Our Office Hours and Visitor Policy

The office phone is available 24 hours a day.  Linda will be by the phone most Mondays and Thursdays from 3:00 to 5:00 PM (Central Time).  She will not answer the telephone on Monday or Thursday holidays.  Glenn will be by the phone some evenings in the January through March time period from usually 7:00 to 9:00 PM (Central Time).  There is a voice mail service available for the other times.  Sometimes, during peak seasons, the voice mailbox becomes filled up.  We try to empty the voice mailbox frequently, but if you get a message saying the mailbox is full, please try back in a day or two or send us an e-mail. Please leave your name, number and best time to return your call. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible, although, it may not be the same day. If you leave a message, one of us will try to call you back at our earliest opportunity. We do not make or accept phone calls on Sunday. 

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We are not set up for drop in visits and really can’t handle them. With the continued Newcastle and Avian Influenza precautions we are no longer allowing any visits to the poultry part of our operation. We are doing our best to try to promote good biosecurity. 

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E-mails 

Please do not expect an immediate e-mail response. Ones that Linda can answer (such as catalog and order status e-mails) will usually be answered within a week or two. Ones that require Glenn to answer (specific breed questions, seed histories, etc.) can take up to a few months for a response. We are very sorry but we get an unbelievable amount of e-mails and there are still only 24 hours in a day. If you e-mail or call to inquire about breed availability, you will lose time by doing so. It is best to just send in an order as early as possible and get in line. The longer you delay sending in the order, the further down on the list for that breed you will be and the longer you will have to wait for a shipment of birds. If we are not able to book your order within the parameters you give us, we will send the order and payment back to you. Therefore, please be as flexible with shipping dates as you possibly can. 

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Patience 

Please remember we are not a 24 hour fast food place where you can order and expect service immediately. We are doing this as a hobby business service and we work as fast and efficiently as the time allows. We cannot guarantee specific hatch dates as we cannot guarantee the hatch rate or laying rate of each of the many breeds that we have. We set up and process the orders in the order in which we receive them in the mail. If you are impatient and absolutely have to have something by a certain date, please do us and yourself a favor and order from somewhere else. We realize the above statement seems cold and harsh, but we are simply not able to deal with filling chick orders at the spur of the moment. We are at the mercy of the birds and there isn’t anything that we can do to change that. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE FOR ANY REASON. 

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A Typical Day At Sand Hill (Or Why Your E-mail Is Late In Getting Answered)
   Rain or shine (moon or sun) the day begins at 4:30 AM. Morning animal chores take until 7:00 AM. Most of that time is devoted to the poultry, with a few minutes for the pigs, sheep and cows. Breakfast and a shower and off to school by 7:30 AM. A school day never has a dull moment and is usually packed to the brim with excitement from the five different subjects I teach. The  regular classes are action packed with their enthusiasm and the college credit course students are serious and the advanced thinkers keep me on my toes. The school day ends and I leave at 3:45 PM and head back home to start evening chores until dinner time at 6:30 PM. Depending upon the season, it is either back to the poultry or harvesting and seed cleaning or, in the winter, working on seed orders until I call it a day at 9:00 PM. 9:00 to 10:00 PM is always reserved for school preparation, some days it takes the 7:00 to 9:00 PM slot as well. Planning each week and coordinating my school life and due dates for assignments with the farm life is all key to survival. During hatching season, Friday nights are always egg candling and move to the hatcher events and Sunday afternoons are egg washing times. Saturdays are poultry pen cleaning times so sometimes Saturday evening I can get to e-mails. My large fingers and dislike of typing make that a less than favorite task. 

   When school is not in session, the schedule just gets adjusted to garden work in place of school.
   Linda spends her day trying to keep up with answering as many e-mails as I can scratch a few words on paper for her, typing poultry confirmation letters, answering the phone, helping our workers fill seed orders, running postage and taking things to the Post Office, as well as doing all of the household chores to make life functional. 

 

 

The Computer Age 

Computers and the internet have changed people’s ideas about ordering. However, we still operate the “old fashioned” way. If you want a particular breed, you will need to send in your order by mail and wait your turn in line. Please check the web site for availability of poultry breeds. We continue to take orders only by regular mail. We only accept payment for orders in the form of a check or money order sent in by regular USPS mail to accompany your order. We are not set up to accept payment by credit card, PayPal, etc. 

 

We still have no intention of taking orders over the internet. We have decided that we will take orders over the internet just as soon as we can ship chicks and seeds via e-mail. Patience here is the key. You may contact us by e-mail at the following address: sandhill@fbcom.net. An online version of the complete catalog is available at the web site address www.sandhillpreservation.com.  There will also be a PDF format available on our website so that you may print out the pages you need.

 

Our website became operational in April, 2006. If you have access to the internet, please check the web site periodically throughout the year. We try to give you online updates throughout the year on the “News and Updates” page of the web site. These updates may include delays in shipping sweet potatoes, updates on availabilities, catalog corrections, special sales, or other information which would be helpful for you to know. 

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Correspondence

      As we have indicated many times, it is not that we don’t want to answer each and every question posed to us, it is simply a matter of time and method of asking.  I can only say this so many times, e-mail is not the best method for us.  If you want the quickest response, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a paper with your questions (with a small space between the questions for us to write answers) and it will get back to you much FASTER than any e-mail.

 

Customer Service

     Please understand that we strive to make sure that each and every customer gets what they order as soon as we possibly can get to your order.  We are not an official business with a marketing department and a customer service department.  We are genetic preservationists with a desire to see material dispersed and maintained.  We do not advertise and if you have found us it is because either someone recommended us or you are searching for a rare and unusual item.  Much of the material we maintain is not in the mainstream as it has quirks and problems that a true business would not carry in order to keep a steady flow of product and happy customers.  If you have an order question or product problem then you will deal directly with Linda by telephone or it will be directed to me (Glenn) via mail or telephone.  We will evaluate and work to solve your problem as quickly as possible.

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