Our Ace Reclaim arch in the corner of the Rose Garden has not survived the storms. Already rusting and having lost one of its important bars it was probably only being held together by the roses it was there to support.
Aaron this morning broke it up in order to replace it with an Agriframes bower.
Now, longer term readers may remember our struggle with The Agriframes Arch which had driven Jackie and me to distraction. Agriframes products are very good; they are resilient, rust resistant, and guaranteed for 15 years.
But – and a very big but – they demand self-assembly – not by the structures themselves, but by the buyers; furthermore their printed directions, termed like many, ‘destructions’ by Aaron are so difficult to follow that it has taken more than five years for us to contemplate buying another product.
This time, we have Aaron of A.P. Maintenance. He is a professional, had already assembled a few flat pack arches for us, and should surely be able to meet the challenge. Not so. His ‘destructions’ were both confusing and confused. He was thrown by the leaflet at one point stating that he should have six particular components for one section. He had only four. Later, the destructive instructions stated four. Some words had been omitted from the text rendering the meaning unintelligible.
A crucial clamp seemed impossible to apply. At one point the section Aaron is seen working on above fell apart and he had to start again.
Have I mentioned that he was beset throughout by light rain and heavy winds?
I thought not. This would never normally stop him working.
Our friend enjoys a challenge but at the end of his allotted time he was back where he started. The ‘destructions’ sheets were sopping wet and so was he. There was no option but to throw in the towel. Next week Aaron will bring a colleague to help.
This experience sent Jackie to research reviews on line. Those on independent sites were almost all negative. One from Facebook is relevant:
‘Three professional landscapers were unable to assemble your Sussex Bower in my clients garden and wasted 2 days trying to to so. They spent many weeks trying to negotiate a refund for this item and you have only agreed to give them a small fraction of the price they paid for it on the basis that it was ‘used’! Your assurances on your website do not bear out and your customer service is very poor.’
https://www.reviews.co.uk/company-reviews/store/agriframes is another source.
What a challenge!
Yes, indeed. Thanks very much, Anne.
My dad would’ve loved to piece that one together… what a beauty though. Fascinating read Derrick, your garden is like Poetry⚘
That looks very confusing Derrick. I’m not the best at that kind of assembly
Who is, John? Thanks very much.
Putting that garden frame together
I meant who is best at putting them together. Sorry not to be clear.
Let’s hope two sets of hands will be better than one!
Indeed. Thanks a lot, Sheree
So sorry to see your property destroyed like this. It’s a touch time; we have homes and businesses here getting back on track (again), too. Aaron seems a good guy. Until we work out how to deal with this thing in future, Shiraz all round…
Cheers, Libre
I do hope an extra pair of hands and eyes does the trick!
I paid a professional to construct my shed for similar reasons; the reviews said it was a good shed if one added more nails and screws, caulking, and good-quality roofing materials. Although the lumber company is in Canada and shipped it to me in the US, The Better Business Bureau exists in both countries and keeps records of unethical practices and poor products.
What recourse do UK gardeners have against shoddy products?
Thanks very much, Jean. Normal contractual law would apply. One fundamental principal is “Let the buyer beware” – so if the company isn’t bothered about reputation or customer service there isn’t really much recourse.
How frustrating, Derrick! It sounds like it would be better to contract a metal worker/welder to build your own.
My dad used to say “Ivor, if all else fails, maybe you could read the instructions”…. but I see in this case, the instructions might as well have been in Chinese….. !!
Quite so, Ivor. Thanks a lot.
Yikes, what a nightmare.
Yes. Thanks very much, Peggy.
That would be beyond me. Even with instructions.
Me, too. Thanks very much, Gary.
Yes, instructions for some of these self-assembly things are not so good. The product designers are often not the ones writing the technical manuals! At least the old rusted one is down and gone. I am sure Aaron and reinforcements will get the new one up soon.
We have faith, Lavinia. Thank you very much.
Ugh! How frustrating. I feel sorry for Aaron…he probably needed something stronger than Shiraz after that ordeal.
Probably, Jill. Thanks very much.
I share your pain when it comes to constructing garden frames.
Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal.
I wish you best of luck with this project, Derrick. I understand how daunting it is, and I have always wondered who writes those instructions for self-assembly.
No-one in the sales department – that’s for sure – they wouldn’t be able to follow them either. Thanks very much, Dolly.
Just to think that people actually go to college and major in technical writing to compose instruction manuals!
My pleasure, Derrick.
Those self-assembly things are so annoying. I’m sure it’s much easier for them to send the item that way, but I avoid them as much as possible. Even if the directions are good, one person usually isn’t enough, especially someone like me who’s not very strong.
I hope Aaron and his colleague will be successful.
Thank you very much for the solidarity, Nicki.
There surely is a universal set of laws for these assemble-it-yourself projects: (1) at least two pieces must be missing; (2) line drawings must be reversed, smudged, or unlabeled; (3) if there are verbal instructions, they must be written in at least three languages, but your language doesn’t necessarily need to be used; (4) no possible phone contact with a human being will be allowed.
Have fun — and Aaron, too!
You have written the book, Linda. Thanks very much.
So sorry to see your poor garden taking a beating again. I can’t get the metal arches to work at all … we had two rose arches that distorted in the summer heat … another blew over. We’re sticking to nice sturdy wood ones now (a lovely chap up the road makes them). Good luck to Aaron 🙂
Thank you very much, Tiny. We had reverted to wood, of which Aaron has assembled,bled a few; we rashly decided to give Agriframes another go because their design just fitted what we wanted.
Only one bled – I don’t think he cut himself
I guess you’re done buying from that company. Cheers to Aaron. He’s a trooper.
We are, and he sure is, JoAnne. Thank you very much.
Oh dear, poor Aaron. I hope he has better luck next week.
So do we. 🙂 Thanks very much, Sue
Oh, gosh! 🙁 Poor, Aaron! He’s such a good worker and sure gave it a go. I hope he and his colleague can figure it out together. Sometimes you need more than two hands to get things held together as you are trying to put things together. Bestest wishes to them on the next go-round!
HUGS!!! 🙂
Thank you for the kind comment, Carolyn. We felt more for him than for ourselves. X
Your story made me think of the old MFI self assembly furniture we had when we first got married. Oh the swear words! The arguments!
Just thinking outside the box, I wonder if you could make your own arch out of sweeping brush handles, tied together and then waterproofed. And there must be some sort of waterproofed method for putting the whole thing into the ground too. Just an idea.
We told Aaron that there’s not much that gets us shirty with each other, but self assembly does. Heath Robinson would be proud of you, John. Thank you very much.
Sounds like the rugby must have been light relief after the struggles with the Agriframe. IKEA for the garden!
Indeed. Thanks very much, Helen
All young boys should practice on Airfix model kits and this will prepare for challenges such as this in later life!
🙂 Thanks a lot, Andrew. I wasn’t any good at that, either.
Oh my…hopefully they’ll figure it out in the end! What is certain is that they customer service is not really friendly either…
Indeed, Ribana. Thanks very much.
Youtube often has video instruction for most any project – have you tried there? If Aaron can’t put it together – it has to be obnoxious!
Thanks a lot, GP. I doubt that I could manage it even with a video. Fingers crossed for Aaron. He has assembled a few others for us.
Holy moly. How does this company stay in business?
You may well ask. Apparently gardening writers are wondering what has happened to them. Thanks very much, Sue.
Haha – love the therm “destructions”
Thanks a lot, Yvette
😅 and reminds me of some ikea furniture from years ago – tough to assemble
A doddle compared to this. 🙂
😊
It looks like quite the puzzle, Derrick. Not ideal weather to undertake such a challenge.
Aaron turns up regularly, whatever the weather
A true stoic. 🙂
What a saga! Can’t wait for Part Two.
🙂 Thanks very much, Laurie
I hope Aaron and friend can work through the “destructions” (or assemble without).
I’m amazed the company has stayed in business. I wonder how many people have these assembled frames lying about?
Indeed, Merril. They have a first class name, but according to gardening articles “southing has happened to” them. Thanks very much.
‘Frustrating’, might be an understatement, no?
OH YES. Thanks a lot, Widders. Maybe you could lend your wife?
Hahahahaha … I don’t think even she could sort this one out. 😀
How very odd. Why would a company create a product that is so difficult and frustrating to put together and use? It would seem they’d go out of business.
They certainly deserve to, Liz. Thank you very much.
How annoying! I have had problems with Agriframes self assembly before. I now tend to use Harrod Horticultural for supplies I can’t get in my local garden centre. I haven’t bought one of their arches but they appear to be highly rated by customers. https://www.harrodhorticultural.com/
They are fairly pricey unfortunately.
Thank you very much, Clare. I checked the link and they are more expensive than Agriframes but must be worth the extra sum.
I admire your perseverance Derrick, at the end of the day your labor of love will be worthwhile.
Cheers.
Cheers, Ian
The company seems to be going in for bankruptcy at this rate.
I’d say so. Thank you very much, Geetha
So funny, I always refer to them as “destructions,” too! Usually it’s the more accurate word. I love how you caught Aaron laughing through the frustration: it’s always a good response to things that are maddening. Well, I seriously hope that things go more smoothly on the next try. It does make me feel a little better about my own struggle to assemble items, when Aaron has assembled these before and yet still was baffled by this set of destructions.
I’m pleased you caught the smile, Crystal. Thank you very much.
I’m gobsmacked that anyone could sell, in good conscious, such a thing. I’m so sorry for the frustration. I can relate, too, and will often put off purchases for years for this very reason. Your weather has been unkind to plants, trees and arbors everywhere. Best of luck with the next step.
I’ve got a spare Allen key.
Thanks very much, Lindsey. Rather more than that required 🙂