Otter Nurseries-Wincanton

Terrible experience and will never buy from here again. We have used this garden centre regularly over the past few years and were fully intending to purchase a large number of plants and one or two garden statues following the completion of work to our garden. We arrived today to collect a planter that we had ordered online. We were asked by a member of staff to drive our car down a small access track and were then taken to see the planter - just to check that it was the right one. I said that I would go and pay for the item and my husband, with the help of the member of staff, was going to put the planter into the car. When I returned after paying the gentleman we had spoken to was nowhere to be seen so we decided to put the planter into the car ourselves. We were then approached by another member of staff, a stocky young man with dark hair, who demanded that we tell him what we were doing there. We explained what had happened but this appeared to have little or no effect on this individual who reiterated that we shouldn't be there and started to inform us of the company's health and safety policy. He then demanded the name of the person who had told us to park there. We didn't know the chap's name so this officious individual starting phoning people and asking each person, in turn, who had shown us down to this area. We felt that he didn't believe us and continued to try and explain that we had been told to drive our car down there and then had been taken beyond the gate to look at the planter. We were putting the planter into the car when yet another member of staff arrived and asked if we were all right. The officious individual then started to tell this new victim the saga. My husband had had enough by this time and made a comment that the other man wouldn't stop going on about it. The culmination was that the officious individual slammed his hand against a sign on the gate several times before marching off. At this point my husband and I both agreed that we didn't want the planter having been spoken to in such a way. We unloaded it from the back of the car and my husband drove the car to a parking space whilst I went to obtain a refund. I asked to speak to a manager and I have to say that the lady who spoke to me was really lovely, extremely professional and couldn't apologise enough. As I pointed out to her, not only was the officious individual rude but that, as customers, we did not need to be witness to him phoning different people in order to find out who had told us to park where we had. I feel sorry for the other staff at this garden centre who have always, until now, been so helpful. Having had an experience like this, we won't be returning.

Visited on Sunday. Was very impressed with the lady who helped us choose a tree. All in all love this place. Only downside was the latte coffee served in the café, tasted more like a glass of milk not coffee. I did point this out and the ladies were very good trying to rectify the problem with no avail. I drink latte coffee and know how it should taste and was annoyed when a kitchen maid appeared putting her nose in telling me how it should taste, quite rude I thought. Thanks to the ladies who tried their best, not their fault. Suggest the management change their make of coffee. Will be back Though