A chance to take some action.

[sandytf]

I have an idea:

Why don't we all "like" FTD, Teleflora, 1800, and ProFlowers on FB and post a comment under every comment where a customer is complaining about the terrible service and/or product they received for VD?

We would at least be reaching people who are flower buyers, and who may order again...but hopefully through a local florist if we give them some direction.

We could all say a similar response such as:

" _________, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your floral purchase. In the future, consider ordering flowers directly from a local florist. You can google "florist" in the city/town where you want to send flowers and find a local floristswho would be happy to take good care of you. Your money will go towards the flowers....not a service fee."

What do you think? I think it's an opportunity we should not miss. Maybe someone more eloquent than I could come up with a better message?

Let's use social media to actually DO something!!!

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

probably because of "integrity" Sandy!!.....the idea is ok, the reasons it WON'T fly, is that you CAN, AND WILL be deleted!!
I would never,ever post that I "like" a wire service, EVER AGAIN!! for ANY reason.....

 

[sandytf]

I know the thought of "liking" them leaves a bad taste in my mouth as well. But I've already been seeing these posts under the comments. I don't know if they're other florists or just consumers who have wised up, but I don't think they will delete ALL of them. Especially if there are a lot of us doing it. If there's already a post suggesting them to go local, just move on to the next one. And if one of us is deleted, then another of us can post again. I'm sure even if they are deleted, some of those comments will make it into the inbox of the complainers. There are a lot of us on FC....we can be a force to reckon with!!!! Better to spend our time doing something proactive then just complaining about it

 

[Rhonda]

With Facebook, I believe the admin of the site can report the post as "spam" and if you respond to too many postings. Could try but never know.

 

[Rhonda]

OMG, I've looked at the facebook pages of FTD, Teleflora and 800Flowers (does proflowers have a page?).....nothing but hundreds of complaints and while I was looking at FTD's complaints (Thanks Tina Semock who did comment regarding local florists).... I got a call from someone in town asking if I'd received an FTD order for her for the beginning of the week........ "uhmmm no I haven't!" LOL

 

[sandytf]

I know! That's why I believe we have an opportunity! If 50 different people from FC posted 10 comments, that's 500 comments! And I doubt 10 posts would qualify as spam.

 

[Tuberose]

I saw lots of comments on the Facebook Teleflora page telling people to use the local florist, there were so many I didn't bother posting.

 

[BOSS]

Y'all know me... and yes I did type out a reply or three... deleted them. Pretty sure TF would delete me as they did last week before the holiday... FTD has no love for me either and 800FU, well... they just don't get it...

I've read enough consumer replies telling folks the same things we would to realize that the word is spreading. Best thing to do would be to put it up on your own pages.... maybe even an apology type thing....

"We're sorry if you ordered from Teleflora, FTD or any of the other online fake florists and did not get your Valentines flowers. Please bring in your receipt for a free rose."

Go on to explain why they should use a local florist....and so on...

 

[sandytf]

FTD has not deleted the comments I made.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Y'all know me... and yes I did type out a reply or three... deleted them. Pretty sure TF would delete me as they did last week before the holiday... FTD has no love for me either and 800FU, well... they just don't get it...

I've read enough consumer replies telling folks the same things we would to realize that the word is spreading. Best thing to do would be to put it up on your own pages.... maybe even an apology type thing....

"We're sorry if you ordered from Teleflora, FTD or any of the other online fake florists and did not get your Valentines flowers. Please bring in your receipt for a free rose."

Go on to explain why they should use a local florist....and so on...

Perfect Reply!!

 

[BOSS]

FTD has not deleted the comments I made.

They must like you.... they think I'm a hot head with a bad message...

 

[CHR]

1-800-Flowers had soooooo many complaints on FB, a Cleveland TV station ran a story about it:

National florist gets thousands of sweethearts in trouble on Valentine's Day

What the lady from the BBB doesn't 'get' is that 'overselling and apologizing later' is a part of the business plan on a holiday.

 

[bootcampguy]

I came in this morning to a smell of "crap". We search the whole store high and low and couldn't locate the source. So I turned on the computer and found the smell. This was in my In-box.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A heartfelt thank-you for your hard work this Valentine's Day[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All Teleflora Florists,[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This Valentine's Day has been an outstanding success. The last few days of the holiday period were particularly exciting, as we experienced record-setting days in terms of total orders flowing through the Teleflora system. This includes orders from florists, Teleflora.com and our various partners, and across our family of eFlorist sites. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you for going the extra mile to meet this surge in consumer demand and for your expert handling of last-minute orders.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]From the outstanding results, it's clear that our marketing programs that paired our "hand-arranged, hand-delivered" local florist advantage with the star power of Faith Hill resonated and inspired more Valentine's Day shoppers than ever before to choose Teleflora. Our advertising efforts were amplified by the terrific coverage we received in the press, including stories in top-tier media outlets such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, E! Entertainment Network, Extra, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, as well as hundreds of other print, broadcast and online channels.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We are pleased that our marketing proved effective in convincing more consumers to seek out the benefits of using Teleflora and its network of florists, but what is clear to all of us at Teleflora and our consumers is that it is our florist network that brings those benefits to life in the form of stunning and memorable bouquets. We recognize the effort it takes to make that happen, especially during the Valentine's Day rush, and we are sincerely grateful for the wonderful job![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Shawn Weidmann
President, Teleflora [/FONT]

Nothing but positive spin..........I guess he's not on facebook!

 

[anytimeflowers]

Wow,

Apparently the measurement of success in not in customer satisfaction, just the numbers.

 

[BOSS]

Rick, that does smell...

One thing to think on, and I'm pretty sure it's something none of us would accept, is that the wire services have a "built in *acceptable* failure rate"... ie: they feel that even a 2-3% failure rate is OK... myself, I don't even like 0.000005%...

Speaking to one of the major wires on Tuesday about the FB backlash they were getting, they acknowledged this fact.

 

[bootcampguy]

Rick, that does smell...

One thing to think on, and I'm pretty sure it's something none of us would accept, is that the wire services have a "built in *acceptable* failure rate"... ie: they feel that even a 2-3% failure rate is OK... myself, I don't even like 0.000005%...

Speaking to one of the major wires on Tuesday about the FB backlash they were getting, they acknowledged this fact.

You are so right, if we hand that level of complaints we would be clsoed after one holiday of that.......we had 2 compliants (both our fault) and I made it right befor the days end...........Social media can be your best friend and you worst enemy if not handled right.

 

[Rhonda]

And that "Quality Assurance" fee they charge you because they make sure their members are decent florists??? hmmmm......

 

[Tuberose]

Teleflora hasn't posted on their FB page lately, every time they do people post about how bad they are. Guess they will let the furor die down for a bit.

 

[sandytf]

It's interesting to note that while 4,918 people "like" Teleflora; 23,847 like FTD; 7,715 like ProFlowers; and 110,531 like 1800Flowers. How many of them do you think "liked" them so they could complain? I wish I had seen the numbers pre-Valentine's Day.