The Barn: Landscape + Architecture — Local services in Barrington Township

About two weeks ago, I took note of some spruce trees that were on sale. A member of the staff with whom I had a nice rapport suggested I take her name and contact her when I'm ready. I tried to do that today. I called and specifically asked for that employee. I was met by a bunch of questions, "what is it regarding?" Who am I? What do I need? My response was, 'plants, vegetation..." Can I speak with the individual I requested? "What specifically do you want?" I specifically want to speak with the employee I requested at the beginning of the call. In a seemingly polite, but manipulative way, she thought she answered all my questions and eliminated the need for me to speak with the individual I requested because that individual is outside in the nursery, which sounds like it's 60 miles south in Joliet and not right outside the building . . As I waited to be connected, she hesitated...and? Is she coming to the phone? "No. Well, I thought I answered all your questions and she's out in the nursery helping other customers?" No, you didn't answer the first one. CAN I SPEAK TO X EMPLOYEE?! How about, "I'll take your name and number and ask her to call you back?" Instead of using common sense and basic good judgment, keep your trees! They're now 50% off. With that kind of evasive customer service you'll end up keeping the trees until they're candidates for Xmas trees. Too bad. I was going to buy at least a couple of trees and have them delivered. That employee did such a nice job too. Her strong selling skills specifically encouraged me to call back. Thankfully, the manager interceded with her two cents so we'll just visit one of the other 10,000 nurseries in the region. P.S. Harvard, IL is a lovely drive not far from Crystal Lake. I bought a couple of Serbian spruces there for a song comparatively. It seems like their nursery prices are much more competitive. I'm glad Barn Nursery's manager inspired me to look...

had a terrible experience, will never shop there, again !!! after we made a substantial purchase, including delivery and planting, one of the plants lost all its foliage and nearly died (it will not survive the winter).. we were only a few weeks into the 12 mth warranty period, so we asked for a store credit ; they insisted on having us provide a photo and a cutting of the plant, before they would issue a credit, so we were forced to make another trip out to the nursery, the following weekend .. when we arrived, we were prepared to make another significant purchase but it was obvious that the staff had absolutely no intention of honoring the warranty ... they even went so far as to argue with us and effectively accuse us of neglecting the plant by failing to water it properly; I pointed out to them, several times, that the lawn was professionally maintained by Davey Tree and Evergreen Landscaping, and that we had a sprinkler system that had barely been used because Chicago had just experienced the rainiest June on record ... furthermore, none of the other plants had problems ; in fact, overall, the extensive landscaping was thriving , including the rest of our original purchases ... long story short: when it became obvious that they had no intention of honoring the warranty, we left and went directly to one of their many competitors, and spent a significant sum of money on additional plants ... for the sake of a $45 shrub, the Barn literally lost thousands of dollars of business that day ; and, the worst part of it ??? the staff couldn't care less ...

what remains of the plant is 99% bare; even if it survives, it will be less than a third the size of the original ornamental shrub we purchased ... it was obviously diseased when it was delivered, and lost all of its leaves within a few weeks ; the notion that the plant is 'underwatered, and mildly stressed' is...

This was the first time we went to the Barn Nursery as we were in need of a new dwarf tree. First walking into the main building not one of the employees even looked at us or acknowledged us. After standing awhile I approached an employee and I asked about their selections of dwarf trees. Though he was pleasant, his answer was that he did not really know where they were in the yard nor did he offer any suggestions. What I was most bothered by was his lack of even wanting to research the inventory! As landscapers, and him obviously dressed for working the yard, I would think he would have an idea of what they had? What if a customer came in and wanted one for their landscaping project, the Barn was doing, I guess they would be out of luck. We wondered around and noticed the poor quality and the only time we were quickly approached, was to be told we could not drive in the yard when we were turning around to leave. Mmmm...do ya think you should post signs about that?? Well we went to another garden nursery/landscapers and we got the best customer service, from a young man about high school age, who not only knew his stock he proceeded to make suggestions. In his young life he already knew so much more about customer service than the whole group's at The Barn Nursery!!! Needless to say this other place had a bigger, healthier selection, who also do landscaping! Well we now have a beautiful healthy DWARF tree. We were first time customers at the Barn, who will not be back nor will we refer to anyone! After all you probably don't need money nor want any customers unless they are doing a whole expensive landscape project! Sorry to have...