Ruibal's Plants of Texas, Dallas TX

The fresh plants here are so lush and healthy. I Love the pumpkin purchased today, Sept. 22. Customer's service is stellar as I'm a senior close to 80 and was in need of assistance to my car. Not only did I get help but two kind Hispanic American men working in the stands took time to tell me how to reach North DALLAS from the location during rush hour, and even patiently programmed my phone! I was lost, happened to their stand, and because of these kind, patient, men went safety home.

This was my second time to the downtown Ruibal’s and although they have beautiful plants with a lot of options, I’m disappointed in my visit! I was so excited the first time I made a trip to check them out, the gift shop is beautiful with so many cute planty things. I got into my plant collecting journey about a year ago, I’m pretty good at identifying plants especially since I have to be careful because I have a curious cat. Most plants at Ruibal’s are labeled with the genus and species but I’ve find a couple just labeled as ‘tropical’ and like I said, I usually have an idea of what kind of plant it is but I want to ask an employee just to be sure. This is the second time now I’ve asked for identification on a plant and both times I’ve felt like I was bothering the employee by even speaking to them. The first time I went I asked a lady with blonde hair for confirmation that the plant I was holding was a Pothos and she gave me an attitude. So much so that I actually just left and didn’t make a purchase. Today I went again because my mom knows I love plants and she’d found Ruibal’s online, thinking I’d like to go there not knowing I’d been before. I actually was excited to visit for second time even after my first negative experience because I knew I wanted to make a purchase since there had been multiple plants/cute things I saw during my first visit. But my suspicions were confirmed today as my mom and I come into the gift shop, again I found a plant I liked that wasn’t actually labeled so I asked the employee near by that was a younger girl with brown hair if she knew the identification. Like before, this employee acted like I was a pain in her butt and like she had way more important things to do than to stop what she was doing for 5 seconds and help me. She did point me over to someone else as she said she didn’t know it’s identification and that I should ask another lady behind the counter. We did end up making a purchase as my mom really wanted to get me a plant for Valentine’s Day and even the older man with white hair who checked us out seemed like he was in a rush. I don’t know what’s up, I thought maybe the first time I went was fluke but now that I’ve had two very similar experiences….

Anyways, I may or may not be back because there are other lovely/friendly plant shops around the area but I just wanted to share as it saddened me. Plants make me happy and I’d love to stop to talk about plants…you’d think their employees felt the same way.:/

Edit 5/26/23: I returned to Ruibals for the third time with friends for an outing, we all wanted to buy an African violet. We decided not to after I made sure to look closely to check for pests, I immediately found one on the African violet I wanted to purchase. We put them all back and I don’t think I’ll be returning to Ruibals for a plant purchase! Their shop is so cute but it’s not worth possibly bringing pests into your home. (PS: we were not acknowledged even once by an employee during this visit)

Beautiful stock. We enjoyed walking around and finding things that you just don’t see in most nurseries. Items that were common were of an excellent quality. We were just window shopping and enjoyed spending time walking around and looking at the selections. In the future, after visiting many places, this will be where we shop for future projects.

The plants are on the expensive side, but this is such a lush paradise to walk through. We chose to walk through when it was drizzling a bit outside and the atmosphere was perfect. There are a lot of great options for inside or out and a ton of different species for all tastes.

Amazing place for plants and decor.also everyone here is really friendly and knowledgeable - it’s so nice to have this in Dallas and it’s right next to the farmers market

The service I received started well but ended terrible. Despite emailing the contact address listed on the website, I was passed around to various individuals before finally receiving several quotes. I ended up purchasing $500 worth of flowers, but found better prices on shrubs. Which seems like a normal way to conduct business? During this process, I started receiving e-receipts for all of the store's customers, which took some time to clear up.

After waiting for my delivery, which I had taken time off from work to receive, I discovered that the plants had never arrived. I followed up with the store and was informed that the delay was due to an employee's illness. While I understand that these things happen, it was frustrating to have to wait longer for my order. When I inquired about how to pay for the plants, I was told to call, but the email didn't include a phone number. When I called the local Rubal's location where I had initially made the purchase, I was informed that they didn't keep records for non-business customers and they asked what I ordered. I eventually found the amount in my email and relayed that info and they gave me a price and paid the correct amount immediately, despite the confusion.

To be nice, I replied to the email to let Brady, the person I had been communicating with, know that I had paid. However, I was met with a rude response that asked why I had called the Lakewood location. I was told that they didn't include the delivery fee. Which I absolutely have no problem paying but I tried everything and went out of my way to pay this and they gave me a price. How could I know what was in there or not? Why don't they keep record? Why did they take my payment if I wasn't supposed to pay there? What kind of bookkeeping is this? I had assumed that was the location I was communicating with the whole time, so it was frustrating to be chastised for something that wasn't my fault. I also was told that I was bounced around because I asked for quotes and didn't purchase, which again, is the whole point of getting quotes to compare prices! The tone of the email was accusatory and made me feel like I had done something wrong, despite being a prompt customer who paid immediately.

Overall, I found the service and prices to be subpar and would not recommend. I found some really good prices and great service from another vendor that I was really happy with. Also, If anyone is missing an e-receipt, they can let me know as it's likely in my inbox.