Satisfaction Guaranteed? Not at Harry’s Orchards.
October 17th, 2007 by Bob Bly
I got in the mail today a catalog from Harry’s Orchards, a company that sells premium fruit by mail.
The guarantee on the inside front cover says that the product comes with their “bonded guarantee of your complete satisfaction.”
“Bonded guarantee” sounds impressive but lacks specifics.
So I called, and it turns out that there is almost NO guarantee of satisfaction.
If you order the delicious looking fruit photographed in the catalog, but it turns out to be not so delicious, you’re stuck with it: Harry’s won’t give you your money back.
Would you still buy knowing that their “bonded guarantee” offers no protection against potential dissatisfaction with quality or taste.
(The customer service rep did tell me they’d refund my money if the fruit was rotten, but that wasn’t my concern.)
Or would you, like me, pass Harry’s Orchards by … and get your oranges and grapefruits at the grocery store?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 11:20 am and is filed under Direct Marketing, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 17th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Bob, I would order from Cushman’s. Their honeybell oranges are juicy and delicious. On the other hand, I’ve ordered from Harry and David (not sure if this is the same company you are referring to) and was quite disappointed. They made mistakes with my order and the gift tower which looked so large and tempting in the catalog turned out to be small and unimpressive in person.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Like Nick Usborne says in his book “net words,” “If your company has policies and practices that are not quite as you’d like them to be, just be honest about what they are.” And, “An imperfect policy stated honestly will do more good for your business than the same policy described in a manner that makes it sound better than it really is.”
“Bonded guarantee” sounds like Harry’s Orchards is attempting to make its guarantee policy sound better than it really is.
I might buy from them once, but I wouldn’t buy from them twice if my satisfaction wasn’t guaranteed.
If Harry’s policy is that they guarantee that the fruit they send out will arrive on your doorstep as pristine and unblemished as though Johnny Appleseed picked it himself, then that’s what they need to say — not this ambiguous guarantee that makes it sound like Harry’s will guarantee your satisfaction with the same no-questions-asked fervor that Nordstrom would.
October 17th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
The company says they guarantee complete satisfaction. To me — and just about every other consumer on the planet — that means I get a refund if I’m not satisfied with the product.
I don’t have the catalog in front of me. But, judging by what you said in your post, Bob, the copy is at best, incorrect, and at worse, deceptive.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
“Complete satisfaction” is self explanatory. What isn’t explained in the guarantee is what happens when you’re not completely satisfied.
From your phone call to the company it appears there are caveats placed on “complete.”
This is a poor guarantee that appears to be intentionally misleading. Bad business.
October 17th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
“Complete satisfaction” sure sounds to me like it ought to include quality. Ah, well, maybe they’ll try this Philadelphia lawyer routine on a dissatisfied customer who happens to have a newspaper column or a popular blog. That would be fun to watch.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I’ve also seen similar deception and omissions with some health supplement companies. I ordered a product from one and they said if I wasn’t satisfied with the supplement, they would give me a full refund. I was disappointed with the product and returned it.
What they failed to say on their website was that you get a full refund on any unopened bottles in your order, yet get only a partial refund on opened bottles.
October 18th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Because of deceptive tactics like this, it’s no wonder marketers get such a bad rep.
Thanks for having the courage to expose them.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I can’t imagine any fruit that is delivered by mail or courier could be good. I wouldn’t buy fruit unseen. If I can’t pick it from my garden, I buy it from the farmers’ market or a physical store.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Bob: I called Harry’s Orchards and spoke with two of their reps (the first one apparently got tired of my questions). The second rep said they’d give a refund if someone didn’t like the taste of the fruit and provided an explanation. She told me they’d refund the money even if the fruit wasn’t rotten. Unfortunately, neither rep could supply a definition of “bonded guarantee” (I was particularly interested in the “bonded” part).
From here, it looks like they may be honorable people making some easily correctable mistakes. Clearly, they need to cement their guarantee and make sure it’s communicated clearly over every contact point. Here’s a quick stab at the written part:
[Headline]
No-Risk Guarantee
[Text]
We guarantee your complete satisfaction. If, for any reason, you’re not 100% satisfied with our products, simply let us know why (to help our team continually improve quality) and we’ll give you the option of receiving a replacement order or a full refund.
I think it’s great that you’re calling attention to this issue. Recently on Freaking Marketing I did a post on the practices of the World Reserve Monetary Exchange. Within a few days, the post was near the top of the Google search rankings. At the minimum, this type of discussion helps consumers make more informed decisions. It may even improve the policies of some businesses.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:17 am
RR: My favorite guarantee is: return the product or in this case, the unused portion of the product, and get a refund, period. Interesting that they told you they WOULD refund, but my customer service rep told me they would NOT refund if I didn’t like the taste or quality, unless it was rotten.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:31 am
And I don’t think they mentioned anything to me about the need to return the unused portion. Your approach to the guarantee is certainly stronger. I was trying to put something together that would be viable for everyone — Harry’s customers and management — within the policy they described over the phone. If they decide to review the guarantee, they should go at it with a clean slate.
October 18th, 2007 at 11:31 am
When it comes to what mother nature produces, I really don’t expect a guarantee. While I seldom get bad fruit, I don’t expect each peach to be as sweet as the one I had before. Now, I don’t want rotten fruit. But you can (I think) tell if it’s that bad before you buy it. I thump and smell and meditate on a piece of fruit before I buy it. I don’t see how a seller can guarantee it beyond the fact it is what it is.
Foods taste differently to different people at different times. I know that Omaha Steaks has a tremendous guarantee and I’ve actually used it one time in three years or so.
I’d be inclined to give them a try. Whether or not I’d be a repeat customer is another story.
We all like guarantees. But we have to be practice too. I’ve purchased melons at the grocery store that were not as sweet as I like. But I wouldn’t return it for a refund and don’t expect the grocer to guarantee the sweetness of the fruit.
It’s like in our own business. I know there are a few copywriters who offer a money back guarantee. But what exactly can they guarantee beyond the fact they’ll provide excellent service in a professional manner? They can’t really guarantee a certain result because the client can mess up the copy or provide bad service or any number of variables.
So yes, I’d probably buy at least one time if I wanted to. I don’t expect everything to carry a guarantee. On the other hand, if their competition offers a good guarantee, I’d probably go with them.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
The difference between a service vs. a product guarantee is you can’t return the service — e.g., a letter I write for client A cannot be resold to client B. But you can return a product, and if customer A returns my audio album, I will resell it to customer B.
Consumables are a special category, because once you eat an orange or take a vitamin, that fruit or pill cannot be returned. And foods are especially problematic, since they spoil with age much faster than, say, nutritional supplements.
October 18th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I’ve dealt with this company for quite a few years, and they have always been honest with me. When I asked for an adjustment, refund or replacement, there was no problem. The proof is in the pudding.
What gets me is how the original comment here grew and grew through other comments (not from experience, but like a mass hysteria) until it sounded like the company was doing something illegal.
I’m glad I dealt with them before I read comments based on nothing. Sounds like the commentors are the ones who are unethical.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I don’t get that at all from any of the other comments. All the comments I see dealt with the guarantee and the way that it’s worded. Not sure what proof is in the pudding means, but if you’ve dealth with them a number years and you apparently have had need to ask them for refunds, replacements, or adjustments, perhaps it’s your judgement that needs examining.
October 19th, 2007 at 6:44 am
John: with all due respect, your comment makes no sense. When I read their catalog, I don’t know what they do for you, John. I only know that the guarantee is unclear — and that, when I called them, they told ME I could not get a refund if unsatisfied. Since this is totally the opposite of what they tell you, it shows their management is really inconsistent.
October 19th, 2007 at 7:08 am
I think “bonded guarantee” means that Harry is out on bond.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Everyone needs to make their own decision. Based on my experience, I have no problem doing business with them.
October 19th, 2007 at 10:22 am
My question is: How can you be unsatisfied with the taste of a pear? If it’s not rotten, then it’s going to taste like a pear. The company fulfilled their obligation to deliver you a pear. You received it, it’s not rotten. The transaction is complete. Geez.
October 19th, 2007 at 11:01 am
John,
What Bob (and the rest of us) are saying is that the “bonded guarantee”, which at first appears to be “better” than an ordinary guarantee, turned out to be essentially meaningless.
October 19th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
John: What you say is not accurate. With any fruit — pear, orange, apple — one can be sweet, juicy, and delicious, and another dry and mealy.
October 25th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
[…] Otherwise, you could be Harry’s Orchards — who doesn’t seem to know that Bob Bly is asserting as fact that the company doesn’t guarantee its fruit. […]
November 10th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Did this used to be “Harry and David” in Oregon? Oregon: home to grapefruits and oranges, you know.
I always figured they were used to send gift baskets. “Fruit of the Month” club and the like.
Most recipients likely didn’t order the stuff themselves.
So if the pear turned out to be a lemon, who knew of a bonded guarantee or an unbonded one?
In this day and age where fresh fruit is flown in to the Northeast daily from Chile during the winter,
who would buy fruit by mail? Perhaps if you live in Missoula, but even there they probably have a
Dean and Deluca or a Korean family picking prime fruit and letting you squeeze the peaches to rest the
ripeness.
November 18th, 2007 at 4:45 am
The answer is that a guarantee is a reassurance to potential customers that helps reduce their hesitation to place the order. That’s why so many companies have them now.
Actually acting on the guarantee is another question. This year I had a run-in with Van Bourgondien Bulb Co (also doing business under a number of other names). They are 3rd party liquidators for unsalable stock–usually dead bulbs. Sometimes they are live but small and mixed up (they don’t know type, color, etc). Their guarantee says “order with CONFIDENCE…satisfaction guaranteed”.
Mine arrived dead and rotting. They stalled for time telling me that they were NOT dead but just dormant (like I can’t tell). Eventually when pressed they simply refused to return my money, and said they’d send another (which they won’t–by this time I was suspicious and checked on their reputation–and that is their M.O.).
Caveat emptor. Guarantees can be empty promises.