Claessen Orchideen, NL -- worst experience I've had

[camille1585]

I'm absolutely not surprised. I live in the Netherlands, and used to regularily place orders there simply because the shipping costs are much lower than ordering from Germany for instance.

I started buying orchids there maybe 7-8 years ago, only a few years after the business started I think. Back then they had big, beautiful, healthy plants and impecable customer service because the owner seemed to be doing it mostly on his own at that time. I even visited the greenhouses around that time, and was very impressed by the quality of the stock and the cleanliness of the greenhouses.

Anyway... As the years went on, I had more and more issues with my orders. A plant with no roots, smaller and smaller plants with increasing prices, tiny plants advertised as blooming size, plants that were shipped soggy. The biggest change was the customer service which went from good, to ok, to bad, to terrible. I was told that the fact some of my orchids arrived rootless was normal because they were freshly imported plants so I shouldn't expect more than that. They all died, with no apologies, no refund, nothing. Sorry, but if a company imports plants and they are in poor shape, then they either need to a) sort things out with their supplier or b) nurse the plants back to health before putting them up for sale.

In Dutch Facebook groups I see a lot of people with the same complaints. In the past others would defend the company saying that it doesn't happen often, and they're a great vendor, but now the comments are nearly all negative. I did get some fairly good plants in my last order, but it really feels like a gamble each time I order, so I only shop there if I can't find a specific plant anywhere else...

If you want some great plants, try Elsner Orchideen or Orchideen Lucke in Germany. Their customer service is also excellent. A good dutch grower (small but healthy, proportionally priced plants) is Orchidz.nl. If you like novelty Phals and Neofinetia, try Orchids Deluxe (used to be in NL but now moved to DE). The owners are a charming couple (I've met them at shows) and though the plants tend to be small, they are beautiful healthy plants.