a little reality

[carol]

You need to look at what your flower whop is and where you want it to be.. if you send few or no wire orders than belonging to a wire service is a very expensive option
If you send lots of wire orders than going "wire service free" is a very expensive option ( way to time consuming to do it any other way, what with finding a florist and then reconciling the payments etc)
If you are getting 100 incoming orders a month then you need to think, very carefully, about what the loss of $4,000 (thats $48,000 a year)worth of sales will do to your cash flow..sure many expenses go away also..but make sure you re-scale your payroll, perhaps your overhead.. and understand that it could take 2 years to re-position yourself here if you have been receiving this volumn of orders for awhile..

It sounds so simple,, but not if you can not resolve the loss of up front cash flow...

I know..i dropped Tel & bloomlink and stopped accepting .com orders 2 years ago... it is not a pretty picture on your profit & loss sheet while you reposition yourself..
In retrospect I would have spent more time re-aligning my expenses before taking this step, perhaps put it off 6 months while I did my bookwork..

and don't think those refused orders went away.. we have 2 new florists in town who are feeding on them (and an older one).. sure they have the same problems with bottom line on all these discounted orders but until they burn thru their initial stash of start up money they happily fill these orders & compete against me for my local customers.
and when they have had enough they will probably drop by the wayside,, but then some other neebie will pop up with new start-up money to take these orders and go for a few years..

so.... don't think this process of going wire-service free is a slam dunk..it ain't

Would I do it again,, yeah.. but please think about it alot.. lots of people say it is easy.. and they are wrong,, if you are any kind of a medium size real brick & mortar shop it isn't easy
..I fail to believe there are many, if any, shops in the $250,000 range & up that are wire service free..
some of my biggest mistakes are listening to people who seem to know what's what and finding out later that they were not who they said they were or did the business they said they did.
Just my take on this issue from my experience
Carol

 

[Griff]

OK, let's talk about reality!

This subject can't be covered in a short length of time so I'm just gong to try and hit some high spots.

First, let's talk about the size of the average flower shop in the US < I don't know if the same numbers apply to Canada>. Rob or RC posted recently that the average shop in the US is now doing about $200,000 in annual sales. I'm going to us your number of $250,000 just to make my points. In simple terms, I will estimate that incoming wire orders received for that $250,000 is 10% meaning $25,000 and if the average order is $50 including delivery, that florist gets about 500 orders ANNUALLY or 42 orders a month. For those 42 extra orders, you have to buy extra flowers and supplies, you have to pay for extra design labor and driver time plus extra gas and maintenance expense on your vehicle to handle those extra orders. I don't care whose numbers anyone uses on incoming orders, NO ONE is making much money on incoming discounted orders.

In addition to all those expenses, dropping the WS will provide any florist an additional cash benefit of $3600 <basic dues and fees> and up annually. That is a very conservative number, by the way. So, this florist that has now dropped the WS has an additonal $300 a month plus less expenses because of no discounted incoming business, there cash flow is better, not worse. Even without the WS, these florists are still able to call out their orders. Using the same average florist value of $250,000 and 10% outgoing, that florist is sending out approximately 42 a month or 1.5 orders a day. That does not require any wize-bang computer system. The average florist today is only getting about 15% commission on their outgoing orders through the WS even with rebates and if that same florist without a WS, charges $7-$8 sending fee, they will make them about the same.

The only aspect that keeps coming up is the "convenience" of a wize- bang sending system. Yes, I'll agee, if a florist has built their business around a specific system and that system is proprietary and can not be used with any other system out there, then that florist has a problem!! As a florist, I can replace my cash register if it dies or I can order a new computer if new technology becomes available that will help my business. But any business person that has tied their business to a system that may become obsolete or does not allow them flexability in changing direction, then that system now becomes a liability.

Many florists have tried to keep all their staff on board to handle the traditional holiday "spikes" in business. Those spikes aren't what they used to be and florists have to have alternative ways of doing business such as using temp labor at holidays rather than keep all the employees happy and busy. These smaller companies will either have to reduce hours for all employees or reduce their work force.

It doesn't take 6 months or even 4 months to analyze whether being WS free is viable. It is a very simple math question for the average florist. For some of the other florists, however it is merely what can you do with those highly sophisticated POS sale systems that only work with one wire service's data base.

I had alot of sleepless nights before I dropped both WS, but I have never regretted it for one moment. And for the local florists who may want to take the addtional incoming business after a florist drops their WS, let them take all they can handle. Those shops either have to "shave" those orders to survive which means their work will always look smaller than yours or if they do fill to value, they will always be short cash to advertrise and you will have better cash flow to run your business.

Carol, dropping the WS may not be for everyone, but it is viable for alot more than you think!

 

[carol]

right on..if your figures were everyone's figures

Giff
you are great with figures,, but your example is not even close to my real figures.. and I would bet that is the same for most other good sized florists.
I said...go look at my post...I said if you are only sending 4o orders a month then a wire service is an expensive option.... but if you are doing 100 or more then it becomes very expensive to send using the options available today. labor, good employees etc.
If you are getting 100 incoming orders (say $48,000 a year) then the immediate savings are not good.. it takes time to drop a wire service,, they keep billing you for what 90 days now??? it takes time to get rid of excess employees, it takes time to rework your buyiing habits,(especially if you have standing orders of flowers) it takes time to down-=size your facility, and vehicles, or delivery system.
In the real world it just doesn't happen in 3 months.. if it did for you great... but I think a whole lot of people don't realize the time involved in saving this money.. it took me close to 2 years to see it actually show up on the bottom line.

What I am trying to do is open eyes of middle size shops... don't think this is a quick & easy fix... I am not saying don't do it.. I am saying it aint easy and it ain't quick. Maybe with a little shop doing 40 out & 40 in ...but remember I specifically said these shops were using an expensive option if using a wire service.
I hate going against the tide on this board because it can be daunting .. so many posters here gang together to beat up opposing opinons.. but the reality is that going wire service free for a real live medium size or bigger shop is hard & time consuming.. lots of things need to be done..and just pulling the plug TODAY does not stop the outflow of money TODAY.. so as you plan your future .. don't rely on figures like Giffs... put your own figures into the equation.. if you do more than 100 out or in orders.. in a month things are different than if you only do 40 orders.. big difference between incoming cashflow of 40x$40x12months = $19,200... and 100x$40x12 months +$48,000...
I do not regret dropping Tel & Bloomlink,, no reason to have more than one vehicle to send my wire outs... but don't be fooled into thinking it is automatically lots of savings and money in the bank account TODAY.. or even THIS YEAR.. it just isn't so!

 

[evergreen12377]

We have an average sized shop, true B&M. Going WS free paid off for us. We have no special sort of POS system just a general off the shelf type from Cougar Mountain. Cost us under $1000 TOTAL. I slowly lost people because I did not replace anyone who left. I saw some savings in a month and in six months a nice steady bump up. Of the two shops left in town:
#1 closed up, after selling, in two years
#2 has both TF and FTD and is getting all the incoming wires. Good for them! FHs here will not recomend this shop. The arrangements are small and uninspired.
Our extra dollars go to local ads, for the high school fashion show for prom, for addition product for the shop, etc. It has paid greatly. I can show anyone, on paper, the figures but why should I have to prove what is the truth?

Judy

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

It sounds so simple,, but not if you can not resolve the loss of up front cash flow...

so.... don't think this process of going wire-service free is a slam dunk..it ain't

some of my biggest mistakes are listening to people who seem to know what's what and finding out later that they were not who they said they were or did the business they said they did.
Just my take on this issue from my experience

Carol

Carol...I "could" kiss you all over for your post!!....just because "some" people believe "some things" to be true, it DON'T make them right!
I'm pretty sure, we ALL KNOW, that the current business "model" of wire services, has largely outlived it's "profitable for your shop" brainwashing that we've been subjected to for many eons now, BUT, THE BIG PROBLEM IS, many shop owners make in/out decisions based on emotions, and THAT in itself, is the "Pied Piper" of our industry...and it DOES affect those shops, that send AND receive a lot of orders, and it DOES affect the bottom line of EVERY SHOP that decides to go wire service free, and it DOES affect everything from your buying habits, to your overhead fixed AND flexible costs", and there is NO WAY, to balance these things out in real short order!!
Many shops are overly loaded with staff to handle holiday WS volumes, and employees, along with product, hardware, delivery vehicles/staff. HAVE TO CHANGE almost IMMEDIATELY upon going WS free, and it JUST DOESN'T happen that way!!

 

[Griff]

Yes, Carol, you are right. I don't know everyones business and how their specific numbers relate. And I will never hassle you about your views and I don't think that others will on this particular subject because the vast majority on this board are very much pro-wire service. Oh, they will @@@@@ about alot of the daily goings on by the WS, but when attacked, they will defend their WS to the end. I would never expect many of these people to ever get into a debate on this subject because eventually we will have to talk about numbers. It always comes down to the numbers.

There will always be florists that have too many outgoing orders and need some type of system to make sending convenient. There will also be florists that have too many incoming orders and are going to have adjust to NO incoming when you go wire service free. Only the people that have done it can actually tell you how difficult or how easy it was. Anything else is just supposition. It doesn't matter whether you are small like me and was averaging only 40 or 50 orders in a month or a larger shop with 75 or 100 orders incoming a month. It is always relative. The fact that you will not receive much in incoming orders once you go WS free has an impact on any business - no matter what your size. What I am trying to say is that no one should be confused or scared to make such a decision just because of their incoming or outgoing numbers.As a business person, you had to adjust as you go up the ladder and florists will find ways to adjust as they find a new position on that same ladder. SOME will never be able to make this decision to leave. No matter what is done to them, they will never make a move towards the exits.

The economic advantage is there for the vast majority of small and middle sized florists who do choose to drop the WS. The sad thing about all these conversations about WS and the impact of incoming and outgoing wouldn't even exist if any of us had started any other business other than flowers. Our businesses would all have to survive totally on what we could generate locally. How silly it is that florists are having so much trouble just getting back to the basics of generating local business!

 

[Dazeal]

I've learned a lot from all of you and appreciate the posts.

Florists won't put FTD out of business by not being apart of them, customers will be the deciding factor for that. Some florists don't understand this concept. I quit raging on florists after I figured that out. It does no good to try and talk Carol out of her WS when it pays half her overhead. Yeah it really sucks to have to be apart of a business that makes you pay them and then takes part of that money and competes against their own florists, but hey, what pays the bills, feeds the kids, etc...

So in order to take down a giant such as FTD, you must attack at the customer level and a lot of FTDs sales online can be taken away if you dissect what flaws customers have with FTD and then turn that into a business model. it was my goal to put FTD out of business 3-4 years ago and I will, because even the ant, with enough saliva and patience can swallow an elephant. Want a hint? When you order something online, like shoes, video card for your computer or plane tickets they can be messed up. That order can be messed up, but mostly by accident. When ordering flowers, it's the only thing I know of in which it is Socially "ok" to substitute the order if the certain flower you wanted or color, etc... wasn't in. In fact customers often wonder if the flowers were half dead and the person receiving them, might feel bad telling them the truth. This is something I found "ok" with a wire service. This is not ok with me. I have a plan to offer an online customer 100% happiness, the florist makes 100% and no inventory has to be carried. Right now there is no system in the world that when a customer orders X, we as florist know in the back of our head or in small print, "We'll try to do X, but might have to do Y instead". Those days are almost over. And the cool thing is, X is already at the filling florist and no it's not some pre-made cookie cutter arrangement. One more hint, you need an internet connection, but don't need a computer.

Until there is something out there radically different, for online retail florist sales, these giant leaches will reign supreme online. If this radical change takes place outside the hands of the retail florists, then chalk one of for the fortune 500s.

Sorry I digressed from the original reply, I’m just so excited I’m about to burst.

 

[Griff]

I think you misunderstand. I'm not trying to convince Carol to drop her WS. I'm attacking the concept that it difficult and takes alot of time to plan to drop a WS.

As an example, if a florist had a great relationship with a local funeral home and this funeral home referred alot of business every month to this florist and becasue of this, the florist hired additional people just to handle this much business. However, one day this florist found out that this funeral home was just sold and the new owner has decided to refer business to another florist that they have been working with in there other locations. A quick look at your books and you find that you have been averaging about $4,000 a month in orders coming from that funeral home and you know that your are not going to easily replace that business. If you are THAT florist, how long would it take YOU to adjust to this down trend in sales??

Are you going to talk about the procedures you had set up to receive all those orders from the funeral home? Or are you going to have to quickly decide what to do with Sally who you hired to do all this funeral work? Are you going to continue to order the same amount of flowers every month and hope that maybe someone will buy the extra stems?

Your right, the WS are not going to go away just because florists don't need them anymore. The WS will find other ways to survive and do something else, but hopefully it won't be with florists money. On the same note, florists will find ways to survive also without WS. ONE thing that florists are going to have to understand is that there will be NO KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR coming in at the last minute to save them. No WS is going to change their marketing direction or no company is going to come to the rescue with some "magic machine" that will work with everyones current equipment. The cold hard truth is it is them or you for survival and you might want to pick up the pace alittle in your time schedules. If your are going to take 6 months to solve the problem with lack of business with the funeral home, lord only knows what it will take for a florist to get everything in order before dropping a WS. Time is money, as the saying goes. YOUR MONEY!

 

[steve]

I agree with Carol's post. There is not a quick answer out there for the 250,000. plus a year shop. The med and larger shops need to have a plan in place that will allow them to keep there head above the water line.

But I believe this problem is even larger because I believe the florist to florist business will be of little factor 5 years from now. So if we do not have a plan for replaceing lost revenue that wire service provide us then our future will be far bleaker then we might realize. The consumers are sending more and more orders via the web every single day and that is the way the majority oders will be moving particularly out of town orders.

 

[evergreen12377]

The sad thing about all these conversations about WS and the impact of incoming and outgoing wouldn't even exist if any of us had started any other business other than flowers. Our businesses would all have to survive totally on what we could generate locally. How silly it is that florists are having so much trouble just getting back to the basics of generating local business![/QUOTE]

Emphasis mine. Exactly right on!

Judy

 

[Griff]

Steve, I hope for everyones sake, you are wrong

Because if you are correct and 5 years from now EVERYONE is ordering over the internet and by-passing the local florist to send the order, then the OG's and .coms will win the battle. Many are of the opinion that the consumer on the internet isn't looking for a florist. They are looking for the best deal. They don't know the difference between a florist and an OG. Their only exposure is what THEY <the consumer> think is a real florist is the most fancy website with the most pictures and best discounts, and the florists will lose big time. The .coms will control the internet and will broker their orders to any florists they will provide the best discount. If you continue to live with 20-80, many are going to also die because of it.

 

[steve]

Grif I do not share the opion that the consumer is looking for the best deal I believe they are looking for the easest way to order. And yes the order gatherers will be our main competition. But that is why I think our future lies in a alliance that allows us to get a national web site that can compete with the gatherers and serve all of the florist that belong to the alliance. The future is not in a re invented wire service nor is it going the course alone.

We will need a brand with signature pieces and we will need to band together. If we just bail from the wire services and try to go it alone the vast majority of florist will not make it.

 

[bloomz]

Because if you are correct and 5 years from now EVERYONE is ordering over the internet and by-passing the local florist to send the order, then the OG's and .coms will win the battle. Many are of the opinion that the consumer on the internet isn't looking for a florist. They are looking for the best deal. They don't know the difference between a florist and an OG. Their only exposure is what THEY <the consumer> think is a real florist is the most fancy website with the most pictures and best discounts, and the florists will lose big time. The .coms will control the internet and will broker their orders to any florists they will provide the best discount. If you continue to live with 20-80, many are going to also die because of it.

If everyone is ordering off the internet, guess who the biggest players are going to be?
I too hope that is wrong, and still think there is always going to be SOME consumers who want to come into our stores. Question is, will some be enough? It may be enough for some of us, but not all of us, and that's why I concur that the herd needs to be thinned for the health of the remaining. I actively now believe in doing what I can to help that along. I don't see the pie growing for florists.

Grif I do not share the opion that the consumer is looking for the best deal I believe they are looking for the easest way to order. And yes the order gatherers will be our main competition. But that is why I think our future lies in a alliance that allows us to get a national web site that can compete with the gatherers and serve all of the florist that belong to the alliance. The future is not in a re invented wire service nor is it going the course alone.

We will need a brand with signature pieces and we will need to band together. If we just bail from the wire services and try to go it alone the vast majority of florist will not make it.

And convenience and ease pf purchasing is proving itself over and over again to the the #1 driver of purchases, IMHO.

Forget all that $ervice and delivery and design and all those other things WE (and ony we) think are so important.

This is sad, but I also think it is also proving itself out that quality isn't even much of a driver of purchases any more.

This is coming from a shop (me) who is obsessive about freshness and quality, too.

 

[carol]

Grif I do not share the opion that the consumer is looking for the best deal I believe they are looking for the easest way to order. QUOTE]

I agree with Steve... 9 times out of 10 they are looking for the easiest way to order something they like... not the cheapest.. they are more savvy and price aware but most people understand that you get what you pay for.. and there is no free lunch out there... they may clip coupons, altho not many do, but they do understand that if there is a huge price discrepancy than there is probably a reason for it..

That said.. there are still lots of people that answer those internet letters from the guys in 3rd world countries that will split their fortunes with you if you will let them use your bank account to get it out of their country.. (well they want to share your bank account anyway.. not put anything into it)

 

[evergreen12377]

But that is why I think our future lies in a alliance that allows us to get a national web site that can compete with the gatherers and serve all of the florist that belong to the alliance. The future is not in a re invented wire service nor is it going the course alone.QUOTE]

This one reason why I said to look at surplus.net. I still own "memberships" there and had a $3 millon a year company with 100+ page website. What happened to the company? 9/11 happened as I was an exporter. My buyers had to come in to see my "stuff" and they had trouble getting visas in and if they got in, had problems getting "stuff" out. Another lifetime ago...

Judy

 

[Griff]

Yes, the best deal.

To make a long story short, everyone should take the time to ask their customers if they buy anything over the internet and if they do, please ask them why they do it.

We have been running a very informal survey and find that most of my customers still don't use the internet to BUY anything, but to get information. However, the small number that say they do order over the internet admit that the advantage is to compare product and prices. In other words, these people feel that it is easier to comparison shop on the internet. Now you can refer to this as convenience, but to old timers like myself, comparison shopping means looking for the best deal or price for the same product.

Just my opinion, but any national website that is formed from any "alliance" of real florists is going to run into the same problems as directories. There are alot of them already and unless you have 100% participation of 20,000 florists, there will always be coverage problems. And you are going to be competing with some very large and well regonized names that have been on the internet for quite some time. It seems that several are trying all sorts of ways just to circumvent the obvious. Don't eliminate the 20-80, just find ways to work around it. Don't look at any new possibilities, just try to patch the old ones. Don't think about leaving the WS, look at ways to help keep others involved with them.

No disrespect, gentlemen. But you might want to think about using another term other than "alliance". That denotes a group or union to promote a common interest. Many of us have already figured out there are alot of advantages of being independent and, again in my opinion, many think survival is an independent process, not a group program.

I'm sorry, Steve. I didn't create any of these modern day problems and neither did you or any of the other posters on this board. Guys like me are not trying to create another WS. We are trying to eliminate the whole concept of having one. It makes no sense to me to try and create any form of a "alliance" just to help the consumer find a florist. The easiest way to find one is right in their neighborhood.

 

[Griff]

One last note on this subject before the thread gets buried again.

For all those people who feel that it is not possible to change direction quickly, you might want to read the comments Rob made on the other board or ask him to comment in depth over here.

He bought a company in August 2004 which had 3 WS and dropped all 3. It didn't take 6 months or a year to make that decision. He reported that he was able to turn the company around quickly. If you don't believe me, ask Rob @ Fabluous Flowers.

 

[CHR]

He bought a company in August 2004 which had 3 WS and dropped all 3.

I believe he also said he recently rejoined TF.

I love these healthy discussions about WS participation. The decision should always boil down to doing what's right for your own business after a careful weighing of all the variables.

 

[ROBSWF]

For all those people who feel that it is not possible to change direction quickly, you might want to read the comments Rob made on the other board or ask him to comment in depth over here..

Re-Posting it here for further qestions or comments Rob


Tom,

A multi part response to your questions is in order. Since buying this shop in August of 2004, we have never been wire service free. When I arrived at this shop they were members of FTD, Teleflora and 800flowers.The shop was filling hundreds of thousands of dollars in incoming orders a year and loosing a ton of money. At the same time incoming orders were increasing, local sales including outgoing orders were shrinking. I had to stop the bleeding!!

First action was to pull up the anchor holding the business down. Carrying all those expensive services and technology platforms coupled with the low sending fees and so on created a huge wound. In order to gain control and rescue the company these 3 companies; FTD, Teleflora & 800flowers had to be removed from the mix. At the same time we had to protect the means of customers wanting to send flowers out of our area, so a wire service was needed. For this we turned to FSI. At the time, and I still believe this to be the case FSI offered the least expensive way for a florist to handle sending flowers. And that was the most important function. SENDING FLOWERS. FSI offered us very competitive credit card clearing rates and enabled the company to meet the needs of our customers with one very willing partner.

Low and behold with a lot of re-structuring and complete in store renovations and most importantly changing the quality and value to local customers, things quickly turned around. The company had the first profitable September in 12 years. This is just 60 days after taking ownership.

Make no mistake about it, this company was on its death bed. Not even life support could have helped the previous owner revive the company. It needed a whole new fresh approach to the way business was being done. There were calculators at every design table, the delivery trucks sat on the parking lot un-insured and they were using contract help to deliver packages paying by the piece, in-sore displays and merchandise were old and tired and the showroom cooler was too small and improperly stocked.

Since September we have seen our local sales increasing double digits every month. Our local outgoing orders are up over 30% and we do not send out orders without a service fee. The company has remained in black ink consecutively since September. The wire service division of our company has shifted from a liability to an asset. It is an important function of our daily operation. What we have done is worked this to our advantage. Shops should not look to a wire service to provide income, they should use the service to generate income. People like dealing with the Mom & Pops in this country. But the Mom & Pops have to prove to the consumers that they are worthy of their business. They do this by adding quality and value to their products and services.

As our business increases we are expanding our need for new partners that add value to OUR BRAND . Teleflora fits this need. If and when the day comes that a vendor no longer is warranted, the vendor or vendors will be expelled. We have operated this way from day one and will continue this until the last day. We have purchased a new computer system that will help us increase our efficiency, market our customers and better serve their needs as well as ours. We have accomplished this all while not going into debt to do it. Everything has been paid for!! So it is possible to grow the retail florist business without making the future unstable. I am not saying it’s easy, but one can never completely close their eyes to everything. Big business is never going to leave our industry, it’s up to us to identify their weaknesses and capitalize on them. If they are able to make a profit at the same time we should see nothing wrong with it, we call that competition. Nothing gets me more excited than a little competition, keeps one sharp!!!

As for the future, well I go for what is best suited for the health and benefit of our customers and company. It is a trench fight that only the strong and sharp will survive. We are battling Wall Street, Downers Grove, Bayside New York, Los Angeles and good old Wally these days. There will be many more in the coming months and years.

I can’t change the whole industry no matter how hard I try. The market varies so much from location to location! Our attention has to be on our local market, that is where the future is. Adopting or embracing a national standard or organization just does not work in this industry. The flower business is built house by house, street by street, customer by customer one at a time. The key is doing business with companies that offer value to you locally. Finding which ones work and which ones do not. We are nothing more today than an average sized shop with our eyes on a bigger picture. Owning your own market is where our focus is, because a local customer that trusts your ability is a loyal customer until you prove otherwise!!!!

 

[PhillyPhlorist]

Other things to consider...

Boy, there are some VERY good points here! Bravo to all!

However, I think some of you don't understand the impact wire services have on major market areas, larger volume shops ($1mil and up) and also multi-store shops. I am talking wire outs of 300 orders or more a month, and wire ins of 500 orders or more (average per month).

For some, going w/s free is just not possible. THAT IS, until a VAST network of B & M shops can be established, that are reputable shops, with high standards and levels of quality enforced and agreed upon, and which ALL members subscribe to an electronic order transfer system that enables the seemless transfer of orders 365 days a year. The clearinghouse for this 'network' - wheather via credit cards, or lines of credit, etc. must be established with EVERY member. You must have an easy accounting of all orders transferred. Until this 'network'' is established, wire services will be a BIG part of the larger, major market shops.

For us, simply eliminating all wires would be a foolish move. Yes, you only need ONE w/s to transmit orders. To have more than one is a choice in which you have to make sure you can afford. It all boils down to:
a) are you getting enough wire in's to help with your order volume (directly related to COGs, labor usage, purchasing power)
b) taking away one or two w/s will have WHAT impact on your bottom line given your amount of ESTABLISHED overhead, payroll, etc.
c) which w/s is willing to be a partner with YOU - i.e. do whatever it will take to help you out in times of need.

Point blank - and I'm the kind of guy who puts his cards on the table here - FTD has helped us...not just with technology, but with c-card fees, membership fees, marketplace product shipping, etc.. They WANT us as members. And for us, they service OUR needs.
It took a letter of resignation from TEL to get them to even acknowledge us (we have not seen our rep in over a year - poss. two). Bloomnet - well, let's just say they TELL you what to do...if you don't like it, they tell you to go pound sand.

Overall, while Griff has some very GOOD points, I would have to agree with Carol. It takes a good amount of time, and even MORE very careful planning to go w/s free. You almost have to do a cost analysis of what revanue you can expect with out wire service income, and the cost-effectiveness of doing out bound orders over the phone.

While SOMEDAY going w/s free will be the thing to do, today is not the day IMHO.

- Herb