Hale Groves / Southern Fulfillment Services
reviews and complaints

In November, we ordered a basket of fruit to be sent out, when the receipient received the basket of fruit it was moldy and mushy, not eatable..

We called Hale Groves several times and we’re on hold from 30-60 minutes before we got to talk to a real person. The customer care person Tylor, was not pleased that we wanted a replacement basket of fruit for the moldy mushy fruit.

It was tough to get Hale Groves to resend another box of fresh fruit to replace the moldy mushy fruit. They finally said they would send it but we would have to pay for shipping. Ah, no way, we have paid for this package already, then the agent agreed to send a new fresh box of fruit without shipping fees. Whew, what an exhausting phone call to get what we should have received from the beginning.

That phone call including hold time was 90 minutes.

The second package was sent out without a card or any indication who it was from. The receiver had no clue as to who sent the package. When we talked to our friends and they laughed about the box of fruit and candy and nuts being sent but no card saying who sent it.

Hale Groves said there was a notice on the package with our name as the sender. Also Hale Groves don’t care if anyone sees the notice with sender name.

We highly suggest that customers use caution in choosing who to order your holiday fruit baskets from.

We will NEVER again use Hale Groves to order anything. We are done with their poor product, poor customer care, long annoying phone calls.

I thought to try these oranges however super pricey ! I ordered 2 trays of honeybelles and 2 trays of navel. The brochure says picked to ship. No way these can mold this fast if they are picked to ship. They look like they have been rotting for a month in a dark box this definitely didn’t make quality control in 4 separate boxes and 2 types of oranges. There was a foul odor coming from the box that stunk up my entire house and contaminated it. Customer service wants me to count the oranges to refund me for just the moldy oranges . What a waste of time as I was going to give 2 boxes as a gift . I would have been horrified if I shipped these to someone special and they received rotted product . Yuck ! Dissapointed in Nevada

I ordered Honeybell oranges using a coupon through Better Homes and Gardens. My order finally arrived on Friday, Jan. 25th. I called and talked to a female to file a complaint and she told me that the honeybells this year didn't have the raised top for some reason. I didn't believe what she was saying to me. The owner might want to eliminate some employees, because they are not fulfilling orders, regarding what people are specifically ordering. Hale Groves won't stay in business very long if this kind of stuff continues. A very disappointed customer.

Sincerely,

Valarie Cole

I received a gift of fruit and other items on Dec 12. The oranges were completely green with mold. At first I didn't realize what they were. The pears were bruised and had small cuts in them. I had never heard of Halegroves but my niece had sent them. I didn't want to tell her how bad it was so I contacted customer service. I was told a replacement would be sent but could not be sent until after Christmas which seemed strange to me. They also asked me to send them pics of the fruit via email which I did. No response and no fruit. The woman I spoke with said this never happens. REALLY? I'm the only one? I would suggest NEVER using this company. They really don't care what they send out

On January 30, 2018, I placed an order with Hale Groves in Vero Beach, Florida, for an advertised special on honey bell oranges. My expected delivery was January 5-10, 2018. On January 7th I received my order from them. Upon opening the box I saw immediately they were not honey bells and to make matters worse, what they did send was a box of rotten navel oranges. I immediately called their customer service department to let them know I hadn't received what I ordered. The agent informed me they had run out of honey bell oranges, and that's why I didn't get them! I was incredulous! I asked why I wasn't notified via email or otherwise prior to my order being shipped out. There was no answer other than being told "There isn't anything we can do, when they're gone they're gone." We will issue you a refund and you can keep the oranges (which I'm throwing out anyway). Great answer, right? Needless to say, I will never again order from Hale Groves. Consumer beware before ordering from them; they are not a good company to do business the way they do.

I ordered sweet tangerines for forming Christmas gifts for my Russian friends (this fruit is very symbolic to them). I was unpleasantly surprised when I opened the box. The tangerines were rotten and smelled terrible. I don't know whose fault it is. Certainly, they weren't sent like this, but maybe the box was broken before or during the trip to my house? I don't know. I am very disappointed. Maybe they should pay more attention to the delivery service they work with...

Hale Groves quality of product and service has declined dramatically over the past few years ...Strongly recommend avaiding using Hale Groves.
Product (monthly shipments of fruit from Florida) consistently comes spoiled and customer service is a foreign concept to the company. Completely unsatisfactory ...never returns calls ...promised refunds do not show up ...etc. AVOID.