Paula I

First, you cannot expect to post tiny tomato seedlings in dry soil in the dark on a Thursday morning and expect them to be alive by the end of Monday. This is particularly so when they have been turned upside down, and all the soil and the seedlings have fallen out. You'd think any gardener would know that, but apparently not!

So, let's just pre-empt the next stage...'the package is out of our control once it gets to the courier'. Yes, that is true, but you knew (or should have known) that the courier was closed over Easter weekend. Also, the arrow on the box that says 'this way up' should be in the same orientation as the plants within. They were posted with the orientations at odds with each other. That is solely the doing of Sarah Raven. Anyway, it seems you can't reach anyone at Sarah Raven by phone or chat, and an email will take 5 business days. What is it with these people?!!
A refund would be appreciated - and that doesn't need you to go into a bank branch and write out a slip and take the cash to the counter and stand in a queue....

Just do it!!!

This company is a farce. ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA about customer service, blatantly lie about having delivered, and couldn't be bothered. An exorbitant fee charged for no service. But they clearly don't care about the small business/individual customer. This is NOT ok on any level. And this is not the first time. In fact, they have NEVER delivered on time to me.

Oh, wait! you won't even bother to respond, will you?
A place like this should not be in business. With any luck, with service (!??!) like this, people will stop using the "services". So, how do you reconcile this with your stated "specialising in time and day critical shipments ....you can rely on the expertise of our local people in more than 220 countries and territories to ensure your shipment is delivered securely and on time". Really!? I think there's a law against misleading advertising.

I ordered chocolate for Easter, but did not receive it. DHL said it had been delivered, but it hadn't been. Disappointingly, there was nothing that could be done, and I gave the company a not-so-great review. However, the company refunded promptly and - just yesterday - the chocolate arrived. It had eventually made its way back to the company from DHL, and the company resent it out to me, with a lovely handwritten note of apology. This is what customer service is about - thank you!
Upgrading to 5 stars, as mistakes happen - it is how they are dealt with that matters.

Fantastic services asked me to move my business elsewhere because I was not happy that they had cancelled on me at last minute 4 times in a row (emails with their customer services on this matter can be included here if needed - apparently I should not have been unhappy with such treatment!)

However, today I received a call from Olga on 07915 395036 at 14h14 (in case they need to verify this as they keep disputing what I say), telling me that I had cancelled my gardening service (which I didn't as I didn't have one booked) and could they please offer me a chance to use my voucher?

Can you please talk to each other within the organisation and sort yourselves out. The admin is seriously letting down what is otherwise a good service (ie the cleaning, gardening etc are great when they materialise, but they don't materialise very reliably and the admin seems very disjointed).

And please don't ask me to move my business and then keep calling me to arrange for more business. It's a nuisance. Happy to reconsider when you sort your admin out. Not before.

Fantastic service - especially impressive at such a busy time of year - and beautiful products. Top service and just the way business should be. The whole experience restored some of my faith in people.
The kindness, responsiveness, efficient delivery, customer service, environmental awareness, beautiful soap, nice packaging - all just right. Thank you!

Sold as 'kiln dried logs with a very low moisture content'. Sadly, this is not true and is disappointing. The 'logs' are cut very roughly - all different sizes and some very large cubic 'chunks' rather than logs. Also many (over 30%) have green moss and mold on them, which I am pretty sure doesn't grow on 'very low moisture content' surfaces. Further, no communication at all to let us know whether the order was on its way or when.

Update March 2024:
This review was originally questioned by the company, as they felt it was 'defamatory'. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way I can upload photographs, but I did send some to both Trustpilot and to the company (Trustpilot reinstated my review). The company then said it was the courier who was at fault. I pointed out that the courier had had the wrapped package for only 3 days. Unlikely that that extent of moss would grow in that time on so-called 'dry' wood. I also gave the company opportunity to discuss which part of my review they regarded as unobjective and 'defamatory'. They've chosen not to discuss that with me, although they have asked me several times to remove or update my review. I am happy to provide the correspondence to Trustpilot should it be needed.

On the upside, they did eventually agree to a partial refund. I am grateful for that, but it does not negate the validity of my original and factually accurate comments about the wood. It was also a fairly protracted process to obtain a partial refund. I do acknowledge that they have sought to rectify the matter, and thank them for that. I have therefore increased the rating from 1 to 2. I have also reflected on this carefully to see if I could up it to a 3 but, on balance, it really wasn't a 'neutral' experience (which would have scored a 3). It wasted a lot of my time.

The company says it was only the one bag that was like this and no others have had this problem. In fairness to them, I've only bought one bag so cannot comment on the rest of their wood. I was only commenting on mine. It may have just been an unlucky one.

Again, I invite the company to discuss with me if there is anything that does not reflect the facts of what has taken place.

And for transparency (because I understand that people's scoring may differ), my scoring criteria are as follows: 1 star=poor product and/or service (won't buy again); 2=poor product and/or service partially mitigated (but prefer not to buy product/experience again); 3=neither here nor there - does what it says, but nothing really stands out (neutral); 4=good product/service (well made, quick delivery, no problems OR responsive and prompt rectification - if needed - without any quibbling); 5=excellent product/service - no need for rectification or, if there is such a need, a willingness to go 'above and beyond' with courtesy and generosity to rectify a mistake. Being transparent about my scoring will hopefully allow users to make up their own minds. Which is what Trustpilot should be about.

Delicious maple syrup, prompt delivery - trouble free! Thank you!!

Useless as always.

If the parcel was 'signed for by Cindy' why was it simply left outside someone else's door with a photograph sent to me?

There's no Cindy anywhere in the neighbourhood and the photo of the door certainly isn't recognisable. So where is my parcel with perishable food in it and why didn't Cindy take it indoors? That smacks of untruthfulness, doesn't it? Also terribly wasteful when perishable items are so carelessly disregarded and 'Cindy' apparently saw fit to just leave them on her doorstep.

Yet again DHL has failed. Shame it's become the expectation now, rather than the exception.

Why did you take down the reviews I did of Fantastic Services? They were genuine reviews and valid. That doesn't engender trust.

These people insist on using DHL. It's such a shame as their food is good, but the service always lets them down. Every year - when people are busy and would like things to run smoothly - DHL fails. These are perishable items and if DHL can't be bothered to find the right place, the food is wasted. But it seems there's an unwillingness to improve. It wouldn't be so bad if DHL and/or Dukeshill could be reached if the delivery ends up in the wrong place, so that the error could be righted. But it's impossible to reach anyone.

This is the last time I order from them. Not because of their produce or service, but because they can't choose a decent carrier.

Yet again "Fantastic Services" have let me down. I booked, paid, confirmed this service this morning. They arrived, took photos (invasive!) and then said the lawn mower was broken. What sort of garden services arrives with a broken mower (especially as I'd indicated that it was lawn mowing I needed doing)?

Left messages. Eventually got some kind of response. A very untruthful one. They told me it was pouring with rain (it's bright sunshine) and so the gardeners couldn't work. They have taken £302 for the privilege. That's fraud. And the last time I wrote a review, they asked for further information, which I provided. They then claimed I hadn't provided it, so Trustpilot took the review down (which also says something about Trustpilot's controls but there you go). That claim from FS is also fraudulent/untruthful as is the claim about the rainy weather.

Do NOT use these people!

Update as at 11 Dec: still no sign of a refund, despite the reply from FS below.

Totally useless and untruthful. I was assured that my very delayed parcel would eventually be delivered today as, "actually, the address is correct and there is a new driver." It still isn't here. @Steph, what happened to your 'word' that it would definitely be here today?! Why is it like this and what are you going to do? Wait, let me guess....
DO NOT USE UPS!!

Ordered a pair of shoes. Money taken. No shoes. Can't speak to anyone on the phone (they have a recorded message that says they can't answer). 'Live' chat doesn't chat. UPS can't track it either as they say the address is wrong. No-one lets me know that the address is wrong (even though it isn't) and no-one contacts me to try and rectify the (correct) address. If you take money, you need to deliver. That is the nature of a contract. And it is not for the customer to have to chase UPS. Even if you outsource delivery, you are still responsible for delivery. Goodness, why is this so hard?
Update: Still no shoes, despite assurances that the parcel would 'definitely be delivered today'. This is fraud!!

Shocking service. I was given a gift card and tried to order using the gift card. The website wouldn't accept it and so I can't place the order unless I pay for it. Branches can't help. There is no customer services phone number. The chat function is blocked out and no response to my emails. SB used to be so good, but has become another greedy company with no customer service to speak of. I guess that is £100 down the drain. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't try and give gift cards to others as I was planning to do at Christmas as that would have been embarrassing and a complete waste if the recipients couldn't use them. Be warned!!
And SB, it would be nice if you could actually try and rectify this so I don't have to throw away a fair amount of money! NOT HAPPY

So, last week I wrote a review here about an order that was 'lost in transit'. After a long time and many phone calls, Kate tried to help by offering to refund me. A 1p charge went onto my card (apparently to verify it was legitimate). But still no refund. Why not? This was 5 days ago. The 1p charge went through immediately, but apparently the £285 is also 'lost in transit'. When can I expect my refund?

Update: now on the phone to them. They acknowledge that they owe me the £285. Acknowledge that items lost in transit. BUT no refund! - WHY? This is surely a simple transaction. And, no Naz, there is no email from you and no it is not in my spam.
And now after 20 minutes of holding with blaring muzak, I am just cut off. So start again with someone who can't even enter a post code without 3 attempts!! Now, on my third attempt, I am promised a call back 'when it is resolved'. This doesn't feel like a 'matter of urgency', Naz!!

I returned an item which White Company has not yet refunded. They assured me it would be done 'within hours' and that I would have an email to confirm. I am still waiting and, each time I call, the same story. I have tried emailing, but they just delete the email (you can tell this from the 'read receipt'). This is the second time in a matter of months this has happened. Definitely not what the White Company used to be like and, sadly, it seems to becoming just like all the rest. Not much to distinguish it anymore - quality down, service down, prices up. Must do better!

Update post the response below: 'Georgina' (a bot?) seems to say the same thing to everyone who posts a poor review. And, for the record, Georgina - I have not had any email from you. And, no, it is not in my spam folder. I have checked.

Items returned. Refund processed for one item, but not the other. They say they have refunded to Paypal (but there are 'problems between White Company and Paypal systems'). Paypal have no record of a refund. The White Company have taken nearly a month, but will not help. It's my problem to sort out with Paypal (and they won't even provide me with the date, transaction number etc of the refund so that I can follow up). Definite and marked decline in the level of service. Such a shame, but it seems the 'don't care' attitude has taken over here. Disappointing, White Company - could do better.