a bit of good news from FTD - controversy invited

[Jerry]

Bloomz, you've got to quit being such a nice guy, or you're going to run out of money. If this stick beating does not do the trick, maybe the new owners of ftd will up your rebate to cover any loses.

I personally think it's only going to get worse either way it goes.

Crap, now I'm feeling alittle empathy for Bloomzie, this is not good.

 

[goldfish]

We are an FTD shop. I am actually confused about this new rating system and wonder if anyone can clarify... FTD says the rating would depend on order rejection as well as FTD.com refund.

Let's say, there are two FTD shops in a town, A and B.

Shop-A rejects almost all the codified products, because this store doesn't carry carns, daisies, and mums. Rejection rate is about 50-70% overall. Complaint rate, however, is very low; less than 0.1%.

Shop-B never rejects any orders (Rejection rate = 0%) and they advertise this fact. They cover many towns as ASB. All the local florists actually know this store is a piece of cr*p. Complaint rate is said to be as high as 5%, i.e., 50-times higher than shop-A.

Which shop, A or B, would be rated higher in FTD rating? I suspect B would be rated higher than A. Wouldn't this cause a problem?

 

[LJVF]

We are an FTD shop. I am actually confused about this new rating system and wonder if anyone can clarify... FTD says the rating would depend on order rejection as well as FTD.com refund.

Let's say, there are two FTD shops in a town, A and B.

Shop-A rejects almost all the codified products, because this store doesn't carry carns, daisies, and mums. Rejection rate is about 50-70% overall. Complaint rate, however, is very low; less than 0.1%.

Shop-B never rejects any orders (Rejection rate = 0%) and they advertise this fact. They cover many towns as ASB. All the local florists actually know this store is a piece of cr*p. Complaint rate is said to be as high as 5%, i.e., 50-times higher than shop-A.

Which shop, A or B, would be rated higher in FTD rating? I suspect B would be rated higher than A. Wouldn't this cause a problem?

Currently we rarely REJ FTD.com orders, we always send an ASK if we can substitute or deliver the next day. They will usually send a CAN.

 

[sfox]

And

But I only care about MY orders and it affects mine.

Rating schmating - I give two forks less about their rejection rating - whadda they gonna do - send me less ftd.con orders I don't take anyway?

bloomz, reading your posts it shows you care about your customers. The problem you are facing with the bad FTD filling florists is a sign of the quantity and quality of shops FTD has remaining in their system.

Every qtr. FTD loses more and more shops from their membership rolls. FTD's overall shop numbers are shrinking and getting smaller all the time. FTD has no real standards so almost anyone can join FTD and fill orders. Sad to say Teleflora too has no real standards, but because they have a much larger membership group, a sender has the opportunity to bypass those bad shops in most cases. With FTD the choice are much less.

Until FTD changes the financial structure a florist operates under, more and more shops will leave giving you fewer and fewer places to get your orders filled. New fees and punishments will not solve your problems, it will just cause the flight to freedom from FTD to increase.

You will have to make the choice of not filling your customers request at all or getting the order filled poorly.

 

[Jerry]

Which shop, A or B, would be rated higher in FTD rating? I suspect B would be rated higher than A. Wouldn't this cause a problem?

Your right B would be higher in the eyes of the king, but not for the reasoning your thinking. They would be higher because they did NOT say NO to any orders. They were good little soldiers.

This is not a quality issue, it's a filling issue.

 

[ssp]

bloomz, reading your posts it shows you care about your customers. The problem you are facing with the bad FTD filling florists is a sign of the quantity and quality of shops FTD has remaining in their system.

Every qtr. FTD loses more and more shops from their membership rolls. FTD's overall shop numbers are shrinking and getting smaller all the time. FTD has no real standards so almost anyone can join FTD and fill orders. Sad to say Teleflora too has no real standards, but because they have a much larger membership group, a sender has the opportunity to bypass those bad shops in most cases. With FTD the choice are much less.

Until FTD changes the financial structure a florist operates under, more and more shops will leave giving you fewer and fewer places to get your orders filled. New fees and punishments will not solve your problems, it will just cause the flight to freedom from FTD to increase.

You will have to make the choice of not filling your customers request at all or getting the order filled poorly.

I am a FTD only shop and agree with sfox . In my area I know of at least 4 towns that I have quality concerns with the FTD shops listed. When my shop has orders going to these towns, shop preference is to send direct not FTD.

 

[bloomz]

bloomz, reading your posts it shows you care about your customers. The problem you are facing with the bad FTD filling florists is a sign of the quantity and quality of shops FTD has remaining in their system.

You will have to make the choice of not filling your customers request at all or getting the order filled poorly.

Fox, thanks for the compliment ( I chose to take it that way anyway)

But this isn't a problem that often, way less than once in a hundred orders, and it seems it always happens when I don't have someone I can choose from my preferred florist list, or one not available in that city. Florists from the Preferred List just don't get complaints. Period.

I could have used it (the fine double order deal) once so far this month, and being MD month, I had more than a hundred orders - so the numbers are in 10ths of a % at most.

I think because of the focus on the topic itself - I've made a bigger deal out of it than the impact it makes or will make on my business, probably just like I like arguing about stuff, and I do that primarily for amusement.

People just sh1t a brick here when you say something positive about a wire service, and it's amusing to toy about with that.

I guess I'm stating the obvious, so I'll go to bed now

Hope I get to fine somebody tomorrow

JUST KIDDING!!!!! :squish:

 

[bloomz]

But I got another real life example today.

Non delivery yesterday for a birthday - 3 messages sent today they answer "sorry our printer wasn't working and we didn't get the order yesterday".

I'm refunding the order and I lost the customer.

Customer aquisition isn't free. I usually guess around $5 to get a customer, and twice the sender called my FAH and left me messages that cost I think it's $1.75 each.

Think they should be fined? :dunno:

It was a FlowerRama Store in Dallas.

Added to this - they had sent a request for a price change 2 days earlier and I had granted it, so they HAD the order

C'mon somebody answer my question - should they be "fined"?

Not answering sorta means it's being condoned if you ask me.

opinions vary - how about one for this egregious order?

 

[BOSS]

C'mon somebody answer my question - should they be "fined"?

Maybe....but I'm more of the opinion they should have their printer taken away instead....

Of course, the more of these fines that are handed out, the more shops will drop "the system"...win/win

 

[ssp]

I think they should be out of the wire service-period and do not see why this
program is necessary to get rid of them.

 

[davenh]

While I don't disagree with much of what you post I do think that if FTD/Teleflora used the "Quality" money they collect from florists every single month and actually did anything related to quality with it, the problem of poorly run flower shops could be addressed effectively. While I've only had my shop for 6 years, I have never been examined for quality by them, nor have I met anyone in the area who has either. In fact, I think I would have passed out if the sales rep. for either wire service actually crossed the threshold of my store! It seems the wire service idea of quality is solely based on failure to deliver, customer complaints and the like - nothing proactive.
As for FTD - perhaps they need to focus on improving quality to their customers (us) instead of yet another fee which is not likely to ever leave the FTD coffers and go to the sending florist.
I'm so glad to not have either of these companies interfering in my business, I find more and more florists prefering an 80/20 direct split and getting paid in a timely manner without frivolous charges which do nothing for the industry or the people doing all the hard work.
While the idea may have merit, the company implementing it hardly has a track record to indicate it will be effective, fair or compensate the appropriate party.

 

[Knife's Wife]

My personal theory on this new fine system is this: FTD's ordergathers are finding it harder and harder to get their orders filled. People on this board have even admitted to being so sick of the og orders that they sit on them and reject them at the last minute to screw with the OG. So I believe that the OG's have put pressure on FTD to do this so that they will not have the problems they are currently experiencing. While you the real florist may at times benefit from this as Bloomz hopes to and I don't blame him, FTD is making it easier for the OG so that they do not loose their business.

Joan