Harry & David — I Can’t Quit You?
When I received the card telling me I was receiving a Christmas gift from gift basket gurus, Harry & David, I didn’t know whether to be happy or disappointed.
In the past, I’ve been privy to giant corporate gift baskets containing all sorts of tasty Harry & David edibles but what I remember the most were the pears. Oodles and oodles of yucky looking pears.
As you may have guessed, I’m not a fan of the pear. Something about the gritty, somewhat mealy texture and the yellow and brown mottled exterior that makes a perfectly good pear look slightly rotten just doesn’t inspire me to eat one.
So anyway, I get this Harry & David gift basket delivered and as soon as I crack the plastic on the basket, I’m hit with the smell of something that resembles…FUEL? Someone dunked my basket in gasoline? The mind reels…
So I remove the block of cheese and tiny jar of apricot preserves and all the easter grass stuff on top to reveal what? Pears. Brownish, gasoline-scented pears to be exact.
That smell can be rather enchanting when one is pumping gas. Or sniffing permanent markers. But I like my funky yellow and brown fruit to at least smell like fruit. And with that, I tossed them in the trash.
I know. It’s a terrible waste. But like the oily chocolate fountain of Christmas-past, I just couldn’t think of a single person who would appreciate my re-gifting to them the gassy pears OR the accompanying gassy basket.
Did I forget to mention that this is the gift that keeps. On. Giving? Yes. I will be receiving a similar basket every month for the next ELEVEN months.
Whether I like it or not.
See, I called up Harry & David with the intention of asking them ever so nicely to substitute my very pricey fruit-of-the-month gift with something a bit more appealing and less fume-y.
Oh, and I didn’t want them to tell the gift-giver either because telling someone their gift is icky can sometimes be a little…I don’t know…AWKWARD?
But alas, my plan was foiled. Apparently, you cannot exchange an ill-fitting gift fromt H&D no matter how charming you are on the phone. Well, actually, you can if you’re the gift-giver and the rep on the phone suggested I take it up with them.
HELLO? Do you REALLY expect me to do that? That’s rude and ungracious and I prefer to keep my rudeness and ungraciousness to myself, thankyouverymuch. And? I really don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings because I know the gift was sent with love.
So I tried another approach, attempting to appeal to her greener, more eco-friendly side by requesting that they just not send me the fruit because I really don’t want it, cannot, in good conscience, regift it and it’s a terrible waste of food and resources to get these baskets to me every month.
And you know what girlfriend says to me?
“We can’t do that. We have to send it to you. The only way for you to not get it is for us to contact the sender and tell them you don’t want it and we’ll refund their money.”
Holy shizzle! They’re worse than my personal stalkers at Pottery Barn.
Why, Harry and David? Why are you forcing your pears on me?
WHYYYY can’t I quit you?
I hate pears too. Gritty nasty fruit.
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I would drop that sucker off to a food pantry or a nursing home every month.
Pears. Ick.
If the stuff didn’t reek of fuel, I would but it’s just too nasty.
Are you serious? They pride themselves on being such a great place to go for gifts - and they are being totally insensitive to the whole concept of gifts/returns!
Did you ask to speak to someone higher up? Seriously, I sometimes give gifts that I’m unsure of from certain stores because I know that if the person doesn’t like it then they can exchange for something they DO want.
I won’t be ordering anything from H&D anytime soon.
I like pears, but not when they’re sent through the mail. Kyle’s parents used to send us citrus fruit at the holidays, but they stopped after the year that it rotted en route.
Can’t they send you something less perishable? Like chocolate and wine?
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Ugh, I get so upset with H&D! I’ve had numerous bad experiences when gifting for my grandparents. Sketchy customer service, bad fruit, cheap looking packaging… definitely nothing I’d want to receive.
However my husband’s company sent us a basket from a place called The Fruit Company and it was FANTASTIC! Maybe you can coerce your gifter into switching to one of their gifts next year?
In the meantime, maybe compost the pears?
I used to have a boss who’s wife thought the Harry and David gift basket was the ULTIMATE gift. Until I went into his office and said “Oh My GOD did you really just send me a $12 PEAR?” and he was like “What?” So I showed him what we got, 2 pairs that cost like $12 each. MAN that’s a WOWZER of a gift.
After that, at least, he had the decency to make her send us cheesecakes from them.
Wow, they really have a way of saying thank you for your money but we don’t give a shit what you want. I can go to the mall for that attitude thanks.
I like pears. I love certain types of pears (like Asian Pears that are not the gritty texture). None of them should smell like gas. While I understand that you didn’t really care since you don’t like the pears, I would have made them send you a replacement (that THEN you could have regifted or given to a pantry, neighbor, whomever).
As to the fulfillment. What they have to do is not so unreasonable. They have been paid and “contracted” to deliver a set number of items to you over the next 12 months. You are not party to the contract (only the recipient). They really can’t just not complete their end of the contract without one of the parties (meaning the buyer) agreeing to it.
It is unfortunate that Harry and David are continuing to live on reputation. They used to have products that people loved to receive. Overpriced? Sure. But the items they sent used to be exquisitely wrapped and perfect appearing (and tasting… assuming you actually like it of course). Now, not so much. The fruit now looks little more than than something from the local food store thrown in a pretty box. Certainly no longer worth the expense.
But through it all, try and remember, while it is not really a gift you appreciate, it is far from a really sucky present (think Fruitcake from discount outlet). The person that sent you this did have their heart in the right place, and since you got a full 12 moths, they obviously were willing to splurge. Not exactly the worst kind of people to have in your life.
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It’s wrong of me to laugh at your PEAR-dicament…(lol) but alas, I’m a pear hater too, so I feel your pain.
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Ew. Well, if they ferment long enough maybe you’ll have a nice liqueur. Mmmm. LOL
Well, I - as a matter of fact - USED to like pears. But, now…well…if you need me, I’ll be the crazy lady sniffing pears in the produce aisle…thankyouverymuch!
pumpkpinpie loves pears - but not garnished with petroleum products. Blech. I hate that kind of waste, too. Do you have any neighbours you don’t like but could pretend to be making nice with?
i like pears, but that sounds all kinds of wrong. argh.
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I’m wit Crystal - food pantries or your clergyperson’s suggested people - or maybe the early breakfast program at school? You’d probably have to deliver them unopened for liability reasons but it’s at least worth considering.
I can only tolerate pears poached in booze and stuffed with chocolate mousse. Once a year. Even then, I can’t stand that weird feeling my teeth have when I’m done. Ew. Pear flavor is okay, though.
Regarding your dilemma, I was thinking that maybe you could call the giver and tell them how much you love Harry and David, and how excited you were to get the gift. But, when you opened the first shipment there was a fuel-like odor and the pears were bruised. Tell them how completely difficult customer service was about it and that you couldn’t possibly, in good conscience, let them pay Harry and David another cent. Totally true. I think they would be happy to know, since H&D is totally built on rep (and apparently, at one time, quality). The added bonus: I bet they won’t be ordering any of that crap for anyone else, either. Just doing your part to insure a smaller distribution of flammable fruit. Every little bit counts. I’m sure any disappointment over giving you a bum gift will be overshadowed by their irritation with H&D.
I’m still laughing over here but I must say, guiltily, after reading this that I love H&D pears. My hubby actually bought them special this year for us too (usually he just sends them to his clients). They were definitely not fuel-smelling…but scrumptous. If they were, that would have definitely send me over the edge, I mean these pears cost a small fortune. Sorry to hear they are the gift that won’t go away…damn stalkers.
Gah. Hate pears.
I don’t think I would like any kind of Harry & David gift set for an entire year. That’s a lot of stuff. Harry & David are good once a year.
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The only thing worse than an unwanted gift basket is terrible customer service. YUCK. My only advice is to donate it to a local soup kitchen each month. My husband LOVES pears. I can’t figure it out either.
I recently discovered this site (www.ecoexpress.com) that seems to have cool, eco gift baskets. So maybe you can suggest the site to your generous friend. My only question, does your Harry and David gift giver read your blog?
I think it’s just weird that the gift recipient can’t request something of equal value from Harry & David without getting the gift giver involved. That seems like a major customer service oversight to me.
Damn, you didn’t like the gift i sent you.
EcoExpress dropships their fruit gifts from GotFruit.com, and their quality is almost always far below than that of your local grocer. NASTY. We actually ordered the organic tower and not all the non-fruit components were labeled properly. SEVERE problem if you have someone with a nut allergy, like my youngest son.
Haha, I may have done research on this subject in the past. Like I said above, the best I’ve found is thefruitcompany.com.
I outsmarted them this year. We got The 12 Days of Christmas which contained 12 little boxes of different things including one with one pear. It was brown and squishy. I called and asked them to replace the one pear. They said they can’t send a partial pear order but offered an 8 oz box of truffles instead which arrived a few days later completely overpacked and with ice packs (in December?!). So much better than the pear we didn’t want in the first place!
That sounds like the worst nightmare ever. Yikes. Is it really pears every time? Yick.
Harry and David’s is one of those companies that I like the thought of, but would never want to spend the money on…especially if the fruit tasted of gas! Ugh.
I love pears but not through the mail. It seems like they ALWAYS suck.
I hate companies that operate that way. HATE them.
Hopefully, someone at that company will notice this post and contact you.
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What a nightmare. I mean, the worst part is getting a year’s worth! Nearly Dante-esque, as a circle in Hell. I have my own mail order food gift issue. Every year, my very wealthy and sophisticated brother and his wife send us a Hickory Farm Yule Log, the day after Thanksgiving, with wishes for a happy New Year. !
I love pears, and the ones in the Harry & David catalog always look so juicy and yummy. My Dad sends us a H&D “Tower of Treats” every Christmas, it has chocolate truffles, huge dried cherries covered in chocolate, and chocolate mints. Too bad you didn’t get that instead.
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What if you just tell them you’re allergic to pears and you don’t want to offend the gift giver by making them feel bad? How insane are these people at H&D?
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I shudder at the thought! I despite pears, and you just outlined my very worst nightmare.
I like the idea of telling them you’re allergic and if even a drop of pear juice gets on your cheese or other items, you will suffer a possibly-deadly reaction and then you will OWN H&D. I say try that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…there is no customer service. And don’t tell me she couldn’t have made an exception by speaking to her supervisor. Pass the unopened basket to the Salvation Army, Good Will or food Kitchen. What idiots…
My best,
Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
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At the risk of exposing too much of my recently acquired H&D knowledge by working in the call center during this last holiday season…
The monthly fruit shipments are usually a different fruit each month. I’m not sure why they couldn’t substitute a different item other than that there isn’t much else in the price range of those fruit of the month clubs. Subbing a less expensive item would require a partial refund to the customer, thus frustrating your desire to not alert the gift giver to the problem.
The customer service associate should have been able to come up with a better solution than “sorry - you’re stuck” though. Sometimes one must be creative to solve these problems, and not all of them make the effort. You could always just sub something else (chocolates maybe?) for the months that deliver fruit you don’t care for.
Also, Harry & David is really good about sending replacements so if you call and say the pears were bad, they’ll send you a replacement pretty much with no questions asked. Don’t just settle for pears that were frozen/spoiled/damaged in shipping.
In summary, I would call back and try again. I think the person you spoke to was either mistaken, incorrect, or just lazy. Don’t be afraid to ask to speak to a supervisor either.
Pears one month, okay, although I think they are WAY overpriced and just about as good as the $1.38 per lb ones I got in the market. Pears months 2 and 3, no way! and I told them I would not accept them. Now they are issuing a refund to my son who sent us the gift, which is just fine. I suggest people give potential gift givers the names and telephone numbers of LOCAL markets and florists for gifts that aren’t overpriced and undervalued.