Reviews of Norfolk Exotics (Gardener)

paul breeson

I put an order in on March 14th and was assured that I would be able to pick it up at some point early June. I received a cancellation email with no notice stating that they do not have stock to fulfill my order and that my deposit was refunded. They have good products that are hard to find elsewhere and decent prices, but customer service is severely lacking and always seem inconvenienced when I call to book a pick-up time (which is required). I was a returning customer from last year and had similar problems then.

kelsey richardson

Lots of large and small potted plants to choose from, great spot for any plant lover/collector. I got a Huge 4 ft fig leaf bush for around $40

Carla Dal Col

Horrible service. I waited months for a plant and had to chase them around to get an answer about its status. They claimed they sent out an email saying it was cancelled but I did not get this. I even checked my junk mail. That being said, they never refunded me even though they claim they sent that email saying it was cancelled. I had to contact them several times to get a refund. Unprofessional.

KIRSTEN TAMMELA

waited a month for an order meant to be delivered as a birthday gift. Little to zero communication from Norfolk Exotics and then finally a msg saying its not happening and I’ve been refunded. horrible customer service. thanks but no thanks????????

Eevee Animates

Norfolk passes on the responsibility of another greenhouse to manage their pick up of orders. They also charged me for a Christmas Palm ($280) and gave my boyfriend the wrong tree. (Majesty Palm)

Jonathan Costa

Highly recommend this business, for buying your beautiful exotic palms and plants, knowledgeable staff, great & fair prices. If u don't check them out, you're only cheating yourself ????????????????

James

Great plants and selection, but some of the poorest costumer service I've ever had. Definitely won't return or suggest Norfolk to anyone.

Bobby Petrov

Beautiful plants at reasonable prices. Worth the wait!

Kristyn Leitch

I have ordered from Norfolk Exotics for the past couple years. Until this year my experience was wonderful. This year unfortunately I am extremely disappointed. I purchased two plants months ago and was awaiting pick up. I received an email that the one order was ready for pick up. I followed up a few days later to get an ETA on the other order so I could pick up all at once as I was coming out of town. I received a response back that just stated ‘you will receive an email on Tuesday’. Tuesday passed and no email. I waited a week and a half and still no email so I followed up. I received a response stating that the quality of the plant received was poor and they stated they sent out an email last week cancelling the order for that particular plant. I did not receive this email but that is ok and just moved forward to make arrangements to pick up my other orders. They asked when I would like to pick up and I sent a response trying to schedule a day as an appointment to pick up was mandatory. Days passed and no response. I followed up again and no response. It took me stating to cancel my order and process a refund in order to get a response. Very disappointed with the poor level of customer service. I understand that it can be a busy time but a paying customer should not have to chase down the business repeatedly to pick up a purchase they have partially paid for.

Camila Perez-Gavilan

I had written a review complaining about buying a plant that was out of stock in the end. I got a nice email from James letting me know what the situation was (the plants they got were too small and they don't want to sell tiny plants in large pots). So I take my bad review back because the customer service was great and friendly, and it speaks very well of them to care about the quality of their products. So there, 5 stars :)

Fiona Chan

It’s been a nightmare dealing with this company and I’m personally never dealing with them again. I ordered a palm in January, which I was super excited about. In July, I had a friend traveling to Toronto and was willing to drive 3 hrs to the nursery to bring it back for me. So A MONTH in advance, I started emailing the nursery to see if the palm had arrived and if pick up can be arranged so that she wouldn’t make a trip for nothing. I had emailed 5 different times, messaged once on Instagram, left voicemails, and finally it took a Facebook message a couple of days before my friend left for the nursery to respond. The palms had clearly been ready for a while, because the owner said there was only one left of the variety I ordered. I never got an email notification about pick up/delivery/anything. I asked the owner to set it aside and that my friend will pick up in a couple of days. His explanation for lack of response was that their emails were getting blocked often, but it would have been nice to receive a phone call at some point.. When my friend arrived, none of the staff (who were super kind) can find this plant. Nothing was labelled; the store seemed to be in complete chaos. The staff couldn’t pull up my order, either. The owner could not be reached (apparently they don’t have his number??) After the search party of 4 were shuttling around and searching for this one palm for 20 min, I just asked for my deposit back, which was given back in cash and my friend made this 3hr trip for me for nothing. I never write reviews nor want to leave anyone a bad review, but considering that I had ordered this in January only, then left to wonder what happened to my order for months despite numerous attempts reaching out, only to be left with no plant is pretty darn frustrating and disappointing. The nursery seemed nice and if you went in-person to pick something out, I’m sure it’s fine. But clearly they need to have better organization and communication with customers whose money they've already taken.

Bernice Lee

Placed an order with Norfolk Exotics on their Etsy store. After a month, product has not been delivered, they have not responded to my messages or emails I had to file a dispute with Etsy and PayPal for a refund. EDIT: Thank you for responding back, as this is your first response back to me. Please note that I also emailed James at your business email address which is still active and did not get a response back to my email. I spoke with someone who purchased and received a Monstera Thai Constellation from your Etsy Store in October, therefore your claim of not having access to your account is false.

Audrey Larter

I love Norfolk Exotics. James and his staff are amazing. The tropical plants he offers I haven’t been able to find anywhere in the Toronto area, and they are a very reasonable price. I look forward to ordering from him every year, for my clients as well as for my own home. I can’t recommend Norfolk Exotics enough !

Kathy Raffaele

UPDATE I got a response and I got my plants delivered. I could not get what I ordered but I got a smaller one. I changed the rating from 1 to 3 stars. I placed an order back in March with a deposit. Contacted them in May and was told next week they are shipping out orders. It is now end of June. I did not receive anything and no reply to email or messages and no phone number to call. Very disappointed.

Chris Yovanovski

This company clearly does not know how to run a business. I canceled my order after weeks of follow ups with no reply. When he did reply it was 3 words. Trust me DO NOT BUY from these guys. Look at all the 1star reviews

pascal 1

i ordered a pygmy date palm, very good service received by james. the palm looks very good. thank you again

Malik Thomas

I decided to order from this company considering that they offered a service that could not be found in the greater Ottawa area. With their great prices for hardy exotic plants, I chose to make an order in April. Two months go by (Jun 15) before I finally receive an email that my order was ready to be shipped. Replying within 5 days, I paid my outstanding balance and confirmed it by replying to the email. Although I forgot to mention my order number as mentioned in the instructions for the E transfer, I did end up explaining my mistake in my reply. At this point the money was taken, so I figured they understood that I was paying for my order. Since that day, I have yet to receive an email back from them nor my order! I did in fact send an email to see what was going on with my ‘ready order’. Followed by several calls that were always left to voicemail. I am deeply insulted as it is the end of the season and I’m $383.24 deep without my order! For a business, it is beyond bizarre to not follow up on an order that has been going on for more than 4 months. I am well aware that the pandemic has laid its challenges, however it doesn’t excuse the absence in quality of customer service! To be honest, I did not want to write a review, but the fact that it takes this to try to find any replies from this company speaks volumes!

Luca Abbruscato

I preordered a Musa Super Dwarf banana plant back in March and was very happy with the service. Originally the website had said they take delivery in May so I wasn't too worried but then I never heard back from them. I emailed yesterday asking the status of my order and did not receive a reply. I received a new email today telling me my order was cancelled due to not having enough stock. What's the point of preordering if they can't fulfil the preorders and when will they let customers know? Very poor communication

Justin Camilleri

I placed an order in early march for three different exotic plants. The overall ordering process is user friendly and simple to navigate. Unfortunately I have yet to receive my order? I've sent emails requesting updates on the status of my order. The last response I got was on May 28 saying that one of the plants would be arriving the following week. Its now June 8 and I still have had no follow up. I've yet to receive any of the plants from my order. Just wanted to follow up! Shortly after posting this I want to say that Norfolk Exotics worked to have all three of the plants delivered. Plants came in perfect condition and I will recommend them to friends and family!! Job well done ! Thank you!

Dimo Panagiotakos

Second to none !!!! Well worth the drive !!! James the owner was very informative and very reasonable on prices. Palm ???? definitely a WOW factor being delivered tomorrow and there's a reason why it's called Norfolk Excotics ...... Thank you James !!! Will definitely be back !!

Chris / Kate S

Our 3 thatch palms are perfect. It was so nice to find these exotics so close to home. I didn't need any type of customer service above ordering and picking up but was happy. The young lady named Kate was wonderful. Thanks for some great plants!!

Peter DeSouza

First time purchase and visit. Ordered travelers palm and Christmas palm 3 gallon pots Yes, there was lack of email response however considering COVID19 challenges and associate giving me a great deal a on beaten up palm, I was extremely satisfied in the end.

Nancy Marcov

Absolutely feel like we are in our own tropical oasis???? Thanks for the wonderful ideas, great service, amazing selection! ????????

Melanie Emburgh

Thank you for the gorgeous palms and all the help you gave me picking out our plants our pool area is an oasis I feel like I am on holidays every day and also very thankful we got them after that last snowfall I’ll definitely recommend them to our friends and family

Christine Solcan

I ordered two palm trees a month ago. Haven't heard a word back from company staff, even after sending two emails inquiring about my order. Terrible service, starting to wonder if they took my deposit and I won't ever hear from them. I'm hoping someone from Norfolk reads this review and gets back to me. Update: After this review was posted I did hear back from Norfolk Exotics. I didn't end up getting any palms but one staff person there was very helpful and friendly.

Michelle Verhoef

I love my palm! I must say that the quality of the product is excellent, and I really appreciate Norfolk 's persistence, even in light of COVID-19. Very pleased with the service and end result. I will definately be purchasing from them again.

Alycia

Very happy with the customer service I received! We live in Canada so I didn’t expect to have my palms delivered until the weather was good enough for them to survive outdoors. James was very informative and courteous with providing updates and professional opinions on a date for this to happen. Patience is a virtue, because when I received my trees they are absolutely bigger and better than I could have hoped for! Thank you Norfolk Exotics for making our backyard a tropical oasis! It was a pleasure to work with you and Kate, and we will see you again!

Nishan Kooner

Hi, I ordered $1500 worth of plants in February. I have emailed multiple times with no response. Where are my plants or my money? You have not contacted me once since taking payment and you do not respond to my emails. You were quick to take payment but very slow to respond and get me my plants. My order is #2140 if you want to look it up. Thanks.

Jody Hamers

Absolutely the most frustrating plant buying experience of my life! I’ve sent and left dozens of unanswered emails, Facebook messages, and phone calls and I am still missing a plant! I wanted 2 elephant ears for each side of my front door and they only shipped one. It’s been a month! The other one looks ridiculous alone and I can’t find a second one to match it.

Alea

Awesome selection of palms and tropicals! Online shopping was easy, James answered all my questions through the chat or email, and always gave great advice. Was going to have my plants shipped but James suggested against it due to the shipping delays with Canada Post and I’m grateful for his expertise as I didn’t even think about that. Picked up my trees, pineapple, and monsteras instead and am really happy with the quality and size of these plants. Thanks for the help James, I know who to recommend for these specialty tropicals.

Kelsey Knechtel

Waiting on my order for over a month and any attempt to contact them was unsuccessful. Eventually was able to get my money back, thankfully.

D

Weeks after supposed anticipated delivery, I politely inquire by e-mail about the status. No response. Inquire on their active facebook page along with others who also get no response. I then call to no answer. Voice mailbox full. Not even sure now if this is a legitimate business or not. Mindboggling if it is legit. Bought planters for the anticipated palms. Left my truck insured for 2 extra months so I could pick them up. Ha, ha, jokes on me. And you if you try to buy through them.