What contact information is available with business directories?

Business Contact Information in Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawaii

• 3 weeks ago, I purchased in cash an orchid plant from a woman setup in a shopping center, outside of the "Sand People" in downtown Hanalei. The name of her business was "Jen's Orchids". I recieved a receipt for the purchase, including a $10.00 shipping fee, that was suppose to be for FedEx shipping of the plant to the mainland (Northern California). Both the receipt and her business card had the phone number, but not the address of her business. Three weeks later, i still have not received the orchid plant, and repeated calls to the phone number have remained unanswered. Questions: a.) What is the average shipping time from Kaua'i to the mainland through FedEx of an orchid plant. Is three weeks too long? Have I been had? b.) Contact information for the Better Business Bureau which handles Hanalei? c.) Address (snail/email) of "Jen's Orchids".

• Answer:

  I once spent three years wrestling with a concern on the Island of Malta and finally through the intervention of the United States Embassy finally got that suit of armor I had ordered. I CAN empathize. a.) What is the average shipping time from Kaua'i to the mainland through FedEx of an orchid plant. Is three weeks too long? Have I been had? Average shipping time is around 1 week. Three weeks is probably too long. Honestly can't say if you've been had, but I would be personlly concerned. How to get the answer to part a.): Start with: Fedex Rate Finder http://www.fedex.com/us/rates/ You can find out specifically the transit time by filling in the necessary information about size and weight, etc. I used the following to get a general idea: From: Kaua'i zip code 96749 To: St. Louis, MO zip code 63132 10 lb package, 12 x 12 x 12 inches delivered to Fedex dropoff Fedex Ground - My Packaging Entering the above information, the Fedex Rate Finder returned a "transit time" of 7.0 days which should give you, in general, how long shipments to the mainland would take. Fedex Ground indicates "delivery in 1 to 5 business days to most U.S. cities" so an extra 2 days to get from Hawaaii sounds right (but NOT an extra 14 days). You may want to use the Rate Finder to find the specific transit time for your sized package (if known). Three weeks sounds well outside the normal range of Fedex deliveries, even from the Hawaiian islands. b.) Contact information for the Better Business Bureau which handles Hanalei? The State of Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection appears to be the most likely resource for consumer complaints regarding all Hawaiian businesses: http://www.state.hi.us/dcca/ocp/ Address: Leiopapa A Kamehameha Building 235 South Beretania Street, Suite 801 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Phone: (808) 586-2630 email: [email protected] They also have online complaint forms that you can file at: http://www.state.hi.us/dcca/ocp/forms.html They are in PDF format and might require that you have the appropriate browser plugin. A good place in general to look for other resources would be at: State of Hawaii Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs http://www.state.hi.us/dcca/ c.) Address (snail/email) of "Jen's Orchids". After EXTENSIVE searching I can find no address for any concern located in Hawaii called "Jen's Orchids" I can give you the contact information for "Sand People" and suggest you contact them explaining your plight (i.e., ask them if they have any contact information re: Jen's Orchids): http://sandpeople.com/contact_us.htm Sand People Main Office 5517 Waila'au Road Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii 96756 1-808-742-7123 e-mail [email protected] Sand People Hanalei Center Store Hanalei, Kauai 1-808-826-1008 Since you DO have the phone number I recommend a Reverse Phone Number Lookup via: Reverse Phone Directory http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/ If I DO find this business (or any other Google Answers researchers do) we will post that information. I am pessimistic here, but think the reverse lookup, and contacting Sand People are your best bet. Aloha! fugitive-ga