactively update you on your order. They also blame their own lack of personnel a lot, which I don't really like as a customer. It's understandable, but I did not feel quite welcome as a customer after being told how many emails they get a day, how many orders they have open etc.

Please THINK TWICE before gambling your money and wasting your time with...

I received a very sad looking plant and had quite the awful conversation with the shop owner afterwards, claiming the plant had been grown with love for months in her grow house (not true, because before this they said it's a fresh import and it's definitely not established) and that it would fully recover within two weeks (it did not). Conversations are very confusing...

Pre ordered a plant in August, didn't get it until the end of november, cancelled my order and at first they wanted to keep 100€ of my money. They eventually gave it back after a lot of back and forth.

Another plant that was ordered had 2 leaves instead of 5-6 as shown on the example plant on the website. At least it was healthy.

Overall wouldn't recommend...