Dealings with Long Creek Apiaries

[beemaster01]

You know i understand. Might help if you explain it. Its a risk for the customer to send in money in the hopes of bees being ready. I'd have to say if I had ordered bees in january and didn't get them until may or june, i would be asking for my money back too. Reason is by time june rolls around, your hives are basically screwed in winter because they will barely have time enough to draw comb, build up and store honey for next winter.

In my part of the country, you can not mate queens properly in time to ship in April. We do not start shipping until May 1st, if it is a normal year. It is all posted on my website.

You know something, The customer is always right. Doesn't matter if he's wrong, he's always right. As far as my being position to lecture, you do not know my position or anything about me, and that kind of attitude is what the customers have a problem with. Arrogance does not work in beekeeping or in any other venture. I have run multiple businesses, dealt with million dollar budgets and dealt with vendors, customers, and business owners. The first thing that happened when i got an attitude from a vendor, in any form, is to eliminate them from my vending list, and then call every friend i had in the business, and had them cut the vendor off. It doesn't take long to blackball a business into bankruptcy.

Secondly running my own business's, Yes plural not singular, i have run into every possible customer on the planet and then some. Yet every single one of them, i went the extra 10 miles to make them happy even to the point of giving their orders to them free. Once you do that, they have no complaint. Now did i take their future orders? sometimes. I can tell you one thing, it is far better to give a product away, than to recieve the negative comments from said customer. The damage is far worse by not making that customer happy. This is true in bee keeping as well as IT industry, farming, and every other business on the planet.

All that is well and good, but all these things are types of business have inventory on the shelf or services that can provided when needed. It does not qualify you to coment on the queen breeder and package producer business where so many things are beyond your control.

As far as weather, this year the major problem was not in Aptril and May, it was the two months before that. The Russian stock WILL NOT build up unless NATURAL pollen is available, It was so cold in February and March that nothing was blooming. The colonies just sit there maintaining their strength until the pollen came in. That put the colony strength at least 30 days late. However, for those of you that are in the north, a cold region is ideal place to obtain bees. It is a trade off from getting bees early and not be winter hardy, or later and get bees that will survive the winter.

You can't come away from a dispute especially on a board, or internet, smelling like a rose. The buisness will always be the loser.

And those that believe every thing they read on these boards as gospel. Just like the character that took claim for expediting his order. It doesn't happen that way. I will not move orders just because someone complains. Won't happen.

[A2 Bee Man]

The fact is, Long Creek Apiaries failed to keep the customer informed. Phone calls, emails made to your business go unanswered. Think about it . . . . I ordered 10 packages from various apiaries in Tennessee and Georgia, and received 8 within two weeks of their promised delivery date. The ones that were late communicated with me and informed me about shipping issues, so I had absolutely no problem with them. However, Long Creek Apiary was the only business which was completely uncommunicative. If wanting communication and information on two packages that were 6 weeks late makes me "one of the most unreasonable people on the planet," then you really shouldn't be in business. But don't take my word for it . . . Google Long Creek Apiaries and see for yourself the ever-growing list of very dissatisfied ex-customers you, yourself, have created. Next Spring, I'll be ordering 10-15 more packages . . . but not from Long Creek Apiaries.

[beemaster01]

Again, what other apiaries in Tennessee? We are the only registered inspected package bee producer in Tennessee. You take a big risk of disease by buying bees from unregistered producers. Since there are no other apiaries that shake packages out of their own apiaries in Tennessee, then you must have bought those bees from a reseller, bees probably out of Georgia. I don't expect you to post the info here, a PM will do the job. Even Georgia breeders were 3-4 weeks behind with their orders this year.

PS We reserve the right to refuse any and all orders!

[devdog108]

Actually, I got my Nucs 2 weeks early this year from S. Ga, BUT, most here were, as you said, behind. FBM...AKA Don...was behind this year as well. Most of your problem IMHO Beemaster01 is CS, customer Service.....

[Dean]

This is the second year in a row that I have ordered from Long Creek. I have to say that I am totally satisfied. I received my package last week, the previous year was about the same time. My package from last year had no problems making it through the record breaking winter we had. The package built up quickly in the spring and was ready to split the end of April. As I said last year in response to this thread I will continue to give Long Creek my business.

"You catch more flies with honey then with vinegar"

[honeybeekeeper]

I agree with A2 Bee Man, Long Creek done screwed up and needs to face up and admit it. I know several ppl "personally" who was in the same situation, they ordered some packages and they never arrived, they tried to call no answer, they tried to email no reply back. One of the customers i know will be waiting for his delivery to arrive in the mail June 29th even though it was suppose to of been June 8th! I told him not to hold his breath!! HAHAHA But im glad some ppl are satisfied cause the ones i have heard speak up this yr arent to satisfied at all! And if the bees was gonna be late the customers should of "atleast" been notified but they wasnt!!

[handyman dave]

Last year I ordered and paid for a package from David Winters / Long Creek Apiaries. ($80 plus shipping.) When he failed to supply one, after many delays, problems, emails, etc., I agreed to take one this year which he promised would be shipped before any of his 2010 orders.

This year he has promised, explained, and delayed and still I have nothing from him. I wait days for any response to emails and he has never returned a phone call. I am frustrated!

To top it off, now he says he has no record of my order!

I appreciate that this is livestock and things happen, but after more than a year, lousy communication, and now "no record" I need to go public so others may be adequately warned.

(This is the second individual in the beekeeping business who has utterly failed thus far to fulfill what was promised during the two years I have been keeping bees. The beekeepers I know personally are honest, upstanding and trustworthy. The ones I have dealt with from a distance have been much less so. Is this a pattern? I certainly hope not.)

Regardless, I wish I had seen this thread before I sent him my hard-earned money. (A fool and his money are soon parted!)

[dcross]

To top it off, now he says he has no record of my order!

Sounds really familiar!

[beemaster01]

To top it off, now he says he has no record of my order!

As Paul Harvey would say "here is the rest of the story". What I said was I did not see his order on my computer. As I also explained, I am in the process of migrating everything from windows to linux and it is possible that his order got misplaced in the shuffle of moving everything. I never said I couldn't find his order or his order didn't exist.

It seems that certain individuals love to capture a "sound bite" to distort the truth. Sounds a lot like our politicians in Washington (sorry that is quite a low blow)! I think that this thread will continue long after Long Creek no longer exists.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The board of directors of Long Creek Apiaries, Inc. informally voted to liquidate assets to refund money for unfilled orders and to exchange single hives for packages whenever it is possible. A motion to liquidate all assets and dissolve the company was tabled until after the single hives are sold and debts are paid or no later than October 30, 2010. I think for tax purposes, any dissolution was occur on December 31, 2010. The board feels that even if the company emerges from these difficulties financially intact, the image has been so damaged in the internet community it can not continue operations. Again, that decision will be made at the next board meeting. Any formal filing for bankruptcy will be based on the financial situation of the company at the next board meeting.

Personally, I will find retirement a strange new experience that I look forward to after 45 years of hard, unappreciated work. RIP Long Creek.

[greengecko]

The risk is that at some point one of the following may likely happen. The supplier will close shop, taking all the remaining back order payments with them. The business will collapse under its own weight as payments for future orders slow and the supplier starts having problems paying out the promised returns. Such liquidity issues often increase as more customers start asking for their money.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The board of directors of Long Creek Apiaries, Inc. informally voted to liquidate assets to refund money for unfilled orders and to exchange single hives for packages whenever it is possible. A motion to liquidate all assets and dissolve the company was tabled until after the single hives are sold and debts are paid or no later than October 30, 2010. I think for tax purposes, any dissolution was occur on December 31, 2010. The board feels that even if the company emerges from these difficulties financially intact, the image has been so damaged in the internet community it can not continue operations. Again, that decision will be made at the next board meeting. Any formal filing for bankruptcy will be based on the financial situation of the company at the next board meeting.

Personally, I will find retirement a strange new experience that I look forward to after 45 years of hard, unappreciated work. RIP Long Creek.

[devdog108]

It will, and you can continually make excuses for yourself and say he said she said instead of just admitting that YOU and LC AP is shabby on Customer Service and made a huge mistake and overpromised in the market....OR...you can continue to try and defend something that the BBB and the rest of us already know. Personally it is sad that you go out like this and the unappreciated retirement you refer to above, well, you said it, so part of ya has to believe it. If it were me, Id sell everyting i have and give it to the hundreds of people who have complained for the last couple of years...but hey....i didn't buy from ya!

Dev

[beemaster01]

It sounds much like Greengecko might think he "told you so" but it is interesting that he didn't quote the total content. Again, another "sound bite". The reason for closing is not to take people's money but to repay everyone leaving Long Creek without means to operate. The hostile environment is only a part of the picture. If you notice, when I pressured A2Man for the names of the other apiaries in Tennessee that he stated he got bees on time, NO RESPONSE. One of those things that you make you go "Hmm". Misleading at the very least.

[beemaster01]

Oh, I forgot. Don't break your arms patting yourself on the back!

[KeyBeeper]

Some folks are good beekeepers, some folks are good businessmen. You need to be both. I hope you are a good beekeeper is all I have to say.

Your first mistake was keeping money for extended periods of time without delivering product. Even if you know in your heart that you plan to deliver the goods or refund the money at some ambiguous future date - your customer can't be reasonably expected to wait. Give them back their money, they need the bees or they need their money back to buy elsewhere.

And the haughty attitude of your posts (like this one) on here did you no favors. If I sent you several hundred dollars and got neither bee's nor product for months on end, I'd expect you on here on bended knee apologizing and promising the product or refund immediately. And if you didn't have the ability to do either - then see the first two sentences of this post. You don't belong in business and I guess you finally saw the light.

Oh, I forgot. Don't break your arms patting yourself on the back!

[BeeCurious]

Beemaster01,

Why don't you do yourself a big favor and simply stop responding to the postings here. Deal with the people who trusted their money with you via email or snail-mail.

If you continue to do business, I think you might want to sell to people who are willing to drive to your location to pickup their bees. I suspect that the beekeepers within driving distance of you have had fewer complaints...

[wolfpenfarm]

You know, its sad to see ya hold the attitude that you do. you stated 45 years... Well it seems that you have allowed the difficult customers to bring your view about people down, which in turn affects your attitude towards other customers. This carries over into your work, and when things don't go the way you expect such as bees being ready, instead of letting customers know whats happening, (pretty simple do a mass email to all customers) you just let them hang and let them get angry and start calling you which affects the attitude even more.

Come on, this isn't rocket science. But you are right, if your fed up with beekeeping and the business, its best that ya retire.

I can guaranteed ya, that if you tried, you could change the negative into positive and all it would take is some prompt response to customers.

I've seen a lot of angry customers on here, and everytime i see a post, you come up with a "myside". Why not appologize and offer them a reasonable solution. It doesn't matter if your right. What matters is the fallout from negative comments.

There are some customers that yeah you don't want to deal with them. I have my solution, make them happy, then never do business with them again. In the end you come out ahead by completing the contract with them and putting them on a list of no dealing for the future.

[devdog108]

AGAIN beemaster....customer service....one day you will realize the downfall of Longcreek was noone but your own fault. The name it got was noone but your fault....the board....thats laughable as well.

[beemaster01]

Don't look at the number of posts, look at the number of people posting. There is a link here where you can see how many times a person posts here and the total number of people posting. Beesource is the "spin zone" and that is a fact. Any reasonable person who reads the posts can see that whatever I post, it is spun in a negative way. Sorry, I call as I see it.

[A2 Bee Man]

This guy is amazing . . . . . and it's almost worth the abysmal experience doing business with him just for the entertainment value of reading his silly posts. BTW . . . if you want to order excellent Russians from an excellent and RELIABLE beekeeping business, try Simpson's Bee Supply. All of my Russian packages were delivered on time and are building up beautifully. Plus . . . their customer service is impeccable.

[KeyBeeper]

If you were holding MY money and not sending bees then I really wouldn't care how many people got their money back or got their bees. This logic doesn't fly. If the original poster is correct - then it was logical for him to assume you had stolen his money. I'd go after you too - in every way I could.

I heard a story about a man and his son walking on a beach. His son was picking up living sand-dollars and throwing them as hard as he could into the ocean - no doubt killing the creature. His father stopped him - the son said but Dad, there a millions of them, who cares if I kill them. His dad said, the sand-dollar you are killing cares.

Take care of your customers and you won't have to combat them. I've yet hear a good reason as to why you think it's OK to keep money, provide no product and have little to no communication. Like the original poster, I would assume that my money was stolen. Why can't you see that.

Don't look at the number of posts, look at the number of people posting. There is a link here where you can see how many times a person posts here and the total number of people posting. Beesource is the "spin zone" and that is a fact. Any reasonable person who reads the posts can see that whatever I post, it is spun in a negative way. Sorry, I call as I see it.