Pure & Simple Exotic Orchid Plant

I spent over $130 on an Orchid and 3 bottles of wine for a retiring employee that was supposed to be delivered the same day. It didn't get there until 2 days later - which was ok, except... Heart & Thorn sent products entirely different than what I ordered.

I sent this in an email to their customer service department:

"The Oriental Musings Exotic Orchid Plant description online shows two pink/ivory orchid stems in a rectangular shaped basket planter. My recipient received white orchids in a round white planter with a green bow that looked like someone was in a hurry when they tied it. Also, the wine selections that I ordered were not what was delivered. I can look past this too, but the flowers, I can’t. I understand that your website states that in some cases, substitutions will be made. However, the orchids I ordered took me forever to pick out and they looked so pretty and elegant, but what she received was really very disappointing and was definitely not what I paid for. I would never have ordered plain white orchids at a cost of $79.99 and I just don’t agree that solid white orchids are an acceptable substitution for pink and ivory colored ones. Not from a company that claims to be America’s #1 Flower Gift Company. Very disappointing."

Here was the reply I received:

"Hi Erin,

We're sorry to learn that you are not satisfied with the products delivered. We do take careful steps to ensure that all orders exceed expectations. However, as per our substitution policy stipulated in our terms and conditions, at times substitutions may be necessary to fulfill orders in a timely manner, especially in the event that an order is time-sensitive and intended for a special occasion.
Substitutions are actually quite common within the gifting and gift basket industry, as products are constantly changing on an ongoing basis after product details and photos have been published. Some items may be temporarily unavailable due to various reasons beyond our immediate control, under which circumstances we reserve the right to substitute such items with similar products of equal or greater value to ensure that orders are delivered in a timely manner without incurring further delays. Degrees of substitution may vary. In some rare instances, the entire contents of an order may be substituted.
Due to the high volume of orders being processed, we are not always able to contact customers ahead to advise them of substitutions. By placing an order you accepted our terms and conditions, and thus agreed that the order may consist of products that differ from the original product description. Furthermore, you agreed that you are not entitled to refunds or compensation under such circumstances, as per our refund policies: "NOT AS DESCRIBED & SUBSTITUTIONS - Where a package is 'not as described on our website' and/or we have substituted item(s) in a gift/gift basket that are in compliance with our 'substitution policy'.

We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely," XXX "(CSR)"

(I have removed the CSR rep's name. It was not the CSR's fault, just doing what they are paid to do)

I will never use this company again.

I ordered a classy looking gift for a classy person and they received something that I could have gotten at the local supermarket.

Do yourself a favor, skip this company and save some money by just using InstaCart. You'll get the same results for half of the cost.

Great service, beautiful orchids, delivered on time!

Orchid arrived in good shape, well packaged and protected.

We heard from the friend and saw a photo of the flowers which looked lovely. Thank you for your good service I will use you again.