[williep]

I was at Fairfield Farms Nurseries this week looking for a plant. When I was talking to the clerk I mentioned that I had a lot of oleanders with orange catapillers on them. She told me that they would eat all of the leaves and could kill the plant if not treated. She also said that she had the perfect product to kill them. She had a bottle of liquid that you mix with water and pour on the roots. It is absorbed into the plant and gives a years protection from catapillars.
I bought a bottle for $24.99 and cut back my bushes to 6 ft. as instructed by her and got the bottle and bucket to make the mix. When I read the directions I realized that it takes 18 oz of chemicle per gallon of water to treat 1 plant. At that rate, I would have to buy 7 more bottles to treat all of my plants totaling $225. $24.99 seemed like a lot to me and $225 was absurd.
So I called UFL extension and they said that the catapillers were short lived and not to worry because they don't do any permanent damage. ( I wish that I had called them first.)
No problem, I will take the unopened bottle back, get my $24.99 back and forget the whole thing.
I talked to the manager at Fairfield Farms and she said that the clerk should have NEVER sold us that bottle or ADVISED us to use it, but they have a no return policy so the customer has to take the loss.
After much further discussion, and since the bottle was never opened, she agreed return our money minus a $5 transaction fee.
So I wound up getting hosed for $5, but even that leaves a bad taste in my mouth which is why I wrote this.
So at Fairfield Farms its Customer Beware even when they admittedly sell you the wrong product. It cost me $5 dollars to find out the kind of people I'm doing business with.