a bit of good news from FTD - controversy invited

[leah]

As I started to read this thread, my initial reaction was swift and strong. I saw it as yet another opportunity for the WS to hose brick and mortar florists. I saw it as another opportunity for the OG and .com's to pad their wallets a bit more. Because the rebate system works so well at doing that already.

I am struggling to contain these strong emotions because I see the potential for huge problems with their plan. But as some cooler heads than mine have said, before we jump the gun - we should wait and see how things will actually play out. As someone said its every individual florist's choice to remain a part of FTD or not. My instinct is telling me this as something FTD created to increase their own revenue. I don't see it as a way provide brick and mortar florists with monatary insurance that only quality shops are filling the sending shop's orders. Time will tell.

Patience has never been my strongest suit. But I will try.
Leah

 

[inferno63]

I can understand Tracypieface's point, but am having trouble grasping yours.


Are you saying that it's always the WS or OG fault and never the "real" florist for screwing an order up?



If a florist practices "shorting" or "sending dead flowers", that florist should be held accountable. Why would any florist send out a bad product with their name on it? If a florist doesn't want to fill the order, I don't understand what's so difficult about rejecting within a reasonable time.

If I read your post wrong, my apologies, please clue me in.

Maybe this will help understand my point.....first ask yourself whose customer is it? If the WS sent the order it is their customer, if you sent the order then you are the WS customer. It is not the filler forist's customer. Ok? With that in mind, if that customer is not happy, who is ultimately accountable? The answer? The person receiving the money is accountable.

A step further.....apparently FTD is having a considerable problem with filling florists not producing at their standards so their solution is to fine them? Instead they should be asking "Why are the filling florists performing at the low standards?" Maybe if they ask this question and maybe even ask this question of the filling florist, they would find a more effective solution. All they are doing is further irritating the "child" (poor fillers) into rebellion and also punishing and feeing the good fillers with a quality assurance fee and poor customer service to the sending florist. I am sure they have been told by their fillers that they can't operated profitably with what they are paying, I am sure that they have told them that their Mercury software is lacking in effectiveness, I am sure that they have told them that delivery costs are not adequately covered in their structure. I am sure they have been told that the promises they are making to their customers are impossible to fulfill. I am sure they have been told that their order takers can't spell or verify their data input. But do they address these problems? Heck no. They decide the easiest and most profitable way for them to handle it is to fine the fillers. If they truly cared about the customer, either the sending florist or Joe Consumer, they would address the "whys" to improve instead of using fines. In this case, a reward system would be more effective instead of a punishment system. Make it worth it to the filler to want to fill at a Grade A and you will solve the problem.

It is accountability! If a customer walks into my store and pays me then they are my customer. I am responsible to them. If they are upset with the quality of something they purchased I don't fine my employee. I investigate and ask WHY? and then I take appropriate steps to correct the problem even if it means firing. I certainly am not going to stand there and tell my customer that it isn't my fault and that it was my employee. They don't want to hear that.

The WS is flawed and as long as they continue on this path of punishment and fees they will get what they pay for. For example, and be real here, if you have 2 orders for a dozen roses in a vase that need delivered today and one is a FTD order and one is your customer.....you have 24 roses in the cooler.....12 Grade A 60 cm and 12 Grade B 40 cm.....who gets what? You know the answer. That is the reality. If FTD was paying at least what your customer was, you might call the wholesaler and get more roses in to deliver GRADE A to both. That is what is real.

Finally, to address your issue with sending crap with your name on it. Although I would never, ever do that, there are those bad fillers that do. They are committing business suicide by doing that. Shame, shame on them. But when that is delivered who does the customer call? The sender or FTD. Who does the sender call? FTD. That is were the ball stops rolling. It is a reflection on FTD more than the filler because the consumer paid FTD, you did or Joe Consumer did.

It is people, employee, and business associate management. That is their problem.

 

[inferno63]

I got one white flag :wallhead: (you know who you are even if I don't). I welcome you to outline where my understanding of the WS business model is flawed. If you don't want to do it publicly pm me.

 

[Bigted]

Twila,

They're getting their hair blown, as you say it, because they feel trapped in an unfair situation.

Unlike you, thanks to your brother, and I, who wire out large amounts of orders, most florists have seen their business slowly get undermined. As a result they have looked to the wire services for guidance as well as orders. They have been led, or misled, down the road to dependency. Now dependent on the wire services, they watch helplessly as they get fee'd to death, unable or too fearful to break away, slowly getting squeezed tighter and tighter.

Anyone should be able to figure out if you want to increase quality you need a quality network, and you need to pay the network a fair price for the services that are expected to be provided. As it stands now, the wire services have neither a quality network, nor do they pay a fair price for the services expected to be preformed.

Fining florists into compliance surely won't work.


RC

Nice post - you nailed it.

 

[ivygreen]

I think RC's post is on the money.

 

[LJVF]

Maybe this will help understand my point.....first ask yourself whose customer is it? If the WS sent the order it is their customer, if you sent the order then you are the WS customer. It is not the filler forist's customer. Ok? With that in mind, if that customer is not happy, who is ultimately accountable? The answer? The person receiving the money is accountable.

A step further.....apparently FTD is having a considerable problem with filling florists not producing at their standards so their solution is to fine them? Instead they should be asking "Why are the filling florists performing at the low standards?" Maybe if they ask this question and maybe even ask this question of the filling florist, they would find a more effective solution. All they are doing is further irritating the "child" (poor fillers) into rebellion and also punishing and feeing the good fillers with a quality assurance fee and poor customer service to the sending florist. I am sure they have been told by their fillers that they can't operated profitably with what they are paying, I am sure that they have told them that their Mercury software is lacking in effectiveness, I am sure that they have told them that delivery costs are not adequately covered in their structure. I am sure they have been told that the promises they are making to their customers are impossible to fulfill. I am sure they have been told that their order takers can't spell or verify their data input. But do they address these problems? Heck no. They decide the easiest and most profitable way for them to handle it is to fine the fillers. If they truly cared about the customer, either the sending florist or Joe Consumer, they would address the "whys" to improve instead of using fines. In this case, a reward system would be more effective instead of a punishment system. Make it worth it to the filler to want to fill at a Grade A and you will solve the problem.

It is accountability! If a customer walks into my store and pays me then they are my customer. I am responsible to them. If they are upset with the quality of something they purchased I don't fine my employee. I investigate and ask WHY? and then I take appropriate steps to correct the problem even if it means firing. I certainly am not going to stand there and tell my customer that it isn't my fault and that it was my employee. They don't want to hear that.

The WS is flawed and as long as they continue on this path of punishment and fees they will get what they pay for. For example, and be real here, if you have 2 orders for a dozen roses in a vase that need delivered today and one is a FTD order and one is your customer.....you have 24 roses in the cooler.....12 Grade A 60 cm and 12 Grade B 40 cm.....who gets what? You know the answer. That is the reality. If FTD was paying at least what your customer was, you might call the wholesaler and get more roses in to deliver GRADE A to both. That is what is real.

Finally, to address your issue with sending crap with your name on it. Although I would never, ever do that, there are those bad fillers that do. They are committing business suicide by doing that. Shame, shame on them. But when that is delivered who does the customer call? The sender or FTD. Who does the sender call? FTD. That is were the ball stops rolling. It is a reflection on FTD more than the filler because the consumer paid FTD, you did or Joe Consumer did.

It is people, employee, and business associate management. That is their problem.

When a customer complains to us, my guesstimate would be about 60% of the time it's the recipient not the sender.

I understand the "flawed" system, but it still doesn't excuse producing a poor product.

 

[lori042499]

Oh yeah -
What about addressing all these other customer service costs that have long been absorbed by filling florists -

- a 50% order value fee for providing an incorrect addresses that is later cancelled due to the recipient actually being out of the delivery area
- a $10 'information correction fee' for wrong and/or incomplete addresses (That's the going rate at FedEx)
- a $5 fee for failing to provide a recipient phone number
- require the selling florist to provide the patient's hospital room and verify they can receive flowers. If the patient has been discharged when the filling florist arrives at the hospital, a 50% fee is assessed the seller.
- require the selling florist to provide the hotel guest's correct information and verify they are registered at the hotel. If the guest can't be found "in house" or has checked out, a 50% fee is assessed the seller.
- require the selling florist to provide the precise funeral service information including complete address and visitation hours. If the service information is incomplete or incorrect, a $10 'information correction fee' or a 50% cancellation fee is assessed the seller.

Again, I'm all for raising the bar on quality and customer service, but the expense needs to be borne by sellers and fillers.

Brilliant Cathy....Now that is handing it to both sides....I have 3 orders sitting in my cooler right now from last week all made up..all WI...one on vacation, one bad address actually lives out of town, one no loger lives at the address, no forwarding, bad phone number...It costs us money as fillers and on the other end we here oh sorry...and thats about it.

 

[inferno63]

When a customer complains to us, my guesstimate would be about 60% of the time it's the recipient not the sender.

I understand the "flawed" system, but it still doesn't excuse producing a poor product.

If we are taking ethics, you are absolutely right. And I am sure that you maintain that policy in your shop. You won't send out poor product no matter the order origin. I am on the same page with you here. All I am saying is the reality is such that the day-to-day operations of the WS encourage exactly what they are trying to prevent.....poor product and poor service. Just as there are good mechanics and poor mechanics, same with florists.

 

[LJVF]

If we are taking ethics, you are absolutely right. And I am sure that you maintain that policy in your shop. You won't send out poor product no matter the order origin. I am on the same page with you here. All I am saying is the reality is such that the day-to-day operations of the WS encourage exactly what they are trying to prevent.....poor product and poor service. Just as there are good mechanics and poor mechanics, same with florists.

I like what CHR posted about penalizing the sending shop. But putting that aside, In theory the new policy will help prevent poor service from the filling florist. There seems to be a boat load of flaws and loopholes with it, but I will hold judgment on it for now until it's actually implemented. It reminds me of getting a traffic ticket: do the crime, pay the fine (hopefully not do the time).

All I am saying is the reality is such that the day-to-day operations of the WS encourage exactly what they are trying to prevent.....poor product and poor service.

In my opinion the florist is just as guilty as the WS. Why let the WS continue to send "skimmed" orders by sending out a poor product? What good does this do anyone? If it's not to a florists liking, they should simply send an ASK for a price adjustment or REJ.

 

[David]

Here is the message from FTD

Dear FTD Florist,
FTD has been the industry's quality leader for nearly 100 years. However, it is clear to me based on numerous consumer surveys, conversations with florists and my 12 years of experience in the floral industry, we are not as good as we need to be. At increasing rates, I regularly hear from florists who express concern that their orders
either arrive late or are never delivered, and we are all damaged by media reports that show poor quality arrangements. Whether we like it or not, quality issues move customers away from the floral category and we need to address it now.
Therefore, building on our longstanding commitment to quality, FTD is launching two new programs that will further differentiate FTD Florists as the highest quality in the industry.
FTD Quality Star Program
FTD is attacking the issue of quality by implementing the industry's only program that tracks and measures the quality of fulfillment within its network. In the summer of 2008, we will introduce the FTD Quality Star Program. We will use actual order data to calculate a quality threshold for our network. FTD Florists who are at or above this "quality bar" will receive an FTD Quality Star. The rating will be
recalculated monthly and appear on your monthly Clearinghouse statement.
The data used to evaluate the quality rating is a combination of your shop's rejected order values and FTD.com refunds compared to total florist-to-florist order values and FTD.com order value filled. The evaluation period will be over four months in conjunction with the FTD Directory cycle. These data points are the most complete and accurate way to measure quality. More details will be coming soon!
Delayed Response Program
FTD is also leading the way by implementing the industry's only program that addresses late and non-delivered orders.
Effective June 1, 2008, FTD is introducing the Delayed Response Program to help protect florists who send their orders through the Mercury
Network. FTD will track all orders and assess penalties on behalf of
the sending florist to ensure their orders are either being rejected or fulfilled in a timely basis. It is critical to note that any penalties
collected from this program will be credited to the sending florist.




The Delayed Response Program fee structure follows:
$10.00 fee if...
Failure to reject an order within two hours of receipt or failure to reject an order by 10 a. m. local time if the order is received after 5:00 p.m. of the previous day (Monday through Friday) or failure to reject an order by 10 a.m. local time if the order is received after
1 :00 p.m. of the previous day (Saturday and Sunday).
$20.00 fee if...
Failure to reject as outlined above and rejecting the order more than 24 hours after time of receipt.
2 times the value of order fee if ...
Failure to reject as outlined above and rejecting the order after the cut-off time on the date of the intended delivery.
This program is extremely important and is designed to protect your customers and the sending florists' reputation. It is critical that you
are aware of the impact delayed response has on the delivery of orders to customers.
For complete details on the Delayed Response Program, please go to www.FTDi.com/quality/.
FTD is proud to take the lead to improve quality in the floral industry. If you have any questions about these FTD quality initiatives, please contact Member Services at 800-788-9000.
Thank you for your business and your continued support of FTD.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Soenen
Chairman, President & CEO of FTD Group

 

[lori042499]

The first part of the quality program sounds like what 800-flowers has in place. Every florist has some sort of rating and gets orders based on that rating. The florists higher up the rating scale get fewer small orders and more orders filtered to them in general. They also get blessed with the picky orders which is sometimes a hassle. It does not prevent any of the "bad" florists from belonging to the service they just don't get as many orders to screw up. It is all to benefit the service and reduce the impact that complaints have on them.

The second half is just to prevent all of us that hate OG's from hanging onto their orders for too long to foil their evil plans. It will help with the irresponsible or clueless florists because it will edge them out of the services by bancrupting them sooner than later. It will again help the service because the OG's will be sending with greater ease...

 

[ssp]

News from FTD

I have no problem with FTD trying to improve quality of flower delivery
done with their name on it. I just believe this new ruling may have a lot of unintended consequences---many of which have been posted.

We are an FTD shop and fill orders for them. However, we are not
aggressively seeking incoming orders. We are a one wire service shop.
This new ruling to me sounds like more expense for us. Not because we
hold orders or reject tons but because as many of you have mentioned
there are lots of legimate reasons for an order to be rejected or to be
delivered after the date on the mercury ticket.

Mother's Day is upon us. We almost always have wire in orders that
we prepare, attempt to deliver only to find recepient is out of town or bad address. Should our shop now be rejecting all Mother's Day orders
because of the possibilty of not being able to deliver in timely manner?

What about the hospital patient that has been released by the time
you get to hospital?

How do you get a high quality ratings? If I reject a lot of orders-particulary
from order gathers in my phone book, does that mean I will get a lower
rating? If so, why do I want a high rating?

 

[Erlene]

The official email from FTD just came, here is the pdf: http://www.ftdi.com/quality/DelayedResponseFAQ.pdf

 

[Erlene]

Sorry, David, I scrolled right past your post apparently.

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

It will help with the irresponsible or clueless florists because it will edge them out of the services by bancrupting them sooner than later....

Bloomz mentioned this as well, and I don't think it's going to bankrupt anyone. It will force clueless shops to seek alternative ways to send orders. I see an influx to services like IFA, FSN and the like as a result. Or Teleflora, if they aren't soon enough to follow suit w/FTD.

 

[lori042499]

I have no problem with FTD trying to improve quality of flower delivery
done with their name on it. I just believe this new ruling may have a lot of unintended consequences---many of which have been posted.

We are an FTD shop and fill orders for them. However, we are not
aggressively seeking incoming orders. We are a one wire service shop.
This new ruling to me sounds like more expense for us. Not because we
hold orders or reject tons but because as many of you have mentioned
there are lots of legimate reasons for an order to be rejected or to be
delivered after the date on the mercury ticket.

Mother's Day is upon us. We almost always have wire in orders that
we prepare, attempt to deliver only to find recepient is out of town or bad address. Should our shop now be rejecting all Mother's Day orders
because of the possibilty of not being able to deliver in timely manner?

What about the hospital patient that has been released by the time
you get to hospital?

How do you get a high quality ratings? If I reject a lot of orders-particulary
from order gathers in my phone book, does that mean I will get a lower
rating? If so, why do I want a high rating?

This is a question only you can answer for yourself...As for how it is done in Bloomnet, if you use it for incoming you want a higher rating to get more orders. It all depends on what you want from your service...If you use it just for sending than a higher rating is not necessary..

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

If the program rolls out as stated, THEN, I'm IN!!
The rules are clear and concise...and Bloomzie would LOSE his bet, that he "proposed"!!
This is a massive "shakedown" of crappy shops.
BIG HOWEVER.....the star rating system is "flawed", and ONLY covers orders IN, and rejects.....it DOES NOT clearly state lousy correspondences from FTD.COM ( which is in shambles) during "ask" periods.
IF FTD is looking at reducing it's member shops....this plan is IT!!
Another what if......IF you codify FTD containers, they @@@@ed well better be prepared to either MAKE SURE you get enough orders to "run out" or be prepared to buy EVERY SINGLE container BACK not sold, after the "holiday"!!

 

[keith]

This Quality Star or whatever they call it concerns me

This idea was floated to me last year and then they had not done a lot if alternate scenarios on it and i could see some real problems in ranking members on how many undervalued .com orders you fill. I personally do not fill very many due to the low $$'s the send and unreasonable product prices. If they rank one of my local competitors higher than me and market this ranking it will mean the end of our relationship with FTD. Maybe I'm just thick but could someone explain that Quality Star formula as seen in an earlier post? I'm glad there were not formulas like that needed to get through dental school! I might have ended up a florist!
Cheers
Keith

 

[Bigted]

Thanks Erlene. The program is meant to address some real problems, but as always, there is no penalties for the crap that is sent every holiday. I guarantee that on Saturday and Mother's day Just flowers will send a ton of orders for same day delivery starting about 2:00 in the afternoon. This creates a lot of work when you are extremely busy.

One thing, remember that this is not the new owners of FTD doing this. They haven't had time to do anything yet.

 

[ssp]

Thanks Lori for you your reply.

That is how I read it as well. I guess I am not sure how this is a quality
program. I see it as a program that benefits order gatherers. What florist out there doesn't want to be judged by their peers as a quality flower shop? However, if a shop rejects too many undervalued orders from order gatherer, is that a reason to get a poor quality rating?

Will the shops that need wire in orders fill a little intimadated? They could lose their rating if they don't fill undervalued orders. Or maybe
I misread the program.

Interested in how others see this.