Not very satisfied!

[HelenX]

This is my first year with bees, and I started back in February by ordering (online) two nucs for the end of May/beginning June.

Then I realised what was available locally, and bought an overwintered nuc and then later a full hive, from two different, equally helpful people. Both are doing really well, in spite of some early mis-management of the nuc.

Last Friday we collected the expensive nucs I had ordered. On Saturday morning we transferred them to our hives, and found they had no stores at all - just empty comb where they had eaten all their stores.

I know bees are hungry at the moment (I am feeding both my AS hives and the small swarm we collected, and my original two are seadily eating everything in their supers) but I did expect that they would have been fed well enough to arrive with stores! Thank goodness we didn't leave them in the travel boxes for the full 24 hours we were advised!

My second reason for being a little unhappy is that my understanding of buying a nucleus was that I could expect a queen with the first of her own progeny - but I have a nuc where the queen had been introduced just a few days before.

Do I have any grounds to grumble? Or is this par for the course?
I have not yet done a full inspection - just transferred them quickly to the hives (and topped up the contact feeders everyday so far).

Any comments appreciated.

 

[For want of a better word]

Sounds like your bees were shaken not stirred!

Contact the seller, and if no luck there go to your local Trading Standards

Just for interest how much did you pay, and did price include the Nuc box or is it returnable?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Sounds to me like you have just cause not to be satisfied. BBKA publish a leaflet detailing what they would expect to be in a nuc, including:


Queen.

There should be a current or previous season’s UK-reared
laying queen, and she should have produced all the brood.......​

Brood. ​

Brood and eggs in all stages should occupy at least half the total​

comb area, with no brood cycle break. Not less than 30% of the total​

comb area should be sealed brood. No more than 15% of the total​

comb area should be drone brood. There should be no active queen​

cells at any stage of development.​

Food. ​

It must be accepted that the food situation of a nucleus can vary​

considerably. A nucleus should have enough food for at least two weeks​

after purchase, without any further food coming in.​

Without debating the finer points of these statements , yours is a long way off. Full leaflet is at http://www .bbka .org.uk/files/library/nucleus_leaflet_2009_1306865665.pdf (removing the blanks)

 

[HelenX]

I paid £180 each (yes - I know better now!). They came in a 'cardboard' nuc box, which was included.

Helen

 

[oliver90owner]

Some suppliers are below the standard one would expect. Seems this one has fallen even well below the average. Complain and tell us all where you sourced your expensive nucs if there is no redress.

Regards, RAB

 

[HelenX]

M Abbeille,
Thank you very much - I will download the leaflet, and once I have done a proper inspection when I get home from work, I will contact the seller.

I do know I do not have a UK reared queen - I queried this when I heard the previous customer told that they had been released earlier in the week - I have been sold imported queens ("Greek Buckfast")

 

[For want of a better word]

Some suppliers are below the standard one would expect. Seems this one has fallen even well below the average. Complain and tell us all where you sourced your expensive nucs if there is no redress.

Regards, RAB

NAME AND SHAME!​

 

[kermit]

Worth a name and shame so others don't make the same mistake.

Dave

 

[psafloyd]

Surely we should only name and shame if the complaints are not satisfactorily dealt with?

NAME AND SHAME!​

 

[nematode]

Surely we should only name and shame if the complaints are not satisfactorily dealt with?

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Surely we should only name and shame if the complaints are not satisfactorily dealt with?

I disagree.
Any decent supplier would have known exactly what they were selling here. Resolving the problem when you get caught out does not constitute good customer service.
I think naming and shaming is a fair way of saying if you buy from this particular supplier you need to be wary.
As the OP said - the bees were pratically starving when they arrived.

 

[Skyhook]

M Abbeille,
Thank you very much - I will download the leaflet, and once I have done a proper inspection when I get home from work, I will contact the seller.

I do know I do not have a UK reared queen - I queried this when I heard the previous customer told that they had been released earlier in the week - I have been sold imported queens ("Greek Buckfast")

That in itself could be a good thing, depending on your point of view- greek buckfasts can be very good queens. It seems to be to depend a lot on what you were told you were getting. What you have would definitely constitute 2 nucs, albeit under-prepared and not to BBKA standard.

 

[psafloyd]

I agree it does not constitute great customer service, but this could be an isolated incidence of this.

Giving the retailer the opportunity to correct this shortfall in service not only is fairer, but prevents us maligning/defaking anyone unnecessarily. Nothing ever goes 100% right in business, even though we expect it to (and rightly so).

The OP didn't actually say they were practically starving, but that they had no stores. While this amounts to the same thing in practice, certainly if they'd been left for a further 24 hours, it is not actually what was said.

I disagree.
Any decent supplier would have known exactly what they were selling here. Resolving the problem when you get caught out does not constitute good customer service.
I think naming and shaming is a fair way of saying if you buy from this particular supplier you need to be wary.
As the OP said - the bees were pratically starving when they arrived.

 

[Poly Hive]

Steady on people.

The BBKA can write what they want it has no standing apart from being an advisory piece.

This dispute if such it is depends on what was thought to be the purchase and the reality that has been sent.

Was the question actually asked as to what this nuc was to contain? If not then there is very little ground to dispute.

Buyer beware.

PH

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I agree it's only fair to give suppliers a chance to respond but it's also important that suppliers know people will vote with their feet if they are sold junk.
Let's not forget the recent scorn poured upon the paint-stirrer company before anyone actually saw whether they would get their money back after being sent something that was different to what they expected.

Whatever the BBKA standard may be, selling a nuc with no stores at all is, at best, pretty unfair on the buyer.
We should be aiming to make it socially unacceptable for people to sell rubbish nucs to potentially unsuspecting beeks.

 

[For want of a better word]

Get all the facts collated in correct order, keep all receipts and copies of any correspondance. put everything in writing. keep copies of emails if you must send them,
open a dispute with the seller in writing and put an expected reply date.
If you can not amicably come to an agreement take matters to Trading Standards.
I would expect trading Standards to take notice of the BBKA advice leaflet as to what is expected in a NUC of bees, as like it or not, they [BBKA) are a respected authority

I agree that the supplier should face naming and shaming on this forum IF as you say the product sold to you was not as it should have been, once you have checked the facts.
your Original Post was asking opinions.. as if you ask 2 beekeepers a question you always get three answers !!!

 

[psafloyd]

Steady on people.

The BBKA can write what they want it has no standing apart from being an advisory piece.

This dispute if such it is depends on what was thought to be the purchase and the reality that has been sent.

Was the question actually asked as to what this nuc was to contain? If not then there is very little ground to dispute.

Buyer beware.

PH

 

[HelenX]

Thank you all very much for your varied opinions about what I should do next. Tonight I will look at the bees, look up exactly what I was told originally, read the BBKA leaflet, and send an email.

I will report back here when I have a reply, and if it is not a helpful one then I will publish the name.

Helen

 

[Poly Hive]

Sorry to say Helen but in this instance what the BBKA say means nothing.

What is important is what the agreed contract was between the vendor and yourself, which is the fancy way of saying what did he say, hopefully in writing, that the nuc would contain.

Now you also need to bear in mind that when he posted/set then in transit that they may well have had a frame of stores which then have consumed in transit.

Were there lots of dead bees on the floor? If not then there is not really an issue is there apart from your seeming expectation that there should be.

If you have been supplied a stonking nuc then you are ahead of the game not behind.. so you see it all depends....

And some of you need to just cool it a bit as the facts are no all here by any means, so before yelling off with the head lets see hmm?

PH

 

[drstitson]

i disagree. A vendor may well sort out an individual complaint to the satisfaction of that customer but then carry on regardless.

Letting the wider community know the nature of items for sale is part of the function of sites like this.