Bloody David Austin Roses! (Evri)

[LovelyCoconuts]

I ordered a rosebush from David Austin Roses. A very specific one with the same name as my late mother.

David Austin Roses decided to send it via Evri. Clearly not watched the recent BBC Panorama documentary on Evri then!

There is a 5 working day slot for delivery so I carry on with my life meantime.

I get a notification that it's to be delivered TODAY when I have already gone out. and by it's to be by Evri. Never fear, I ensure I have selected "leave at porch" in my Evri app.

I get a missed ring on my Ring doorbell. I instruct the Evri guy to leave it at the porch. He refuses even tho parcel does not need a signature.

He takes it away and apparently it won't be delivered now until after the Easter holiday (if at all, knowing Evri).

I phoned David Austin and frankly they don't give two hoots. Apparently if you want a reputable delivery service (ie not Evri) you have to pay for Premium Next Day Delivery. But they don't explain that on their website. They suggest I phone if it still hasn't turned up in a week.

I expect a shit service from Evri but I had expected better from David Austin.

My experience of Evri is that leave anything without a signature regardless of whether it needs one or not and regardless of the weather!
I haven’t bought from David Austin but I’m surprised they’re using Evri for good quality live plants. Maybe it’s a trial

Evri need closing down .

We seem to have decent people doing the Evri deliveries, at the moment, seems so reliant on the decency of the local person.

Our Evri man is fab. He asked where we’d like stuff left out of sight and he leaves it regardless of needing a signature.
he’s delivered many a DA bareroot here. I usually buy before Christmas though, when they’re properly dormant. It’ll most likely be okay - 24 hrs in a bucket of water before you plant, roses are tough old things.

Must admit ours is fab too. It very much is the luck of the draw though.

I ordered something from John Lewis, Evri claimed to deliver twice (DH was in the house), a month later they attempted a third delivery and thankfully left it next to the bins (where I discovered it several days later).

Agree it definitely depends on the delivery person and ours has obviously changed for the worst recently, I never had any problems with Evri then I had 2 deliveries in a row that were rubbish.

The Evri Prick ("EP") was evidently annoyed that I was out and chucked the package in the boot of his Fiat 500 before driving off. So I fear for its wellbeing, I really do!

Yes, I normally buy bare roots in winter but mum died at Xmas and we decided to have a wee ceremony at Easter after we scatter the ashes. Was planning to ceremonially plant the rose but clearly that will need to be done another time.

This has really upset me tbh. So angry with the way he threw my mum's (presumably) lovely rosebush in the boot of his car as if it were junk.

Trying to think though what she would say - "don't let it ruin your day" or something like that probably!

Came here to say exactly the same.

I have a fabulous evri delivery man but a while ago he was off work for two months after surgery and it was utter chaos here with everybody’s parcels going missing or delivered to the wrong address.

One temporary young man tried to deliver parcels to me very late at night which were for a different address and his English was so poor it was impossible for us to understand each other.

He was trying to ask me to read out various local addresses to him and help him find them.

I don’t blame him at all, he was just trying to hold down a job to make a living, but I blame evri for using staff who they have not trained to a level to actually be able to deliver the parcels.

Evri customer service is non existent so if there is a problem you can never speak to a human, let alone a human who speaks English as a first language, to resolve it.

I got a notification at 1.30pm that my parcel would be delivered between....1.30pm and 3.30pm! I raced back from work and managed to catch the Evri Prick!

He made a big fucking song and dance about getting me to hold the parcel with the door open whilst he took a photo to prove delivery.

I can assure you I gave him a CAT'S BUM MOUTH AND A PADDINGTON BEAR STARE!

I've told David Austin that the very least they can do here is refund the delivery charge. Let's see if they have any decency in them.

(I also got an email from Evri saying that my parcel would be delivered by 10am - so I delayed going into work - and if it hadn't been delivered by then, I was going to receive a phone call from customer services by 11am - neither of those things happened of course)

Thanks for the tip re DAR using Evri. I currently have a fairly decent Evri courier, but who knows how long they will be in the role. And more importantly, I would still prefer to have the knowledge this was my option beforehand.

As you say, offering that or a premium mail service* is not really on, and it's disappointing they are doing this.

(*although I am struggling to think of any decent courier or mail service tbh, which seems ironic given our massive levels of online shopping now. I am much happier with click and collect or just a parcel locker than a direct to door service now)

David Austin roses and over priced and over rated.
Most only produce a stingy amount of blooms that shatter quite quickly.
They can also be very slow in getting established.
if you kept a notebook and made a note of how many blooms you got a year and how long they actually lasted your be digging them back out pretty quick.
There are so many other plants much better value that flower a lot longer.

Thanks all! I sort of had to use David Austin as it was one of only a few suppliers which stocked the rose with my mother's name.

Around the same time though I bought a rose with my father's name - had to go Langthorn's Plantery for that. They have a royal warrant and sent the plant (very quickly!) via DHL. And no issues there. I would definitely say I would use them again if possible.

They have refunded the £3.95 delivery charge. So done the bare minimum really.

Our Evri lady is fab but hear so many stories of bad ones.

Yes, you'd think their terrible reputation would have reached the ears of David Austin but clearly not!