FTD Top 100 Trip

[bloomz]

No, not efficiently or conveniently, and, add to, both in measureable and not so measureable ways mentioned in above post.

But this is a sidetrack - let's get back to bashing top members.

I think they're a bunch of scumbags.

 

[RWK]

Well, by what criteria does FTD measure and use to select the top 100?

If it is the answer I think it is......then the top 100 must be with few exceptions all OG's?

 

[Eric S]

There's no point in bashing anymore. I love what I do you love what you do and that my friend is all that matters.

Stop picking the scabs on your nose dammit!!

 

[bloomz]

If it is the answer I think it is......then the top 100 must be with few exceptions all OG's?

Isn't everyone an OG?

They got a phone they gather orders. :icon15

 

[RC in Dayton and Cincinnati]

Anatomy of the FTD top 100.

Anatomy of the FTD top 100.



It takes 6,000 outgoing wire orders to make the FTD top 100, and if typical, one in ten orders for a florist is an outgoing wire order, so it takes a $4 million + a year florist to make the top 100.

My guess is there are no more than 25-30 florists with traditional flower sales of over $4 million. One would have to conclude that the majority who attend the FTD top 100, or the TF top 50 for that matter, gather orders in some fashion.

So let’s take a look at the anatomy of the FTD Top 100.

This group comprises of a wide range of companies with varying business models, from Price Shoppers who is a grocery store chain, to Gift Tree who is an ordergatherer and direct shipper, to florists such as Pugh’s (1st in Flowers), Inbloom and Simon Says Roses who have small flower shops but spend a considerable amount of energy ordergathering, to florists such as Viviano, Field of Flowers, McShans and Oberer’s who are larger long standing florists. Even large florists such as Phillip’s in Chicago have 800florals gathering orders for them.

As to how hard these people work, I don’t know, but let me tell you about my day today, which is not untypical.

Today is my day off, but at noon I get a call that there are still 15 casket sprays needing to be made for Sunday AM, and the designer needs help getting them done. As I drive into work I get another call. A longtime customer’s daughter is getting married and they are in the shop insisting on talking only to me. I arrive at the shop, talk to the wedding party, showing a few samples and set them up an appointment for Thursday. My sister and I are now helping with casket sprays.
At 4:30PM a family comes in and orders a letter “D” made out of flowers and a Harley Davidson Motorcycle made out of flowers, along with a heart on easel and a spray on easel, needing to be delivered by 8AM on Sunday. I switch over and start making the Harley Davidson. I get finished and cleaned up right at closing time, 7PM.

Tomorrow is also my day off, but I will check in to make sure all is going well, as we will have close to $15,000 worth of funeral work going out for Sunday morning across Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.

And Monday it's back to work. We have 2,000 Easter lilies that must to be sold by the end of the week.

A top 25 FTD member,
RC

 

[RC in Dayton and Cincinnati]

My manager, Craig, is still on vacation, but I talked to him yesterday.

I asked him if he had a good time and learned anything new on the FTD trip. He said he had a wonderful time and learned nothing.

I said good for him!

RC

 

[Joe Mioux]

We have 2,000 Easter lilies that must to be sold by the end of the week.

RC

Where do you get your Easter Lilies? How is the quality of them this year?

 

[Carol Bice]

Well, by what criteria does FTD measure and use to select the top 100?

If it is the answer I think it is......then the top 100 must be with few exceptions all OG's?

Several years ago, our shop (Bice's Florist), was the largest sending florist in the country for that year. And, we have never been an order gatherer per your definition. When we attended the Top 100 meetings, the majority of people were owners of shops similar to ours and not order gatherers.

This thread is making me crazy.
Carol Bice

 

[CHR]

Amen! Carol.

It's very easy to use a broad brush, but the story of how each florist landed into Top 100 is very unique.

Some are just great local florist business folks whose sending is an out-growth of their size, some are dOGs of the worst stripe, and some are in-between.

I have tremendous respect for some of the Top 100's - Real group #1, and tremendous contempt for others.

It's just too bad FTD doesn't do more to help group #1, and cut off rebates/assistance to the dOGs and the wanna-be's.

 

[RC in Dayton and Cincinnati]

Several years ago, our shop (Bice's Florist), was the largest sending florist in the country for that year. And, we have never been an order gatherer per your definition. When we attended the Top 100 meetings, the majority of people were owners of shops similar to ours and not order gatherers.

This thread is making me crazy.
Carol Bice

Carol,

With all due respect, what year are you talking about? The last several years the #1 spot must have gone to someone like Flowers Sent Today with well in excess of 100,000?? orders.

My bet is for at least ten years the #1 sender has been an ordergatherer. Before that Bachman's would probably have been #1.

All anyone has to do is pick up the yellow pages, look at online yellow pages, look at Google and Yahoo pay-per-clicks, look at the search results for flower related terms and there you will find many of the top senders. Granted many have brick and mortar shops as well, but the majority of top senders are actively and aggressively collecting orders outside their local markets.

Whether right or wrong or where the lines are drawn is up for debate, but I think you're glossing over the truth suggesting most top senders are not ordergathering to some extent.

RC

 

[lori042499]

Rick - I want to be there for all my customers flower giving needs, simply, whether their loved one is across the street or the country.

Sending them elsewhere would be very self defeating.

Cuz there's a very good chance they may just not come back.[/quote]


There is one florist in my town that is considered the "best florist". he has won awards, he is a great designer and has a great shop, no doubts in my mind I would shop there myself. I have scooped 4 of his customers recently and he handed them right over to me...because he doesn't wire flowers. These people wanted to pay cash didn't want to use credit. He sent them to me and liked that I was full service. They also happened to like my shop and my friendly personality. They have been back several times now to buy local stuff.


That is what WS does for my bottom line....being the more servicing "better" florist...

 

[lori042499]

Isn't everyone an OG?

They got a phone they gather orders. :icon15

Not very sure anyone with a wire service would refuse and order from anywhere to anywhere, if so it would be self defeating move unless it was one of those scams...I have taken orders from my friends all over the country going all over the country, because before I bought the shop they used 800-flowers. I told them I would handle their orders better, so far no complaints..

 

[Carol Bice]

Toop 100

R. C., you are right about us not being the very top sender that year. I went back and checked. The year was 1992 and it concerning Mother's Day orders. I misquoted the information I thought I knew. But, we were #24 overall that year. The point is that all volume florist are not orgathers.
Carol Bice

 

[RC in Dayton and Cincinnati]

Carol,

I guess we're pretty much in agreement then.

By the way, I'm not taking a stance against ordergathering, however I think the flower industry is failing to provide what is needed for consumer confidence, and ordergathering plays a big role in our industry's failures.


RC

 

[bloomz]

Rick - I want to be there for all my customers flower giving needs, simply, whether their loved one is across the street or the country.

Sending them elsewhere would be very self defeating.

Cuz there's a very good chance they may just not come back.

There is one florist in my town that is considered the "best florist". he has won awards, he is a great designer and has a great shop, no doubts in my mind I would shop there myself. I have scooped 4 of his customers recently and he handed them right over to me...because he doesn't wire flowers. These people wanted to pay cash didn't want to use credit. He sent them to me and liked that I was full service. They also happened to like my shop and my friendly personality. They have been back several times now to buy local stuff.


That is what WS does for my bottom line....being the more servicing "better" florist...

EXCELLENT case in point and my premise exactly.

That's what I feel the "we don't wire flowers" florists do, incluing the ones wh give out florists phone numbers (sorry Eric)

If you let (or force?) them to go to 800TFTD.com - there's a very good chance you will lose them forever - they email them repeatedly with discount offers we can't or don't match. I get email from FTD roughly 5 times a WEEK! Teleflora's all have stuff like 15% off.

With that happening, why would you go back to your local florist? Cuz he is a "good guy" who helped you "do it yourself" when you went to him for help and $ervice?

I don't think so.

You need to be all things to your customers.

Thank you

 

[BOSS]

PS Boss, Ok color me dumb but I am not even sure who Bear Stearns is - are they a baseball team?
:headbang:

Not to worry there "little buddy'....Bear Stearns is just a big bad bank, that almost collapsed Thursday, and was propped up by another little bank, J.P. Morgan...

Heck...if this stuff keeps going as it is, the Top 100 trip won;t matter anymore...cuz it and FTD for that matter won't even exist...

 

[RWK]

I know BOSS, I am afraid that is one of the reasons keeping a qualified AIFD designer from finding any work.......cause retail is down to such a degree that nobody is hiring.

 

[Bigted]

Not to worry there "little buddy'....Bear Stearns is just a big bad bank, that almost collapsed Thursday, and was propped up by another little bank, J.P. Morgan...

Heck...if this stuff keeps going as it is, the Top 100 trip won;t matter anymore...cuz it and FTD for that matter won't even exist...

Things aren't that bad. We clearly are in a recession, and it will probably last at least until the end of the year, but this too shall pass. It's a collateral issue. People borrowed to buy houses that weren't really worth the money. Then, all the investment companies sell and re-sell the mortgages, with each step taking a piece of the pie (sounds like our industry). When the final guy needs to take back the collateral, there isn't much there. A lot of people (some innocent some not) will be hurt in this correction--but overall our economy is still strong.

 

[BOSS]

Things aren't that bad. ...... A lot of people (some innocent some not) will be hurt in this correction--but overall our economy is still strong.

Maybe not, if you don't live in Michigan...

But anyway, Bear Stearns is as of today, no longer, J.P. Morgan bought them out for $250MM (I think I heard)...a company that at the beginning of last week was worth billions...

Collateral...Hmmmm... I hope I can dodge the "collateral damage"...when the real doo doo hits the fan...

 

[stormy]

Your Right Boss

Maybe not, if you don't live in Michigan...

But anyway, Bear Stearns is as of today, no longer, J.P. Morgan bought them out for $250MM (I think I heard)...a company that at the beginning of last week was worth billions...

Collateral...Hmmmm... I hope I can dodge the "collateral damage"...when the real doo doo hits the fan...

Bear STearns traded for over 150 dollars last year and just last week traded at 30 dollars, and was bought for only $2 a share. we will see more of this in the financial lenders section.

on the Michigan side, i read online that Detroit was rated the worst city in the USA to have a business. they called it the "saddest city". i have heard horror stories about some of the biggest and best florist in that state. gas right now is trading down 4.65 per barrel. thats some good news, lets hope it last for more than a day.....