Sometimes it’s the little things that say the most
(This article consists of personal opinion on behalf of GHL’s CEO and Founder)
Businesses stand out for a lot of reasons – customer service, excellence of product.. or what would seem to be a complete failure in customer service. Founded in 2002, Grow Strong Industries – maker of Gorilla grow tents – has effectively started the grow tent industry but seems to have found themselves surpassed by their competitors. Did you know that Word Perfect was the first word processor there was? We all use Microsoft Word now – some industries flourish, some are left behind.
It starts out small – I ordered a grow tent from gorillagrowtent.com and almost as soon as I clicked the “Purchase” button I realized I was ordering for the wrong space! This tent needed to fit in a space a little over 72″ high, which Gorilla doesn’t make, so I emailed and cancelled the order within five minutes. Woops.
The next few days were spent going back and forth with customer support as to whether they would keep 6% of the order for a restocking fee. More accurately, I kept trying to convince them that billing me would be inappropriate since they never touched the stock! I could understand if they shipped it and I returned it, but with the order cancelled that fast and their choosing to read the purchase but conveniently skip over the cancellation and then bill me for the mistake… there’s no grounds for that, but take the money they did. Was it their right on paper once you click “Purchase” – yes, it was – but it’s slimy business in practice and is an immediate tell of how they treat customers.
By itself it’s small bordering on petty, but it is a tell of the kind of business Grow Strong Industries is: too big for their breeches. Sometimes you need leeway, like the reseller I purchased 500 seeds from internationally that got eaten by customs – sometimes life happens, they sent me a whole new lot for free! That inspires loyalty with gratitude, we’re long term business partners now.
Spider Farmer makes perfectly great tents for a reduced cost and their product line is strong and polished. Truth be told, I am kicking myself for not going there first.
Green Heron Labs does not support Grow Strong Industries
Grow Strong Industries has gone the way of Word Perfect, so get your grow on strong and run with someone else knowing they’ll have your back if life happens.
