Plow & Hearth

Not a big shopping fan but I was in the area checking out the mini-​golf place so figured I’d walk in with my wife and see what this place was all about. The good news is they have free samples of different jellies, salsas, and peanuts. The not so good news is they were selling expired beef jerky. It’s an okay place I guess but check those expiration dates if you buy any food here. Staff here was nice… but didn’t seem too thrilled when I tried to politely and discreetly tell them their product was expired.

This review is for the online store. I placed an order a week before Mother’s Day and a week later it still had not shipped and Customer Service couldn’t provide any answer other than «we’ll cancel the order if you want». Overall TERRIBLE experience and I’d never use them again.

Meh. I had a mediocre experience with the product and service. I received fireplace tools as a gift. They were in principle much nicer than the ones I have, but the holes on some of the stand legs were in the wrong place, making it non-​functional. When I brought it back to this store, no one apologized for the poor product or the inconvenience. The replacement tools are backordered for three months, so I will receive them when they are no longer useful. The person assisting me with the replacement proceeded to write down the gift-giver’s address as the delivery address and seemed irritated when I suggested maybe she should scratch out the huge «ship to» above that address. So eventually I should get a nice product, but the inconvenience wasn’t worth it. (If the new set gets shipped to the wrong address, I’ll be sure to revise my review downward.)

I’d give 0 or less if it were an option, talking about their web-​site, policies and customer service. Their sales are misleading and their customer service can’t explain why; of course they don’t answer your comment on the help section of their website. I shop online all the time and have never had a problem, this company is outstanding (and not in a good way) in that respect.

I love visiting Plow and Hearth. It’s a cozy, inviting shop that even my husband doesn’t mind browsing, but that could be due to the peanut samples. They carry a wide variety of items that change with the seasons. Everything from outdoor furniture and décor to items for your wood burner, grill accessories, Life is Good merchandise, bird feeders, flags, cushions, soups and dips, gifts for your furry friends and the most comfortable pair of flip flops I have ever owned.
Last summer, mom-​in-​law needed new cushions for a swing we had purchased online through Plow and Hearth several years ago. We stopped in to get replacements and really just received fantastic service from the associate here. She was so helpful in picking a print we liked and matching up a couple lumbar pillows. Everything was shipped to mom by P&H and received within a matter of days. Mom loved the cushion and pillows, the prices were reasonable and convenience of not having to ship ourselves was priceless. Great store, great service — I stop in most times I’m in Fairfax Corners.

What would have been an OK experience at a recent trip to Plow & Hearth was turned into a great one with the help of some great customer service.
Having never gone into the location before, my husband and I spent a good deal of time looking around at the various items from cooking implements to outdoor decorations to gardening supplies. I was lucky to find gardening gloves in my size (I have man hands) that were a reasonable price. My search at Home Depot for the same item had been fruitless as they stock only size mediums.
We finished our leisurely stroll around the store and went to check out. Although there were many staff around the store, no one was manning check out. I looked around and ended up calling to a couple of associates gathered near the door, an employee rushed over and apologized for any delay. When the gloves rang up, I said «Oh they must be on sale. That’s even less than I expected.» The employee replied that he had taken off an extra 20% of the price due to our inconvenience. WOW! It’s stories like this that really stick with a consumer. We will certainly keep Plow & Hearth in mind for future purchases.

The house I bought a couple years ago has a fire place — my first one, so I needed some supplies to support my fire habit. I picked up a few wood racks here to store my wood outside. Aside from being big (awkward), the wood racks are easy to put together. If you get the XL size, it would be easier with a second pair of hands, but the instructions probably said that. I’m just one of those people who can’t be bothered to ask for help. :-) The staff is very helpful and polite, and I found out that all of their products have a lifetime warranty! This was great when my wood rack cover got shreded during the derecho last summer. I was able to take it back and get a replacement at no cost. There are very few companies offering this kind of service anymore and it was wonderful to not have to buy another cover to keep my wood dry. They also carry the Life Is Good line of products which means I can feed my fuzzy sock addiction whenever I go there to pick up some fatwood. I’m also thinking about picking up one of their electric fireplaces for the mancave. I look at them every time I go in because they’re beautiful and they put out some nice heat too! I like looking all throughout the store because they have some really interesting products even though the country style of their furniture and accessories doesn’t tickle my fancy.

Plow & Hearth is a cozy store that conveys «woodsy» and «country» in every nook and cranny. Headquartered in a small town in central Virginia, the P&H stores are a chain that specialize in wood stoves, mailbox flags, fireplace screens, bird feeders and the like. We got our favorite bird feeder here (the one that guarantees squirrels will take a flying leap). During my last visit, electric wood stoves were on display, just the thing when it’s freezing outside. They also offer a variety of jams and jellies, Virginia peanuts, and sauces/​dips.
Prices can be a bit high, but they had several good sales. Honestly, it’s not the first store I think of when I need something for the home, but it’s a fun visit every once in awhile, even if you just go for the atmosphere.

This store kept me in rapt curiosity as I explored each little corner and display admiring all the cool items. But its name and what you might see peering through the windows, this would be the last place I’d expect to fear for my visa balance. Oh how wrong I was.
My initial visit was before Christmas as I was searching out options for family and friends who «need nothing, have everything». I have a personal rule at Christmas time — I don’t shop for myself. This kind of goes hand in hand with our family rule that no one buys things for themselves after my birthday at the beginning of December.
Better believe I was back come January though. And I certainly indulged. This places is definitely for the relaxed home owner who values cute and comfort over Martha Stewart-​esque matchy-​matchy crap and general kitsch.
The shop is divided into little departments for lawn, gardening, pets, home care, food /​kitchen, clothing, with the middle for hearth and living room type stuff. Oh did I dent the visa as I walked out with soup kits, peanuts, a neat magnetic wrist thing to hold nails and screws as well as a bunch of other stuff.
Since that haul didn’t near kill of my ‘I want that and that and …” list, I’m sure I’ll be back both for myself and for the occasional gift item.

Two things I love about Plow & Hearth when you walk in — the gorgeous hardwood floors — and the way the place smells. The smell reminds one of being somewhere out in the country — maybe in a country home or lodge in the North Woods. Very earthy and woodsy! Mmmmmmmm!
I stopped in here today and wandered around for a few minutes — I picked up some delicious looking sauces, dips, and fruit spreads to throw into the picnic basket to go with the food we are taking on this Sunday’s Unilocal VA Wine Excursion.
They were having technical difficulties today with their credit card machines — as well as a couple of people running the registers appeared to require additional training. There was quite a line — and then there was this old guy who kept getting in the way of people in the line as he spend considerable time shuffling back and forth eating all of the nut samples they had out. He must have eaten an entire can by himself. Seriously dude — very tacky — bad form. Go down the street and eat some lunch.
Anyways, I decided to duck out and spend about 20 minutes across the street at REI until they had worked out their technical problems, reduced the line, and old man nut eater was gone.
When I came back — the line was gone — but I still had to wait almost seven minutes to get rung out as the lady at the register was having major difficulties ringing up the one person in front of me.
I want my house (when I get around to buying one) to smell like Plow & Hearth!