Bad customer service

[TheNurseMade]

Ordered Fresh Ginger from Natures Garden...smells like garlic. Won't be using it or the company again... said they have no problems. Thank goodness I only ordered 8 oz. $10.00 down the drain!

 

[maya]

Is it the fragrance oil or essential oil? The essential oil has a smell that I have heard described as a garlic scent. It's better blended.

 

[amd]

Have you tried soaping with it yet? I had a god-awful Bubblegum FO, but my daughter really wanted bubblegum smelling soap. I made it up in a small batch and voila [pardon the lack of the accent]... after a good six week cure my daughter had her princess bubblegum soap! (I've been known to use it a time or two, ahem.) I never judge things straight out of the bottle - unless you're using it in a lotion, then I guess maybe you can [judge it straight out of the bottle].

 

[cmzaha]

It is not hardly fair to judge a company over a bad fragrance, at least to your nose. No companies offer money back guarantees and that is why sniffies are available to purchase. Many fragrances will cure out completely different from the initial out of the bottle. I would at least give it a try with an inexpensive batch of soap such as a lard based, and give it a long cure

 

[Obsidian]

Its not really the company's fault if someone doesn't like a certain fragrance. I got a bay rum once that to me was awful, smelled like rotten things. Nothing was wrong with the FO, it was just my nose. Sold it to another member on here who loves the stuff.

I agree on soaping a small batch with your ginger, it might smell totally different in soap. I got a lemongrass EO that smelled like lemon cat pee in the bottle. In soap, it smelled just fine, no cat pee at all.

 

[Seawolfe]

I've had a couple of FO's that smelled nothing like the description TO MY NOSE. But other people like them, so its me - not the product.
Test it in soap, if you still don't like it, trade it off.
But you really arent a victim here IMHO

 

[vmakkers]

I sniffed a lemongrass EO once and I hated it because it reminded me of citronella candles but I've been a fan of every lemongrass soap I've smelled. Made me rethink how I felt and now I plan to soap my own lemongrass EO just to see. A lot of smells change in soaps. Tayberry and teakwood was too fruity for me OOB but has mellowed out to a nice floraly berry that I like way better. Try soaping a small batch, you might be surprised.

 

[not_ally]

NG is a good supplier, I would at least soap it before I gave up on it completely. It *could* be a bad batch, but you won't be able to tell until you do. Then - if you still feel that way - email them again. If I was NG I would give you a refund/credit at that point regardless of who was right, I think that just makes sense in terms of customer relations. But agree w/everyone else here, our noses are very different, especially when it comes to scents OOB.

There are so many variables that I have never asked for a refund on an FO/EO, even when I was pretty sure there was something wrong, it is too hard to figure it out definitively. Except for the case in which I ordered it and it never came at all, that made it easy

 

[TVivian]

Fresh ginger is BAD! It's bad out of the bottle, it's bad in the soap haha.. I reviewed this one awhile ago and I wrote "smells like manure" honestly one of the worst fragrances I've ever smelled.

Of course this has nothing to do with Natures Garden customer service. I think theirs is one of the best companies I buy from. I'm very happy with many of their other scents. They can't all be winners

 

[commoncenz]

I had a Lavender/Eucalyptus FO from VA Candle Supply that I used in a mechanic's soap. I hated it out of the bottle. Felt that the Eucalyptus overpowered the Lavender. Even posted on here about how much I hated it. I disliked it when I soaped with it. Still too strong of a Eucalyptus scent and by that time I had already made up my mind that I hated it.

I made that mechanic's soap and tried my best to forget about it. Well, my calendar alerted me that 6 weeks had gone by and it was time to take the mechanic's soap off the curing rack. Lo and behold, the Eucalyptus had mellowed and you could actually smell the Lavender too. I gave one bar out to a friend and he took it to work (railroad). His buddies loved the scent.

All of this to say ... I agree, soap with the scent first. It might mellow out to what you think it should be after a nice cure or maybe it will mellow out to something that someone you know actually likes.

 

[TVivian]

My review after making test bars and letting them cure for 4 weeks... I'm sticking with everything I wrote here haha..

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with the others. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's bad. I've got a box full of fragrances I thought smelled awful and haven't used them. I also have had many I thought I didn't like and ended up loving after using it. Now, I would say it's important to read reviews and if in doubt ask here as there are many who have likely tried it.

Judging a company because of one dislike and because you didn't get the answer you wanted isn't fair to that company. NG has excellent CS. Especially when it's your first post to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, you will find lots of excellent information here.

 

[not_ally]

Viv, I have not smelled Cognac and Cubans, but your description sure made me laugh! You are not one to hold back

Where are you reviewing these scents, on a blog, or did I just miss them here? I want to see more of your reviews.

 

[DeeAnna]

I have a feeling that it would put a company out of business to refund a person's money if he/she doesn't like a given fragrance. That's why these companies sell small amounts -- so folks can figure out what they like and what they don't like without a lot of expense. Can't speak about ginger FO, but I can say some FOs (and EOs) when smelled OOB have an unappealing (or even gosh awful) odor, but diluted in soap or other product, they smell really good.

I wouldn't judge any company by this particular issue, especially if the company has a good track record with other scents and with their customer service in general. I'd say Nature's Garden is a reputable company in my experience.

 

[not_ally]

D, I am pretty much with you. I personally am much too lazy to go to bat on refunds unless something is really egregious (ie; total non-delivery), but I have - once, in the context of hundreds of FO's - experienced something that I knew was really wrong.

I guess I think it is good to try to let the company know if you *really* know something is wrong. Not the "I don't like this scent and I don't think it matches your description" thing, which seems to be the case with the OP. But surely there must be a case in which FO sellers make mistakes and should refund when so?

Different context, but soaping suppliers, even reputable ones, sometimes make mistakes, eg. the ED lye brouhaha. IMO, they should have just said "it appears some of our lye batches w/ batch numbers ___ to ___ might be problematic, if you have received an order that fits within those parameters and are not happy with it, we will provide you with a refund/credit." I think their failure to do that was a great mistake on their part.

I know this is not the same thing, and I may be wandering too far afield, though.

 

[Stacyspy]

I have that same exact scent, and the same exact reaction...lol... And it's one of my best sellers

I had a Lavender/Eucalyptus FO from VA Candle Supply that I used in a mechanic's soap. I hated it out of the bottle. Felt that the Eucalyptus overpowered the Lavender. Even posted on here about how much I hated it. I disliked it when I soaped with it. Still too strong of a Eucalyptus scent and by that time I had already made up my mind that I hated it.

I made that mechanic's soap and tried my best to forget about it. Well, my calendar alerted me that 6 weeks had gone by and it was time to take the mechanic's soap off the curing rack. Lo and behold, the Eucalyptus had mellowed and you could actually smell the Lavender too. I gave one bar out to a friend and he took it to work (railroad). His buddies loved the scent.

All of this to say ... I agree, soap with the scent first. It might mellow out to what you think it should be after a nice cure or maybe it will mellow out to something that someone you know actually likes.

 

[cmzaha]

Ordered Fresh Ginger from Natures Garden...smells like garlic. Won't be using it or the company again... said they have no problems. Thank goodness I only ordered 8 oz. $10.00 down the drain!

Sorry to say, but if you continue soaping lots of $10's will be going down the drain for one reason or another. I just goofed a batch of camel milk soap @ $20 per pint and I am not a newbie... Natures Garden is a reputable company with many very nice fo's at reasonable prices.

 

[TVivian]

Viv, I have not smelled Cognac and Cubans, but your description sure made me laugh! You are not one to hold back

Where are you reviewing these scents, on a blog, or did I just miss them here? I want to see more of your reviews.

It's here on the forum somewhere. About a year (or so)ago I went crazy buying samples and tested them all in 4oz bars. I ended up buying 16oz bottles of some I liked, and then went crazy again with the samples. I've since had to observe some self control when I order from them. .. Those samples are so **** tempting!

By samples, I mean the 1oz bottles

 

[kchaystack]

It's here on the forum somewhere. About a year (or so)ago I went crazy buying samples and tested them all in 4oz bars. I ended up buying 16oz bottles of some I liked, and then went crazy again with the samples. I've since had to observe some self control when I order from them. .. Those samples are so **** tempting!

By samples, I mean the 1oz bottles

Awww I LIKE Cognac and Cubans... haha


BTW TViv, the 10 minute hot process woman really talked up one of your techniques in her latest video. The one with the pvc pipe pieces in the slab mold. You are You Tube famous.

 

[TVivian]

Awww I LIKE Cognac and Cubans... haha





BTW TViv, the 10 minute hot process woman really talked up one of your techniques in her latest video. The one with the pvc pipe pieces in the slab mold. You are You Tube famous.

kc- I actually bought a big bottle of this cause I was sure I'd love it.. Ended up tossing it. If I'd known I'd have sent it to ya!

I didn't watch her video(I'll have to now) , but I saw that she re-created the soap! I still think it's so crazy how that video blew up. Famous... Hardly ha!