Houston Garden Centers – You Have Unhappy Customers!
Posted on June 2, 2008
Filed Under Consumer Protection | 31 Comments
Earlier this Spring I redesigned my landscaping around my home. Not only did I pull up the existing beds, I put more in. I usually get my plants and landscaping supplies at Lowes, Home Depot or Wal-Mart because they have good prices and a money back guarantee. However, I couldn’t find everything I needed there so I took my first trip to Houston Garden Centers location in Conroe at 1488. I have to tell you, I couldn’t have been more displeased with this Houston Garden Centers location if I’d tried!
First off, apparently everyone who works there speaks very little, if any, English. I’ll have to get my info at Houston Lawn and Garden from now on I guess. I have to tell ya, I was very leery of paying these people with a credit card. The entire time I was there and asking questions, I don’t think 10 words of English were spoken to me. I might as well have been banging my head against the wall.
The girl checking me out could only mutter what my total was. If it hadn’t been for her pointing at the total on the digital readout of the cash register, I would have had to ask over and over again.
At first, I thought this problem may have only been at this Houston Garden Centers location. So on my next trip into town to get more landscaping supplies, I went to the Houston Garden Centers location in Spring off of I-45. They did have a lot better selection than the Conroe location, which I appreciated. However, the staff could have been a cloned copy of the Conroe location. Very unfriendly and none could hardly speak any English. When I checked out, the girl never even made an attempt to smile or talk. She just turned the digital readout around and pointed to my total. A real gem of a salesperson!
I made several more trips back to both Houston Garden Centers locations to get some specialty plants that I wanted. But when it came down to supplies I knew I could get elsewhere, I didn’t hesitate to go someplace else.
I thought about posting a blog post at that time, but figured I was the only one who had that problem. I don’t buy a huge amount of gardening supplies, so I figured perhaps it was just me.
Others Have Complaints About Houston Garden Centers
Tonight, as I was searching for a news topic in Conroe, I ran across this message board that has over 120 comments on Houston Garden Centers and most of the comments are aimed at the Conroe location. Of course, this is a Conroe forum so that only makes sense. In good faith, I searched other Houston area forums and found many people with the same complaints I had with Houston Garden Center. Poor service, non-existent customer service and non-English speaking staff.
One of the things that really tick me off is their print ads and TV ads featuring Kim. We all know Kim as a pretty blonde haired English speaking spokesperson for Houston Garden Centers. You’d think Kim worked at every locations the way she talks. After my experience, I’m wondering if Kim works for Houston Garden Center at all! I figured she was a Actress, but I’d like to think someone that speaks English actually does work there. Since my experience this Spring, I’ve visited a few other locations and haven’t found anyone resembling Kim working there. They’re more like Shipley Do-Nut employees!
I don’t mind paying more for quality products or services. But if I have to pay more and keep enduring bad customer service, I’ll go elsewhere.
I prefer to shop local business’s when I can. Normally the small family run business’s have better customer service and product knowledge than franchises or box stores. However, for some things you just can’t find a local family run business. If someone knows a good nursery in the Conroe – Woodlands – Spring area, drop me a comment and let me know.
Until then, I refuse to keep giving my money to Houston Garden Centers as long as they insist on keeping non-English speaking, rude associates who apparently have no knowledge of what they’re selling. Am I over reacting? Drop a comment and let me know ’cause it sure doesn’t feel that way!
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31 Responses to “Houston Garden Centers – You Have Unhappy Customers!”
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I own a garden center on 249 south of Tomball. My brother owns one on Louetta near Kuykendahl in Spring. They are both called Plants For All Seasons. Plantsforallseasons.com I know of a nursery in Willis. Growers Outlet. Any or all of us would provide a more pleasant gardening experience for you.
By the way Kim Hooper is the owners daughter. Trust me when I say that your observations touched only the floating scum in a deep cesspool.
Hi Victor,
Thanks for dropping me a note. Next time I need some plants or gardening supplies, I’ll be sure to stop by your Louetta and Kuykendahl place. It’s a little out of the way, but I’d rather drive a little further and get good service with knowledgeable associates than put up with what I do when I go to Houston Garden Centers.
By the way, I’ll go ahead and give the other readers a live link to your site: Click here to visit Plants For All Seasons
Hello!
I lived in Spring/Klein for 10 years and purchased all of my plants from Plants For All Seasons. Not only do they have excellent quality and variety but their customer service is great! I moved to Lake Conroe and shopped at Houston Garden Center in Conroe ONCE. That was enough. I didn’t really mind that the employees didn’t speak English…however I did mind that their plants are VERY EXPENSIVE, they offer no warranty, and you can’t even exchange them or return them with a receipt…unused! Furthermore, they advertise great sales and the sale prices are the same price at other stores. Even Home Depot is cheaper! I was not impressed.
I love houston garden center. Get a life people!
I had the same awful experience:
1.NO English or attempt to speak English
2.NO help
3.prices are 50% off already high prices
4. Corporate office tells you the locations don’t answer their phones and there is no one to talk to if you have a question about a plant you purchased from them.
Mr. Matt Hooper & and his daughter Kim Hooper are probably providing wholesale services to non English speaking landscapers (who probably work there part time)and provide secondary retail service to the general public without decent customer service. That is why the service is bad.
Maybe INS should investigate the Hoopers to see if they hiring undocumented workers.
In my opinion, they should advertise:
NO customer service & Buy at your own risk.
at least customers would know their angle. But they would probably go out of business if they did that.
THIS IS AND WAS THE FIRST AND LAST TIME I SPEND MY MONEY WITH THEM.
Well Matt Hooper DOes hirer undocumented worker. If they give him a ID and a SSN# that is all he is worried about. He does not check to make sure they are real or not. I know this for a fact. I can tell you this also. He does not pay them over time. They are paid a hr rate and that is it. He has been known to not give them their checks if he had to fire them. He does everything he can to get over on people. Most of the local whole sale nurserys will not do business with him.
Matt Hooper likes to use his size to scare people. He screams and yells at his employees. Anyone that does business with him is supporting these things. I do not understand why anyone would purchase anything from him when you can go to Lowes or Homedepot and get everything a lot cheaper. If the plants die within a certian amount of time you can return them. With HGC once you purchase the plants that is it they are yours dead or alive.
If you look up Matt Hooper record you will see he does not have a good past either.
If know one beleives me just drive out to one of the growinf grounds and you will see lots of undocumented workers.
There is a lot more to be told about Matt Hooper and they are not good things. I will say this if he thinks he can rip someone off and half way get away with it he will and that is a fact jack.
I live in League City and am glad I found this blog. I have been wanting to vent on my experiance at HGC for some time. I purchased a 10# bag of Ironite from them for $15. I later discovered that a 10# and 20# bag of Ironite at Lowes was $12 and $18 respectively. I felt violated! I was aware of their no return policy, but since this was a bagged product and had never been opened, I thought surely there would be exceptions. I would be incorrect. The Hispanic gentleman, albeit polite, said “No can do”, that I would have to contact corporate and gave me the phone no.
Here’s where the fun began. I told the lady that answers the phone my situation and asked if I could talk to who handles these complaints. I was told she handles these things and said “We have a no return, no exchange policy”. I explained the price difference between them and Lowes, and her answer was that “We aren’t Lowes.” So for the rest of our conversation, her answers to everything I said was either “We have a no return, no exchange policy” or “We aren’t Lowes.” When asked if there was anyone else I could talk to the answer was “No.” My BP was about 220/110.
While I will not shop there any longer, my wife has pretty much stopped; only on my insistance. I will admit,however, that in the Fall when things are 70% off you can sometimes find some deals on some specialty items.
As far as the employees go, it is identical at the League City and Webster stores.
Thanks for letting me vent.
FYI, I went to HGC in Conroe last weekend. And nothing has changed. I asked a guy (Hispanic) about a plant i was looking at and he looked at me like he had no idea what i was talking about. And I speak Spanish!!!! This guy wasn’t qualified to water the plants. Coming to see you next week Victor! If you need trees we went to US Trees in Willis. David was great!!
I purchased some plants, fertilizer and Azalea soil from the Houston Garden Center on South Hwy 6 on Friday, 03-19-2010. I have to say that I received the worst customer services ever. Not only were the associates rude, but the manager had the ugliest demeanor I have ever experienced. This is definitely my trip to this poor excuse for a garden center. I hope everyone spreads the word and we can put these people out of business.
I had the same terrible experience with the Houston Garden Centers. Not only was there nobody to speak English to help. While I was inside shopping they knocked some large Palm trees over onto my truck and refused to pay for the damages. I am in the middle of legal action to get reimbursed for the damages. I had no idea there were such ruthless retail firms around still.
I cant believe people actually shop at these stores.
I can’t believe this. What kind of caompany gives you no way to contact them? One who is hiding from unhappy customers. I was treated very rudely by the manager at the HGC at Hwy 6 & Old Richmond. That’s after I could find him. No one wanted to let me see him. Then when he did come out, he was soooo rude. I was questioning a price. The sticker on the pot clearly said $4.99. The cashier told me they were $9.99. I said that the pot was marked $4.99 and that’s what I should pay for it. The manager jerked it off of my cart and said “It’s not for sale — you wanna go get another one?” — then stormed off. I completed my transaction and then asked for the manager’s name. No one could (or would) tell me. Finally someone agreed to goget him again. He refused to come back out, but sent a note with ‘Keith’ written on it. I have done business with HGC for years — but I won’t anymore.
I purchased a plant two days ago and before i can get it into the ground it’s starting to die. I called the corporate office and asked if i could take it back for an exchange and I was told no. I spent 30 dollars for a plant and not allowed to exchange it. This is the first plant store thai’ve visisted that doesn’t do exchanges. i willcontinue to shop at cornelius nursery, loew’s and home depot. when i called the corporate office the lady that answers the phone over there has a horrible/nasty attitude.
Learn Spanish. I worked in a 4-star hotel/restaurant and most employees spoke 2-7 languages. Your complaints come from a state that has had hundreds of years of bilingual residents. I am ashamed of you.
My wife had the exact same experience the other day at the 290 and Barker Cypress location. The lady who was checking her out didn’t speak ANY English, so she talked to the lady across the way who spoke VERY limited English. When my wife asked her a question, and asked for her to clarify her response, the checkout lady clarified by rolling her eyes at my wife.
Will not be shopping there anymore. There are a lot of choices in Houston for cheap plants/mulch, etc. Heck! I will pay more for someone who I can ask questions of, and courteous service ANYDAY.
Goodbye Houston Garden Center…no comprendo rude non-English speaking employees.
I just drove in from Austin, and needed 2 plants badly. I had the same experience at 290W in Cypress. I saw her commercial this morning and had to get online. I am appauled that this is at all stores and that this is allowed.
Would anyone have the corprate office number to houston Garden Center?
i love hgc as well. try the one on 249 south of tomball. know your plants, familiarize yourself with prices and you’ll come out with great plants, great prices. i only shop 50% & 70% off sales, and have never had a problem with unfriendly associates.
Last weekend I went to the HGC at Westpark and 610 to purchase weed cloth. I know all of the issues with HGC, they don’t answer their phones, you’re on your own selecting plants, they bring in plants not well suited for zone 9, they raise prices before they go 50% or 70% off, etc. However, my issue is that I was overcharged. I tried to call them that day, but the customer service mailbox was full. I left a message with a person at the business office, but they never called back. I went back the following Saturday to get back the money I was overcharged and they refused saying they could only offer me a store credit. In fact, the manager, Lily, wouldn’t even speak with me. I called the business office this morning and they said they will refund my money, but who knows. When they initially opened, they had a lot of plants and were less expensive. Now that other nurseries have closed, they have raised prices and customer service is nonexistant. It’s a little further for me, but I’ll go to Great Western Growers from now on. The difference between them and HGC is day and night.
what i was upset about is when HGC has a sale the prices are up-ed’ I caught 2 different locations doing that. Price mark-ups are unlawful I thought. The locations i was this being done was 59 and westpark and 45 and 646. as soon as the employees say me they stopped and smiled like chase cats.
I, too, am very ticked! I just bought a Christmas tree at the Houston Garden Center on 249 by Tomball, and not for the $29 as advertised (if I understood the very broken English he spoke, I was told those were for the small trees only). It was on a 3 legged stand they hammered into the trunk of the tree, so it was standing straight when we looked at it. When we got it home, could not get it to stand in a water filled stand for anything. The trunk is so curved it will never stand! We took it back, they refused to do anything….no trade, no refund! Basically said you bought it, it’s yours, too bad. And for some reason there is no “contact us” on their website….wonder why! They have totally lost all my business and I used to buy a lot there! I agree, quit being cheap and hire English speaking people and have a better customer relations!!
Same experience with HGC in Webster and League City! The cashiers were rude, speaking Spanish to one another, and obviously laughing at us.
The Cashier charged me for 2 tree stands, and a tree. Instead of crediting me for 9.99, she credited the entire purchase which was 70. Then reran the entire thing again. I was not happy and explained that the bank would take several days to give me a credit! Manager called someone (I guess his boss). They said to inform me that my bank wouldn’t take several days to credit my purchase back. Ugh!!
Anyway, the Cashier was never apologetic or showed anything except snobbery. I don’t understand this!! She speaks no English,
works here in America, yet chooses to treat me with prejudice?!!
Never shopping there again!
Wow, I wish I would have looked up HGC before going. What a terrible time I had. We did not get any help, when we did he did not speak any English. When we checked out I started making jokes about no one speaking English, but not to worry, no one understood me. This was my first and last time to visit HGC. Then to top it off the Idiot who loaded my tree broke the top off and then ask “is this ok”. I did not have the time to check my Rosetta Stone, so I just left. This was in Pasadena. Please go to Lowes or THD. Don’t waist your time unless you work at a 4 star hotel, because you won’t understand the help! Good luck to these turds. They are going to need it. Merry Christmas!
My husband and I bought a Christmas tree from the Houston Garden Center’s Katy Location. Two weeks later I found ticks crawling all over the room where the tree was and the surrounding two rooms! The ticks were crawling off of the tree and onto my carpet! We were told by the manager at the location we purchased the tree from to contact Matt Hooper at the corporate office. We called them 15 times, left a dozen messages and never received a call back. Everytime we called (no matter what time of day it was) Mr. Hooper was ‘not in’.
The lady who answered hung up on us a few times and said that she “didn’t have time to deal with this”.
They were incredibly rude to us and would not return our phone calls. I started off being upset about paying $60 for a tick infested tree and became more upset when they treated us horribly and would never call us back (and hang up on us at that).
I would caution anyone buying products from this company to either think twice before shopping their or check your merchandise carefully for ticks and other critters.
Ditto; bought a pot for $100. Tried to return it 3 hours later because it did not fit. No good deal (which it wasn’t anyway) goes unpunished. Anyone want a nice planter for $80?
I just left the 290 and barker cypress location where the guy charged the lady 12.99 for 2 different plants and she showed me the receipt because we were buying the same plants. The container said they were 16.99 each. When I got ready to check out the lady was gone and the girl checked me out and I said he just sold the lady that was just here the same plants for 12.99. They proceed to show me the signs……then all of a sudden this lady stopped speaking the little English that she knew……..If everyone stopped shopping as I WILL there then THINGS WILL CHANGE OR GO OUT OF BUSINSS..,….THIS IS UNEXCEPTABLE. To them this is the way you run a business…..NOT SO.
I just read this blog and all of it is true. I don’t think we will be going back to HGC either. We are tired of the rude people and the blank looks when you ask a question. We were there today at the one at I-45 in Spring and of course for the second time this month they did not know their merchandise and didn’t care. We went to the one on Holzworth and asked about a citrus tree. Finally a man that did speak English said he would go check. He comes back and told us “No they didnt have it and never did” My husband in the meantime found one and told him so he disappeared. Upon checking out, I asked the girl for an entry form for the new contest that they even had a sign for. She looked at me blankly but finally poked around then yelled in Spanish at someone but didnt say anything to us. We asked again and then she said that they didnt have any. Why doesnt HGC have someway to contact them? Anyway, this is the last straw, we have had enough.
Houston garden center is the worst co. In Houston if you have a problem it’s your proplem Corp. Customer service is the very worst how matt can sleep at night is beone me they lied about the bamboo not being invasive. It is!!!! I have the facts to prove it and will get the news station involved to investigate Matt and his operation . as a retired CEO ..Matt your lacking morals.
April 3, 3:50 PM. I stopped by the local Houston Home and Garden in search of an insecticide for my house plants. When standing in the aisle by the products a male employee passed by me so I stopped him to ask if I could get some help in that department. He pointed to a man with a orange vest telling me to ask him as he is the manager. The man was standing and doing nothing so I asked him if he could help me. He said no and asked me to direct my question to a woman in another orange vest a few yards away who was helping another customer. I walked over to her, waited until she was finished with that customer, then asked her to help me with the pesticides. She became angry at me, pointed to the manager who had sent me over to her and said he would help me. I said, “wait a minute, he just said you would help me! She said no that he was in charge of that area’” and stormed off. Needless to say manager one was walking away by this point. So I followed manager two, asked her what her name was and left the business.
I refuse to give my business to an establishment with such poor customer service. Regardless of their nationality. I was shocked to find that if you go to Houston Garden Center online there is no way to contact them directly to lodge a complaint either. Folks stay away from the HGC at Westpark and 610. I got exactly what I needed an all kinds of help at the Home Depot right behind it!
I bought 80 pieces of sod the other day. The guy was picking them up by one end and I noticed the pieces where falling apart. I first thought this was due to the way he was picking them up. The grass looked green but the dirt underneath seem to be drier and all cracked. I ask him if we could get it from other pallets which he said they were all the same. He no understood English very well. Some of the other pieces were falling apart but I figure the most were okay. When I got home unloading…the really noticed how bad of shape they were all in. I stopped unloading and drove back with the pieces still loaded on my truck. I ask them if they could exchange these with others from another pallet. Marco the manager of this store at Hwy-6 and West Little York, was rude and said no exchange or refund and told me to call the main number. The next day I did and talked with “Jennifer” she was as rude and just kept saying…No exchanged or Refund, even with the inferior product, not as advertised, Deptive Trade practice. I have now filed a compliant with Better Business Bureau.
I just don’t know how this company stays in business…
Unbelievable bad concerns for average customer compaints….
I do not believe that Matt or Kim actually owns these centers?
If you know who owns these stores,,,please let me know,
Thanks,
Sam
for your information the blond women in the commercials Kim is the owners oldest daughter and her and her two younger sisters along with there father all own the 22 Houston Garden Center locations.