$15 back from a drop ship order from FTD

Spookyflowers

Spookyflowers

New Member
Jun 13, 2007
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Missouri Valley
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IA
Had and older man in yesterday wanting to use a $15 card they got when they got flowers Fed Ex to them from FTD. Told him ha had to call the number on the card or go to FTD website. He said "I'm not doing that". Is FTD really taking orders out of the mouths of there own shops?
If I was and FTD shop I'd be steaming mad at them. I felt sorry for the man as he thought he could save $15 as I'm sure he's on a limited budget.
 
Just to keep him from ordering elsewhere, I probably would have taken the hit and given him a 15.00 discount and matched it...he came to a local for a reason, do you think in hind sight that his future biz was worth a 15.00 hit now instead of sending him to FTD.com?
 
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I totally disagree Lori. I would explain to him FTD ripped him off not the local florist! If he wants cheap drop shipped rebates then he has to jump through their hoops. We don't sell hoops here! My Mom won't shop at Staples anymore because they never sent her rebate and all her calls went unresolved.
 
lori042499 said:
Just to keep him from ordering elsewhere, I probably would have taken the hit and given him a 15.00 discount and matched it...he came to a local for a reason, do you think in hind sight that his future biz was worth a 15.00 hit now instead of sending him to FTD.com?
Click to expand...

Yep $15.00 is a bargain a new customer......why do you think FTD is offering $15.00? They want to keep him from buying from you, that's why!
 
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KABERS said:
I totally disagree Lori. I would explain to him FTD ripped him off not the local florist! If he wants cheap drop shipped rebates then he has to jump through their hoops. We don't sell hoops here! My Mom won't shop at Staples anymore because they never sent her rebate and all her calls went unresolved.
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But if it shows the customer that you are willing to give him service in the form of money off maybe you can win over his business from FTD or proflowers...This is the exact reason so many florists are losing business to these companies, they are so unwilling to give the customer a few dollars and win them over and the OGS and WS are so willing to give them the few dollars and the florists jump through the hoops to tae the discounted orders and fill em anyway...

We are all so quick to get mad at the customer for using the services because they get lured in by rebates and discounts and scold them for using them it is no wonder they go back to using them...customers don't want to hear the sob story of why these companies suck, they just want to buy flowers...if they come in your store you should be doing everything in your power to keep them coming back not pushing them away to a service...maybe he was not happy with what he got and now wants t use a local florist, and maybe he buys flowers 4-5 times a year, I know that giving him the initial 15.00 would be way worth the possibility of his future business.
 
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The man has bought from me many times before it was his kids who sent his wife flowers that they got the $15 card. He has no computer and said he told his kids to call me direct and not to mess with the computer as he put it. But I've had other people tell their family to call me direct and they won't listen they go back to the computer everytime and I end up with the order in the end.
 
I'm not mad at the customer, I just don't owe him money promised from ftd. How will that stop his kids from ordering the same way again? I'm starting to think being a "people pleaser" is a disease, and I have it bad! Is there rehab for this condition cuz my backside is getting mighty sore from bending over so much!
 
We bend over backwards and where does it get us? I agree with Jenifer why do we owe them what FTD owes them. I'm a one person shop I'm not FTD who can afford to give $15 away they don't care if they ever hear from that customer again. I need to pay my bills and make a living too and I doubt FTD cares about that.
 
In the grand scheme of things, what impact does a $15 coupon have? The net cost of that $15 coupon - assuming he wasn't trying to use it for an outgoing WS order - was really what - $5 to $7. Heck, if he spent $55 dollars with you could look at it like a wire in and only getting $40 out of the deal. It's all in your perspective.

The questions that I asked myself when it came to coupons:

  • How much does it cost to get a new customer?
  • How much does it cost to keep a current customer?
I take Teleflora coupons even though I haven't been Teleflora for years. I'll take any competitors coupon. Why in heavens sake would I send any customer away? It's hard enough to get them into the front door. My philosophy is treat them right and they'll be back, coupon or not.

How many coupons that weren't mine have I redeemed over the years - 30, maybe 40.
Yeah, I indirectly lost money on the outgoing Teleflora orders, but 90% of these same 'couponing' customers order for in town or regularly shop the store for gift items.

I simply expense the cost of coupons to either promotions or advertising and don't lose any sleep over it. If Teleflora or FTD is indirectly driving traffic to my store, all the better.

Doug
 
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I have to agree - it's rarely an issue of what can "I" afford for customer acquisition, as much as "what is the industry norm for customer acquisition." With several million orders per year going to FTD.com, not to mention their top competitors, the norm is set by them - not us. This is the ballpark, and we can play or go home.

A few years ago FTD disclosed that they had a customer acquisition cost of $23 for customers via PPC advertising. They determined it to be worthwhile since they know the lifetime value of a customer, and they do a good job of retaining customers via email marketing, etc.

The question isn't whether or not we can afford to pay $15-20 for a customer. The question is one of scale: how many customers can we afford to acquire in a given period. I've seen florists do too well with their marketing and not have the bankroll to sustain the growth while waiting for the longterm value. Know your business, know your finances, have a budget and plan it well. Work on retaining customers, not just getting them.

If you can master the art of retaining customer and getting them to order more often, you can afford to outspend the competition on a per customer basis.
 
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Spookyflowers said:
The man has bought from me many times before it was his kids who sent his wife flowers that they got the $15 card.
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.......so, then did the kids send the $15 coupon to the wife? I'm not sure how he got a hold of it. My point is, if this man is a regular or even infrequent but known customer, I would probably honor the coupon. Hopefully, he would then tell the kids about your being so nice and reasonable, and perhaps they will eventually use your services instead of using the internet. Regardless of that, he is your customer, even if his kids are not, and you would be doing him a favor, not his kids. Do you have an e-commerce site that you could share with him to pass on to them?
 
Yes I have a website but he even told his kids to order from me and they still go to the internet.The man will be back and he is a couple of times a year ordered. He wanted to do a wire out order and he only wanted to spend $35 total I had to get him to up it as it was to Phoneix and the minumum was $45. There are some people who no matter what will use the web to order. I had a kid order a prom corsage a couple of years ago on the web and then was surprised when I showed up to deliver it. He thought they would ship it to him thru the mail or UPS.
 
No my website is not e-commerce very small shop here and those things cost money sorry to say so itspay the light bill or have and e-commerce site. I know convenience is the name of the game but there are alot of places that have websites and people still have to order over the phone.
I'm in a town of right around 2000 only shop in town. Its a struggle many days to pay the bills and make ends meet.
 
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Spookyflowers said:
No my website is not e-commerce very small shop here and those things cost money sorry to say so itspay the light bill or have and e-commerce site. I know convenience is the name of the game but there are alot of places that have websites and people still have to order over the phone.
I'm in a town of right around 2000 only shop in town. Its a struggle many days to pay the bills and make ends meet.
Click to expand...
So the kids prefer to use an e-commerce site instead of making a phone call.

They don't see the benefit of going direct...they simply prefer the convenience of ordering online.

Thanks, I get it now.
 
Some people will never understand a direct phone call I guess. Even when I order online from wholesalers I make a phone call to double check on the order. I guess they have not been burnt enough times to make that one phone call and trust a local florist.
 
I think there are many, many people who prefer to do business with the computer- even with their smart phone- rather than talk to someone. (while holding their cell phone!) They see what they want and order it- DONE.
And I just want to add, not everyone has a bad experience shopping online, in fact lots of people enjoy it.

I've had a peek at your site Spooky- there's not much going on there-and if they are shopping late at night and want to order? what then???
 
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Let's see it a beautiful Sunday out and I'm at work doing my billing and bookwork that I didn't get done this week. I've driven over 200 miles this week delivering after 5:30 at night. Took 70 orders to a funeral on Thur. which I did all of them plus the everyday things at the shop. Something has to give and sorry to say its my website. Not big enough to hire help because everyone wants full time and benefits that I don't even have.
Remember back when we didn't have the internet what did we do then I'm thinking maybe we need to go back there and the world would not be in the mess we are in now. I don't get to shop late at night on the computer because I'm in bed after a 12 hour day at my shop.
 
Spooky, You're missing the point....

The man's kids more than likley would shop with you IF you had a commerce website....So would a lot of other people. I really don't think you understand the value of a commerce website...It's everything in this day and age.
We will never "go back to the way things were" period.

Commerce sites are tageting people JUST LIKE YOU...Who have NO time after a long day of working or whatever they do. I too am crazy tired after a long day...
I buy most of my clothes on line, a lot of my beauty products, I pay my bills online, I do everything I can online because it's easy and convient. I'm in my late 30's and I think I'm pretty dang typical of most people my age.

BTW- I even have had OTHER flower shops call and say they checked us out on line before they chose to call the shop. There is really not much special about our site. It's a clean TF site that I have tweaked. It's easy and friendly and we get compliments all the time.

You really do need to get a site. You'd be amazed at how much more work you'll get.
 
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