who's at fault here

[motherearth-7]

I recently had a buyer tell me that his package was left in the sun. He seen the van drive off and he didnt think the postman left the item so he went back into the house. Low and behold the driver actually did leave it but as he seldom goes to his front door he didnt see it until the next day. 

I just received this email

I purchased two frangipani from you recently - we exchanged correspondence about Australia Post having left the parcel on my front doorstep in the sun.

One plant is doing well. I believe the other has died - certainly its leaf has - and did so immediately. I have waited to see if the stem shoots but it has not. I have attached a photo for your reference.

Do you provide a replacement plant in this instance?

MY REPLY

Well to be fair I think we need a third party to mediate on this one.Pay Pal. 

But first I would like you to look at this from my side.
I posted the item and clearly marked on package ... caution not to be left in the sun.Also a sticker saying LIVE PLANT was attached. If I replace the one that died thats saying its my fault. It means if I send another, after postage I make nothing , in fact, I lose and it costs me more to replace the item . On the other hand , if I don't replace the item theres a chance you will give me 3 stars or less when you evaluate me re feed back which according to the new ebay rules will see me suspended for 7 to 28 days . I guaranteed I would send the item express. Once it arrives I can't guarantee even if a dog comes and eats the package like what happened just recently to a buyer.

If your unhappy with the way it was delivered then you can go to your post office and show them the dead plant and they will give you a claim form.
So what do you think is a fair thing for me to do?...Louise

I was just  told I was defensive 

[motherearth-7]

it wasnt a cutting . I imported the seed and grew and cared for it for over a year. had lots of roots. Any way on close inspection it was only a leaf that fell off....hes happy now.

[lyndal1838]

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@ajarnjenny wrote:

The frangipanni will not dead. Tell him to stick it in the ground and later on in the summer it will grow. Frangipanni cuttings are almost indestructible unless they are left lying on the ground out in the rain for weeks and rot.

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I could not agree more.  My grandmother had a huge old frangipani tree near her back gate.  Every time a few branches grew over the path she broke them off and threw them on the garden under the tree for 6+ weeks.  They were then potted up and all seemed to grow.

I had a never ending supply of potted cuttings for fund raising stalls I was involved with from my school days as a pupil to my days as a mother of school children.

There would be hundreds of frangipani trees out there that originated from my grandmothers tree.

[amalan11]

In a way I admire the honesty and optimism of your buyer  to even ask if he would get a replacement after admitting he didn't even bother to check if parcel was left ....kind of funny

I think buyers need to be sensible ,I have a very expensive Daylily addiction and am always getting more during the hotter months but I just pop a note on the gate  ' PLANTS in my package ... toss in front yard in shade please'    ( I have a locked 5 foot fence/gate)  because you know full well on the hot stairs in sun it will not be good for plant health

always works

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@ajarnjenny wrote:

The frangipanni will not dead. Tell him to stick it in the ground and later on in the summer it will grow. Frangipanni cuttings are almost indestructible unless they are left lying on the ground out in the rain for weeks and rot.

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I killed a frangipani. I discovered not long after I moved here that they don't like frost or snow. It shrivelled up into a soggy, sloppy mess. 

When I moved here, I had no idea what I could grow as the climate was so different from where I used to live. My mum, who is a keen gardener and can grow anything from a cutting, even roses, suggested that if it can be bought at the local nursery, it should grow here. How wrong she was!!! Most of what they sell won't grow outside here.

My local nursery sells a whole assortment of tropical plants and I have no idea why given that it's Winter for 10 months of the year (it snowed lightly here last night). I can't imagine that many people in town having a hot house where they could grow full size tropical trees like frangi's and mangoes. Yet, they're all available there for buying. It seems such a waste.

[iamanark]

The main problem was your convoluted reply:

.

.
Well to be fair I think we need a third party to mediate on this one.Pay Pal.
.
Immediately you have put the buyer on the defensive …
.
But first I would like you to look at this from my side
.
Actually the buyer is not really concerned about “your side” … I think they would think that actually they came first
.
If I replace the one that died thats saying its my fault
.
Completely wrong … it is Australia Post’s fault for ignoring your instructions
.
if I send another, after postage I make nothing , in fact, I lose and it costs me more to replace the item
.
That is your personal problem … the buyer is only concerned about their dead plant … not your personal problems or situation
.
, if I don't replace the item theres a chance you will give me 3 stars or less when you evaluate me re feed back which according to the new ebay rules will see me suspended for 7 to 28 days
.
Pure assumption on your part .. but now you have put the idea into the buyer’s mind
.
Once it arrives I can't guarantee even if a dog comes and eats the package like what happened just recently to a buyer.
.
This seems to be admitting that you have/had problems with delivery on several occasions
.
If your unhappy with the way it was delivered then you can go to your post office and show them the dead plant and they will give you a claim form
.
You stipulated the delivery instructions (which were not followed), you posted it …. so YOU go to the PO and complain
.
So what do you think is a fair thing for me to do?...
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After your admissions of previous delivery problems, immediately demanding a third party to mediate, and trying to pass your personal problems onto the buyer
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What do you think you should do ? … cop it sweet and refund … Paypal are going to make you anyway … and if you had done this immediately you might save yourself from neg/low DSRs
.
You purport to be a professional seller … act professionally
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And stick to growing plants, not writing confrontational emails and getting buyer’s backs up
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I was just told I was defensive
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I think confrontational would be a more apt description

[i-love-my-sheep]

If you'd read the rest of the thread, you would have seen that the plant is not dead, a leaf fell off it. All is OK and the plant is alive.

[p_ssg]

Let AUSPOST compensate. They have a good system to compensate I think.

[thecatspjs]

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

If you'd read the rest of the thread, you would have seen that the plant is not dead, a leaf fell off it. All is OK and the plant is alive.

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May be though, Lou may gain an insight into how her communication style of shoot from the hip first, think through later, may be perceived by others.

I reckon theres some pretty good advice on this thread re communicating with buyers when something goes wrong.