Jackson and Perkins

Full review
Jackson and Perkins is one of those online stores that I term a specialty store.  They primarily sell roses and are known for their beautiful selection.  They also sell some other perennials such as shrubs and trees, but the mainstay of the business is their roses.


Navigating the Website

http://www.jacksonandperkins.com

The Home Page is inviting with an array of rose photographs and some other shrubs including lilac.  Along the top of the page are links to: All Garden Roses, New Roses, Roses by Color, Structures & Garden Care, Perennials (Trees & Shrubs), Flowering Gifts, Internet Specials, Rose Tag Sale.

There is also a Search Box, but with this site a search is limiting.  If you know the variety of rose you wish to purchase, typing in the name will bring you to that page.  Otherwise, using the links at the top of the page is the best way to navigate the site.

Many links line the bottom of the page: Shipping Information, Gift Certificates, Request A Catalog, Find Your Planting Zone, Order History, and Customer Service.


Let's Go Shopping!

The pages are quick to load, and each product page features a good size image of the product or plant.  It's great that the image can be clicked to enlarge it, but you can also zoom in and out of the picture and pan from side to side for a closer view.  The plant pages provide detailed information, which includes a description as well as pertinent facts such as plant height, size of blooms, length of stems, fragrance information, growing details, and how the plant ships (ex: roses ship as bareroot).  The page also lists when the plant will ship.

Prices can vary depending upon quantity purchased.  For example. The Mr. Lincoln Rose sells for $14.95, or 3 for $39.99 (about a 10% savings).  Indicate the quantity you wish to purchase and add it to the cart.  You can also specify different shipping addresses for each selection if you wish.

The product pages also display other plants you might enjoy buying.  Often these suggestions are sold in sets of two, three, four or six plants at a "value" price.

When items are selected, the page shows the item added to the cart.  A running total is displayed, and the cart can be accessed at any time to edit selections and/or quantities.

You can check out as a guest or sign in with a member login.  I always use the guest feature.  The site prompts for the usual billing and shipping information.  Note: They will not ship to a P.O. Box address.  The site automatically assumes your billing and shipping address are the same.  If they are not, you need to create a separate shipping address (this option appears on a later screen).  After filling in the billing information, the screen changes to an area where you can write a "Gift Message" if appropriate.  There is also a small box to select the shipping method; standard shipping is the default.  Express shipping and overnight shipping are available.  The standard shipping fee will appear in bold black lettering on the screen.  If you have a promotional code, you can enter it.

Shipping and Handling starts at $6.95 for orders up to $20.00.  On orders between $75.01 and $100.00, the shipping is $22.95.  Orders over $150.00, shipping is 22-percent of the order total.  Gift Cards ship for free.  A detailed shipping and handling chart can be found under the Customer Service link.

Jackson and Perkins accepts these credit cards:  Visa, Discover, Mastercard, American Express.

One thing about Jackson and Perkins is that items ship when it is appropriate to plant them.  There is no need to worry about keeping plants alive for long periods of time until they can be planted, and no guessing when the plant should go in the ground.


Receiving Merchandise & Customer Service

I have never had a problem with the quality of plants I receive from Jackson & Perkins.  They arrive in good condition at the time when they are to be planted.  Roses come as bare roots.  The lilac plants we received were small.

The Mr. Lincoln rose I ordered years and years ago is still beautiful.  I look forward to seeing those red blooms every year, and the fragrance is lovely.  All the other Jackson and Perkins roses lasted maybe a year or two and died.  My roses are located near the house, so one would expect the house to offer a sheltered environment.  I mulch the roses to protect them during the winter.

My big complaint is lack of order accuracy and their response to it.  Several years ago we ordered a set of lilacs.  The colors were a beautiful yellow, and a bi-color lilac in purple and white.  The plants we received were very small (twig like).  It seemed to take forever for these lilacs to establish themselves.  After about three years, the plants are slim (not bushy) and about five feet tall.  This is the first year they have bloomed ... and the colors are not what we purchased.  One lilac is white, and the other a very pale lavender (completely different from yellow and a bi-color).

I visited the Jackson and Perkins website to refresh my mind about their guarantee.  They proudly state: "Your Satisfaction is Always Guaranteed".  Sounded good since they obviously sold us the wrong item.  Then I investigated the guarantee details.  For roses, you have to notify them of dissatisfaction within 60 days of delivery.  Bulbs, Perennials and gift plants have a guarantee period of about 30 days.

Since Jackson and Perkins sold us the wrong item, I decided to send them an email, hoping for a good response.  I didn't care how they resolved the matter but felt that some compensation was due.  We paid good money for incorrect plants.  Under the Customer Service link, they provide both an email address and a telephone number.  I received an email back from them within two days.  The email thanked me for writing and quoted their return policy (copy and pasted).  All in all, it was a cold email that left me with a bad feeling about this company.  All that was missing was an image of them holding tight to my money with a "too bad for you" sign.


Update -- June 16, 2009

This is an interesting twist.  So I wrote to Jackson and Perkins prior to writing this review to ask about them sending me the wrong item (different color lilac plants than what I had ordered).  They responded, and I politely answered back thanking them for their answer.  Then I mentioned I would be writing a review of their online store.  That's all I said. 

A few days later, the same customer service person at Jackson and Perkins writes back to me that they were mistaken.  She consulted their horticulturist and was informed that there was no way I could have known what color the lilacs would bloom within their regular return policy.  Since they no longer carried those lilacs, she said she was sending me two replacement lilacs of the only variety they currently carried.

In about 14 days, a package arrived.  In it were two beautiful lilac plants.  Each plant was just over a foot tall with plenty of green foliage.  I planted them, and they are doing well.

Would I have received this attention had I not idly commented that I was writing a review of their online store?  I don't know.  But I'm delighted to receive the replacement plants and can't wait to see what color they bloom.  The online photo was lovely.

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day!
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read my other reviews:

Dutch Gardens (online store)

Park Seed (online store)

4-Way Shepherd's Hook

Upside-Down Tomato Garden

Perma-Nest Plant Trays

Clear Plastic Domes for Perma-Nest Trays

Deluxe Pyramid Composter

Rubbermaid Big Max Storage Shed

Black & Decker Cordless Battery Mulching Lawnmower

Copyright 2009 Dawn L. Stewart