"Free to Screw the Customer"

[CHR]

Free market means "free to screw the customer"

You've got to love the American approach to homo economicus these days: caveat frigging emptor. Instead of a nice, mutually understood premise -- I pay you money, you give me what I'm paying you for -- you get the customer acting on one premise and the business deciding whether or not to honor it. Take, for example, my latest foray into the fun world of corporations killing my intrinsic polyphasic field just a little:

My wife wanted to send her mother flowers for Mother's Day. So, she ordered "Pure Enchantment," a bouquet of lilies and purple flowers in a glass vase, from FTD.com. What her mother received was pink and white carnations in a plastic vase. Now, there's a certain degree of "we can't guarantee full seasonal availability" to this, which any reasonable person will accept. That, however, is not the problem here. My wife called up FTD to discuss the complete and utter failure to deliver a bouquet remotely resembling the one we paid for. After being offerred copious coupons for percentages off of future orders -- as if that was a reasonable response ("Spend more money, please, so we can apologize!") -- she called the florist in Albuquerque directly.

Now, what the florist had to say is what got my blood up. Apparently FTD does not provide a style book to its florists, or detailed instructions, or pictures, or even something along the lines of "hey, put a bunch of lilies and some purplish stuff in a glass vase." Nope. There's no real way, apparently, to be guaranteed you will get even an appropriate approximation of your order. The florist told my wife that the order states the name of the bouquet so, if you're lucky, the picture of the bouquet is still on the website so they can at least look the @@@@ thing up. We were unlucky, and the Mother's Day bouquets were off the site by Mother's Day, when the @@@@ thing was to be assembled.

Bravo, FTD. Good job sending our future business to 1800flowers.com.

Go to the blog and read the comments, including one from an FTD employee.

The florist's excuse sounds lame here but I do wonder if the wire services opting to add images on-the-fly instead of sending out print selection guide pages with manuals helps create 'name confusion'. BTW I was easily able to find the images of the product on Google. Was this a Mother's Day special?

 

[SpringCity]

Yeah that florist is totally full of it.

But it's so irritating that these big OG's have no standards for their order fillers and then florists as a whole get a bad rap. GRRR

 

[makescents]

Free market means "free to screw the customer"

Go to the blog and read the comments, including one from an FTD employee.

The florist's excuse sounds lame here but I do wonder if the wire services opting to add images on-the-fly instead of sending out print selection guide pages with manuals helps create 'name confusion'. BTW I was easily able to find the images of the product on Google. Was this a Mother's Day special?

So did you post a comment? I did..

and yes I to think that was a Lammo excuse from the florist.. but I can see it happening - although I always take FULL advantage to these situations! And I always end up with a new customer - and FTD has one less customer... YEA!

 

[BOSS]

Might not be the florists fault... could have been a non member town, and FTD sent it out on their CC... then what's a florist to do.

 

[bloomz]

or a florist without internet?

I'd guess there are still a few of them, tho not for too much longer.

 

[Doug Munro]

Yeah that florist is totally full of it.

But it's so irritating that these big OG's have no standards for their order fillers and then florists as a whole get a bad rap. GRRR

An interesting comment, considering that the order fillers are in fact florists. As someone who has been sending orders for years I can state with complete conviction that the "Achilles Heel" of out of town flower delivery is in most cases the fulfilling shop.

I have had more problems than I can count with substitutions, late delivery, no delivery, poor quality product, lousy customer service, and lack of design skill.

I make no distinction between wire members and independents (where we call and pay with CC). Yes there are lots of great shops, but there are a lot of shops that are a bain to this industry. Many of the complaints I receive from senders are accompanied by a picture of what was actually received, in most cases it is hard to believe it is the same item that was ordered.

The excuse that never ceases to amaze me from a fulfiller is " I didn't get enough money". Well if that is the case DON"T ACCEPT the order in the first place. My belief is that once a fulfiller accepts the order they have by default agreed to fill it as specified. It is not their place to change it to suit their own opinion as it is not their order, it is mine, as the sending customer is. Ultimately it is I who pays the price for their decisions.

We have over the years like many sender developed a network of shops that we trust. Thank God for that

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Yeah that florist is totally full of it.

But it's so irritating that these big OG's have no standards for their order fillers and then florists as a whole get a bad rap. GRRR

You better believe They are full of it!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we were talking about "filling shops" and I said I call when it gets close to the date of a major holiday to see if the filling shop can fill my customers order? And remember when I was told I have no faith in my fellow florists? This is a prime example of why.

So My Great aunt died last week, her funeral in tomorrow. She lived in Norwalk CA. I did a search for a shop in Norwalk, didn't find one that appealed to me. So I did a google search, guess who came up on top? Avantegardens. So I called and asked if they would deliver to Norwalk. I didn't play the "This is shannonlovesflowers" card either, I just asked the person who answered the phone if they could or would, They said sure, and then I ended up getting transfered to Cathy,,,,That was cool. I got to BS with her a little. The point is I 100% trust that Avantegardens will do a good job. This was my Grandmas sister that died. And my grandma is PICKY. She's used to my stuff. I called Grandma back after I got off the phone with Cathy and told Grandma that the shop who was handling her order was a better designer than me, a WAY better designer, One of the best shops in the world, I s what I told her. Had I just sent the orders to some shop in Norwalk that I'm not familiar with I would have worried.

BTW, if you are ever sending flowers to Albuquerque, I recommend Mauldins. There are 2, It's the Mauldins that Melody owns. I can't remember her last name. That's who I use. If I ever have a problem, they fix it right away. But it's rare a problem occurs.

 

[goldfish]

The article you cited, as well as the comments that followed, reflects what a sorry state our industry is in.

We have a competely dissatisfied customer; yet local florists and FTD, each blaming "the other guy." A customer's order was screwed, and we are bashing each other.

How sad. Since when do we stop caring about customers?

 

[avenuegardensflorist]

my response/hope the dude learns:boggles:

dude, call 800flowers? How's that going to help.

Get with the high tech times and just google with search terms [florist or flowers/city or town,state] you want your flower design to go to. Don't pay ftd/800f to do your paperwork for you.

You will find most RealFlorist's have websites you can order from or call their 800# and talk with THOSE WHO DO THE REAL CREATIVITY!!

Make sure you review Real Florist's sites so you will not get overcharged in so-call 'service fees' that WILL NOT go towards the product and will be kept by ftd.con or 800flowers.con or any other order-gatherer.


And don't listen to these order-gatherer employees. They just want to make sure their companies get paid these 'service fees' so their jobs will continue for doing nothing other than 'gathering' orders.

Understand now? If not just ask and we can explain quite bit more.

Have a great day and remember to make your wife/mother.in.law happy with FRESH FLOWER DESIGNS from your REAL FLORIST!!

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Might not be the florists fault... could have been a non member town, and FTD sent it out on their CC... then what's a florist to do.

Look it up on line, or ask for a description of flowers

 

[jduncan]

The article you cited, as well as the comments that followed, reflects what a sorry state our industry is in.

We have a competely dissatisfied customer; yet local florists and FTD, each blaming "the other guy." A customer's order was screwed, and we are bashing each other.

How sad. Since when do we stop caring about customers?

EVERY problem has an owner.

This boils down to the fact that nobody wants to own the problem....

....AND THIS IS ONE HONKIN' HUGE INDUSTRY WIDE PROBLEM.

Unless this problem finds an owner,(assuming said owner is willing to engage) it won't get fixed.

Maybe that is an oversimplification, but in my Southern sensibility, that's "what it boils down to"

 

[Rhonda]

It boils down to the fact that the big three court every shop they can to reap membership/fees to enhance their bottom line. Their lack of Quality Assurance, lack of education TO their members, the total disregard of their loss of reputation by continuing to solicit four to twenty members in each zip code or town, city and saturating their member shop numbers with people who can't follow a recipe.
The fact that Field Service Reps now known as Field Business Consultants have NO actual design knowledge and are technology sellers only (another enhancement of their bottom line).
The big three have no one to blame but themselves and certainly knowledgable florists won't be able to sway their theories.
When FTD offers $29.95 for LIFE to a shop......they better know it's a quality shop that puts out quality work (which in this case they did know) but if they offer that to the three other shops in my area, they are in for a rude awakening because that order that was received in this case for the thread, is probably what they would get with those shops.
It is all about culling the herd and chosing the cream of the crop with quality NOT quantity.

 

[avenuegardensflorist]

It boils down to the fact that the big three court every shop they can to reap membership/fees to enhance their bottom line. Their lack of Quality Assurance, lack of education TO their members, the total disregard of their loss of reputation by continuing to solicit four to twenty members in each zip code or town, city and saturating their member shop numbers with people who can't follow a recipe.
The fact that Field Service Reps now known as Field Business Consultants have NO actual design knowledge and are technology sellers only (another enhancement of their bottom line).
The big three have no one to blame but themselves and certainly knowledgable florists won't be able to sway their theories.
When FTD offers $29.95 for LIFE to a shop......they better know it's a quality shop that puts out quality work (which in this case they did know) but if they offer that to the three other shops in my area, they are in for a rude awakening because that order that was received in this case for the thread, is probably what they would get with those shops.
It is all about culling the herd and chosing the cream of the crop with quality NOT quantity.

....is this being done?

 

[Rhonda]

yes, a former member out for about 4 years...left merc technology and went with TF Eagle system 4 years ago....large volume shop both sending and receiving servicing a good sized area (for Maine that is) but the owner is very active in design shows, education programs, etc and is well known to the FTD community.

 

[Rock]

Many of the complaints I receive from senders are accompanied by a picture of what was actually received, in most cases it is hard to believe it is the same item that was ordered.

Doug, you're wrong re the achillies heel of out of town deliveries. It is the florist or OG who shows their customer a pic, accepts an order agreeing to deliver it and then tell a "filling shop" to fill to value.

People who live in glass houses...........................

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Doug, you're wrong re the achillies heel of out of town deliveries. It is the florist or OG who shows their customer a pic, accepts an order agreeing to deliver it and then tell a "filling shop" to fill to value.

People who live in glass houses...........................

are wary of who holds the biggest rock!!

I think Doug is bang on...and TRUST IS the "issue".......

 

[lori042499]

Doug, you're wrong re the achillies heel of out of town deliveries. It is the florist or OG who shows their customer a pic, accepts an order agreeing to deliver it and then tell a "filling shop" to fill to value.

People who live in glass houses...........................

Have any of you ever seen what some florists put out as filled to value....I mean really, some of it is just plain embarrassing...If I can't get the same look or feel for a picture, that goes for color, texture and style with a few subs then I call or message the sender and let them know...I know right well that it can be a problem, why would I want that a day or 2 later...It does come down to trust, and frankly I don't always trust someone elses work...and to look at their websites it is sometimes hard to tell what kind of work they do also...I am a big fan of stock photos, but I also like some custom photos just to know that the shop behind the stock photos can put together a suitable arrangement, I get real nervous sending to a town i don't know and either can't find a florist with a website or only find florists with standard ws templates with no custom photos....

Then to call and talk to them you don't get any warm fuzzy feelings either....you get the feeling they are just as clueless on the phone as their internet presence suggests...This is a filling florists problem as well as an OG or sending florist problem as well as an incompetency rpoblem on WS to sign qualified people into membership...all 3 can be clueless and it is a failure to communicate on filling and sending parts...fillers need to communicate what they can and cannot do for the money assuming they even know how to design, and senders need to have a clue what is in season where and for what kind of money...you cannot get the same arrangement in NYC and Boston for the same money as you can in a small mid west town of 200 people because the cost of living is very different and prices are very different, and senders need to know this...I get just as many orders from real florists that have unreal expectations as i do from OG's, like arrangements sent with no delivery included, or too little money because they sold from their area and didn't take big city money into account...This makes me more mad than when OG's do it because they as real florists should get it, but don't...

 

[goldfish]

EVERY problem has an owner.

This boils down to the fact that nobody wants to own the problem....

....AND THIS IS ONE HONKIN' HUGE INDUSTRY WIDE PROBLEM.

Unless this problem finds an owner,(assuming said owner is willing to engage) it won't get fixed.

Exactly. This customer doesn't care whose fault it was. He and his wife simply want the problem fixed.

If I was a florist in that recipient's town, I would be jumping on to this opportunity and send an email to him, saying that our shop will deliver a gorgeous bouquet for free. In exchange, I would be getting a free PR from his blog and an almost certain life-time customer.

Why no florist in that area doing this - I have no idea.

 

[RWK]

It comes down to a matter of ethics.......Personal and professional. Maybe it falls down to how Mom and Dad raised their child......but I just simply cannot treat an order so shabbily as some of these reports tell.

 

[NPFloral]

I'd be curious to know what the filling florist was told by FTD rep. I know at Mday when the big three start calling me with cc orders the rep is *never* specific. "Mixed flowers in a vase" is usually the description. At which time I insist on minimum $75. + delivery, cause I hate them, AND that $$ amount will at least get the recip a decent bouquet. Sometimes they say OK sometimes no. (Even so... I would NEVER send a vase of carnations as a vase of mixed flowers)

Tim - North Port Floral