Fees for customers

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pathelenflower

pathelenflower

New Member
Oct 3, 2009
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Shelbyville
www.pathelenflowers.com
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KY
I have heard such a wide range of fees florists are charging customers for sending out wire orders. This has always been an issue with our customers, thinking we are over charging them.

We charge a $6.00 relay fee and whatever delivery fee that the receiving florist requests. If we go through bloomnet, not florist to florist we usually charge $5.99 for the delivery. Of course that is what they say is included in the price the give us on incoming orders. Ha ha!

We have got to recoup some of the fees we are being charged by the wire services.

What do any of you charge, if I might ask.
 
We charge $10.00, It's a service we provide, if people don't like it we encourage them to call a florist directly themselves or go on the internet. (We even on occassion are nice enough to give them a phone number). Most people would rather us handle the order then to do it themselves. The profit on outgoing orders is very minimal, and you have to spend your time calling out the order and taking care of any follow up calls if something goes wrong. I would definitely raise your rate you will find that only a very select few customers would rather do it themselves....and as we say so be it, it's no that profitable anyway.
 
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$6.95 + the delivery charge ($7 or whatever is codified for)
 
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I charge 12.99 just like all the other online guys...I also add in the local delivery charge what ever is coded and send off to the florist...the customer gets a break down of all these charges before I begin to take the order..

When asked about the charge, I explain that I am acting as their agent...The fee they pay for includes my garauntee(and I mean that, I don't go by what another florist is willing to give me when they screw up, I decide how my customers should be treated and deal with the florist and what they will give) the phone chatrges and labor...If they say they can go online, I let them know that they can and that it can be a crapshoot picking a good florist and tell them good luck...I feel that I pay for the list, I pay for the membership, it is part of my business and I need to be paid for it...Someday if I get away from the wire biz, maybe I will give away florist numbers...but right now I don't....
 
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We don't charge any fee, just an $8.95 delivery charge that we pass to the filling florist. Sending an order is accomplished in just a few seconds through the Mercury X.

I think this keeps us ahead of the competition.

If there is no FTD shop where the order is going, and I have to call it out and put it on my credit card, I charge my customer a $10 service charge.
 
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blumen said:
We don't charge any fee, just an $8.95 delivery charge that we pass to the filling florist. Sending an order is accomplished in just a few seconds through the Mercury X.

I think this keeps us ahead of the competition.

If there is no FTD shop where the order is going, and I have to call it out and put it on my credit card, I charge my customer a $10 service charge.
Click to expand...

But don't you try to recoup any of you monthly fees, that FTD charges you, an also don't you pay a fee per order on the mercury? And then why you would charge to use your credit card?
 
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pathelenflower said:
But don't you try to recoup any of you monthly fees, that FTD charges you, an also don't you pay a fee per order on the mercury? And then why you would charge to use your credit card?
Click to expand...

Although I am NOT FTD - I was.. and the sending florist is not the one paying the fees... that is the filling florist.

I DO not charge a "service fee" ! I as a consumer HATE service fees... It is a service I provide for my customers..

I NEVER ever want MY customer to call another shop!

I know that the big guys charge those huge amounts.. BUT WT??? I don't want to be charged just for being a customer.. I just can't do it.

Hello - can I take your order? Oh.. and to take your order.. it's gonna be a $14.99 fee... Seriously?

I charge the customer the cost of the flowers and $8.00 for delivery... If delivery is more or less it goes into or out of the flowers.
 
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$2.95 service charge
$10.00 delivery - given to the receiving shop.

Make sure you ask your WS about sending rebates.
 
makescents said:
Although I am NOT FTD - I was.. and the sending florist is not the one paying the fees... that is the filling florist.

I DO not charge a "service fee" ! I as a consumer HATE service fees... It is a service I provide for my customers..

I NEVER ever want MY customer to call another shop!

I know that the big guys charge those huge amounts.. BUT WT??? I don't want to be charged just for being a customer.. I just can't do it.

Hello - can I take your order? Oh.. and to take your order.. it's gonna be a $14.99 fee... Seriously?

I charge the customer the cost of the flowers and $8.00 for delivery... If delivery is more or less it goes into or out of the flowers.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I don't mean to sound dumb about this, but don't you pay monthly membership fees to FTD, Teleflora and bloomnet, when you are a member?

I mean have you ever added up all the fees, (membership fees, directory fees, unit dues, transmission fees, clearing house fees etc., you totally loose on receiving orders. So again I ask how do you try to get any of that money back?
 
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pathelenflower said:
But don't you try to recoup any of you monthly fees, that FTD charges you, an also don't you pay a fee per order on the mercury? And then why you would charge to use your credit card?
Click to expand...

The rebates I get for sending orders with FTD, as well as my cash-flo rebate with FTD usually covers the fees they charge.

I charge when I have to spend time to find a florist on the internet and phone out the order. If I send out the order on my Mercury X system to another FTD florist, it takes me all of about 15 seconds.
 
I always told customers about the sending fee this way........I'll use a 5 dollar sending fee and an 8 dollar delivery fee for example.

" We'll add to your order a delivery of 8 dollars for the florist on that end to deliver your flowers and there is a relay fee that the wire service charges us of 5 dollars to do this for you. "

Have'nt had more than one or two people ever question that.
 
makescents said:
Although I am NOT FTD - I was.. and the sending florist is not the one paying the fees... that is the filling florist.

I DO not charge a "service fee" ! I as a consumer HATE service fees... It is a service I provide for my customers..

I NEVER ever want MY customer to call another shop!

I know that the big guys charge those huge amounts.. BUT WT??? I don't want to be charged just for being a customer.. I just can't do it.

Hello - can I take your order? Oh.. and to take your order.. it's gonna be a $14.99 fee... Seriously?


I charge the customer the cost of the flowers and $8.00 for delivery... If delivery is more or less it goes into or out of the flowers.
Click to expand...

Make Scents, this doesn't make sense : )
You are not ftd, but are you in another wire "service"?
Are you taking the order and taking the 20% of the amount the customer
is wishing to send?
If you are in a ws, what about the extra 7 to 10 % they are charging you
for the privilege of using their "service"?. How do you recoup that?
Call it whatever makes you comfortable.
I don't see it as "let me take your order and charge you $14.99"
It is really to cover your time, or the time you are paying an employee
to take the order, to call the order and also to deal with the order if their
is a problem.
If the 20% commission you are collecting covers that, then great.

I send direct. Give the filling florist 100 % of the amount my customer
wishes to send and
charge $12.95 for my "service". This is all I make, no commission.
I also offer looking up a phone number of a florist if they do not
wish to pay the $12.95 and they feel they can do it themselves.
They think that is great that I give them a number or two and they
in the end are my local, loyal customer.
Some people just want me to take care of everything and do not
have a problem paying me $12.95 to do it. Either way. You deserve
to make money somewhere in taking the order.
 
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makescents said:
Although I am NOT FTD - I was.. and the sending florist is not the one paying the fees... that is the filling florist.

I DO not charge a "service fee" ! I as a consumer HATE service fees... It is a service I provide for my customers..

I NEVER ever want MY customer to call another shop!

I know that the big guys charge those huge amounts.. BUT WT??? I don't want to be charged just for being a customer.. I just can't do it.

Hello - can I take your order? Oh.. and to take your order.. it's gonna be a $14.99 fee... Seriously?

I charge the customer the cost of the flowers and $8.00 for delivery... If delivery is more or less it goes into or out of the flowers.
Click to expand...
Sooo, are you saying that you were a free member of FTD? You are saying you didn't have to pay to belong to FTD? WOW! Why the heck did you drop them?

I know you are the owner of your shop but most of the people at our shop gets paid an hourly wage. If they are on the clock, they are costing the shop money. We get paid clear down to the second we are on the clock. We don't clock out to wait on customers that want to wire something out.

We charge $10 wire service fee and a $10 delivery fee and the delivery fee goes to the filling florist, naturally.

From experience I know that some areas have higher minimum and delivery fees. If I don't know right off the top of my head, I look up the minimums and delivery fee requirements in that town. BTW- I never go with the cheapest. I live by the rule that you usually get what you pay for. I don't automatically go with the most expensive either.

We will give out phone numbers if a customer asks for one.
 
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$5 and its really not enough, but....... I don't feel like explaining the costs to the customers, so its $5. In other words, if I charged more, I would get customer's questioning my pricing.

joe
 
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I charge a $6.95 relay fee and whatever the receiving shop has listed for delivery. I tell clients it's generally around $9.00.
As far as charging a relay fee, I work for my customers for that fee.
If something specific is required, I'll call 6 shops if I have to. If I don't like a shop how is responding to my queries, I'll hang up and call another.
I also guarantee satisfaction. Teleflora has always been good about this.
I take my time and give great customer service, that is my time and that requires a fee.
 
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Joe Mioux said:
$5 and its really not enough, but....... I don't feel like explaining the costs to the customers, so its $5. In other words, if I charged more, I would get customer's questioning my pricing.

joe
Click to expand...


Just curious, Joe, if you were to go up on the fee, what would t=you feel would be the correct amount?
 
I am wire service free.........Ha Bloomnet was in here the other day courting me...NOT!!! He was lucky I was in good mood. He could tell I was hostile.
Anyhoo, I charge $10.00 if they want me to do it or I give them the direct number for free.
 
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