firing a wire service- help please

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SiberiaAIFD

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Nov 12, 2007
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Winchester
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VA
so, i am going to fire a wire service,. i currently carry 2. need some advice so i don't get screwed by showing my hand too early.

have POS thru TEL, w/ Mercury interface. I am codified with FTD until August. Want to cancel membership. need to know the following:

who should i contact to figure out how to unhook merc interface from dove POS? Can I do this before my end date to stop taking so many FTD orders thru august?

Should i wait to the last possible minute to let FTD know i'm cancelling? I don't want to get any penalties and i know i read somewhere that even if i tell them to cancel membership today, b/c i'm published with them until august, my commitment to fill orders doesn't end until august?

any help suggestions would be really appreciated.

the "delayed response program" is the last straw for us.

feel free to PM me if you would like to keep responses private.
thanks guys- you always come thru!
 
While I never had FTD, I did quit TF. I sent a certified letter, I would do this ASAP. It took over 1 year for TF to stop sending me bills with membership fees, finally, one day....they stopped, they sent an invoice with a balance of 0 due. Very strange, but thats TF for you. What gets me about your post is the sort of "Fear" I hear in it. I just don't understand the fear flower shops have of the wrath of the big WIRE SERVICES. Its a membership, not a prison term. Really, its a shame you can't call them for the quitting info. Every time I called TF to ask about the proper protocol for canceling my membership, I got different answers. Soon I began to realize that the lunatics had taken over the asylum!!!
 
To terminate membership follow the directions in the last printed directory issued by that wire service. If you don't have the directory look on the wire services website or call them.

It required three seperate letters to three seperate individuals/departments when I left Teleflora this spring. I would recommend any correspondence you send be traceable and require a signature. Either Express Mail, Fed Ex or certified mail, return receipt required.

Once you are out of the directory you will still be liable for orders reported up to 90 days (or whatever the wire service rules read) after but you should not be charged normal monthly membership fees.

While it is great to ask for advice on the forums, the requirements to terminate membership change from time to time so information received from members in the forum might have changed since they left.

For instance, to stop POS support with Teleflora, they required 60 days notice from me. Used to be support stopped the day you asked them to end it on.
 
Not familiar with your system, but seems to me you could suspent the incoming ftd immediately and not do a restart. Atleast that way you have control of what you take for incoming because it will all be by phone. From there start the letters and get signatures.

Barb
 
And when it's all said and DONE, don't forget to ask for the refund of the bond you posted when you joined.

We quit Tele last year and everything went very smoothly. Sent the certified letter and required signature. I followed up with a phone call to make sure they had everything they needed. It was very simple.
 
bond? is that sarcasm or serious? this shop has been FTD since 1952 so i have no idea about any of that.

the cert letters are a GREAT heads up so thanks!!!

yes, there is fear, mostly from the fact i know things in life are never cut and dry (dried?) and there is always some "hidden disclosure" regarding things that i just don't want to get kicked in the @ss 6 months down the road with some ginormous bill.

we fought Verizon for 3 years over a stupid misprinted listing....it was awful, so I figure FTD is going to be just as horrible. bad enough you tell their reps you dont' want the marketplace product and they go into a tirade as to how valuable it is for the holidays. umm, No.
 
Holly said:
And when it's all said and DONE, don't forget to ask for the refund of the bond you posted when you joined.

We quit Tele last year and everything went very smoothly. Sent the certified letter and required signature. I followed up with a phone call to make sure they had everything they needed. It was very simple.
Click to expand...

Went smoothly with us too, Holly.

I inquired about the deposit we paid and was told that would be automatically mailed to us after the account had a zero balance for three months which is what I expected. Of course this will stay on my radar so it doesn't fall through the cracks, $200 is $200 :)
 
I notified FTD in Dec 07' that I would be out Jan.31, 08', but that I would continue to fill their orders with the same professionalism until then.

They called begging me to stay and offering deals. I refused, and in the end, They did not send me ANY orders in Jan. My punishment I suppose for daring to leave.

They are trying to say I owe them $$, do not. But I have heard that $$ story from other shops. One girl said they were billing her (after she got out) for more thatn $27,000.00. She had only owned the shop for two years. Weird acctg., how could you owe that amt. in two years???

Getting out of TF very soon, they are worse than FTD for changing the rules on you, and changing the fee amts. Very few orders from HQ with them, until a holiday then they want you to fill unprofitable items.

Anyway...FTD was easy to leave, guess we'll see about TF.

Wire Service Free Is The Way To Be!
 
A few years ago, we also had all three wire services. We decided to get rid of FTD because of several reasons.

We called them and asked them about it, they said that all we needed to do was to send a notice thru the Mercury. This was done and requested a verification. No reply.

Two weeks later, sent another one asking again for verification. No reply.

Two weeks after that, called and asked what the problem is because we are not getting back a verification. Was told at that time that we missed the deadline. I asked what deadline this is a membership.
I called our rep and left her a message.

Meanwhile, someone else called from FTD and said we missed the deadline. I asked again what deadline. The rep told me it was on page 26 of the directory. I told him that was BS because any flower shop that is tech savvy would never open up the directory. Also, there is nothing listed in the membership packet nor the Mercury about any deadline. He said that no one every put it that way before. I told him this had better be cancelled ASAP.

My local rep called me back and told me the same thing. I told her that this had better be cancelled ASAP and I had better not get one more bill or anything from them. If they would like, I would be glad to go to court and see about this mystery page on 26 without any info in the membership packet. They have not bothered us since.
 
Plain and simple :

1. Follow the printed rules in the Directory.
2. Send ( with a paper trail ) to all concerned.
3. DO NOT bother to explain why. You don't have to !

4. Follow up in ten business days if you've heard no response.
 
I just quit FTD effective May 1 & all I did was type a formal letter informing them that I was terminating my services effective date of....you have to submit your termination notice before the next codification deadline which is fast approaching. You do have to remain until you are no longer in the directory. So I called FTD & asked when the deadline was for codification & faxed a typed letter to membership services. I also sent a general message requesting the same. They in turn will send you a confirmation of your termination request & your effective date. You are still liable for all charges (merc fees) & membership fees associated until you are no longer in the directory., this is in the contract. When May 1st came I didn't have to do anything except delete the quick link on my automatic computer startup for Mercury Direct. They stopped charging me as well as sending orders over the connection on the date I sent. (which was my last codified date) Since I had to pay for membership anyways, I figured I could at least offset all the fees I still had to pay them, so I took orders that I wanted to fill. I am cancelling TF next & switching to a cheaper POS system that has way more advantages in the very near future. I also mailed a hardcopy regular mail & put a handwritten note across the top of the fax date, confirmation & time. They were not jerks but I guess they could have been & denied ever getting it (difficult to do w/fax confirmation) since I didn't certify it, but nowhere does it say I cannot fax it in & they accepted it. A fax is considered a legal writing in court. It was absolutely painless to terminate w/FTD. Teleflora however, is being a challenge because they are not acknowledging receipt of my fax or mailed termination request. Its okay, cause I wasn't completely ready, but I will be soon. Good luck!!!
 
SiberiaAIFD said:
i know i read somewhere that even if i tell them to cancel membership today, b/c i'm published with them until august, my commitment to fill orders doesn't end until august?
Click to expand...

You have no commitment to ever fill any order, never ever ever.

I found it quite funny back in my soapboxing day when a florist told me they would NEVER refuse an order from headquarters cuz it wasn't allowed.

What-ever ::BS
 
Yes, I guess I should have made it more clear, you never have to fill any order if you don't want to. Problem is you will pay all your fees due to them until August. I just filled the orders I wanted to fill (no stress) to offset all the fees. Mercury & membership fees directory fees & whatever else you owe them for. :)
 
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