Farm House Tack customer service - update #33

[trakehners]

I placed an order for several items in mid February, got the “this item is in a shipment expected in the next week” email around a week later, finally got the bit I ordered after I told them to cancel if it didn’t ship by the following day (after ordering the same one from Adams and getting it in three days after it came back in stock on their site), and just yesterday three of the remaining four items finally showed up and the last should be in next week.

Hard pass on ever ordering from them again. I had great luck with my first order (my favorite stirrups, they were discontinued and it was the only site where I could find stock), but my most recent experience was awful and there are better small businesses to choose from.

[saturnalian]

@Pezanos

But 100% agree on Farm House and the place next door being truly awful to go into.

Omg, thank you for validating me on the other place too. Craziness honestly! It made me feel really bad since showing in FL has been a dream of mine since I started showing on the A’s; it felt like I could’ve had 10 horses showing there and still be treated like I’m not a rider, all based off something I can’t even control. Why do I need to wear breeches to look like a rider and thus receive assistance (this was offered as a reason by my friend who was also at WEC)? Really upsetting honestly!

@wanderlust

I hope they read this and reach out and apologize/make it right to you.

Thank you, but I’m not holding my breath… I haven’t really made a big thing out of it. Thankfully, here in VA and back home in Toronto, I’ve always been treated with respect and have never been made to feel like an outsider whether at a tack store or at the barn.

I agree with others, there’s hundreds of small businesses more worthy of giving our money to. While I don’t agree with “the customer is always right”, we are all still customers and everyone is entitled to excellent customer service, communication, and respect unless proven otherwise.

[BAC]

I am so surprised to read all of these negative comments. I haven’t been on a horse in ten years but while I was still riding I had wonderful experiences buying from them over the phone. One of the saleswomen even went around the shop taking pictures and emailing them to me when I was trying to find something special for my trainer’s Christmas gift. And they used to be a great source for everything Edgewood too. Is it possible they changed ownership? At the time I was shopping from them (I don’t live in the area so never went in person to the store) they were getting good reviews for their large inventory and good customer service on COTH, one of the reasons that made me order from them.

[Pezanos]

Yeah, “Hello!” isn’t really a whole lot to ask.

[TBROCKS]

Is “Farm House Tack” and “The Farm House, Inc” the same entity? I’ve been waiting for longer than one might expect for a shirt from the latter.

[BAC]

Yes, at least at one time they were used interchangeably.

[mbhorse]

Thanks to all for your responses! I canceled my order today and requested a full refund to my cc, both via email and voicemail to customer service who never answers the phone. Their silence, to me personally and on this thread, speaks volumes.

@saturnalian, I am appalled at how you were treated at their store. I am so very sorry that happened to you.

I want to give a HUGE shout out to Scott at Signature Spurs in Pompano Beach, FL. He made the extra effort to call me after seeing two missed calls from me (and no VM from me). Not only did he have the apparently hard to find item in stock, he went above and beyond in getting answers to my questions. This is the type of business that deserves our orders!!!

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Don’t take it personally. They never talk to me. Even when I have bought $150 bits from them and hunt coats, they act like they’re in pain answering my questions. They were also the only store to yell about my dog coming in a few years ago. He’s a big dog and not a tiny Jack Russell… they were terrified that he was going to pee on things… I’m like… he would dig a hole and die of embarassment before he would ever do that… and I’d like to think that I’m a capable and responsible adult… so if that were to ever happen, I would have bought the stock… but SURE… way to be offensive.
Then again, it could be worse. I know someone that was calling their store up in SC that had ordered something from them and it got backordered and then she didn’t hear any updates. She called to yell and insisted on talking to the sales rep… they awkwardly had to tell her that she died. Turns out that she never called her back bc she got in a car accident and tragically passed away. I kind of gave them a pass for awhile after that happened bc I imagined that they were probably pretty devastated losing one of their own in such a sad and unavoidable way.

[APirateLooksAtForty]

The very worst. The ladies who work at the store at WEC actually seem to want you to leave. Rude and unhelpful. I never was a big fan but recently it has gone even more downhill.

[Foitin]

I have had more good service than bad over the phone/web, but an unfriendly one at WEC (zero acknowledgement that I entered the store). After reading about the experiences of other posters, I’m done shopping in-store or online. I also just hate WEC overall, but that is more of a personal problem, lol.

[Bella]

I can’t tell you how angry that makes me- what is wrong with people? I’m sorry that happened to you

[bingbingbing]

Based on numerous posters’ experiences, the customer service at wec sounds terrible. I doubt they are going to apologize to anyone.

[mbhorse]

Update from OP. On March 31 I cancelled my order. On April 3 they replied and said they would issue a refund that would take 7-14 days to hit my cc. Still no refund as of today, so I’ve contested the original charge made on March 10. Will never order from them again!

[ZuzusPetals]

I’m sorry about your experience but you’re doing us a service laying out the facts. Thanks to this board I’ve identified great vendors and several that I’ll avoid. I hope this is resolved to your satisfaction.

Sticking this here for reference: In addition to the credit card help that you may have to dispute the charges, your state also very likely has a consumer affairs division within its attorney general’s office. They take this stuff seriously.

[SpiritInTheSkye]

I had the same experience in the WEC store more than once over the past couple of years. Now I just don’t bother going in. Last winter I saw one of the ladies who works there admonish a guy who walked in the door with his well behaved, leashed dog. She told him the dog was “too big for the store”…it was a lab. It’s disappointing as I’ve had good experiences online in the past with them My Christmas show bridle, a gift from my SO came with a handwritten note and red ribbon.

[GreysNBays]

Hi Gang,

I work at Farm House in e-commerce and marketing I haven’t lurked in the COTH forums in quite a while, ( so long that I had to reset my account!) I hopped on to see what was what. I was not expecting to find this thread, and honestly, I’m pretty mortified. I immediately printed this out and brought it to the attention of the store owner; she is as disturbed as I am by the experiences listed here.

Let me start by asking each of you who experienced issues to please reach out to me privately with your name and, if you have it, an order number. It’s nearly impossible to cross reference your user names in the forum with my customer list. That said, the store owner would very much like to speak with each of you.

Several months ago, and by several months I mean over a year ago, we decided to overhaul our computer systems. The point was to make the website easier for shoppers and order fulfillment/customer service faster.

Unfortunately, we have been met with issues at every turn. I won’t bore you with gory details, but something that should have been relatively simple has been met with tangles at every turn. This has also impacted both our Ocala and Tryon locations as well.

We have onboarded a development team to resolve the ordering and inventory management issues. We are in the process of overhauling our entire phone system to make it easier for customers to reach the person they need without having to be transferred or having to call back. The work on this has not been without issues. There are times when calls go straight to voicemail, with the phone not even ringing.

Two weeks ago, we implemented a new customer service platform, helping our customer service team move through emails faster. The new system is working very well and is running at about 90% efficiency.

We are also actively trying to fill several positions in our fulfillment and customer service departments so that we can process orders more efficiently and get questions answered.

This is a small family-owned business that has been in the same location for nearly 30 years and started in the tack room of the family’s farm ( on the honor system, if you can believe that!). Many of you shopped our mobile unit that traveled the big show around the southeast up until about five years ago.

We are diligently trying to get everything running smoothly again and provide the level of service you have come to expect from us over the years. Please reach out to me so we can address your situation, determine where we went off the rails, and make the necessary changes to put us back in your good graces. I am also the voice behind the primary social media accounts on FB, IG, Tiktok and answer all the product questions that come through on the website. I’m always available on these platforms to answer questions, or if I’m not in the office, get the ball rolling to get an answer for you.

Thanks for listening, I hope to hear from each of you soon. I tried to tag all of you, but I guess my “working hunter” status went out the window when I stopped being active on the forums and had to reset myself :X
Cheers!
Michelle Drum

Horse Tack & Supplies | Equestrian Shop - The Farm House

[Peggy]

Thanks Michelle.

I just put in an order, so here we go. Hope that all goes well as I kind of fell in love with the FreeJump stirrups today and just ordered my own pair.

[APirateLooksAtForty]

Wec store no better a year later.

[Displaced_Yankee]

Same for online…