Cancellation Denial

J

jaloweaifd

New Member
Jun 25, 2008
13
17
3
Minot
www.lowesfloral.com
State / Prov
ND
Had a situation come up this week that is unusual for us. Justflowers.com placed a Bloomnet order with us for a large poinsettia going to the hospital. The patient was in ICU and could not receive the plant. We were advised to hold the order. We did, calling the hospital every day to find out if the patient had been transferred to a room. The last morning we called, the patient had been sent up to a floor. We took the delivery immediately and were told by the floor nurse that the recipient had been discharged 20 minutes before we arrived. We advised JF asking for a home address and let them know that cancellation of the order was not possible since we had held a seasonal plant beyond its resale point.

JF has generously offered to pay for the delivery but refuses to pay for the plant that I can't possibly sell at this point.

I have asked Bloomnet to intervene and it seems like they will agree with me and deny the cancellation. What are your thoughts my fellow florists?
 
You are right, you followed all the rules. Do not cancel, call your rep if you have to. Matter of principle and yes I agree, Just Flowers orders are tough and they want you to pay for all the mis-givings.
 
Just Flowers is notorious for accepting very specific orders and sending "designer's choice" over the wire. They overcharge, and make delivery promises without consulting with the filling florist. They also throw a local shop under the bus when they can't find a filling shop to accept a BS order. (i have had many, many people call upset with ME because JF told them I wouldn't deliver their order and So & So missed a birthday.) They are the worst crooks in the business, and I won't associate with them.

They also happen to be one of the biggest senders in the nation, so they are doing something right...
 
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jaloweaifd said:
Had a situation come up this week that is unusual for us. Justflowers.com placed a Bloomnet order with us for a large poinsettia going to the hospital. The patient was in ICU and could not receive the plant. We were advised to hold the order. We did, calling the hospital every day to find out if the patient had been transferred to a room. The last morning we called, the patient had been sent up to a floor. We took the delivery immediately and were told by the floor nurse that the recipient had been discharged 20 minutes before we arrived. We advised JF asking for a home address and let them know that cancellation of the order was not possible since we had held a seasonal plant beyond its resale point.

JF has generously offered to pay for the delivery but refuses to pay for the plant that I can't possibly sell at this point.

I have asked Bloomnet to intervene and it seems like they will agree with me and deny the cancellation. What are your thoughts my fellow florists?
Click to expand...
1-800 Flowers is no better. I received a headquarters order from them for a seasonal arrangement. We attempted delivery, only to find out later through the housekeeper that the recipient was out of town. We notified 1800flowers and were told to put the order on hold. Daily we were told the same. After a week, they canceled the order. I denied cancellation (we had made one delivery attempt, and were sitting on a week-old arrangement). They agreed to pay for delivery, but nothing for the arrangement, which we threw out. Unfortunately, we are small potatoes to these big companies, with no one to which to complain.
 
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The Wire Services can solve the Order Gatherer simply by not allowing Sending Only Memberships. I believe the SO designation started by granting Sending Only status to the PX in military bases. Now military personnel have cell phones. I have heard consumers say they no longer send flowers because they get ripped off. The Wires Services will be the losers in the end as they give our industry a bad name. The retail segment is suffering from the harm caused by Order Gatherers.
 
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Now, here's a counterpoint I've been wondering if someone would bring up. Please remember this is for discussion, I'm not advocating a certain position :)

If this order had been sent Florist-to-Florist on credit card, and even after all the work put in by the florist to attempt delivery the product was not actually delivered ... and if a chargeback was filed the credit card company would side with the customer (sending) florist, not the filling florist. (Technically, with most/all merchant services contracts we're not supposed to settle the sale on a credit card until the merchandise is delivered! I'm going to ask Mark from AdvoCharge for more info on this.)

So, where a Wire Service can act as an intermediary, and apply common sense at times, the F2F on CC model would likely have hurt the florist more in this specific scenario.

Am I right? Wrong? Missing something?
 
Yes, that's true - but common practice and legal requirements don't always line up, do they. :)

For a time MAS would authorize the credit card at purchase at settle after delivery, but I think that has changed.
 
Honestly I think thewire service would okay the cancel also. No delivery, no money. Common sense should take precedence. In similar situations I have asked for deliver fee an the cost of the product, not the full retail.

Our delivery pool rules call for florist to cover cost and delivery of any arrangement that is lost,damaged,stolen.
 
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Cost of plant plus delivery charge should be what you get paid. I would agree with Ryan except for the fact that Just Flowers did indeed tell you to hold on to the order. A charge-back on an F2F order would be for a complaint with service or product and neither of these are the case ~ I don't think a charge card company would agree that the product and service were not rendered and this would fall in favor of the delivering florist.

You did indeed supply the product and service that they requested, and therefor should be fairly compensated. Since Just Flowers agreed with their customer to cancel the order, the costs associated with their policy as far as customer satisfaction should not fall upon your shoulders.

I have to say however that if I were the sending florist, I would have called my customer and asked them what they wanted to do. If they requested that I keep the order alive, then it would still be their responsibility to pay for the order and give a forwarding address for the patient. If it were my policy to refund the entire amount to the customer even when they had indicated that they did not want to cancel the order I would never expect the filling florist to eat the cost of my keeping my customer happy. jmo.
 
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Wait a sec folks.....if someone orders something....ANYTHING, and it's NOT delivered,and NOT picked up,why should a shop be "credited" with a sale,when it was NOT completed??...I KNOW both sides, most of us do, BUT, TWO things......1)IF the transaction is NOT completed, there is NO SALE,and should be NO CHARGE,and 2) WHY put this on Just Flowers, when ALL the online order theives operate the same way, yet, florists WANT MORE ORDERS!! I CAN tell you this...IF I pay for something to be delivered, and it is NOT, I'm NOT paying for it!!
 
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With a credit card charge back. The CC processor will automatically/immediately charge back, BUT they notify you (usually a letter) and you have the right to appeal. If you fulfilled your part of the obligation based on your store's policy then the CC company will pay you. If your policy is "Attempt to deliver and leave on a doorstep" when you do that in the dead of winter, the client will be really angry, but the CC will not grant a chargeback.

Our satisfaction guarantee is not dictated by state law or credit card processors. We have it in place to make sure that customers feel confident when they purchase from us.

If a client purchases $75 worth of take-out from a steak house then doesn't come to pick it up, would they have a reasonable expectation of a refund?

for the record: if this was a trusted client, I might eat the poinsettia, but JF can suck it. They knew (should have known) the risk of having you hold the plant past Christmas
 
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Cost of plant plus delivery charge should be what you get paid. I would agree with Ryan except for the fact that Just Flowers did indeed tell you to hold on to the order.

Linda is the winner. Since we "make" products and can show we do that, usually we win the battle. Linda is right, if told to hold, then you fold..........
 
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first: Never take a Just Flowers order. :)
Second: If it had been a florist to florist or florist to consumer order, a quick phone call would have gotten a phone number for a family member so that you could have explained the situation and made other arrangements to deliver the plant, either to a home or to the hospital where a family member could have collected it and take it home.
At least that is our procedures for this type of order, especially being a holiday item.
 
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What policy do you (fellow florist) have with customers regarding non-delivery. If Mrs Smith wants to send the flowers on behalf of her company to bosses' mother, and it turns out she I'd in the ICU and can not receive flowers... And you call, an call until you are on the first name basis with the operator.... and Mrs Smith tells you to keep trying. Finally mama gets transferred to the floor, and is discharged by the time you make it to the hospital. Mrs Smith informs you that for this or that reason, company does not want to send flowers anymore. What do you do?
 
I don't charge a customer for flowers that were never delivered even if attempted. However, the flowers that come back from delivery get put out for sale and we make a new one when we finally reach the recipient. That way the flowers aren't old and we rarely have to lose anything.
 
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