FTD Taking a Beating in the Blogsphere

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BOSS said:
Been there...did that about a year ago!! Don't forget the delivery vehicles!
Click to expand...


Haven't had a logo on the delivery vehicles in 28 years.

Carlyle is logo free of all WS logos, Breese shop ftd logo goes today.

now i need to get a stamp that has a red circle and a diagonal through it, to stamp the one set of business checks that have the ftd logo on it.


j
 
FTD is truly taking a beating online.

Loads of angry complaints on Consumerist.com, Yahoo, and PlanetFeedback.com . IMO, this letter really says it all:

Dear Mr. Soenen:

I have been trying to resolve an issue I encountered with an order I
placed for fresh flowers for my wife on Valentines Day. I can
understand the amount of business you do on this holiday but for
three days now I have attempted to contact a customer representative in
your call center. To my surprise I have been told “Due to the holiday we
can not answer your call at this time.” When I did get through I was
told the wait would be an hour. Then I called again this afternoon
only to get disconnected twice. A company of your size should be
prepared to handle the volume and calls on the days leading up to
Valentines Day and after.

I order my flowers on Wednesday, February 14, before 2 pm. I was
expecting a florist delivery, thus why I used FTD vs. the other
online florist to ensure my wife would get them on Valentines Day and not
after. To my surprise again she NEVER got her flowers on Wednesday or
Thursday. She did however receive a package from FTD on Friday (TWO
DAYS AFTER VALENTINES DAY) from DHL. Why the flowers I order would not have been prepared fresh from a local florist is beyond me. After all I order the - The FTD Spring Florist Designed Bouquet Item #6026 – which appears by the name to be florist prepared. Not to mention your website advertised that you could have them delivered that afternoon from a local florist. I instructed her NOT to accept this shipment.

Had I known that these flowers WOULD NOT have been delivered on
Wednesday February 14, I would have NOT ORDERED THEM AT ALL or used another less expensive and time sensitive service.

I sent your customer service department an email Wednesday night and
have yet to hear back from them. By your lack of response and your
lack of concern I would have to assume you do not care. I hope I am
incorrect about the above statement. At this time I am requesting a
FULL REFUND for the amount of the flowers plus ALL FEES and DELEVRY
CHARGES. My order number is FNQ1353978.

Should you fail to respond in a timely manner or within 72 hours, I
will assume this issue will not be resolved the proper way. I will
then report you to the BBB, file a complaint with the Federal Trade
Commission concerning your false presentation of product to
consumers, and possible retain an attorney to secure my rights as a consumer.

These are not threats Mr. Soenen, I expect to be handled in a
professional manner and not treated with indifference as your company
has shown already.

Thank you
Click to expand...
Emphasis mine. FTD should have gotten out ahead of the problems and at least acknowledged there were issues. Between the Merc failure and the horrible weather, they hit the Perfect Storm.
 
Got a little fired up before this was written.



THE TRUTH BEHIND THE V. DAY 2007 FIASCO
by MANORVILLE FLORIST Posted Mon February 19, 2007 @ 3:30 PM
Local florists that pay enormous monies to wire services like FTD,
1800 and Teleflora did not drop the ball, and to attempt to blame them
is a travesty.
Local florists do not control the mega corporations,
they control us, undermine us, use us and more.
Local florists are not order gatherers supported by the major
corporations that shave off the top of every order.
I'm sorry.....did you actually think that the local florist gets the
money that you pay out?
Not a chance !
If that's what you really think I've got a couple of bridges for you
to buy !

Example: customer uses a third party to order,
( no names ), and them sends out the order to a local florist that
gets a greatly reduced ammount to fill the order. Order gatherers
shave from the top and then, on top of it have to kick back monies to
their enablers and backers. We've gotten orders sent or called in to
us that were shaved by as much as 50%.
Yup, 50% of your money, and either we tell them to get lost and find
another sucker or we as professionals bite the bullett and provide the
best possible product money can buy, at our own expense.
When we have no time and no other choice, we take care of the consumer
!

In good concience I cannot save that every florist is good. That would
be unrealistic, however I can say with complete certainty that dealing
with a REAL FLORIST is the only, cost effective, intelligent and sane
option that the consumers have and can rely on.

Our shop, in the middle of horrendous weather and an ice storm, on a
holiday that required us to back up our normal locally supplied floral
inventory with overnighted top of the line roses and flowers, since
the local product was a complete ripoff and half dead when it was
received, managed to, at tremendous personal expense and loss, have
less than a 1% error or non delivery rate, and honored every single
inquiry, question and complaint in record time.
( Weather was the primary reason that we had any complaints at all !
)

To conclude, anyone that wants to blame or hold responsible the local
flower shops or REAL FLORISTS should scrutinize their billing
statements to see where their money went for Bloody Valentine's Day
2007.
You may be a bit surprised. Actually you may be infuriated !

If you want to continue being ripped off then continue doing business
the way you are.
If however you want the finest product, award winning customer service
and professional care that you receive from a select group of REAL
FLORISTS throughout this country and the world, you don't have to look
very far.

Our shop , on any given day, can and do, get your orders handled by
REAL FLORISTS. Affiliation with the wire services does not have
anything to do with what occurred this Valentine's Day. Many of us got
totally screwed as well.
BUT NO-ONE WANTS THE CONSUMERS TO KNOW THE TRUTH !
IT"S SO MUCH EASIER TO BLAME THE LOCAL FLORISTS !
 
talk

Maybe everyone should wirte to Mr Mike and let them know their displeasure with FTD and the bad light FTD is placing florists in. Also, maybe everyone should look for some compensation for sales lost. The fees you pay year- round are meant to support a system that will work at the peak times.

If everyone accepts this level of service from FTD, then look out in the future.
 
I just got this email a few minutes ago from FTD, so I'm sure many of you received it also. I had to laugh outloud. Do you really think the want us to send them our FTD stories and photos????

Send Us Your Valentine's Day
Stories and Pictures!

Submit your pictures and stories about Valentine's Day and be featured in the upcoming FTD Newsletter.

Reponses by Monday, March 5 will be considered for the April newsletter. Those sent after March 5 are welcome, too, but will be considered for future newsletters.

Tell Us About Your Valentine's Day!

* Tell us about your Valentine's Day dos and don'ts
* Did you create a buzz around town with a successful marketing plan?
* Did you receive any unusual order requests that you fulfilled?

Send your feedback, pictures or newsletter stories to the editor of the FTD Newsletter at [email protected] or FTD Newsletter, 3113 Woodcreek Drive, Downers Grove, IL 60515.

We look forward to hearing from you!
 
Maybe everyone should wirte to Mr Mike and let them know their displeasure with FTD and the bad light FTD is placing florists in. Also, maybe everyone should look for some compensation for sales lost. The fees you pay year- round are meant to support a system that will work at the peak times.

If everyone accepts this level of service from FTD, then look out in the future

Compensation..............definately !
Letter Writing .............definately !
Everyone that has a vested interest inthis business, whether WS member or not should be sharpening their pencils. This affects us all in the long run.


Displeasure................................. Beyond words as of today !

Phones are still silent and not getting anywhere fast with the WS !
The 22nd is my personal deadline. Should be interesting !
 
The graphic Cathy posted says 72% negative, well just now it's up to 82%

And judging by the hundreds of blog posts all over the place, there are some really REALLY PO'd folks out there.
 
I admit to being glad that their orders went sideways too...

But it kills the tin foil hat conspiracy theory
 
All I can say is wow. I am so glad that we distance ourself long before this happened. I have recieved many phone calls from customers asking if we recieved orders from FTD looking for answers as to what happened. This is going to have an effect on the whole industry and it will be up to us florist to figure out how to put the faith back into it.

I am truly sorry that orders that where expected never arrived to many of you. I will say it again that there is a better way to do business and it is not with a wire service. I hope the decisions you make right now have a postive effect on your business and I hope that it does not include doing business with any of the wire service.

Get the camera out and start taking pictures and by Mothers Day you will have a website with 100% of your own products. The joy that comes from creating and MARKETING your own products is very rewarding. The consumer is looking for this and the first ones that do it will be the ones that survive and continue to prosper. Your own images on your business card website yellow pages what ever it is that you do will stand out compared to the cookie cutter products. This includes every piece of paper that shows a teleflora logo FTD bloomnet what ever it is. It no longer needs to be there. Create your own Brand and market it the same way.

Good luck to all and speaking from experience in just two years I am really seeing the benefits of this practice.
 
I want a Wang inspired arrangement. :eek:

couldn't resist.

tracy

only in the heart of NY would so many men turn down a pretty girl. Cute piece.
 
And so it continues...

Heres another one from just yesterday... Say Cheese

I'm tired of responding to these folks...someone else want to take a stab at it.
 
Not really feeling the love with this guy.
Something just doesn't feel right to me.
Thought about trying my luck with a comment and information but
a little voice in my head said not to bother.
Hmmmmmmmm
 
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