Brookdale Fruit Farm Inc. — Local services in Hollis

We saw an ad on Facebook and came here today to pick some cherries. We brought the pup because we thought this would be a quality outdoor time with her. Immediately after we drove in, a woman approached us telling us that we are not allowed to bring the dog out of the car. This was not we wanted to hear, but we respected it and decided to split up. One of us stayed in the car with the pup while the other went picking up cherries.

Their cherries vary considerably from one row to another, and nothing is designated with signs, so I had to wander quite a bit to find some cherries I liked. I went twice to the register asking for what’s where. I was explicitly warned at the entrance not to eat anything. Imagine how that made me feel.

I had to rush quite a bit because my fiancee and my pup were waiting for me in the car and the entire experience of picking cherries together was ruined. It took me 15 minutes and I was done.

On the way out, I paid for the 3 boxes of cherries and headed back to the car. Imagine my surprise when the same woman who was initially policing us for the dog, showed up out of nowhere and accused me for taking a shortcut on my way out and not paying for my cherries. She told me she somehow “saw” me do that. I told her I had paid for everything, and I moved on back to the car. Phew…

I have no idea what kind of paranoia these people must be living with, but as we were driving out of this place we got stopped once again by another woman demanding for my receipt. The way these people conduct business should automatically account for some losses (you can’t police everything and everybody), but hey, I am anything but a thief. I showed her what she needed to see. I hope she sleeps well tonight.

I certainly do not appreciate the way these people made me feel - and in business, this is absolutely everything. It’s how people remember you.

To be honest, after finally tasting them, their cherries are not really that good anyway. And for what they are, in my humble opinion they are way overpriced. You’d think, it’s all about the experience, but this is the experience we had as first time visitors. Needless to say, I won’t be driving to...

Bad experience with the owner. I found a fern that didn't have a price on it, but it did have 2 tags - one said "for sale" and another that had "NFS" on it. When I brought it to the register, the girl was confused as well so she went to check with someone. She came back and confirmed it was for sale, and had a price, so I purchased it. As I was walking out in the pouring rain, someone stopped me to ask "where did you get that"? Not knowing who or why I was being asked, I replied where I got it. He asked to see the plant, and after some back and forth and identifying himself as the owner, I asked if we could please get out of the rain to discuss further. He stated the plant was actually not for sale, as it belonged to someone else. Inside the store, he reprimanded the girl for not checking on the plant and condescendingly showed her the for sale sign actually had the word "NOT" which was covered up in the dirt. The girl looked mortified, and didn't say anything. I explained that she did in fact check with someone. He did offer to help me find something else, but I refused given the experience. I understand there was a miscommunication and certainly would not want to walk out with someone else's plant. However, I'm not ok with how he treated his employee. I also didn't appreciate the "sorry ma'am" until halfway out the store. Won't be back, there are plenty of other places like this with...

I will never step foot in this place again! I went around to see the pigs for starters, and the babies are trying to drink water out of empty bowls. Mind you, it is exceeding 80 degrees and humid like the middle of Florida. I go to ask the caretaker why the pigs have no water and explain they are thirsty, he replies, "they get water 3 times a day." I was appalled that anyone is not aware any living thing needs access to water 24/7 especially on a hot humid day and they are still babes. To make matters worse, I ask if they slaughter their pigs. He replies, 'yea of course, this isn't a zoo." Wow, excuse me but our family has a farm where we do not butcher our animals. How close minded are you? As he starts to look a bit embarrassed that he over stepped the line of decency to your 'customers' I am furious at this point. There is a moral code of farming that has been far forgotten. This is why I am vegan because I cannot stand the disassociation of humans like this. There is a moral obligation to care for these animals wether you are slaughtering them or not. What a jerk! I apologized for even asking and left for the final time in my life!

I prefer the moral and kinder treatment given at Lull farm. I do not take well to...