Nature Hills Nursery

Has any body gotten plants from this company? I checked the watchdog, and the ratings are strange. They have 6 negs, 13 pos, but most of the pos ratings are from the last two weeks, and the company message is from just prior to that. It seems sincere, but I don't know what to think. Should I place an order, call them first and then place an order, or just skip them?

WOW! Sure does look rather suspicious. I never heard of signing up for Davesgarden and going directly to the Watchdog and commenting on a company. Of course you never know.

This message was edited Jan 13, 2005 5:09 PM

This message was edited Jan 13, 2005 5:15 PM

We watch the Watchdog comments pretty closely - we look for patterns and trends, and we've sadly caught some companies red-handed creating usernames to "fluff" their rating, or to offset negative comments from customers.

Anytime a company starts getting several comments in rapid order (negative or positive), that's a warning flag and we watch, research, investigate and make inquiries. In this case, Nature Hills contacted us first - they discovered they had a negative reputation in the Watchdog and wanted to be able to advertise and participate in PlantScout. Based on our correspondence with them and an analysis of the comments, I think I can confidently say their recent comments have come from legitimate, independent customers.

I believe they've begun routinely asking customers to rate them (which is one reason we sometimes see a surge in a company's feedback - once we determine that's what's happening, everything's okay.)

And yes, it is quite common for people to sign up for our site and do just one thing (and have no other real interaction with DG), since several activities (such as these) all require a username:

1) leave a comment for a company in the Watchdog; or
2) add a plant, image or comment in PlantFiles; or
3) start a journal or tradelist.

Of course, whenever possible, we try to let new users know about the other features we offer, since if they're interested in one aspect of our site, they may very well be intereted in the others ;o)

Terry, thanks a lot. If you think they are legit, I trust your opinion. I think I will phone them and tell them my concerns. If they respond well over the phone, I will place a small order for spring, and I will be sure to let the watchdog and the garden know how it goes.

Sounds like a plan. And it doesn't hurt to let them know (constructively) that you saw the feedback and it made you wonder about its legitimacy- sometimes companies in their enthusiasm don't realize how a slew of new feedback can look to others ;o)