Garden Winds — Local services in Benicia

I've been a longtime customer of this business. I recently purchased two replacement canopies which included netting. The product description specified the netting is attached by rings (not included). I bought the set of rings they offered. I purchased this product based on the description in their website of netting hung by rings.

Upon receiving my canopies, what they sent me was netting attached by velcro only (pain in the ass to hang), no way to attach the rings. Long velcro strips were exactly what I did not want. Again, I purchased this product based on the description in their website of netting hung by rings.

I called and spoke to a representative about the situation and how the product was not described accurately. I was told I could return the product for full refund. I did not feel in this situation that I should foot the bill for return shipping. The representative told me my return shipping would also be refunded.

I sent the items back and when I recieved confirmation the items were recieved, I called to inquire about my return shipping cost, this time, I was told my return shipping would not be refunded, as it is 'against their policy.'

I asked if there was someone else I could speak to who could help me. I was told "No".

This company misrepresents their products and lies to their customers. If you recieve something different than you ordered, be aware you will have to pay ($60 in my case) to return it to them if you want your purchase refunded.

I'm very disappointed in how a longtime customer would be treated by this business over a purchase that was misrepresented by them.

By the way, I discovered the cost of purchasing a brand new canopy, including frame and netting, to be much less costly than the prices of Garden Winds replacement canopies.

Save your money and buy elsewhere!

*Below is the response from Garden Winds saying, "We list all attachment types in our product descriptions."

Maybe so, but the attachment type listed for my item was completely INACCURATE. Ring hook attachment is what was listed, but velcro attachment was what I received. I did not order this and should not be responsible for the cost of...

UPDATE: I went back and forth with these folks.....13 emails between us. I sent the pictures I've now attached. NOT ENOUGH. They asked for a photo, I sent it. Then they asked for a photo showing the frame, I sent 3 different ones....AND...a photo showing the Southern Patio label with the EXACT model number to CLEARLY show I was attempting to use the correct replacement umbrella cover on the corresponding model. ALL THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH. Said they wanted YET ANOTHER PHOTO....showing the whole frame? All these other photos and information isn't enough? The fact I included photographic evidence of the actual model number of the umbrella...which matches their product number made for it.....still not enough? The fact that I ordered TWO of them...and one...was perect (and I told them that), but the other had the flaw.....STILL NOT ENOUGH?

I have given up. I'll just live with the flawed product. I made it work for me with a safety pin. Would I have liked to see them make it right? Sure. But it's pretty obvious to me now....that's NOT going to happen.

So I move forward....and just vow not to use them again. RATING UPDATED TO ONE STAR.....HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HORRIBLE WARRANTY POLICY.

Ordered 2. The first one we installed had an obvious issue. It is missing one of the top loops that holds the big umbrella material to the frame. We tried to use it like that....but every time we tried to deploy the umbrella, that sagging material on that arm that was missing the loop would require us to mess with getting the bottom loop to stay in. We'd crank a little....bottom loop fell out....crank a little...etc, until we got it opened enough it would hold together. I rigged it to work by putting a safety pin in the material where the loop should have been. Now it is usable.

The 2nd one we ordered (ordered 2 at the same time) was perfect and works perfectly.

If the first one wasn't flawed with the obvious missing loop and there were instructions for installing....it WOULD have been a FIVE...

My experience with a replacement canopy from Garden Winds wasn’t that great. I sent pictures and measurements of my canopy frame to Garden Winds via email and purchased the one they recommended. The canopy arrived within a week, so that’s a plus. Email was always proficient as well.

My first impression of the canopy was, “flimsy material”. However, since my original Sun Joy (Target purchase) 10’ x 10’ canopy had a couple of tears in it, I proceeded to put the new canopy on. After placing one corner rod into position, there was NO way to pull the second corner rod on. The corner rods on my gazebo were just too long for this replacement canopy.

I emailed Garden Winds & they sent a YouTube link with a video suggesting to loosen the corner rods from the center, place the 4 corner rods in each pocket, let it stretch over time, then secure the rods back into position.

I didn’t bother with this suggestion as clearly my gazebo is different to the model in the video. My corner rods are visibly longer than the model in the video.

I feel Garden Winds should have known that rod length is an important issue with the recommended replacement canopy. And there are obviously (at least) two different models of the 10’x10’ Sun Joy gazebo, originally sold by Target.

A family member has a similar gazebo, but his rods are shorter. The same model canopy does fit his gazebo. The only other solution to get this canopy to fit would be to saw my rods shorter. At this time, I don’t want to do that.

Bottom line: I returned the canopy and took a loss of over $22 for shipping back & forth. I found it interesting that a return shipping label was included in the box with the canopy. Returns must be a...