Stacks Chicken Farm

[harleygirl6197]

We would be VERY wary of any dealings with this company & this couple. They are located outside of State College, PA. In July we ordered 16 birds from this breeder. They had several of the rare breeds we were looking for. The deal was they would hatch the chicks and then we could pick them up in about 4 months once they could guarantee the sex. (we only wanted hens) They wanted all the monies up front ($422.00, yes their chickens are expensive) which we were hesitant about but wanted to trust them so went ahead anyway. Every time we've bought chickens from a private party we paid upon delivery. We would have even understood if they asked for half down and the balance on delivery since they do spend several months feeding and caring for the chicks. We were due to pick up the six week old (not 4 month old as promised) chicks in about 2 weeks. Unfortunately, last week we were told my husband's company was transferring him out to Los Angeles. We contacted Todd & Lori and explained the situation and asked if since our time was short and we had lots to do to get ready for such a big move if they would be willing to sell the chicks for us and we would split with them 75/25. We were told no they couldn't do that. We then asked simply for $300 of our money back (again trying to be fair and give them $122 for their cost and care) as their website does say you can return birds within 30 days for a full refund and here we weren't even going to pick them up. They are refusing to work with us at all. We have only received emails from Lori asking us to speak to Todd on the telephone. We were advised by our attorney to stick to emails so as to have a record of all conversations. Now Lori says Todd doesn't use the computer which is hard to believe for someone running a business. Bottom line is they are refusing to negotiate or work with us at all nor refund any of our money, even the $37 they promised a month ago they would refund to us when all the Partridge Rocks hatched were roosters. We suspect they will turn right around and sell our chickens and make a double profit. We realize shame on us for paying so much money up front but we like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Clearly we were wrong and have come to realize we are not dealing with ethical people. I'm sure when they see this they will write a scathing reply (as we saw they did to another negative post/review) and if they do we will not dignify it with a reply but we did feel people should be aware of the way they do business.

 

[cypressdrake]

Where are these people from?

 

[Vamvakas]

Think there from PA

 

[harleygirl6197]

Yes, outside of State College, I believe in West Decatur.

 

[LoriC71]

Hello,

This is Lori of Stacks Chicken Farm. Linda, whom is HarleyGirl6197 is only sharing HER side of the story. Remember there are always 2 sides to every story. This is now a legal issue. Linda and her husband came out to buy birds from us. We live 4 hours away from them. These birds are not just chicks. We have raised them up. They are now pullets. As you know, birds are very expensive to feed, especially if you feed them organic feed. We don't sell chicks. Most people do not buy birds in the Fall/Winter time. It doesn't matter what kind of breed they are or how popular. We would have been very willing to refund most of their money back when we are able to sell the birds, in the Spring.... Linda was supposed to pick up the birds within the next couple of weeks. We could have sold the birds about a month ago, if they would have told us sooner. We have refunded people's money in the past, but this is a situation out of our control, which is what our website clearly states. We don't have any control over a SUPPOSED JOB TRANSFER. We did tell them that they are welcome to pick up their birds and try to sell them on their own, but they refuse to do so. This should be their responsibility at this point. Todd, the farmer, at Stacks Chicken Farm, is an older gentleman and is never on the computer. I have been sending Linda pictures of the birds that we specifically hatched since the end of the Summer. I told Linda that we had hatched out some roosters, and we would definitely have most of the birds ready for her by October. She stated she wanted a refund then. She then changed her mind about the refund. I had an intuition that Linda would come up with another excuse not to pick up the birds, and low and behold she did.....She is very flighty and harassing. Don't let Linda's opinion keep you from buying chickens from us. We even had a customer that made a POSITIVE blog about us and you can see it on our website. Meanwhile, Linda left Todd in a situation where we are stuck feeding these birds that he did not expect to have! Feeding these birds that were supposed to be picked up is another unexpected added expense. Oh, and by the way, if you know of anyone in Pennsylvania that wants Linda's birds, that are Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, Blue Marans, Black Copper Marans, Black Jersey Giants, Blue Laced Wyandottes, Welsummers and Buff Orpingtons, please let me know! We don't ship birds. You would have to pick them up. I know it is virtually impossible to sell birds when the weather is cold, but if you are willing to buy her birds and pick them up now, we would so much appreciate it! Thank you! Linda seems to be under the impression that in Pennsylvania, most people buy birds during the Fall/Winter Season. That is not true.....

 

[boltonfarms]

Lori, we also sell chickens down here in Georgia and I can assure you if we did business the way you do we would be out of business. I have one big question. Why don't you want to give them their money back?. They are not even asking for all the money they paid. Is it really worth having your reputation ruined? Please don't take offense at what I am about to say, I am trying to help you. We would never expect someone to pay for our chickens ahead of delivery. What kind of excuse did they come up with, her husband's job is transferring him for goodness sake but does it really matter. They ordered these chickens in July. So many things happen in life, you have to make some allowances for people. You say this is a difficult time of year to sell chickens. I have friends in Maryland and they sell chickens year round, no problem. Did you attempt to sell the chickens for them? And if Todd the farmer wants to stay in business and be successful he really should learn how to use a computer. You're probably nice people but you are coming across as unreasonable to these people and a lot of others read these forums. You might want to reconsider. - Donna

 

[boltonfarms]

P.S. if you do decide to refund their money then ask them to have the negative post removed. That would be fair to you as well.

 

[stevekay45]

I had to join because I just had to add to this thread.

Harleygirl probably not the brightest idea to pay up front. Guessing you learned a lesson from that one.

Lori even if they just changed their mind people are allowed to do that and they don't have to give an explanation for it.

 

[LoriC71]

Hello Donna of Bolton Farms,

I appreciate your reply. We have many customers and we have only had 2 that have been dissatisfied. Most of our customers don't have issues with us. The reason why we ask for the full amount upfront, is we have lost money, where people would put half of their money down, on their order, and then we had to turn people away that wanted the birds, only to have the customer that paid half, requesting a refund. We lost out on a definite sale. I never thought that customers would be so wishy washy and pay for something fully upfront, to turn around months later and expect a refund. We are not a huge operation. What Linda fails to mention, and we had explained this to them, We were in a situation about a month ago, where the farmer that we were renting his property from, decided to not renew our lease and we had to find a place in 6 weeks for not only us, but our chickens too. We literally had to put the money that we had saved up to reserve a new place so we could even keep all our chickens. We NEVER stated that we wouldn't refund the money. We would refund them most of the money when we sell the birds, but they can't expect us to sell the birds in Pennsylvania, in the Fall/Winter Season. If Linda believes it is so easy to sell them now, she needs to pick them up and do just that. She should be posting ads in her area to try and sell them and still pick up her birds. We have many customers from Maryland, but we are not able sell them in the colder months. It must be our location, plus we only sell pullets, not chicks and we don't ship, due to issues with the postal service. We also stated to Linda that we didn't have the money at the current time, due to being given such a short notice to move. Most places do require up to 2 months rent and security deposit. You are right, things do happen in peoples' lives, and Linda surely isn't keeping that into consideration for us. I was trying to sell some of her birds online, but Linda is on a warpath and is posting negative reviews about our business everywhere, even on Craiglist. Linda is also very unrealistic and was trying to put us on a payment plan that we cannot afford, dividing the amount out to what she thinks is feasible. She is not negotiable at all. I wanted her to talk to Todd, for this is his business. She doesn't even try calling. She can take Todd to court, but you cannot get blood from a stone. We can pay her back most of the money, but on our affordable terms, not hers. She is fortunate that we didn't charge her a cancellation fee. There are many Amish farmers that don't even know how to turn a computer on and do very well selling chickens.....in the Spring/Summer time, not all year round.

 

[hosspak]

Hello Donna of Bolton Farms,

I appreciate your reply. We have many customers and we have only had 2 that have been dissatisfied. Most of our customers don't have issues with us. The reason why we ask for the full amount upfront, is we have lost money, where people would put half of their money down, on their order, and then we had to turn people away that wanted the birds, only to have the customer that paid half, requesting a refund. We lost out on a definite sale. I never thought that customers would be so wishy washy and pay for something fully upfront, to turn around months later and expect a refund. We are not a huge operation. What Linda fails to mention, and we had explained this to them, We were in a situation about a month ago, where the farmer that we were renting his property from, decided to not renew our lease and we had to find a place in 6 weeks for not only us, but our chickens too. We literally had to put the money that we had saved up to reserve a new place so we could even keep all our chickens. We NEVER stated that we wouldn't refund the money. We would refund them most of the money when we sell the birds, but they can't expect us to sell the birds in Pennsylvania, in the Fall/Winter Season. If Linda believes it is so easy to sell them now, she needs to pick them up and do just that. She should be posting ads in her area to try and sell them and still pick up her birds. We have many customers from Maryland, but we are not able sell them in the colder months. It must be our location, plus we only sell pullets, not chicks and we don't ship, due to issues with the postal service. We also stated to Linda that we didn't have the money at the current time, due to being given such a short notice to move. Most places do require up to 2 months rent and security deposit. You are right, things do happen in peoples' lives, and Linda surely isn't keeping that into consideration for us. I was trying to sell some of her birds online, but Linda is on a warpath and is posting negative reviews about our business everywhere, even on Craiglist. Linda is also very unrealistic and was trying to put us on a payment plan that we cannot afford, dividing the amount out to what she thinks is feasible. She is not negotiable at all. I wanted her to talk to Todd, for this is his business. She doesn't even try calling. She can take Todd to court, but you cannot get blood from a stone. We can pay her back most of the money, but on our affordable terms, not hers. She is fortunate that we didn't charge her a cancellation fee. There are many Amish farmers that don't even know how to turn a computer on and do very well selling chickens.....in the Spring/Summer time, not all year round.

It is so sad that this issue has had led to a legal action. Both sides of this sound a little wishy washy to me. Is there a money back guarantee as mentioned above? Lori, thanks for being in the middle of this situation but you expect her to respect Todd's moving situation but he is not respecting theirs. You are correct about getting blood from rocks but since Todd is a business provider and not a rock, if he is found negligent in this matter he could be forced to return all the money plus legal fees. If times are as tough as you say he wouldn't have to worry about finding another place. There are only two individuals who actually know what really transpired but I can see only one loser in this battle and it's not only from the legal aspect. IMO, customer service makes or breaks the success of a business. For example, Apple makes the best products, (Ipods, Iphones) but can't come close to others who are leaders in the industry because of their very poor customer service record. Eggs are laid everyday and same are hatched everyday everywhere... As such they are purchased when people want them. This should be settled before irreparable damage is done...Just sayin....