Al's Garden & Home — Local services in Sherwood

The plant selection is great (and the only reason for 2 stars). Some customer service issues.

I purchased a tree from them during the Covid outbreak and the tree died within a month. When i purchased it, i did not want to touch their pinpads to enter my phone number, or take the receipt (i just didn't want to touch things). Since i didn't get receipt, or give them my number i am unable to exchange the tree (even with credit card bill showing exact amount of the 3 items i purchased that have tags i can photograph and bring in). After speaking with the manager it seems I was not checked out according to their protocol (apparently you don't even touch the pinpad to enter your phone number, but the checkout person didn't mention that to me when i said i didn't want to touch the pad to enter my number). After explaining this to the manager, he said i kept changing my story and basically called me a liar and that i was trying to scam them and said that I sounded like someone who was experienced in doing these sorts of things. I was extremely surprised by these out of the blue/off the wall accusations as i wasn't trying pull one over on them to exchange a dead $30 tree that i had to dig up and bring back to exchange. The manager was extremely rude. If they have a policy, they can just state it and stick by it, they don't need to be rude, hostile, and accusatory about being a seasoned scammer. I still can't believe what he said. Anyways, I would understand the rudeness if i was also rude, but i was not rude or troublesome, i simply tried to explain that i was trying to be safe and not touch things during the Covid outbreak. The manager was simply not a people person or a good customer service individual (or possibly was having a terrible day?). I sort of got the feeling the other employees i spoke to on the phone also have a similar customer service philosophy as the manager.

But, i did have good experience with the crew on the floor when i made my original purchase, so maybe it's just the back office staff learning from the manager's bad examples?

In any case, i hope to never go here again, but i may be forced to because the selection is nice. I just won't be happy giving them my money and will only go here as a last resort. If you do end up going there, save your receipts and try to plan on all purchases being final because it's not worth risking the hostility and ill will the management may direct at you if you need to return something. I'd rather lose the money than suffer talking...

Pros: really nice store, good selection, quality stuff Cons: questionable customer service values

I visited Al’s for the first time ever this weekend. Figured it was a safe bet because every time I drive by the parking lot is packed.

The store and products are amazing and I was excited to pick up a few pots for my home. That feeling faded FAST when a woman approached and asked if I was ready to check out. I replied that I was still looking. In fact, I only needed to check one more section of the store before I decided on a smaller pot.

I was then told that the store was closed and I needed to leave. Checked my watch... 46 seconds after close. Didn’t have time to ask if I could get another pot because she was literally walking away as she spoke, not even looking at me. So I didn’t end up getting everything I came for.

Look, I get with COVID they probably need extra time to deep clean. I had no idea what time the store closed and that’s my fault. But maybe instead of ushering out the one of perhaps three remaining customers in the store, next time a simple “hey, we’re closed now, can I help you find anything else” would be more appropriate.

No excuse for this type of flippant treatment by a person who seemed to be a manager. The cashier who helped me check out, a young man, was the only staff member who didn’t come across rude. In this age of online shopping, the store experience is one of the only factors offering a competitive edge.

Awful first impression. I’ll be...

Decided to stop here to look for some flowers to plant in my planters. I saw they had their annual flats for 19.99. I grabbed a cardboard flat that was next to the sign and filled it. I got to the cashier and it rang up for $28.33. I asked why they didn’t ring up for the sale price and the cashier said “you got the discount”. Fair, I guess I didn’t specify to the sign that said 19.99. I went to customer service and asked for more clarification on what happened. The girl working at the customer service counter was amazing and patient, she explained she didn’t know anything about the sale and would need to call one of the sales people over. The sales person looked at the receipt and said that there are 12 in a flat and I needed to get 4 more. Ok… I am not a gardener so how am I supposed to know how many are in a flat when the sign didn’t specify, I just thought I needed to fill the cardboard flat with the annuals. While I went to go get those 4. I left the receipt with the cashier, and she counted what was rang up and advised I had got 12 and additional 6, and they did ring up correctly and I had got a discount on the additional 6.

I guess next time when I go here and see anything advertised on sale I have to ask questions. I spent way too much time at customer service trying to figure out what had happened and went outside to get more when I didn’t need to. It would be nice if the signs were a little more specific. It would have saved me so...