Airing dirty laundry

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bloomz

bloomz

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Anyone read the article by Ken Young, AAF, Phoenix Flower Shops (I have been told the largest incoming shop in the country), in the latest Floral Management Magazine? Called "On Airing Dirty Laundry" about the AP article?

Good article with some very good points. One short quote

The truth is that consumers don't care if florists aren't making any money because of increased wire service costs, commission structures or any of our other industry issues. All they want is a convenient purchasing experience and an assurance that they'll get what they ordered. Putting doubt in their minds, however well intentioned, will ultimately drive them to alternative gift purchases.
.......
Let's save the industry's dirty laundry for those gripe sessions - when, by exchanging marketing and operational ideas, we end up helping the industry, not hurting it
Click to expand...

This is a guy who knows a lot about incoming and genuine concerns for our industry.

I'd post a link here but it isn't available on the SAF website as far as I can see.

Maybe I can scan it later when I go back to work.
 
Saw that article and called him yesterday.

Ken is knowledgeable and leads a highly successful, large scale operation - one of the top retail florists in the US. He has also given generously of his time as a volunteer for many floral industry projects.

Asked him what he thought SAF could do to help address the issues that he conceeds exist. I invited him to join this board, (sent him a link), requested he offer his advice, and read what florists have to say about SAF despite my best efforts to recruit new members for the organization.
 
Ken makes a good point about conveinace. Through my studies at epicflowers and reading some inside info at Proflowers, people are more about the conveinace, rather than price.

Some florist get their undies all up tight and try to compete with Proflower's price, but that isn't the number one factor why people online buy flowers and I wish they would get that through their heads. It's what Ken said... "All they want is a convenient purchasing experience and an assurance that they'll get what they ordered."

Bloomz, thanks for the post, and as soon as you bike down I'll prove to you that my idea will full-filled Ken's ideas to a T. There will be nothing more convienat and never any more mess ups.... even for your local customers. :) Soon real florists will have the power to compete as a team vs Proflowers, FTD, etc.
 
Landry

Good Viewpoint from an industry leader more knowledgeable than myself. I agree with him on many of the key points and one is that some of the information and wording might have given it more of a dirty cloths slant than just hanging a shirt out on the clothesline. My problem with a good portion of the “order gatherers†is the deception they give the customer that they are located in the city they typed in under a search engine search. THIS is the portion that makes our laundry dirty. In my opinion, this is no different than the many State Floral Associations campaigning their state legislation for deceptive phone listings, which, in some cases, were taken to the street.

If this press release could have been worded with more of a “benefit†approach, it would not have been much different than when SAF distributed the “in lieu of flowers†press release to 1,200 newspapers and magazines. Below, is the one line SAF written explanation of this press release that I could have modified to apply to this case.
“The press kit reminds consumers that, despite changing memorial practices, flowers play an important emotional and functional role in the bereavement process.â€
“The press kit reminds consumers that, despite changing ordering avenues, your local florist plays an important emotional and functional role in the consumer’s order.â
 
Perpetrators need their actions kept secret, covered up, swept under the carpet. That's how they are able to continue their abuse.

So I disagree with Ken's statement about keeping the industry's dirty laundry secret. That is protecting the perpetrators. They need to be exposed, otherwise the abuse will continue on and even grow for years to come until it is finally exposed. Just ask the Catholic Church.

I also disagree with Ken's statement that all the consumer wants is a convenient purchasing experience and an assurance that they'll get what they ordered. The purchasing of flower arrangements is more convenient now than any other time in history, yet consumption is declining. I think the consumer wants quality and value. That is where the industry is failing the consumer.

Convenience gets you a customer once. Quality and value gets you a customer coming back for more.

RC
 
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MOST customers...

DON'T see your side of this "argument " RC, nor do they really care...correction, do they have TIME to care??
I kinda asked the same questions as in this thread, some weeks back, about exposing our customers to floristdetective.com, and though my FIRST impression, was to let it all hang out, after some sleepless moments, I think I side with keeping the industry's dirty laundry hidden, through sheer embarassment! As REAL FLORISTS, we have much work to do to clean this mess up, and that's ALL the consumer cares about...take the order, deliver the order, satisfy the customer's expectations, then go ONE STEP MORE...MAKE SURE your customers KNOW how much you "respect" their decision, to shop at YOUR establishment.
Don't beetch...just get it done, and the customers WILL COME!!
 
Here's a scan of it, hope it's readeable, you may have to zoom in on it, but it works


bloomz
 
The quote reads like a totally self serving statement. If he is? the largest incommming filler. then he would have a real intrest in maintaining the status quo.


I'm all for cleaning the laundry and airing it out so it dries properly.
 
Shame on all of us!!

I have to say that I disagree with Kens article also. The truth is, it is too risky for consumers to send flowers through a wire service. Most florists, including any shop that fills a lot of incoming will have an artificially inflated pricing structure to fill the void between the gross & the reality of what they are paid.

We are just not being realistic if we expect to push this under the carpet in the hopes that things will somehow fix themselves. Not going to happen. The only way change will occur is if these secrets make their way into the spotlight.

Speaking from a very heavy incoming state, I can tell you that for the most part the orders being filled down here would turn most of your stomachs. I saw the pictures in last months FTD news letter, and those arrangements pictured are common here in Florida.

The rebate structure alone is the root of the problem. It pushes the envelope just high enough to corrupt some into misleading consumers on who they are actually ordering from or where they are located. I just don’t see any future on florists or order gatherers charging $75.00 for a dozen roses anymore. Consumers are smarter than that today, and they are being exposed to direct shippers that are promising better values for the money. The more our industry exposes high and outrageous prices to consumers, the more our portion of the pie will fall. It is just that simple.

Giving customers the best bang for the buck can not be accomplished sending orders through a very expensive system and sending the biggest portion of dollars to the sender. It is obvious by the financial condition of not only the receiving shops, but the wholesale markets as well. Shop’s cant pay their bills. There busy, not over paying themselves but still cant make thing s work. THIS SYSTEM IS BROKEN.

FTD and Teleflora both now have a quality fee attached to their services. This is ridiculous. We are policing the starving and poor, and allowing the white collar crime to go un patrolled. We know what the problem is, the poor are not making enough money to eat, and yet we expect them not to steal to survive. This is just not realistic for us to turn our heads, stick our fingers in our ears and pretend we don’t know what is going on.

As the wire services thrust more profits into their direct to consumer ventures, and new strategic partnerships, they continue to turn the back on the issues at hand. I guess they are hoping that their order generating machines will be surpassing the volume of profit generated by the f2f side before itt will be necessary for reform. The truth is that time has long passed, the retail florist industry looses more market share everyday. The bleeding is, and will not stop until the slaughter houses are exposed for what they are. Modern day Robin Hoods. Companies that steal from the Florists, and keep it!!!!!

As it stands right now, Florists are the only one looking bad. The order gatherers blame the delivering shops, The wire services blame the delivering shops, and the consumers blame the delivering shops.

So when Ken Young says, “Let’s save the industry’s dirty laundry for those gripe sessions.†I say here is a guy with no vision for the future, and no plan on how to make things better. SHAME ON SAF for publishing this and promoting a way to make things better. I am truly disappointed!!
 
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What Rob said....

Nobody ever said there would not be growing pains. Thing I have found is that the truth always seems to work better than smoke and mirrors...

Tends to keep my ass outa trouble!
 
While I do agree that it is important to educate the customer, I believe it is being gone about in the wrong way. The information that I have seen has mostly focused on the negative and on things that most people do not care about.

If people cared about how companies did business then there would be alot more resistance to Wal-Marts popping up everywhere (sure you hear every once in a while of a town not letting one in - but how many have popped up inbetween). In fact if most people cared about how companies did business then tons of our comapnies out there wouldn't be in business.

In depth discussion on how someone has curtailed an order will do nothing but discurage. Things need to be kept positive, yes tell them the ways to make sure they are getting a local florist since it is so hard to do so now, yes tell them how having a relationship with a local florist save them money in high fees the internet companies and the national compaines charge, and let them know that they can usually be more specific in what they want as a floral arrangement if being delivered by a local florist.

Opening someones eyes to a problem will not work when they are not even looking in the direction you want them to. People DON'T want to hear our problems, they want to know how to get their flowers delivered the best way possible for them.

I think that if we want to educate we have to make it 99% of what we the local florist can do for you and 1% of what they are doing to you.

And before I hear arguments that showing people how other companines curtail and such IS showing the consumers how local florists can do it better I want to say that NOTHING turns me off more than when someone is trying to show me a product or service and they start right in on what is wrong with someone elses product or service instead of what it right with theirs.
 
GFLORAL said:
NOTHING turns me off more than when someone is trying to show me a product or service and they start right in on what is wrong with someone elses product or service instead of what it right with theirs.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...... ponderous thought....
 
Saf

ROBSWF said:
SHAME ON SAF for publishing this and promoting a way to make things better. I am truly disappointed!!
Click to expand...

"FLORAL MANAGEMENT invites comments, criticism and praise from readers. Please send your letters to : Editor, 1601 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-3406, or e-mail [email protected]"
 
GFLORAL said:
NOTHING turns me off more than when someone is trying to show me a product or service and they start right in on what is wrong with someone elses product or service instead of what it right with theirs.
Click to expand...

Yep.....turns me off too, but when you're the sales person it's often too easy to forget this.
We have to learn to sell our product based on it's own value and bennefits!! even though it's very tempting to run down the competition.
 
clay said:
"FLORAL MANAGEMENT invites comments, criticism and praise from readers. Please send your letters to : Editor, 1601 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-3406, or e-mail [email protected]"
Click to expand...
Thanks I intend to do just that. However I am not a member.

Will some one please that is pro- SAF, show me one sign that these folks have a vision for the future!!! I just do not see it. They have sat back, collected money and done nothing too long. I dont see anything changing. They even tried to change their name for god sake.

Tell me something.... I promise to look at it with an open mind. Too many companies have promised to bring about change in this industry for too long.. The only thing they have been able to do right is collect money!!
 
ROBSWF said:
Thanks I intend to do just that. However I am not a member.

Will some one please that is pro- SAF, show me one sign that these folks have a vision for the future!!! I just do not see it. They have sat back, collected money and done nothing too long. I dont see anything changing. They even tried to change their name for god sake.

Tell me something.... I promise to look at it with an open mind. Too many companies have promised to bring about change in this industry for too long.. The only thing they have been able to do right is collect money!!
Click to expand...

While I don't disagree with your thought Rob...

I guess the only thing I can say from MY view point, is that they are at least listening to ME and other Real Florists comments directed to them. Time will tell if they act upon what their being shown.
 
That AP article appears to the the Rorschach test of flower retailers.

Does the issue covered by the AP exist? Absolutely. Would squelching the article and silencing the florists that were interviewed make the very disturbing trend go away? Most definitely not. Has there been more activity by the WS's to clean up a few of the biggest messes since that piece appeared? I would say 'yes'. If the pressure stops, will the clean up continue. I sincerely doubt it.

Why? The problems of rampant curtailment and deceptive marketing are not new. Some of us have been actively working to have them addressed for a long time - with little, if any, movement.

'The internet is the wild west.'

'We are not the police of the internet.'

Those above quotes are exact, and came from WS leadership.

Sorry - I won't excuse companies that knowingly pay performance rewards (rebates) for orders obtained through fraud and deception.

RC said
I think the consumer wants quality and value. That is where the industry is failing the consumer.
Click to expand...
We are failing them and they are voting with their dollars by choosing other gift options. I believe we will continue to see declines - in both sales and in the number of retail florists - as long as rewards are based on gaining orders 'by any means necessary.'

Wish I was as articulate as Rob because I agree with most of his assessments. Especially
As it stands right now, Florists are the only one looking bad. The order gatherers blame the delivering shops, The wire services blame the delivering shops, and the consumers blame the delivering shops.
Click to expand...
Anybody here that's not had costly problems with over-promised, under-priced, misleadingly marketed OG orders? As a method of self-preservation (for profitablity, integrity, and sanity) we simply stopped filling them. But that doesn't solve the problem long-term since they just get forwarded to some other shop (likely a clueless newbie or other marginal operation.) The only real solution is the clean up the selling side.

I do think Ken has a vision of the future. He does not deny that there are problems.

I'm hoping that the article signals a willingness of SAF to weigh in since I don't recall the organization ever even acknowledging that 'there are problems'. If they want florists to keep these issues 'in house' then openly discussing them and taking a stand in their house would be the place to start. Not just for the benefit of traditional retail florists, but for American consumers and the future of flower gifting.
 
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