1-800-flowers customer rant

[CHR]

Consumer rant:

1-800 Flowers Sucks Hamster Testicle!

I give her an A for creative writing style. Can't believe a 1800 rep would ask if she wanted to say “with Symphony?”

A couple comments from other readers of this blog:

I choose to call a local florist to the place I'm sending flowers - I give them a dollar amount and tell them to go crazy (with some ideas from me, colors and such) and it's always gorgeous. I can get twice or three times the quality and quantity that I can find on the 1-800-flowers website... and local places almost always know the place I'm sending to, and depending on the size of the town they know the people, too.

My sister likes to send me stuff from one of the online flower places, but the difference between their unchanging designs and what a local florist can do with some imagination is *tremendous*.

I'm glad you got some little kind of satisfaction out of this. *sigh*

I'm with Cary, local florists are better and usually cheaper, well told funny story.

At least the flowers made it to the service, albeit a day late.

 

[felicityflowers]

I must say that I knew that "go local" was becoming popular but, wow there are a ton of comments suggesting it! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Along the same lines we did a funeral last Friday and had 30 some odd pieces from family members scattered all over the country. Some were local orders and some were OOA. The family members were comparing my $50.00 pieces to the $50.00 pieces from the WS shop that is 15 miles away. The woman that ordered the casket spray and other immediate family pieces stopped in first thing Monday morning to tell me that there was much discussion over the lack of value that some of the families received through the WS shop and the ones that ordered from me were overjoyed with their purchases. The other family members were embarrassed that they paid the same amount and got, what looked like, half the flowers.

It's not the WS shop's fault,of course. But, it just goes to show that people do talk and compare notes on their floral purchases...even at funerals.

 

[lori042499]

I often wonder how it is that they can get away with this...

It happens all the time, the reps are just told to capture the order. They know it is very difficult to get things delivered on Sunday, but they tend to not let the customers know this. Then they do not deal with the orders in a timely fashion.

If a local florist ever did this we would be raked over the coals, rightly so. I know the minute I get an order if I am going to have a problem with it, whether it be sunday delivery, tropical product going to small town, plant that may be out of season, etc, etc, the list goes on.

The unfortunate thing is that the funeral arrangement probably didn't even make the funeral, either. It is probably still sitting in the flower room. I think that there is a vast number of florists who take wire ins that because they are discounted don't really care if the get filled properly. I treat all my 800-flowers and TF orders, as I treat my own orders, I check on all the details and if the order is received too late for services, I let them know immediately. I believe this to be a two fold problem, a lack of employable people with brains for the OG/WS and an over abundance of untrained florists joining these organizations to get the orders. These two things put together are ruining our field and hopefully people will realize that not all florists suck this bad....

 

[lori042499]

I must say that I knew that "go local" was becoming popular but, wow there are a ton of comments suggesting it! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Along the same lines we did a funeral last Friday and had 30 some odd pieces from family members scattered all over the country. Some were local orders and some were OOA. The family members were comparing my $50.00 pieces to the $50.00 pieces from the WS shop that is 15 miles away. The woman that ordered the casket spray and other immediate family pieces stopped in first thing Monday morning to tell me that there was much discussion over the lack of value that some of the families received through the WS shop and the ones that ordered from me were overjoyed with their purchases. The other family members were embarrassed that they paid the same amount and got, what looked like, half the flowers.

It's not the WS shop's fault,of course. But, it just goes to show that people do talk and compare notes on their floral purchases...even at funerals.

This is very true...people especially close family members will talk price and compare...

 

[FlowerGirl1972]

Ugh

I hate OG, My husband works for a large company, alot of the employees, have already been buying from me. I am excited about that!!! WHAT I AM NOT excited about is this morning my hubby gets an in house e-mail from one of the company reps that states Flower Ordering made easy.........of course he forwards it to me and said look at this. I looked at it and was steaming. WHAT was it??? OG, they had offered this company 20% off all orders that go thru there service! SO what did I do, I looked at the web-site took notes and went back and explained in detail all about there prices, and etc. I told them that most of the arrangements on that page were either over priced or under priced and that it was stupid ( OK I used better wording but ) that it was stupid for them to use that OG service, because all they did was turn around and send it to a local florist and charge them alot more for doing so. I got a repsonse, LOL, it said OH but they have roses for $69.99 a dozen and they are buy one get one free. I went in and looked, I said OK you seen the big ad that said this but did u read the other print??? it states this will be delivered via Fed Ex, not arranged in a vase with filler, or etc, BUT OH you can buy the vase seperate for $10 to $15 dollars more!!!! I honestly don't think this is right for them to do the real florist like that and it really upsets me.

 

[FlowerGirl1972]

Question

OK I have a kind of stupid question I suppose, But the OG can they give like cash back or etc to get a corporation to use them. Example......In the company hubby works for you can not send out personal e-mail advertising a business, this can only be done by reps, so could they be padding this guy ( the rep sending out the company wide e-mail with the OG web site) pockets to get him to do this? Just curious, still frustrated, LOL, But I know people that have said No way they would order from the web-site for the fact they didn't know what they would truely get.

Sorry i got off a bit on all of that, But also, I did a lot of Family work for a funeral this weekend. They just came in to pay today and were telling me that the ones that ordered thru me were so happy with there things. But they needed business cards to send to all the family that lived out of state and wired things in because they were very dissapointed to find the arrangements they had sent were no up to standards and they were ashamed of them ( NOT from my shop). Some of the family had came in yesterday to tell me thank you in person and I was glad everyone was happy. I knew one of there relatives and she is the one that sent everyone else to me. I don't understand why when some shops get a wire order in think they can send just anything and think it is ok. Whether it is a wire in, direct order or a personal order I want anything that was made i my shop to be top notch, the way I see it is....not only is that your arrangement going out the door to a funeral, birthday, Special event, or etc, THAT IS YOUR NAME going out the door!!!!

 

[CHR]

It's possible the rep is registered as an affiliate and would get a % of each purchase. Were there a string of numbers or letters in the link to the site?

More likely, they just don't understand that big service fees are tacked on at the end or that some of the products are shipped in a box, DIY and can be left on the doorstep.

Somtimes I wonder if we shouldn't just raise all our prices and then promise everybody 20% off? That's kinda what's happining with that OG.

 

[master J]

first time Ive heard anyone sucking hamster testicles!! good stuff!:bangles:

 

[FlowerGirl1972]

Chr

It's possible the rep is registered as an affiliate and would get a % of each purchase. Were there a string of numbers or letters in the link to the site?

More likely, they just don't understand that big service fees are tacked on at the end or that some of the products are shipped in a box, DIY and can be left on the doorstep.

Somtimes I wonder if we shouldn't just raise all our prices and then promise everybody 20% off? That's kinda what's happining with that OG.

I went back and looked, it actually has the company my husband works for in the link. HUMMM.
I explained to them about looking at the extra service fees and etc and gave them a price list of things I have and things on the ( og) site and the price comparisons. I also showed them how there flowers from the OG that were Fed Ex in would not be arranged and the recipiant would have to arrnge them, because they came in a cardboard box. They were unaware of those things, I said you might want to go thru and read all the things and see that those OG are not a choice, we deliver, a special made arrangement straight to your door, your not home we leave a note and come back later or when you call us!!! We do not leave the arrangements outside for the neighbors dogs, hot sun and etc to get them! He is going to look over somethings and check everything out! I hope so!!!!
LOL, I totally agree with the 20% thing, sometimes I think the same thing!!

 

[lori042499]

OK I have a kind of stupid question I suppose, But the OG can they give like cash back or etc to get a corporation to use them. Example......In the company hubby works for you can not send out personal e-mail advertising a business, this can only be done by reps, so could they be padding this guy ( the rep sending out the company wide e-mail with the OG web site) pockets to get him to do this? Just curious, still frustrated, LOL, But I know people that have said No way they would order from the web-site for the fact they didn't know what they would truely get.

Sorry i got off a bit on all of that, But also, I did a lot of Family work for a funeral this weekend. They just came in to pay today and were telling me that the ones that ordered thru me were so happy with there things. But they needed business cards to send to all the family that lived out of state and wired things in because they were very dissapointed to find the arrangements they had sent were no up to standards and they were ashamed of them ( NOT from my shop). Some of the family had came in yesterday to tell me thank you in person and I was glad everyone was happy. I knew one of there relatives and she is the one that sent everyone else to me. I don't understand why when some shops get a wire order in think they can send just anything and think it is ok. Whether it is a wire in, direct order or a personal order I want anything that was made i my shop to be top notch, the way I see it is....not only is that your arrangement going out the door to a funeral, birthday, Special event, or etc, THAT IS YOUR NAME going out the door!!!!

The reason they are not happy with what they got is usually not because the arrangement made was awful but because when they were sold the arrangment one of 3 things happened. Either they were not told about what the price of the order included, ie paid 91.74 but got a 68.00 basket 7.00 local delivery 12.99 wire fee and 2.75 tax, or ordered through a skimmer and paid 91.74 but got 58.00 basket 7.00 local delivery 12.99 wire fee 10.00 in og pocket and 7.75 tax and finally a florist who took off the discount to cover his costs for WS...You see most customers only remember the fact that they paid 91.74, so if Aunt Sally bought hers through any middleman she is only getting on average a 60.00 basket where as Aunt Jo who buys local and paid the same amount is getting a 75.00 basket which is a big difference. It is not that the florist is not giving the value or doesn't care about their image, it is the people not comparing apples to apples...

 

[lori042499]

It's possible the rep is registered as an affiliate and would get a % of each purchase. Were there a string of numbers or letters in the link to the site?

More likely, they just don't understand that big service fees are tacked on at the end or that some of the products are shipped in a box, DIY and can be left on the doorstep.

Somtimes I wonder if we shouldn't just raise all our prices and then promise everybody 20% off? That's kinda what's happining with that OG.[/quote]


I have often wondered this for some time now...All the furniture stores do it...

 

[ivygreen]

I often wonder how it is that they can get away with this...

It happens all the time, the reps are just told to capture the order. They know it is very difficult to get things delivered on Sunday, but they tend to not let the customers know this. Then they do not deal with the orders in a timely fashion.

If a local florist ever did this we would be raked over the coals, rightly so. I know the minute I get an order if I am going to have a problem with it, whether it be sunday delivery, tropical product going to small town, plant that may be out of season, etc, etc, the list goes on.

The unfortunate thing is that the funeral arrangement probably didn't even make the funeral, either. It is probably still sitting in the flower room. I think that there is a vast number of florists who take wire ins that because they are discounted don't really care if the get filled properly. I treat all my 800-flowers and TF orders, as I treat my own orders, I check on all the details and if the order is received too late for services, I let them know immediately. I believe this to be a two fold problem, a lack of employable people with brains for the OG/WS and an over abundance of untrained florists joining these organizations to get the orders. These two things put together are ruining our field and hopefully people will realize that not all florists suck this bad....

We treat the wire orders like our own. It comes from your shop with your name and you get the complaint. I recently had an experience where the funeral director called because a family ordered two pieces(thru OG) and we only delivered one, while I was checking things out for them, he called back to say it had just been delivered FED EX to the funeral home door. Family was happy with mine, very unhappy with the other. Also they paid more through the OG than I would have charged.

 

[ivygreen]

We treat the wire orders like our own. It comes from your shop with your name and you get the complaint. I recently had an experience where the funeral director called because a family ordered two pieces(thru OG) and we only delivered one, while I was checking things out for them, he called back to say it had just been delivered FED EX to the funeral home door. Family was happy with mine, very unhappy with the other. Also they paid more through the OG than I would have charged.

 

[FlowerGirl1972]

lori

The reason they are not happy with what they got is usually not because the arrangement made was awful but because when they were sold the arrangment one of 3 things happened. Either they were not told about what the price of the order included, ie paid 91.74 but got a 68.00 basket 7.00 local delivery 12.99 wire fee and 2.75 tax, or ordered through a skimmer and paid 91.74 but got 58.00 basket 7.00 local delivery 12.99 wire fee 10.00 in og pocket and 7.75 tax and finally a florist who took off the discount to cover his costs for WS...You see most customers only remember the fact that they paid 91.74, so if Aunt Sally bought hers through any middleman she is only getting on average a 60.00 basket where as Aunt Jo who buys local and paid the same amount is getting a 75.00 basket which is a big difference. It is not that the florist is not giving the value or doesn't care about their image, it is the people not comparing apples to apples...

I have been in the biz for 16 yrs so I understand all the cost and etc as explained. I know what the shop got as far as money and I know what they were suppose to send ( one doz red roses in a standing spray) $95.00 ( the $95.00 is what the other shop gave the filling shop) instead the shop which i will not mention a name, sent a doz roses in a basket that were wilted. When the lady called and asked why hers were not what she ordered and wilted the filling florist replied " OH You are at the funeral"? Lady replied Yes she said well we ran out of time and sent what we could. I don't think that is very professional, do you? especially since the filling florist received the order the day before it actually had to be there. That is why I said the comment about I don't see how people can take a wire in order and send what ever they want too, instead of what they were suppose to send.
I have worked at shops that take 20% of the amount wired in off the top before filling, I have also worked at shops that take 30% off the top before filling, do I think it is fair no, did I do it, yes I was not the owner of that shop just an employee. OK I guess this is a better way to put this....All I was trying to get accross was this...everytime you wire out an order UNLESS you Personally no the filling florist, you never know what you will get on the other side, I have seen it happen alot with local florist here.

 

[NCPat48]

Consumer rant:

1-800 Flowers Sucks Hamster Testicle!

I give her an A for creative writing style. Can't believe a 1800 rep would ask if she wanted to say “with Symphony?”

A couple comments from other readers of this blog:

At least the flowers made it to the service, albeit a day late.

I believe the confusion and responsibility lies with the representative taking the order. Any experienced florist would have told the lady that a standing piece (spray) would be dead by Tuesday. I assume the receiving florist made an executive decision and sent the piece on Monday, which is exactly what I would have done in the same situation. There would be no reason to have flowers there on Sunday, the body probably wasn't even ready yet.

And lest we forget that a real florist is actually filling the orders. They didn't complain about the arrangement, just the fact that the name was wrong and delivered on Monday, the day of the visitation. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of 1-800-Flowers or any other OG, but I do believe in being fair. I have made a mistake with a name and I have made the decision to deliver a piece at what I felt was the most appropriate time, but the people answering their phones certainly should be better trained so as not to reflect badly on the whole industry.

 

[lori042499]

I have been in the biz for 16 yrs so I understand all the cost and etc as explained. I know what the shop got as far as money and I know what they were suppose to send ( one doz red roses in a standing spray) $95.00 ( the $95.00 is what the other shop gave the filling shop) instead the shop which i will not mention a name, sent a doz roses in a basket that were wilted. When the lady called and asked why hers were not what she ordered and wilted the filling florist replied " OH You are at the funeral"? Lady replied Yes she said well we ran out of time and sent what we could. I don't think that is very professional, do you? especially since the filling florist received the order the day before it actually had to be there. That is why I said the comment about I don't see how people can take a wire in order and send what ever they want too, instead of what they were suppose to send.
I have worked at shops that take 20% of the amount wired in off the top before filling, I have also worked at shops that take 30% off the top before filling, do I think it is fair no, did I do it, yes I was not the owner of that shop just an employee. OK I guess this is a better way to put this....All I was trying to get accross was this...everytime you wire out an order UNLESS you Personally no the filling florist, you never know what you will get on the other side, I have seen it happen alot with local florist here.

Gotcha!!! There are many sleezy florists out there....Just must be much more where you are...

 

[lori042499]

I believe the confusion and responsibility lies with the representative taking the order. Any experienced florist would have told the lady that a standing piece (spray) would be dead by Tuesday. I assume the receiving florist made an executive decision and sent the piece on Monday, which is exactly what I would have done in the same situation. There would be no reason to have flowers there on Sunday, the body probably wasn't even ready yet.

And lest we forget that a real florist is actually filling the orders. They didn't complain about the arrangement, just the fact that the name was wrong and delivered on Monday, the day of the visitation. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of 1-800-Flowers or any other OG, but I do believe in being fair. I have made a mistake with a name and I have made the decision to deliver a piece at what I felt was the most appropriate time, but the people answering their phones certainly should be better trained so as not to reflect badly on the whole industry.

Monday was the day of funeral not visitation, Sunday was visitation...

 

[NCPat48]

Monday was the day of funeral not visitation, Sunday was visitation...

"Now neither my sister nor I had ever ordered flowers for a funeral, so suffice it to say we really had no clue what the heck we were doing. So to save ourselves from looking like dummies, we asked Jessica’s mom where to send the flowers and all the other details needed to make the purchase.
The wake was set for the Monday and the funeral would be that Tuesday. Jessica’s mother told us that the funeral parlor would be taking arrangements on Sunday and Monday from 3 Pm to 8 PM. Since it was already Friday night when we got this information, my sister and I decided to order the flowers on Saturday and have them delivered on Sunday, pretty simple right; of course not."

The above is a quote from her complaint. It may just be a confusion of terms on my part since here in the south we refer to the receiving of friends as a "visitation", but is a "wake" not the receiving of friends? If so then there was nothing scheduled for Sunday.

I may be mistaken, but that is how I understand it to read.

 

[lori042499]

"Now neither my sister nor I had ever ordered flowers for a funeral, so suffice it to say we really had no clue what the heck we were doing. So to save ourselves from looking like dummies, we asked Jessica’s mom where to send the flowers and all the other details needed to make the purchase.
The wake was set for the Monday and the funeral would be that Tuesday. Jessica’s mother told us that the funeral parlor would be taking arrangements on Sunday and Monday from 3 Pm to 8 PM. Since it was already Friday night when we got this information, my sister and I decided to order the flowers on Saturday and have them delivered on Sunday, pretty simple right; of course not."

The above is a quote from her complaint. It may just be a confusion of terms on my part since here in the south we refer to the receiving of friends as a "visitation", but is a "wake" not the receiving of friends? If so then there was nothing scheduled for Sunday.

I may be mistaken, but that is how I understand it to read.

Sorry I read it wrong the first time......

 

[FlowerGirl1972]

Gotcha!!! There are many sleezy florists out there....Just must be much more where you are...

Well I don't want to give you the wrong impression of the town I am in, there are some really talented designers, shop owners and etc. Not all of the shops are like that....... But there are a few and I just don't like the way they treat the customers.... think they can send anything and the person that wired it in will never know!! I always do what I think is right, because like I stated before that isn't just an arrangement going out the door to whomever, that is our name and reputation going out the door!!!