I did finally get through to Chris on the phone and he said that he would send out the 5 trees, 1 at a time starting Monday. I think it's wierd he Cant send them all at the same time. He didnt charge my card yet, but the minute he does and I dont have at least 1 tree I am calling the Credit Card Company and getting that repealed. I've been through a lot of crap of ordering stuff online and I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I'll be ready for this liar.

"We have been through a lot here in this house and shop. The nonsense posted on the GWD is mostly that. And I admit my mistakes, I think I make that pretty clear on the customer service page.
You claim you can get no updates on your order but in red type in several places on the shipping pages it lets you know that current shipping problems
You claim you cannot get the correct info on shipping costs, but it linked into your receipt it is also in chart linked to the section you bought the trees in.
I am not going to ship the order because you have set a no win paradigm, so the stage is set for anything possible thing that goes wrong with the shipping , the weather and the plant I will lose the argument. You have set this with the claim that I am liar and cheat, no I just like a lot of people overwhelmed with a family health tragedy just trying to get through day/ week and season. The person who helped me 7 years not here to help another 3 to 4 weeks at best.
We quickly coming up on 11,000 online orders over the last 26 months and phone orders run about 2 to one on that, so the few bad ones and few major or minor misunderstandings that get posted don't impress me.
Expend all your energy you want you can now buy your trees for 1/3 to 1/4 the size and will pay a lot more than would have paid us.
What I want to see is just who you got you trees from and how big the little saplings were or just how much you over paid for the plants. So put up your Irish invoice paper fists and put up or shut up and lets look at the paper work when you are done.
Your order has been credited in full so I could get the first punch in, now lets see the counter punch with paper work and pictures of the replacement plants, and make sure they are
standards and not dwarfs or semi
the plants are about 3 years of age
48 to 54 inches tall
3/4 to 1" trunk caliper
and ready to fruit
Chris"

Here was my response:

Chris,

Here's a reply to all three of your emails.

"I am taking my business elsewhere because of the poor customer service you provide, also because of the not-so-up-to-standards (to say the least!) delivery time you provide. Ýes, I know your trees are big, thats why I placed an order, so I could get quality, big trees. But, then I figured, It's one thing, Chris, to rave about having big, nice, already fruiting citrus tress, and it's another thing to actually get them to the customers who ordered them! That is why I canceled my order.

I was also kind of worried about you sending one tree out at a time. It's a little suspicious, I've never heard of that before.

The Garden Watchdog does not lie, either do the countless Online Garden Forums I post at, such as GardenWeb.com.

You took time to send me that nice little comment from another customer. How do I know that you just typed that up yourself? You wrote two positive comments about yourself (!PSYCHO!) on Garden Watchdog.

Here is the place I will be buying my new trees from: http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/ They have great trees, great shipping prices ($13 INCLUDING ALL HANDELING CHARGES, ONLY $13!!), and most importantly, and coincidently the one that that you dont have, great customer service. I think they get their trees out to their customers within 14 days of placing and order...when was the last time you sent out an order?!!

Yes, the trees aren't standard, they're dwarfs, but hey, I'll live...at least I can rest assured my trees will actually get to me!, check them out at Garden Watchdog....they have a 100% approval rating!

I understand your family illness, My mother has a horrible auto-immune disease that they is dying of right now. When that happens I make sure that I slow down at work and not do as much.

I think your a company that is trying to grow too fast. Why not have less customers, that are all satisfied, instead of getting in all this turmoil with creditcard companies, and agencies like the BBB.

Just Understand why I took my business elsewhere and maybe learn from it. In the future if you clean up your act I would be more than happy to order some stadard trees from you. Actually I am quite disapointed that you are so distrustful that I couldnt buy your great citrus trees. Thanks,

Matt"

So there's my story...

On the other hand I am happy you got out of that deal before he stole money from your account before you had a chance to do anything.
I hope you enjoy your new citrus. I get mine at Briteleaf, Harris, and AcornSpring...and know what I'm getting..
But from now on, when I order other tropicals I'm sure going to check GWD...Toni

Yes, am I glad too! I first started getting suspicious today when I couldnt get ahold of them, thats when I posted this thread and check out GWD. I'm so thankful that I looked into this company. I guess you can't belive a thing that comapnies post on their website. (I may sound naive.) I can't wait to get my trees from Four Winds!
Matt

After reading the message board on GWD, you weren't the only person who couldn't get hold of them..And to think they had ppl working at Growquest add positive feedback..lol..I wonder how they got caught..'Bet that was a shocker..Out of 2 pages, how many positives were there, not counting the two frauds? LOL..Toni

Stuart

Myself I have never gotten a 3/4 or 1" dia tree, from them as Growquest said they have.

FourWinds back there trees 100%, If there is a problem you can call them or E-Mail them, For help or troubles, And they are right there, In my opinion I rate them very high.

Another good Vendor is mckenzie-farms..Stan the owner is very nice and helpful. He also sells nice trees that are low cost and healthy.

Unfortunately I do not plan on buying any more trees this season. If I did I would try Tams, they sound like GOOD people...I hope you the Best of luck in your new order..Dale

The only good things to come out of my horrible Growquest experience: I found GardenWeb and GWD! I posted my experience at GWD.

He has routinely not only not delivered products, but has threatened people over and over. He generally blames his customers for his own problems. If he was as mean to his wife as he appears to be to his customers, it's no wonder she has problems.

Stuart

Stuart..I almost made the mistake of getting trees from them this Spring. After viewing there Web site an GardenWatchdog I felt I would not..Thank God..Dale

Doing good business is really not that hard. Like anything in life you need to begin with a good foundation. The people who win in life are the people who have this foundation… they care about people, love what they are doing and practice a few universal laws; 1) give back as much as you take 2) always practice kindness even when people are down your throat 3) Keep your promises

There is more to it then that. Remember that my background is in business and any business can operate with basic GOOD business rules, however being compassionate and courteous to people comes from a deeper place within.

I truly feel that a lot of people in the nursery business are just plain busy or they don’t really have good internet or customer service skills. You see a lot of good trades people that know their stuff but when it comes to marketing and dealing with the public they stink. My strong suit are those things but I don’t have a degree in horticulture so when a customer ask me a question and I don’t know the answer I have to spend the time researching it or pass along my own personal experience. Still the most important thing to them is that they can call or write and get help. It’s the personal touches that build a good customer base.

I’ve talked with Chris on the phone and we toyed with the idea of him shipping CA products for me and cover that region to help customers save on shipping cost. I would do the same for him here in Florida since we can’t ship to each others state. He’s really a nice guy and I referred him a lot of business and then I stopped because of shipping delays. I think he just bit off more then he could chew. If I get really busy I stop my Google ads for a while and let my customers know ahead of time that I can’t ship. I know what I can comfortably do and to be honest I have no great desire to turn all this into a HUGE business even though I absolutely can with my knowledge and background. At this point in my life I need to do things that bring me happiness, give back to the world and I never want to get so busy that I don’t have time to talk to my customers on the phone or answer their emails. Getting rich is just not a motivation for me any longer or I never would have gotten into this business to start with.

Mail order plants is a tough business. In addition to rules and regulations there are countless customer service issues to deal with. You can know everything you need to know about how to grow an orange tree but dealing with the public is a whole other story.

And I want to take this time to thank everyone here. I continually learn so much here. Your support, emails, help, etc. mean so much to me. I love this place.

It's like anything, do some research, try not to get burned too much and work with people you know have good practices.

This is what I like about Ebay is the feedback. It gives customers a good idea.

Simply call your bank and dispute the charge. Let them know that you never received the product and that the company now is out of business. You may have to fill out a form, or two. But you'll get your money back. Credit card companies almost always side with the customer (opposed to the merchant). I would think your case would be a slam-dunk one: you paid and they never shipped. Good luck.

I have had at least 3 customers contact me with the same problems listed here. As I mentioned I did refer some customers because it was closer or they were in CA and I can’t ship there. They were quite upset.

I went to Yahoo and Google to ramp my placements up again and noticed that he’s still paying for placement in both Google and Yahoo. Only in Google his web site is: http://www.abpwholesale.com/

The site is exactly the same as the other. No where on these sites does it say anything about shutting down or problems.

I’m a little perplexed and I don’t want this come off like I’m worried about competition, I’m not. I just hate seeing people ripped off and leaving a bad taste for all mail order companies.

I don’t see where this business is out of business or handling any of it’s issues

Background of what’s happened so far:
Late June I called to talk to Growquest about what avocado trees would do best in my area. Chris was pretty abrupt but overall helpful and knew my area so I decided to buy from them. I live near Sacramento, CA and he said that because I was fairly close, he would deliver the trees himself next time he had a "batch" of trees coming this direction. He estimated it would be about 2 weeks. He seemed hurried/rushed so I offered to submit the order online instead of via phone, which he asked me to do. I submitted it online that day (can’t recall the exact date). About 3 weeks later I saw this charge on my credit card: 07/12/2005 ABP GROWQUEST $74.32.

I waited nearly a month because it was very hot in this area and I thought the delivery was probably delayed as a result. Then I started calling and emailing about once a week. I never got a reply to my emails, and most times I got no one on the phone. One time in early Sept, a woman answered the phone. I asked her for my order status, and she said I had to talk to Chris because the order was so old. I asked when he might get back to me and she just said "All I’m doing right now is taking messages, that’s all I can tell you." He never called back.

I waited another few days then just got a really bad feeling about the whole deal. Found the link about them being closed down, and also found the Dave’s Garden website which seems to indicate they’ve been having problems for quite awhile. I disputed it with my credit card and they are currently investigating.

So with my various searching on their site and on the ‘net I thought I might be able to help with some of the questions. Here goes:

> Is Grow Quest in fact out of business?
I think so. It appears to me that Chris is not particularly good with HTML (he says his wife did the website side of things). With enough searching around you will find the contact page: http://www.growquest.com/contact_information.htm. The link next to Jamie’s name that says "new_page_1.htm" takes you here: http://www.growquest.com/refunds__business_shut_down.htm which has a lot of detail. It is not AT ALL obvious and should be prominently displayed right on the home page, in my opinion.

>I went to Yahoo and Google to ramp my placements up again and noticed that he’s still paying for placement in both Google and Yahoo. Only in Google his web site is: http://www.abpwholesale.com/
Based on the description of how they’re handling some of the orders, I think that he’s probably doing business under a "new" name, abpwholesale. Actually when I ordered back in July the name came up on my bill as ABP Growquest, so at that time it looked like there were maybe 2 "sides" to the company (wholesale/retail perhaps?). The Better Business Bureau shows both names: http://www.fresno.bbb.org/commonreport.php?n=10&id=11&compid=71251186& language=&code=

> The site is exactly the same as the other. No where on these sites does it say anything about shutting down or problems.
There are some very slight differences (I think tied back to Chris not being very good with HTML). The only major differences I saw were the company name, and the contacts. Growquest’s has Jamie’s name all over it and a link to that long story about what happened to the business. ABP doesn’t have that anywhere (or I couldn’t find it after a lengthy search). ABP also lists a toll-free phone number for calls, and Chris’ name everywhere as the contact person. This is just a guess, but it appears to me that he probably us doing business under ABP Growquest now, but "borrowed" all the website content from the Growquest site.

> I’m a little perplexed and I don’t want this come off like I’m worried about competition, I’m not. I just hate seeing people ripped off and leaving a bad taste for all mail order companies.

I don’t blame you! I hope the info above helps with at least some of your questions. I would absolutely not refer anyone to them, at least not at this point. The biggest reasons I would not feel comfortable referring people (even if they ARE back in business) are these:

- Why are they charging customers at random times, and before items are ready to be shipped??? This seems to have been a consistent problem from the very beginning, not just as the business fell apart.
- Why is it so hard to find the "shut down the business" page?
-The business is supposedly shut down but the "shopping cart" still works. I don’t know if they are still charging credit cards, but they are taking orders that will never be filled.
-I am not sure on this one, but is it really legal for them to not fill a bunch of orders and leave it up to the consumer to fight it with their credit card? It seems to me like it should be their obligation to refund the money, not each customer’s obligation to track down a very "hidden" web page and submit a dispute.
- The terms and conditions page is awfully long and contains a LOT of complaints about customers and veiled "threats" (i.e. where they will take up legal action, how he’s good at filling out legal paperwork). This alone would have stopped me from ordering had I read it through the first time – he seems very confrontational towards his customers.

It sure looks to me like this guy is still operating a business under a new name, but if it were me I definitely would not refer any customers to him.

Hope this helps some. Good luck to all that are trying to get money back.

I too believe that he is still in business, if he's got an attorney and is pursuing so much legal action, he needs a lot of money.

Tamstrees. Good to hear about your business. I will be buying my trees from you, since I live in Florida. Hopefully I can get a link to your website searching your page. If not, please feel free to email me acabam@msn.com

Thanks!
Marta

Tamara

Meanwhile I am still license in Florida and the man I sold my farm to will rent it to me as long as I need. I have a very large Florida customer base so I would like to continue to do business there if I can find a partner or company to work with. Then I would still make monthly trips to keep an eye on things. Know anyone?

Hopefully next year I'll have Dancing Creek set up and start growing organic produce. That's my goal.

Frankly I think I’d prefer that he just drop the whole thing now that I have my money back from the credit card company, but we shall see. The thought that my credit card info is now in the hands of someone who thinks he can basically charge any amount for packaging and shipping is a bit scary, but if I do end up with my trees and no outrageously inflated shipping charges I will be happily surprised. If anyone’s interested I’ll be glad to post an update, if there’s ever anything new to post.

For the record, shipping "some" or "most" of the orders is not acceptable. Ever. Especially when *all* of them are billed.

DeltaDog, I'm glad you got your money back.

Does anyone else happen to know of a good source for a variety of avocado trees in California??

Anyway...

http://www.growquest.com is gone completely.
http://www.abetterplant.com/ says they're refunding orders due to closure of the company. And they list everyone they'll be sending refunds to.

There needs to be class action against this guy Chris. He isn't even a nursery but a broker.

Talk about being deceitful.

And DO NOT believe the crap about family issues! Chris has been using that excuse for the last year!! His wife probably left him cuz he is a lying cheat! I have at least 50 emails over the last year proving that they continue to stall and lie!

They have my money and my product!! It has been literally ONE YEAR!!

BUYER BEWARE...TO THE nTH DEGREE!!! I will be writing another letter to the Better Business Bureau ... I suggest everyone do the same so they do not continue to scam people!!

Kifaru, which site do you want to shut down? Growquest? If you go to www.gardenwatchdog.com you'll see this Chris guy uses other nursery names..3 they know of.
I cannot believe this man is in business. Just yesterday I checked GWD and people are still complaining about this nursery. Can you imagine all the others who were ripped off and never heard of GWD?
It's too bad GWD isn't publicly announced, so people who spend their hard-earned money would be made aware before ordering from a nursery. Especially a rip off company!
Sorry, I have no idea what his ISP is. I'd say he uses more than one email. Apparently, according to a people who visited his so-called nursery, the address listed is nothing but a vacant lot. NOT a green house. Not anything. Toni

Domain name: growquest.com

Registrant:
Chris Gilcrest (9PGKZ) info@biopest.com
Applied Bio Pest
567 W. Channel Islands Blvd. #129
Port Hueneme, CA 93041
United States
Phone: +1 (805) 984-9224
Fax: +1 (805) 984-1517

Administrative Contact:
Chris Gilcrest (9PGKZ) info@biopest.com
Applied Bio Pest
567 W. Channel Islands Blvd. #129
Port Hueneme, CA 93041
United States
Phone: +1 (805) 984-9224
Fax: +1 (805) 984-1517

Technical Contact:
Chris Gilcrest (9PGKZ) info@biopest.com
Applied Bio Pest
567 W. Channel Islands Blvd. #129
Port Hueneme, CA 93041
United States
Phone: +1 (805) 984-9224
Fax: +1 (805) 984-1517

Billing Contact:
Chris Gilcrest (9PGKZ) info@biopest.com
Applied Bio Pest
567 W. Channel Islands Blvd. #129
Port Hueneme, CA 93041
United States
Phone: +1 (805) 984-9224
Fax: +1 (805) 984-1517

I'll have to go back to GWD and read your feedback on AT's..Did you contact them via emails? Thanks for the heads up, that's another nursery off my list. Toni

You might want to try Tropical Gardens of Maui to find your Pua Keni Keni. http://www.tropicalgardensofmaui.com/

I've had good luck with them.

I tried to contact company by phone - nobody picks up the phone and nobody returns voice mail. Tried to send e-mail using web-site contact us - system gives Internal Error message. Tried to send e-mail through web-master - returns as undeliverable with "recipient does not like you" message.

I will never again have any business with them.

Just know, that Growquest is still in business and swindling honest people!

Since I read way more than ever posting, think I have posted once or twice maybe. But I have sure gotten great help here! Greatful for this place!

As another person stated....step away from your keyboard...step away and RUN!

I actually met Chris back in 2004 on a landscaping project, he probably does not remember me, but he left a lasting impression on me. IMHO....I have never met anyone so rude and filled with hubris! I ordered some hard to find roses from him, but after many, many emails and phone calls they never came EVEN THOUGH HE WAS PAID IN FULL and has had MY MONEY for 6 years!!

It is hard to believe that this man can remain in business. However, he DOES change the name of his company as often as most of us change our underwear. I was SHOCKED to see the article in the Ventura County Star Newspaper in early April 2010 - see link below.

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/08/santa-paula-web-based...

He has been conning people out of their hard earned dollars since 2003 and continues to do so. I thought we had seen the last of him when he was arrested in 2006 for labor code violations. Alas, the Phoenix rises from the ashes of all the people he has BURNED - yes, pun intended!

When I heard through the grapevine that he was up and running again now in Santa Paula, I was shocked and decided to see if he REALLY did have a nursery anywhere since I was making a trip to So Cal anyway. I went over to his office located at 134 Davis Street in Santa Paula, CA. When I arrived I found a house that had been converted into a number of small offices. There was no sign saying "Growquest" ANYWHERE and I was not sure that he actually has an office in that building. There were some dead trees in the back parking lot (about 4 plants). After some investigating/researching I set out to find "his nursery down the street." I stopped at anything that looked like a nursery and asked anyone I could find if this was the Growquest nursery - NO LUCK.

I sincerely doubt that he has ANY nursery space located in Ventura County or anywhere else for that matter! After many years, I have come to the conclusion that Christopher Morgan Gilcrest is NOTHING MORE THAN A (BAD) PLANT BROKER and he runs a stock-less inventory. I often wonder if he buys his plants, trees, roses, etc. from Home Depot and then just re-sells them to unsuspecting customers.

I ordered a few more times from him over the years just to SEE what would happen - small orders of course and I used a prepaid credit card (to keep my losses to a minimum)! No Chris, I WILL NOT give you my order number so you can send me more incoherent and rambling emails. I don't care about your family problems or ADMITTED debilitating mental health issues! Sure, I feel some compassion for your family, but that should not interfere with running a business. If you can't stand the heat, get the H*LL out of the kitchen!!

You continue to BLAME everything and everyone under the sun for your COMPLETE LACK OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. The mere fact that YOU personally respond to the complaints on GW tells me a lot. I AM confused as to why you don't respond to the BBB complaints about your biz??? You seem to have all the time in the world to go online for everything else - why not respond to all of your BBB complaints...huh?

You know what Chris? I DON'T CARE ABOUT "your new love" or any of your other problems. I also don't care about your stupid youtube videos - in fact, I find them rather annoying. You seem to have the time to find a new girlfriend, make 400+ youtube videos, and to send offensive and rambling emails to your scammed customers. Tsk...Tsk..Very unprofessional Chris!

If you spent half the time to respond to your customers instead of making videos, sending bulk emails that have nothing to do with pending orders, suing people for defamation, and the list goes on..you might actually establish a satisfied customer base.

Just for fun, I ordered some Ladybugs from Growquest this year for my niece's birthday party and a tree rose for Mother's Day. Guess what??? Nothing came! Do you feel any remorse when you miss your shipping deadlines for gifts?? Sheesh! I am still waiting for my roses from 2004! Luckily, I double ordered the Ladybugs and tree rose from someone else as to ensure my gifts actually showed up when expected. Fool me once Chris...never again!

Watching your drama unfold over the last 6 years has been mildly entertaining, but I REALLY FEEL BADLY for all the other people you cheated and disappointed over the years!

Posting YOUR PERSONAL drama on your customer service page was jaw dropping and completely inappropriate. What in God's name were you thinking?? I was EMBARRASSED for you! Psst....NO ONE CARES about your personal problems!

glad I never ordered from him.

I think I ordered from Growquest a while back too, and actually got a , I think what looked like a tree, but longer have it anymore to pove it...!:-(

Mike

Anyway, call your CC provider, tell them your story, FAX or mail the invoice if they need it, and get your refund that you are due. He has committed merchant fraud, and if he's done it alot, he could be in big trouble. At best, he'd lose his merchant account and be blackballed (no credit cards for his business = OUT OF BUSINESS), at worst he'd go to federal prison for 5 years. Depending on who you get on the other line, you'll either have a knowledgeable sympathetic ear, or a minimum wage anti-consumer ear. Either way, you are entitled to a refund for being overcharged on shipping, no questions.

I'd take his lawsuit threat with a grain of Salt. While most states don't have a minimum for small claims court, there is usually a $20-30 dollar filling fee. Plus, his paralegal would have to spend $20+ dollars on gas alone, not counting the time if he/she was not on staff, which I doubt as how many nurseries have on-staff legal advice? Thus, to win a judgment for $7 would cost him a minimum of $100-500... can your say Pyrrhic? And, if you did end up walking into court facing his paralegal over $7, you'd probably be given a positive judgment anyway with and shipping refund by telling the judge your story and presenting your invoice and contradictory credit card statement. If the judge were particularly nasty, he could mention the fact that the statue of limitations on fraud doesn't start counting until the last related act, so watch out. If you steal 1 penny every day for many years, eventually you'll hit that $500 magic number DAs like to have before charging felony fraud. Like everything, it depends on the judge though, but you could be confident and shouldn't worry. I've been to SCC a lot, part of business, and most judges are usually savy with people trying to pull a fast-one one way or the other.

Anyway, it's likely he will not take you to court and that he is just threatening you to pay more. If he knew he'd get away with it, he'd charge your CC. It's likely he'd loose
Sorry you had bad luck:( Don't get discouraged, I ordered citrus online from one of the many reputable dealers found here, and they are doing extremely well. My thumb is about a green as a hunk of coal.

An ex-employee of GQ also left feedback. What a story! If anyone is interested, check it out..The thread is two down from Campsgreenhouses.
The author of the post worked for Chris in May, and still awaiting his pay. He goes on to say how bad he felt, knowing order after order would never be shipped out. He was told to ignore phone calls and delete important emails.

What I don't understand is how this Chris is free. How can one get away ripping people off?
I only wish all in and outdoor gardeners knew of Gardenwatchdog. What a Scammer! Toni

And now Chris is advertizing on YouTube..What nerve! Thankfully, someone who was ripped off after ordering plants from GW, put up a video..The music theme from 'Halloween' plays in the background..lol..

Patty S.

Andrew

I was looking for a rose bush in the area, guess what website popped up! I was going to drive and pick up, so I googled the address....

Good thing I did not just place an order and sit by the porch waiting on my rose. (FYI-I will drive by Santa Paula when I do pick up that rose! But from a reputable company!)

To this day, Growquest, is still in operation.

I went to GWD, and discovered more unsuspecting people who purchased from the scam-artist Chris Gilcrest.

I feel for those who order from this 'company' and don't know GWD exists. Toni

I've now bought several avocado (4) trees on three separate occasions from Chris at Growquest without any issues.

I am writing this review Thursday 8-16-2012

Chris just came out to my home at 7.30 in the evening to help me plant a tree and give some advice on caring for the others I ordered and planted.

He has gone through some personal issues but I'm a firm believer in second chances.

I would not hesitate to order from Chris and Growquest again.

Pat Knowd -
Newbury Park CA

I too believe in giving people a second and even third chance, but after reading more negative than positive feedback there is no way on earth I'd order from Chris Gilcrest. 94 Positives, 26 Neutrals and 266 Negatives.

You said he dropped off your trees. Perhaps you're near his location?

I don't understand the reason he decides to actually ship plants to certain people, but his average is beyond horrible.

The poor person, 'on GWD, below your feedback,' who ordered plants from Growquest, started with positive feedback, too..He/she also lives in CA. Notice how his/her feedback changed from positive to negative, with an explanation?

'He has gone through some personal issues.'
Chris has been claiming he's had problems for years..He forgot to mention he spent time in jail, which is public record; the story can be foun online by Googling his name.

Every known agency is looking into his scams..BBB, etc.

I plead with anyone who wants to order trees, citrus or other varieties, to check Garden Watchdog before placing an order with any nursery, particularly Growquest. Toni

NEVER USE GROWQUEST GROWERS AT ALL. BE CAREFUL HE HAS MANY WEBSITES OUT THERE. WRITE TO BBB AND THE FBI LIKE I DID. When you call his bluff or write something bad, he will get very mad at you, call you names and treats you like a child. Something is totally wrong with him mentally. Seriously many people have stated this.

The trees that Chris LOSER sold me were diseased and DIED. I had them checked out by a true professional. The trees he sent had too much salt, bugs and was root bound. I found out that he never grew this himself. These are knock off trees from a discount place. Basically, these trees were trashed and he sold them to me. He doesn�t even ship them to you, but throw them in an old crappy van laying down in the hot sun. He damaged these trees. It is on purpose. Check out BBB. Don�t buy from him!! HE CHARGES YOU FOR UPS SHIPPING BUT NEVER SHIPS THEM. THIS IS BAD!!!

He has many you tube videos that shows his plants, DONT believe it. Look at all of them, every video is from a different nursery. He goes around taking videos, post them on You tube as his own, which is a crime and then he sells you crap. He doesn�t sell you these trees at all that you see on the videos. What a TOTAL JERK AND SCAM.
HIS BUSINESS IS MAINLY FROM YOU TUBE SO PLEASE DONT BUY FROM HIM AND IN FACT CHECK OUT WHAT TRUE CUSTOMER POSTS.
I KNOW HIS GAME. WHAT A TOTALL LOSER AND JERK.

I know his game well and here is the story. You can confirm everything by going to you tube and reading all the negative things about him. None of this is made up at all by me. THIS IS THE TRUTH. READ ON.

This guy is a thief big time. He has no nursery at all. He works out of a garage with an apartment. He drives around from nursery to nursery taking videos and then post them online to sell you items. His wife left him. His family is mad at him. His children, well, I won�t go into that. Recently his brother is in trouble. Chris Morgan Gilcrest has been in jail, and has to pay a fine. He was required to cease and decease order by the FBI. Now he is being investigated by the FBI and BBB. BBB also has alert out on his business and name. Please look online, you will find everything. I am not making any of this up.

He will either send you trees that will die or not send you anything at all. My job is to stop him and post whatever and whenever I can. There are many customers doing the same thing. We have the right to as freedom of speech. In fact what he is doing is breaking the law and is a federal crime, since he stole over $1,000.00 from customers. I hope he is jailed. I have called the FBI and BBB.

CHRIS LOSER GILCREST, I HOPE YOU READ THIS, LOSER. YOU KNOW ALL THIS IS TRUE. DONT DENY OR LIE. BE HONEST AND BE A MAN. YOU ACT LIKE A CHILD.

Add all the other Negatives plus 2,000.00....I'd bet he owes a hundred thousand.

I can't stand rip-offs..Too bad new people looking for a tree doesn't check or know about Garden Watchdog.

Last time I checked Youtube, 'one of Gilcrest's vids' leaving feedback wasn't allowed. Too many negatives I suppose. Toni

Research him you will find over 5,000 pages of negative things about him. You will also find a criminal record that he has as recent as 2008.

He has moved all over the place and was forced to move out of Tulare county as he has a $25,000 judgement against him.

A couple months ago, I received a WARNING email from the owner stating, if I do not remove feedback, I will be sued.

He wrote, I went beyond 'Free Speech.' lol

Since this forum regards Citrus, and people are always looking to buy, I believe they should be alerted to rip-off nurseries.

It's sad more people do not check GardenWatchdog prior a purchase, so imo, they NEED be warned.

Unfortunately, there's a zillion 'citrue/fruit tree customers' who are unaware of GWD or GW..they browse the net, come across 'certain' online nurseries, then end up being ripped-off.

I haven't checked GWD in months..can't believe people are still buying from him...

I found online newspaper articles about his arrest. They're might be more than one.

How about all the excuses he comes up with???? lol.

Thanks, I'm off to GWD to read cjr's feedback.

Up to your old tricks again with a new name (Growquest Gardens) . It wont work.

Please note that this guy Chris Gilcrest does not own these trees. He failed to state this in his videos now under another name called Growquest Gardens. His company name for the record is http://Growquest.com and growquest growers and you can google what he has to offer. This company is a broker for a few nurseries. Many nurseries wont do business with him. He only owns a hand full of plants and trees not more than 5-10 gallons each. Do some research on Chris Gilcrest and you will in fact know. Please see the you tube video with an undercover hidden camera to show his operation. Its all online. He works in a garage with a worker, with no insurance either, which he fails to pay. The Labor board commission knows about this.

Shame on you. I thought you would know better and even learn from your past mistakes. If you really want to know about his operations, go by the addresses that he has posted online. There is no garden or nursery there at all.

He has many angry past customers and current ones will just be added to his list.
Best part of all, the Ventura county DA office is investigating Chris Gilcrest. I plan to give them a call to file a claim.

He emailed me a lot today stating that he doesnt know me. Then calling names and lying. WOW this guy is a piece of work.

11/14/2012
I need an order number from you. You wrote a review about me and I need to know the order number to verify the problem and then to resolve it.

11/14/12
When I gave him my info, he stated that he cant find me in his database at all. That his software states he cant find me and he uses real estate software. Yeah out of date.

11/14/12
I dont do credit card orders. UPS and FedEx bill for frieght.

Its states on his website and all sites that he takes credit cards.

I even have a receipt that he billed me on my credit card and he is denying that. Maybe the District Ventura DA would like to know about this.

This is how he roles. He does this to everyone as I can see.

This guy is a total jerk and is so funny to get emails from him. I now get emails from him daily since I started posting and emailing him starting on 11/14/2012. This guy is a true character. He is crazy too.

I called the credit card company and they flagged him back in the winter of 2011 and stopped using him as a merchant. Apparently, they cant tell me the details, but he threatened to sue them and he has money issues. DUH of course. He has no money. He is basically, getting money from people like us to live. He owes many tax liens and judgements.He lives in a shack.

There is a class action suit being filed now, I found this out. PLease dont forget to file a case with the Ventura DA, Catherine Mano and FBI Deb. You can find their numbers online. I talked to both of them.

Since he reads all the posts, I cant tell you anymore. But PM me and I can talk. If I do, he will fight back like he does with everyone.

You are totally right, He never returns money. Oh by the way some of the positive reviews come from his IP address. I set up a tracker and snipper and found out his true identity. Total scum bag not worth anything.

My credit card company might even sue him for the money they lost. SHHHHHHHHHHHHH dont tell him.