Flowerland - Bourne End reviews

Garden Centre

Hedsor Road,
Bourne End,
Bucks SL8 5EE
Contact Us
For business or web enquiries please contact us at:
Address
Hedsor Road, Bourne End, Bucks SL8 5EE
Tel - 01628 523926
Fax - 01628 810735
Email - customerservices@flowerland.co.uk

Flowerland - Bourne End website

20 reviews
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Review added 14/08/2022 13:33 by Mary Bolton

Sadly, I have to agree with the negative comments about the cafe.
I met a few friends there this morning and first impressions of the outside cafe area were appalling. Clearly nothing had been tidied or cleaned from the day before and the table was really dirty.
One of our group walked back to the service area to say that the table needed to be cleaned with a wet cloth. The woman there put a wet cloth into my friend’s hand without a word being spoken or any help offered.
One wipe over an area of the table and the cloth was black. Clearly this is totally unacceptable and I don’t think it would meet any standard for the serving of food and drink.
A very disappointing visit and we will not be returning.

Review added 16/03/2022 12:14 by Jess McEvoy

A huge shout out to Brynn, Dennis, Catherine and one other girl who was so helpful and kind, (whose name I can't remember, sorry!) at Flowerland Bourne End on a recent visit!

Went in one evening last week, not knowing what to get for 2 people very special to me. The two girls were amazing, patient, kind, helpful and helped me choose a wonderful plant and tree even though it was almost closing time.

Dennis who has worked there 46 years (?) in the plant section is a walking Wikipedia on horticulture for any beginner like me (or experienced) gardener. Very little he doesn't know about plants and all things horticultural…

The icing on the cake was Brynn, Assistant Manager, who delivered the tree some days later; picked his brains, gave me free advice on how to look after several plants in my garden and followed up with a call with tree care advice for my new tree.

So thank you Flowerland Bourne End! So special to have a small (family owned) business on our doorstep, where people actually care.

Review added 03/08/2018 23:21 by anon

Visited flowerland last week to notice newly refurbished restaurant which looks amazing. New tiles new seating and tables. New flooring builders looked like they worked hard and have pride in their work. But and a big but is the food and management in the restaurant. Problem after problem complained to staff about our chicken cold and had only to have some tall foreign guy being rude and smelling of cigars telling us there is nothing wrong. Will never visit this place again. Very sad.

Review added 02/06/2017 16:38 by anon

The restaurant offers a (too) basic menu and the service and food is not at an acceptable level. There is always a strange smell, rather than an appetising one and it could do with a thorough cleaning.
Furthermore, there is a lack of good customer service in the gardening section. I shop here often and always have to lift heavy items (rocks, pots) as there is only one elderly gentleman who is friendly and keen, but always busy lifting for others. Cashiers never offer to get someone to lift so I lift my own compost bags (6) and topsoil into my car. Prices in line with other garden centres but I have found that the health of plants and range of available plants does not make it worth a visit, as I always have to go elsewhere anyway. Although I am part of the loyalty card scheme, I never receive correspondence or offers, despite bringing this up with management.They can not compete with the loyalty offers from Hare Hatch Wyvale. This week was the final straw for me when a cashier told me that they would no longer look up my details on their system without a card being presented as it took too long (a whole 2 minutes!) and that it was because, "some customers are just lazy and don't bring their cards". I have sent customer services a complaint and hope they act on it or they will loose more customers.I will not set my lazy foot back there again!

Review added 22/11/2015 23:19 by anon

This garden centre is our local one and having tried the cafe once before and not been impressed we dared to try it again....wish we hadn't. Firstly no system at counter so we ordered and had to repeat this again to pay. No number given so staff wondering around hoping you may see him and only turned up with half the order we had said twice. The soup was not hot and bread was only white to go with it! So when we checked our bill we had not been charged for the missing item, the toasted sandwich was so burnt it was hardly edible. The tables are laid out like a school canteen and most had dirty dishes left on them. Generally felt very uninviting and dirty. All the staff were miserable and we decided to leave never to return except for garden stuff
This cafe has huge space and I suggest to owners/managers you visit others like Dorney Kitchen /Stubbings who make their cafe special to pull in extra trade but in the meantime at least employ cheerful staff who take care in the service they offer at the counter and someone is asked to keep an eye on clearing tables and cleaning them.

Review added 21/11/2015 16:33 by anon

do not use the restaurant. we arrived there before 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon in mid November. No baked potatoes, no soup, what was left of the hot dishes were dried up offerings. lots of salads available on the coldest day of the season so far!the chips we bought were over cooked , hard and cold. The cakes on offer were far from appetising and looked old and stale. As for the staff well they couldn't be less interested in helping if they tried. Tables needed to be wiped and areas already closed off for the afternoon.
Such a shame as the garden centre itself has a great selection and lots of variety.
I will be inclined in future to use the Wyevale at Little Marlow for my gardening needs as they have an excellent cafe and a good general selection.

Review added 02/08/2015 10:28 by anon

The Cafe should be avoided at all costs. Cutlery, cups and saucers grubby, coffee luke warm and only half filled. Bird mess on seats, and tables uncared for. Notice displayed to customers to return their used trays etc to a collection point! It's very easy to find so much better today. To top it off the toilets are disgusting.
I would not normally review but having mailed Flowerland through their "Contact Us" page and received no reply they deserve NEGATIVE publicity.

Review added 23/03/2015 17:39 by anon

The range and quality of flowers is very good, on my visit today I was delighted to find an unusual shrub. However, as I was with a friend I decided to visit the café. We had two teas and a scone, jam and butter. We were having a delightful chat until an employee opened the two large windows behind us on a freezing cold day! We both got up to leave and I asked him why he had not asked us before he did this as we were OK before and were getting very cold. With a sullen attitude he told us the chef had told him to do so. With that he turned his back on us and walked away. Customer service and the attitude of staff in this café are sorely lacking. I will not be visiting again. We only did so as the new tea shop in Cookham was closed today.

Review added 07/01/2015 13:29 by Julie Keeble

Just avoid the restaurant, I have photos. The food was awful, when we mentioned this to the restaurant manager he was not interested and could not see the problme with the food. I wrote to head office and surprisingly had no reply.

Review added 15/01/2014 09:52 by Mrs M Palethorpe

I quite agree with a lot of these reviews.I sent an e-mail last year to which I never received a reply, regarding the dire food and cleanliness in your cafe, it was disgusting, the staff had an attitude of couldn't care less, wiping their noses on their sleeves, the table we sat at was surrounded by small fruit flies, where the cloth that was used to wipe the table was so dirty, the smell attracted the flies, and this was in November and cold, hate to be there on a hot day.The family on the next table ordered a lot of food which must have cost a small fortune, took one mouthful and got up and left.Well Mr Howard I think you need to do something about your customer service, as we have all enjoyed Flowerland at some time or other and it is such a shame to lose customers in this day and age.

Review added 27/09/2013 15:00 by Ann S

Do the management here ever read this website since posting their last message? Every single posting by a customer here complains about exactly the same problem, and it gets no better. Also, many people have complained to them in the shop over a very long period, but nobody seems to have listened. I know of two professional gardeners who used to buy their plants and equipment there, but can no longer be bothered with it.

The routes through this place are incredibly frustrating and irritating, as described in messages below. It used to be a pleasant, open shop area but is now far too complicated and time-wasting, and definitely no longer my family’s first choice of garden centre with so many others around here to choose from.

They could easily sell lots of other things and keep them well away from the gardening stuff, so that the gardeners can just pick up what they need quickly and walk straight though to the till, as suggested many times below and in the shop. Or would that be just too simple for whosever convoluted mind designed this tortuous, hugely unpopular trail through?

Personally, I prefer to shop where the customers’ convenience and very valid requests count for something.

Review added 26/09/2013 19:21 by M houlihan

Never again so sad it has become anything but a garden center. You need a degree to find your way out then have to wait as there are seldom e more then 1 till open.

Review added 09/11/2012 15:22 by Her upstairs

It has become a trial to pop in and out. I know what I want, I know where it is - why do I have to trek past furniture and goods that I do not want at the moment? It's an otherwise excellent shop, but I think twice if I am in a hurry these days.

Review added 17/07/2012 11:38 by Beth

As a customer since it opened, I have always liked the gardening side of this shop, even though it is sometimes difficult to find the plants we are looking for (too much is now outside at the back). Some of the more mature staff give good, expert advice and the excellent pet shop is run by very nice, helpful people.

But then there is then the long, winding trek back to the front counter - if you can find it! Irritating enough, but especially when pushing a fully laden trolley while carrying a couple of heavy plants which wouldn't fit onto it (the shop has long needed better, two or three tier trolleys, sized to accommodate the plant trays).

So I agree with the last reviewer - the indoor layout is dreadful, with a huge amount of frivolous, often non-gardening items diverting customers and getting in the way. Why can't the real gardeners have a straight, wide route back to the tills - as before? Even when buying other items like garden furniture, gardening products and tools, we could then always see clearly where to find them and would often browse there anyway.

Another big improvement would be to remove those dreadful, sickly smelling goods just inside the entrance, which always put us off the shop as soon as we walk in. Some sweet smelling indoor plants would be so much nicer - and far more appropriate.

We have overheard many grumbles of this kind while standing in the till queue and gather that similar complaints have been put to the management over a long period. Except for the pet shop and cafe, we don’t enjoy our visits as much as we used to.

Please listen, Flowerland!

Review added 16/07/2012 17:05 by anon

Good product, absolutely fantastic pet shop, nice little craft shop, but appalling layout in the main area. Absolutely loathe the way you have to walk through all that (to me) overpriced junky 'distressed' furniture and overly expensive garden furniture in order to get to the check out. Honestly, if you want to buy that stuff you're buy it anyway, if it's not your thing (and it's really not my cup of tea)then it's a waste of time having to walk past it all. Customers don't generally decide on a whim to spend upwards of £500 on a piece of furniture for the garden, so why bother making them walk round it? It could just as easily have it's own section; tuck it all into the corner at the back where you'll find the real gardeners struggling to find the sundry bits and pieces that they need.

Review added 08/08/2010 21:30 by Rob

Having reviewed my post my comment that the fire signage is appalling is a bit strong. There are however places in the "maze" where signage can't be easily seen. Easily and cheaply fixed. (and not optional)

Review added 08/08/2010 14:17 by Hugh Evans

Thanks for your reviews of Bourne End Garden Centre. I'm going to give us 4 stars as we are trying to improve. Some people like the new routing some don't. Sorry to those that don't but it is only 50 meters/1 minute longer than before. Most peolpe spend an hour on site so it is a very small extra. Some people who don't like it complain to the Fire Officer, rest assured he has approved the layout and signage several times and we have demonstrated an evacuation of the centre in the requisite time. There is a short cut so you can go directly from the plants/restaurant to the checkout/exit, it's not hard to use or find. It is likely that the interior routing will change slightly and will be shorter in the near future.

We would like to improve other aspects of the site more quickly, such as lighting, toilet refurbishment, but we have been under orders from our useless bankers not to spend money on our business! That will change soon (as will our bankers).

We grow locally half the plants we sell, and we are pleased with our plant quality. We're still family owned and operated. Our garden club members get 10% off plants on Tuesday and 2.5p per £1 voucher on all purchases. We hope that overall a visit is good value and enjoyable. Thank you for your custom.

Hugh Evans, Managing Director flowerland

Review added 07/08/2010 22:39 by Digger

Good, healthy looking plants and a wide selection of shrubs. Inviting, open plan entrance area and the next large room. Nice pet shop and deli and good cafe, serving large portions. A few helpful, knowledgeable staff, too, if you avoid most of the youngsters. But I was unimpressed watching numerous floating, dead (diseased?) fish being eaten by others in the aquatic dept on a recent visit while staff stood by chatting, unconcerned even when someone complained.

Agree with previous reviews about the maze in the main hall, dully lit and unappealing despite some nice stock. It doesn’t feel comfortable to spend any time in because, when you walk into each section of it, there is a wall straight ahead with no obvious exit immediately evident. I even forgot to look for the items I had gone in there for.

It’s true that you can retrace your route to eventually get to the till from the entrance aisle but, with a loaded trolley, that feels a long way back from this point.

Review added 07/08/2010 17:01 by Rob

I've just been there. They have a food hall which wasn't there before. Quite a few shabby chic items that were nice if you like that sort of thing. Very well stocked with everything else. Easily accessible by wheelchair. It looks like the only room with the maze style walkways is the main shop. Bearing in mind the style of walkway the fire exit signage is appalling. They appear to still be working on the place and all in all it looks like it's worth a longer stop than I made. You can get straight from the entrance to the exit aisle if you look hard enough.

Review added 31/07/2010 19:42 by Tom and Judy

This is a good garden centre for many things, but we really loathe the interior of the place since it was changed - and so now avoid it where possible. The new lengthy, convoluted route (with no visible short cuts to the till) gives a feeling of intense claustrophobia - and anger that it is wasting our time if we happen to be in a hurry.

No longer is it possible to see a clear route through with lovely large, open areas on each side of the walkway. Now, this over-complicated, winding IKEA-like layout doesn’t entice us to buy anything at all in that whole enclosed building, as we simply feel trapped and want to escape. Others we have met in there, who like us were also frantically seeking a hasty getaway, confirmed that they feel exactly the same.

Such a pity as, in the days when it was open and airy, it was a lovely inviting shop where we would often browse and buy numerous things that we hadn't gone in there for, but it now has only limited appeal.