I didn't have the opportunity to try the produce, but I am with the two Groupon users who found that Sharon has a thing or two to learn about customer service.
My husband and I have been toying with the idea of joining a CSA for a while now, but I travel quite a bit for work, and we have never decided to commit to it. When I saw a Living Social deal for a "Voucher for a Medium Box of Organic Fruits and Vegetables for Pickup from Valley End Farm," I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out the CSA thing and see if it would be a worthwhile use of money for us. While I am new to Living Social, I have used Groupon and the like many times, and was sure to read the fine print MULTIPLE times before purchasing the deal.
I placed my order on the Valley End website, and was surprised to receive an invoice the next day for $80. I sent an e-mail reply, stating that I hadn't intended on joining the weekly CSA membership just yet, but was just looking to claim my Living Social deal. Her reply was the following. It was punctuated just as written, with no greeting ("Hi E.K.") or closure:
"Why would you want to cancel something you havent even tried? So you do not want your box?"
My first reaction was, "Uhh..she's trying to bully me into a membership!?" We went back and forth a couple of times, me explaining that the Living Social deal did not state that an ongoing CSA membership was required. It only said, "Sign up to Valley End Farm to redeem on website," and I created a customer account on the website, thus meeting the requirement. Sharon's response was the following:
" I hope you understand businesses do coupons to try to get new continuing business customers. That is why we are doing the coupon. We are looking for customers who want to try a CSA and hopefully continue on."
Look, I'm not an idiot! I do understand that the intent of a company offering a deal on a site such as Living Social is to entice new, and hopefully ongoing, business. However, if I sign up for a deal that states that I am purchasing a "voucher for 1 medium box of produce" and not a "voucher for 1 medium box of produce, and an ongoing membership for a weekly medium box of produce, to be billed immediately," I expect to receive what is stated. Furthermore, if Sharon had just apologized for the confusion upfront and assured me that I was under no obligation to continue into a membership if I wasn't pleased with my shipment, this could have been dealt with extremely easily. I would have picked up my tasty box of locally grown produce and potentially been a repeat customer - or, at the very least, referred friends.
I ended up canceling my membership without redeeming my box, and am now working with Living Social for a possible refund. I am not here to try to knock a local businesswoman, because goodness knows it's hard out there. From the other reviews, it seems like the quality of her produce is great. But, with several CSA's in the area, I can't say I'd recommend Valley End Farm to anybody. read more