Free Delivery - venting

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Kristine

Kristine

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Nov 26, 2002
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Middleville
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michigan
what is it with people??? IN the last 10 days I have had 5 people walk out of our store because we charge for delivery. Do I have customers who fell off the back of the turnip truck or WHAT.

they think that just down the street or just on the other side of town or just where ever should be free.

I don't really care if it is just ACROSS the street. fed ex gets $$ for just across the street and so does the post office why is it people balk at us?


Ok thanks for listening. I feel better now.:redface2:
 
I had an older gentleman tell me he was surprised we charged $6.50 for delivery within our own town. I politely told him "Ya know, I've been looking for someone to work for me for free to make our deliveries, but hadn't had any volunteers yet". He laughed (with some noticeable embarassment) and placed his order without any further comment. Sometimes customers need a polite reminder that very little is free anymore ...smiles, laughter, love - they are. But any product or service is not. Don't be discouraged too long!
tracy
 
I think ....

it's in the air. We find that we can have a number of days where all we get are positive comments ... "flowers nice", "lasted well", thank you for the special service" .... and then all is quiet .... and then you run into a few days where everyone seems to be in a bad mood. I figure that some people come out of the woods for one day a year or that the moon must be out of sync with the sun or something. I just hold my breath and within a couple of days, the moods change.... or maybe they're from Pluto?
 
Del minimum plus fee

We have a minimum of 50.00 for the bouquet plus 7.50 to 25.00 del fee depending on where it has to go...anything lower is just not worth it what with gas prices and time spent out on some wild goose chase looking for an incorrect address....also with traffic being what it is we don't deliver to certain areas from Fri PM to Mon AM...some complain and others don't...the 25.00 fee is for a bedroom community that is 15 min. away...I once had a guy call for the "internet special"-20.00 with free delivery, I explained our pricing and he called me an a**hole and hung up! The problem as I see it is that there are so many cheap flowers out there in grocery stores, flea markets, big boxes and the like, that people think we pay 5 or 10 cents for our flowers and we are just ripping them off or that we are desparate for cash flow and will do anything for business...well, we are desparate for cash flow but I can't compromise my dignity any more than I already have!!
 
Re: Just some TIME TRAVELERS!

Inka said:
what is it with people??? IN the last 10 days I have had 5 people walk out of our store because we charge for delivery. Do I have customers who fell off the back of the turnip truck or WHAT.they think that just down the street or just on the other side of town or just where ever should be free. I don't really care if it is just ACROSS the street. fed ex gets $$ for just across the street and so does the post office why is it people balk at us? Ok thanks for listening. I feel better now.:redface2:
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Not to worry Inka, we get em too!

Linda and I attribute the anomaly to TIME TRAVELERS who warped from the 1960's through a warm hole and now, find themselves in the year 2006.

We laugh about them and sometimes when I feel especially FEISTY over their comments regarding either a DELIVERY $ERVICE CHARGE or a PRICE for our products, I tell them that I can get them into my time machine and bring them back to the 1960's where DELIVERY WAS FREE or fifty cents and the price for floral arrangements were $7.50, $10.00, and $12.50.

And the price of a new delivery van was $2,600.00 and gas cost twenty-five cents a gallon.

One thing which I have always said is that, the IMAGE a FLORIST has in the eyes of some consumers, leaves a great deal to be desired. Of course, that's THE LEGACY which wee acquired due to the STUPIDITY of DA FEW!

One has to just let it ROLL OFF YOUR BACK and let DA SHOPPERS WALK and doo all dat doo themselves.

Linda's pat answer to their question of: " DO YOUR CHARGE FOR DELIVERY? " is always: " OF COURSE WEE DOO, just like EVERYONE ELSE DOES TOO! "

What I find most interesting is in the fact that; If any of them have to ship something using the USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL, and they need it the next day, the charges are UNBELIEVABLE by the POUND, but they pay them, NO PROBLEM! IF you just want to send a letter or a check OVERNIGHT and up to 8 OUNCES, the USPS charges $14.40.

Our $ERVICE CHARGE for our local sectors for SAME-DAY-DELIVERY provided they place their order by NOON is only $9.95, a STEAL IN COMPARISON.

And, beginning at 1:00 PM, that rate goes up by FIVE DOLLARS for each hour afterwards for our SPECIAL MESSENGER DELIVERY $ERVICE FEATURES.

Because, the LATER U BEE, the MORE OUR FEE which, and OH BY THE WAY, is THE WAY OF THE WORLD!
 
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Then again you could be in my tri town area where three shops advertise Free Delivery! I'm still looking for that free delivery person with their own vehicle, too.
 
TOTO said:
Because, the LATER U BEE, the MORE OUR FEE
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:rofl:
Wish I could use that somehow ... this ranks right up there with our PITA tax. Care to guess what it means?
tracy
 
more venting

I know I know everyone bashes WS, but I still use them. I'm getting pissed off that other florist, after I send them an order for the value it is supposed to be, sends a response asking for an astrimonical delivery fee. If they say this is there delivery area, then be reasonable.
 
seasonsblooming said:
I know I know everyone bashes WS, but I still use them. I'm getting pissed off that other florist, after I send them an order for the value it is supposed to be, sends a response asking for an astrimonical delivery fee. If they say this is there delivery area, then be reasonable.
Click to expand...

As one of those florist who often has to charge 'astronomical' delivery fees, I would say that there are situations where you have to. I live in northern Ontario and when I say I live back of beyond, I'm not kidding. We are 3 1/2 hours from the next city of size to the east and we're 3 1/2 hours away from the nearest town to the north. There are a lot of little communities between us and them. So if someone needs flowers to go to Goulais, we can get a driver to take it there - however, it's 50 minutes highway driving there and then back. Frequently we get florists who call or send us orders via the WS that list the address as Goulais Bay, Sault Ste. Marie but the reality is far from that. We're not out to gouge other florists, our fees simply reflect the time, distance and challenges that we have to face to get those flowers to the recipient.

Audra
 
We have a contract driver, and we tell the customer that our delivery fee is what she charges us. Beyond that, if the customer does not want to pay our fee, they will have to buy somewhere else or take the purchase with them. I cannot shortchange that driver who trying to make her living. We also say something like, "We are surprised that with the price of gas she has not had to raise her fees."
Love that line about trying to find a driver who will work for free!
 
seasonsblooming said:
If they say this is there delivery area, then be reasonable.
Click to expand...
Not defending here...but consider MY sittuation....

You can only codify one delivery charge, so I myself use our standard $7.00 because 90% of the orders fall into this catagory...but our delivery area covers 600+/- square miles with delivery charges ranging up to $22.50 for an address 30 miles in one direction. We are the ONLY florist that will deliver there...funny that the florists that send orders for this area complain, while the customers that live up there do not....

I do however, when requesting more money explain the whole deal in the ASK message so the sending florist can inform their customer, and let them make the decission....
 
NPFloral said:
holy CRAP! $25 bux for a 15 minute drive?!? Is your delivery vehicle a Hummer ?

Tim - North Port Floral
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Back in the day we had 6 part time employees...now just me and the wife and one temp part timer...most of the time I run the deliveries...so that's 5 to 6 dollars in the gas tank and 20ish for my trouble...I don't work for free either...vehicle is a 1998 Caravan
 
enraeh said:
...well, we are desparate for cash flow but I can't compromise my dignity any more than I already have!!
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While I understand about maintaining one's dignity, I wonder if compromise isn't a better path in order to remain in business. Just a thought.

V
 
Ya know, I've been looking for someone to work for me for free to make our deliveries, but hadn't had any volunteers yet".
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Oh thanks for that one, I will be using that.

Funny thing,

The next person in the door was the FED EX guy and we both vented about delivering, wrong addresses etc. He said he would hate to have to deliver our stuff, can't just leave it on the door step or if the address is wrong take it back to the depot and let them worry about it.

He said we deliver for too cheap $$ :)
 
Re: PITA is Linda's acronym too!

Tracypieface said:
:rofl:Wish I could use that somehow ... this ranks right up there with our PITA tax. Care to guess what it means?tracy
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Must be female ESP!

When the LOVELY LINDA has had to deal with a (P)ain (I)n (T)he (A)ss, she enters into their record in the remarks field, PITA so that, anyone else bringing up their HISTORY gets the BIG PICTURE too!

And, ANYONE can charge a SPECIAL MESSENGER $ERVICE CHARGE as it's all in the strategy of psychology.

When they CALL LATE because they MEANT TO and WANTED TO but, FORGOT TO order yesterday or by NOON TODAY, they are simply told that, THEY MISSED OUR NORMAL ROUTED DELIVERY $ERVICE TRUCK which left at (?).

However, we still have our SPECIAL MESSENGER DELIVERY $ERVICE available for your ONE DELIVERY and the charge for that LATE $ERVICE is now $14.95 at 1:00 PM, $19.95 at 2:00 PM, and $24.95 at 3:00 PM. Otherwise, we can schedule your delivery for tomorrow at our SAME-DAY-DELIVERY $ervice charge of $9.95. Would you like me to call to see if they will be able to make your late delivery? (pregnant pause)

We also use the SPECIAL MESSENGER FEE STRUCTURE for AM, timed deliveries, and after hours delivery.

We TRY NEVER TO SAY NO, and only say, YES WEE CAN and this is how much that $ERVICE WILL COST YOU!

Which is really NO DIFFERENT than any other COMPANY selling a product and providing a shipping/delivery $ERVICE in the rest of the REAL WORLD of BUSINESS.
 
PITA tax

TOTO said:
Must be female ESP!
Click to expand...
Great minds, they do think alike....
tracy
 
There is no such thing as Free Delivery...... Just less profit.

That is in the best case scenario, in the worst case scenario.... It is a money losing transaction.

The costs associated with operating and maintaining a delivery truck and paying someone to drive that truck remain. If a seperate fee is not assessed to the order, then those delivery costs must be bourne by the sale.

Joe
 
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