ComplaintsforMurray McMurray Hatchery Inc

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The discription of their chick sexing guarantee is misleading based on their wording. I orderd chicks from them thinking if I reviewed **** incorrectly sexed I would be refunded. I called for my refund and they refused. They state on their website We guarantee 90% accuracy on all sexed poultry. If you receive birds that are incorrectly sexed, we will either refund your money, replace your birds, or credit your account. Based on this I ordered chick thinking I would get my money back if they were not the correct ***. They refused

  Business response

  12/15/2023

  For the better part of a century our company has offered both a live arrival and livability guarantee as well as a 90% sexing guarantee. While other hatcheries offer a 100% guarantee, we do not. Our guarantee is 90% accuracy. The reason for this is that it sexing is simply the most difficult thing we do at the hatchery. We have professional sexors on staff and offer the most breeds of sexed chicks of any hatchery in the U.S. But, it's important to understand that while we do our best, these are live animals and there are simply no 100% guarantees.
  

  Sexing a baby chick can be done one of three ways, but each way is specific to each breed and/or the flock: visibly sexing by color (autosexing), feather/wing sexing (specific to a flock), and vent sexing. Each option has a margin of error as each breed is different from the next, each bird is different from the next, and you have to allow a margin of error for the workers as well. Even with vent sexing, the most difficult and detailed, you are looking at a bump inside the vent of a baby chick that is about the size of a pin head. 

  All that said, we do offer a 90% sexing guarantee where we will credit or refund any incorrectly sexed chick beyond that 90%. So if you order 10 chicks, and 1 of them is incorrectly sexed we would not refund them as that meets that 10% margin of error. If 2+ were incorrect, we would refund/credit for any chicks in error beyond that first one (beyond the 10% margin of error). This policy has been in effect and published both on our website and printed catalog for the better part of the past century.

  In reviewing this order, the refund was not granted due to our published policy. The error was one bird in an order of 17 (94% accurate), and our representative explained to the customer that this did not qualify for the refund. The call with the customer was recorded, and there was no further discussion or issues discussed. 

  To add some further points to this complaint, a few things would have needed to happen in order for a refund to be processed had the customer had more birds in error: (1) Our representative would have asked for photos to verify the error prior to processing a credit or refund. This is done for multiple reasons: to ensure there is in fact an error as sometimes hens and roosters are difficult to differentiate; and was the male a free surprise chick as the are not eligible for a refund. (2) This customer DID order a free surprise chick. The free surprise chick is always a male it does not qualify for any of our refunds because it is sent at no charge. So a few steps further would have been needed had the error exceeded that 10% margin of error.

  In review, the customer was treated with respect by our staff member, our policy was explained clearly to the customer, our policies are nearly a century-old and published both online and in our catalog, and her order was over 94% accurate.
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I ordered New Hampshire chickens it was supposed to be 14 hens 1 rooster and a free chicken to go with the order. Well I ended up with pretty much all the chickens being roosters. All they offered was to refund the order, but I feel this is unjust all the food I have bought as well as all the money I spent on the encloser seem like a complete waste. They advertise a 90 percent sexting guarantee this by my account is way off.

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Each and every order of sexed baby birds from Murray McMurray Hatchery offers a 90% sexing guarantee. This guarantee has been in place for decades. Per our website, *****************************************************************************************************, we guarantee 90% accuracy on all sexed poultry and will refund or credit the cost of any incorrectly sexed birds over and above that 10% margin of error. We do hire professional sexors, and that 10% margin allows for human error and also because we are dealing with live animals where sexing is looking at something as small as a pin head. We do ask for photos to verify the birds are not as ordered prior to processing the credits or refunds. Our guarantee is published publicly on our website and in our catalog.
  

  This customer order has been refunded in full prior to this complaint. The customer did email us a photo and we did respond confirming that they did receive males in error instead of females. In good faith, and because the error was beyond what was expected, our customer service department contacted them and fully credited their order. IMPORTANT NOTE: We have recently switched credit card processing providers so the customer was contacted (today) to alert them that their refund could saved as a credit, or we could mail them a check. Due to the switch in providers we were unable to refund back to the original card, and this information was conveyed to the customer.

  We are currently in our off season, where our management team reviews any and all issues from this past season and adjusts policies and personnel going forward into the next season. All orders have internal tracking and metrics, and documentation. All errors are part of that review process and will be addressed.
  

  
  

  
  

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased 2 female black swedish ducks from Mc Murray Hatchery. Order # *******. Mc Murray used their partner hatchery, ****** Farms to ship the chicks. Both ducklings were very sickley and deformed when they arrived. One was deformed and missing an eye, the other had a deformed foot. I contacted Mc Murray hatchery and was told their gaurantee is only for ducklings not making it within 48 hours, there is no gaurantee for the quality of chicks shipped through their partner hatchery. Both birds died on the 3rd day, outside of Mc Murrays 48 hour window. Again I contacted Mc Murray and was told non of their policies would cover the ducklings. Regardless of how long they each lived, I believe the birds should have never been shipped given their deformities, and quality control should have been able to catch these issues before the ducklings were picked and packaged for shipment from Mc Murrays partner, ****** Farms.

  Business response

  07/13/2023

  McMurray Hatchery is a century-old family-owned business known for our customer service. All of our orders of day-old baby chicks and other poultry carry a quality guarantee, a 48-hour live arrival and livability guarantee, and a 90% sexing guarantee. We simply ask that the customer contact our offices within the proper timeframe, and occasionally we will ask for photos to verify quality or sexing issues.

  In reviewing ********************** complaint, we can find no record of his contacting our office, and we have tried reaching out to him without success. ****************** has posted on the BBB, ****** Reviews, and other online sites complaining of a quality issue that is, in fact, fully guaranteed. His complaint claims he has contacted us but our system shows no record of a call, email or text.

  In good faith, we have posted a full credit to ********************** account on our website (dated July 13, 2023) and will continue to attempt to reach out to him.
  

  Customer response

  07/13/2023

   
  Complaint: 20313697
  
  I am rejecting this response because: providing a credit onto the account to use at a later time is unjust. This simply means that I must purchase more from Mc Murray Hatchery. Due to the quality issues already experienced I do not believe I would receive better quality poultry from them. The birds would still be shipped from their partner, ****** farms that has made the claim that there have never been any issues with the poultry they hatch and ship. Furthermore I have the recorded conversation with Mc Murray hatchery from July 7th. They have also only reached back out to me while I was working and unable to respond today July 13th.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  07/14/2023

  We have reached out to the customer and had no response. We have placed a credit on his account in the full amount of his order without question. If he would like it refunded back on his card we do need him to call in to verify that card's information per our payment policy. At this time the customer has received a full refund, we just need him to communicate with us directly vs via this website. At this time this case is closed on our end.

• Initial Complaint

  05/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  After filing a claim with BBB the end of Feb. 2022 the seller agreed to make things right and send me a substitution for deleted items and replace chicks that died. At which time I withdrew the complaint, (wish now I never had). The replacements were scheduled to ship this week. When I hadn't heard from them on shipment I went on their website to check my account and found they had canceled shipping this week and deleted the substitution replacements, issuing me a store credit towards a future purchase. Not once did they email, text or call me.

  Business response

  05/03/2022

  We have been working with and communicating with **************** continuously since March 3, 2022. On his initial order, **************** requested no substitutions. This means that if the breeds of chicks he has selected do not hatch as expected, his order will ship minus those birds and his account will be adjusted as such. We raise and hatch live animals, especially rare and exotic breeds, and with that comes some needed flexibility because Mother Nature doesnt always perform on schedule. Our website clearly states this and each customer cannot proceed further in the checkout process until they select an option regarding substitutions. The rare Mottled Houdans did not hatch as expected on **************** initial order date and his order shipped minus those chicks as instructed by his selection. He also had a loss and a few weak chicks due to shipping, and he called our customer service line. During that conversation our customer service representative clarified our policy requiring a $35 fee for special handling on shipments of **** chicks. At that time **************** posted several harsh posts on social media and his initial BBB complaint. We then communicated with **************** via ******** Messenger from our company page from March 3, 2022 through March 20, 2022, in selecting replacement breeds for the Houdans we were unable to send, and additional losses from his first shipment. Our policy is to replace or refund any losses that happen en route or within the first 48 hours of arrival, but in a show of good faith we continued to adjust his order for the next 17 days. He had originally been refunded the shorted birds, and **************** then completed payment for the new chicks, but replacements for the losses were at no cost and the small order fee was removed as another token of good faith. At this point **************** seemed satisfied with the new order scheduled for early May 2022.
  
  On April 1, 2022, the barn that houses our rare and endangered breeds tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. This was a devastating blow to our business as all of our laying flock on that property was a total loss. Unfortunately **************** order was affected by the loss. As our team worked to triage all of the affected orders, **************** received an URGENT email from us on April 5, 2022 with details of the situation and several options for him to select from including reworking his order to substitute unaffected and available breeds, cancelling the order for a refund or credit, or moving his order out to 2023 when we will be able to provide these rare breeds again. As his ship date approached, our customer service staff attempted to call him directly (twice on April 21, 2022), to discuss the order. We were unable to reach ****************, so we cancelled the rare birds we are unable to ship this year and credited the funds to his account, left the birds on his order that we are able to ship, and left him a voice mail to contact us via phone to discuss. On May 2nd, **************** contacted us after hours via ******** Messenger calling us liars and threatening to report us to PayPal and the BBB. We responded that it was late and we would connect with him during business hours, and to please check his email and voice mail regarding the issue with his order. On the morning of May 3, 2022, we responded to his PayPal complaint with a FULL REFUND for his order, noting that this refund will also effectively CANCEL HIS UPCOMING ORDER for the week of May 9, 2022. At this time **************** has been refunded all of his monies and there are no further orders for him. We regret that these extenuating circumstances caused further issue with **************** order, and we apologize for any inconvenience to him as we navigate this difficult and challenging time.

  Customer response

  05/03/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩