Gardener's Supply

Full review
This Christmas, I ordered from Dutch Gardens (same company as Gardener's) for the first time. I attempted to order via the internet, but it seemed that the order didn’t complete and I never received an e-mail confirmation. When I called the next day to check on the order, the sales representative could not find an order in the system. He created a new one with a note that any other orders were to be cancelled. I never received the promised e-mail confirmation of this order or the confirmation of shipment I was promised on a subsequent call.
A couple of weeks later I received a shipment at my house (the wrong address, since this was a gift), and the gift recipient also received a shipment. I had been charged for both shipments, plus an additional $10.95 for a phantom order. When I called to inquire (several times), no one could find the erroneous charges in the system, so I faxed a copy of my credit card statement as proof. I was told to refuse shipment on the order to my house, and I eventually received a charge-back on my credit card. This was another major headache at a time of the year already filled with them.
I received an e-mail newsletter on the Gardeners holiday clearance sale and ordered some decorative items for our office secretary and myself. I received my e-mail confirmation less than 24 hours after placing the order and noticed that it showed different amounts of a product than the online catalog description. I called Gardener's “customer service” number and immediately got a snippy response of “What do you mean?” when I told the rep that I needed to ask a question about a product I ordered. She insisted that my invoice was correct, that the product is a single product and not the “Set of 6” listed in the catalog. When I offered to fax the page she acknowledged that the product description reads “Set of 6”, but that it was confusing. I asked her if Gardeners made any consideration for catalog errors like this. She responded, “We're not perfect.”
I told her I wanted to cancel the order and she responded “I can't, it's already been boxed up and put on a truck.” She suggested I refuse delivery, but I explained that was impossible since it is coming to a central mail room. She said she “would try to catch it before it went out” and asked if I wanted the other items re-shipped. I told her that I wanted the order cancelled completely because of all that had happened.
I am really disgusted with recent experiences with this company, and, after several years of great products and service from Gardener's, I am a little saddened that they seem so willing to lose a customer. Their lack of customer service, inability to properly manage orders, and unwillingness to honor catalog product listings have made me think carefully about where I spend my money in the future.
I am corresponding with one of their customer service reps "Patti" who denies they ever offered that price, but doesn't want me to send her the page (I printed it). I have been a loyal customer for 3+ years, but they don't seem to care. I am not crazy enough to think they will send me what I originally ordered, but they can offer something other than a refund for all of my time they have wasted and the frustration of dealing with this (repeatedly).

Update 5/10/07: After sending a letter to a customer service manager, along with with printouts of their web sites and copies of my receipts, I received a response with a letter of apology and a $50 credit to my account for future purchases. Nice gesture, but still doesn't explain why a customer had to be subjected to all this.