Bamboo Craftsman Company

If you are still looking for a unique gift, go to Bamboo Craftsman. This retailer has unique and fun gifts. They also go over and above in customer service. I purchased 2 hand carved roots for friends that needed to be shipped. I asked if they had a box and the owner came out of the workshop and said «no problem I will build wooden boxes for you «!! I was thrilled and when was the last time anyone focused on the customer like that in a big box store. So support your local merchants and this one is the BEST! (In the summer they have a great selection of bamboo as well as bamboo shades, screens and other fun garden stuff)

I have a small space and some big bamboo. The professionals at BambooCraftsman do great work. They show up when expected and then they clean up when they are done and go the extra mile for the customer. My plants look great thanks to the Bamboo Craftsman! I have used them many times and absolutely will again.
Allison

Cool store. Wish I had more bamboo needs. Great browsing locale if you’re shmying around Kenton

I recently googled «bamboo nursery» I called who «I thought» was the place I’ve seen in Kenton. I walked up and a man was also walking up. I asked if he worked there and he said yes he was the owner. Usually they didn’t open for thirty minutes but I was in a hurry and he graciously accommodated my early arrival. I knew exactly what I was looking for and he showed me what he had it was perfect! The bonus was, it was a bit cheaper than the quote I got from the other nursery I called!!! Thank you so much Troy, I wish I would’ve had more time to spend in the store. It was gorgeous inside and out! I look forward to returning with a little bit more time to browse!!! So excited this place is so conveniently located!!!

I go here fairly often. Sometimes just to look, sometimes to purchase. I have probably spent over $ 500 on bamboo and containers here over the years. The staff is somewhat friendly, very knowledgable, and almost always busy with another customer or project. I arrive here anticipating and accepting the fact that I may have to wait to be helped. Both the Owner and Sunday have helped me and I have had only positive interactions. Actually, they have gone above and beyond for me. I purchased a Japanese Maple from them last summer, and after bringing it home I discovered it had a fungus spreading on its leaves. I brought it back and the team researched what the cause may be. They then offered to return it for me OR to babysit it and nurse it back to health. I opted for them to nurse it, and it has been healthy and happily growing in my yard since. Thank you!

This place is wonderful. The plants are beautiful, the atmosphere is inspiring, and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. I bought some great bamboo there and I am very happy.

I had an absolutely awesome experience with BCC. The customer service was great. The guy working there – his name is Sunday – walked us through all of our options for creating a nice hedge of bamboo in our small townhouse back yard. We settled on «Green Temple Bamboo» and got a great deal on some very tall, established plants (WAY cheaper than the bamboo I looked at at Portland Nursery)
Originally, I’d wanted to plant my own bamboo, but I knew about their tendency to spread and was concerned about installing my own trench and barrier, etc. But BCC made it a breeze. They said they would deliver and install the plants, saving me a lot of time and hard work.
They did a first-​rate job. The trench was perfect, and the liner was installed with precision and care. Our bamboo looks great! It truly transformed our yard. Sunday came out to check on the job and make sure we were satisfied with the purchase. Great follow-​through.
Now, maybe I could have done it myself, but I doubt that I would have done as good of a job, or done it nearly as efficiently. It was worth every penny. Landscape projects aren’t cheap, but this whole huge job was very reasonably priced considering all of the back-​breaking labor involved.
100% satisfied with BCC. Go check them out if you have any bamboo projects in store for your house. The nursery itself is like a mini-​paradise full of bamboos of every kind.
Thanks BCC!

On Saturday August 4, 2012 we placed and paid for a custom size Bamboo frame to fit over an existing bathroom mirror. A Company employee provided a quote and requested payment, which was received. We felt the price was reasonable for materials and labor. The Company employee stated our frame would be completed and ready for pickup in one week, which would be August 11, 2012. He wrote on the receipt/​contract «afternoon.» They were given exact measurements and a digital print of our bathroom mirror. We asked for bronze-​colored bolts and the remaining pieces of the bamboo poles. When we asked if they had completed similar mirror frame projects, this employee stated they had been in business for several years and did many similar projects. We felt confident with his knowledge of what we needed and discussed installments issues as well.
We looked forward to seeing our Bamboo frame on Saturday and couldn’t wait. We were almost done with our bathroom remodel. On August 11, 2012, we planned our schedule around that errand of having to pick up the frame from Bamboo Craftsman in Kenton. We live in Tualatin and this is on the opposites side of town. Their location is nearly an hour away not to mention sluggish traffic on I-​5 due to the major repaving project. We called at 9 am which is when their store opens according to their website and hours posted on their door. An employee answered but he could not inform us if our frame was ready for pickup. We wondered how a 6’x3’ Bamboo frame that should be ready to go was not obvious to any employee. We were told another employee that is supposed to be there at 10 am should know and we asked if they could please call us back.
No one called us back. We kept waiting. Our schedule was rearranged as we waited for the phone call. We wanted to be done with our work for the day by 4 pm and be able to get downtown and enjoy the Bike Race at the Park Blocks.
We called Bamboo Craftsman again at 1 pm. They had never called us back. Now we find out our Bamboo frame has yet to be started on and the company employee said he was planning on coming in early Saturday morning to work on it, but… he just never made it in. We wondered what happened all week and why it was left for Saturday morning. This employee said our frame would be worked on now and may be finished by the time they close at 5pm. Now we have to leave Tualatin at 4 pm to get there before they close. We called again at 4 pm to check on the status again. We had lost all confidence.
Upon arriving at Bamboo Craftsman in Kenton (N. Portland) at approximately 4:45 pm we went in the store. We could see an employee still working on our frame. It was not done yet. We went back outside and killed 10 more minutes. We were not happy campers as our plans to see the Bike Race downtown had to be cancelled. We also watched an employee start to close down the business by taking down the outside flags.
We went back inside the store at 4:55 pm. The employee that was working on the frame project was busy chatting with two people. He was not taking an order nor were the individuals picking up an order. It appeared to be just chitchat. We waited to get someone’s attention. At the very end of the day and as the company was ready to close its doors we finally were able to pick up our frame. The glue had yet to dry since our project was left to the last minute. The employee did not give us bronze bolts and said «…we will have to paint them.» We also did not get our left over cut bamboo pole pieces that we paid for. We remembered that as we drove home. It was too late to call them back.
Overall we felt their Customer Service was severely lacking. After finding this website and reading other customer reviews we were not surprised. For future needs we will go elsewhere. The location was not convenient and we felt our project and our time was not important. We feel that we should have called them the middle of the week to check on our project. It’s a shame that a customer has to call and keep checking in on the Contractor to see if what you paid for is being built.
FYI, «afternoon» means to have a project ready for pickup for your customer not when you start on it.
We sent Bamboo Craftsman a message on their Facebook page and this was Mr. Troy Susan’s comment. — «Wow. I had no idea you were unhappy. I am sincerely sorry and I do apologize that no one called back quickly after your morning inquiry to give you an update. At the time that the order was placed I did say it would be ready for pick up in the afternoon and it was.»
He seems completely out of touch as to what Customer Service is and what the definition of «afternoon» means. As mentioned above the business was closing (at 5 pm) for the day as we waited for our bamboo frame to be finished. Our planned Evening had to be canceled because this Owner left our project to the last minute and took our time and money into no consideration.

I really wanted to like this place. Unfortunately, the owner seems to feel that he has no competition so he doesn’t need to make any effort to treat customers well. In addition it is a real nuisance to make what for us is a fairly long drive, only to find that there’s no one there manning the store. Too much attitude here.
Although there may not be many local choices for Bamboo building materials, we were able to get what we needed from Home Depot, which has free shipping. We ordered it online and got our Bamboo within 4 days of ordering. We also bought bamboo reed fencing from Portland Nursery. Their reed fencing cost more than Home Depot’s, but is higher quality (more consistent, brighter color.) The other bamboo we ordered from Home Depot is great though.

The new location is very inconveniently located, and you can’t count on them being open when they say they will be.
I showed up at about 10:20 am on a Tuesday to pick up a bunch of material for a project I’m working on, and they were closed. The sign on the door read «Back in 15 minutes». Over half an hour went by before someone finally showed up. He apparently «had to run to the lumberyard for something». I found this unacceptable. Especially as the older gentleman who was also waiting told me that he had called Bamboo Craftsman before he drove in and told them he was on his way.
I’m a professional, and I don’t have time to run out to the sticks to buy something from a place that may have chosen to arbitrarily close during their posted business hours. It costs me time and money. If someone had hurt themselves and had to be run to the hospital, then okay, but to close the place to go run errands? That is completely unprofessional.
I prefer to support local business when I can, and buy locally, but only if those businesses can be counted on not to waist my time. Next time I’ll buy on-​line.

On less than a week’s notice, Troy came up with an elegant solution for our wedding chuppah frame made of finished bamboo and offered to design and build it for a reasonable price. When we arrived a few days later to pick it up, he walked us through the assembly, having created straightforward guides on the poles themselves. Reassembling it at the wedding venue was a breeze, and the finished product was beautiful, exactly what we had hoped for. The twine provided was less strong than we required to secure the bottoms of the legs to potted fir trees, but overall we were quite pleased. Many thanks Troy!

Anyone want to get bamboozled…
I was on a mission for non-​invasive clumping bamboo to use as a screen. I previously stumbled upon the place with my parents a month ago and thought to myself I’m definitely coming here to support this local shop when I need bamboo in the next few weeks.
I went in ready to drop 150 $ on 3 bamboos worked with a very nice employee (didn’t get his name) for 20mins. or so then walks in TROY, immediately telling me that the bamboo (about 7ft tall) the other guy had been showing me was going to be $ 350.00! This other guy that was just helping me told me it was probably around $ 120.00. I think what Troy was trying to say was, «Hey I don’t really want your $ 150 & I definitely don’t want you to leave here happy & supporting my local business. So you can buy these 3 little 1ft stalks over here for $ 90 …and I’m not really into anyone who doesn’t want to pay inflated $ for bamboo in Kenton.» Just acting like I was wasting his time during the entire conversation I had with him. I mean does this business want to sell anything? Not sure if he was the owner or an employee. What a let down. Last time I checked businesses were struggling and wanting to sell things? Holy crap I haven’t been that shocked in awhile by such crappy customer service & I’m in sales. I mean wow on this guy.
I left that place and won’t be suggesting it.
So I went back to my buddy Gabe on Craigslist & got 3 8ft tall 12 gallon each non-​invasive clumping bamboo and a sweet seedless red grape vine for $ 135.00. And last year Gabe gave me two 4ft black bamboos for $ 35 and they are 7ft tall now. He’s giving it away basically.
Bamboozeled,
KJ

We were excited by their display at a recent home and garden show and wanted to see the good statuary they were displaying again. Not so impressed with the selection at the store, more interesting stuff at the garden show. A lot of bamboo choices.

Fantastic supply of live bamboo, poles and other bamboo products. Extremely knowledgeable, very helpful and patient as we continued to change our mind.

Quite knowledgeable about bamboo and very helpful. My only complaint is that I stood there for 3 minutes while he yammered away on the phone and didn’t even acknowledge me, I would have just left, but I wanted to look at the bamboo! So bad first impression, but overall A-​OK.