Online garden centre retailer Primrose has apologised for its ‘poor service’ which has led to disgruntled customers setting up their own Facebook page.
The consumer group, which has attracted 715 members on the social media platform, calls itself ‘Dissatisfied Primrose Garden Centre Customers’. The Facebook page is described as a place for customers who have been let down by Primrose to share their stories.
But the company has responded with a statement from Primrose CEO Mark Pearson on the company’s website www.primrose.co.uk.
It states: “Thank you for standing by Primrose during this difficult time, we apologise for any inconvenience caused by our delays.
“The majority of our suppliers and warehouses have been able to resume normal service, however, there are still some that are facing difficulties due to the lasting effects of the pandemic.
“We understand that some of you are still waiting to hear back from our customer services team, we've not forgotten you, and we appreciate your continued patience and understanding while we work through the unprecedented number of emails we’ve received.”
Mark Pearson added that the company’s warehouse, suppliers and nursery teams were currently shipping 15,000 packages on average per week.
The customer service team was replying to an average of 2,200 emails per day.
The company had also opened up two new distribution centres in Reading and Swindon to speed up the despatch process.
Among comments on the ‘Dissatisfied Primrose Garden Centre Customers’ Facebook page were:
- “This company should be closed down. They take your money then don’t provide the goods you’ve paid for.”
- “What a horror story. So many of us involved. There clearly is no conscience, moral responsibility or liability.”
- “They don’t reply to emails. It’s a useless company – I’d never buy anything from them again.”
Other disgruntled customers threatened to contact trading standards and the small claims court while some suggested complaining to BBC Watchdog.