Having Fun with Just Flowers.

[Joe Mioux]

well................ sort of.

yesterday rec'd a Merc order $64.99 Sunflower bouquet from JF. Carlyle zip code but a Keyesport addy. which means 28 mile round trip and 45 mins of labor.

I check their site, sunflower arr't lists for $69.99. I send INQ, for a product adjustment. Tell them 6 sunflowers not 10 or 12 or whatever was in arrangement. Also note to them that order is skimmed.

they CAN.

Today, phone call #1, ask if I could do it. I explain 6 sunflowers, and $15 delivery fee. Also tell them that the $15 fee means only 73 pct in my pocket. Also bring up the skim issue.

JF person asks can you deliver it for $70. I say nope. she says they will find another shop.

Phone call #2, some guy on the phone, I say I can do it for $65 but will fill only to my value, minus delivery.

But I told him I need documentation. so they resend the order, not to my specifications about substitution but I look at it and say ok....

oops.... order is for today and I don't have sunflowers.... so I send an INQ message asking for a mixed flower vase substitution.

they send a CAN message.

too bad the lady (mom, son sent the flowers) didn't get her birthday flowers today.

joe

 

[Rhonda]

Thats an almost once a week scenario here!

 

[Joe Mioux]

Thats an almost once a week scenario here!

I do have some leverage because of the 62231 zip code covering a really large area. Keyesport is also way out there. so.......

No other flower shop will or can cover it and still earn a profit given most shop's conventional wholesale flower costs. .

so, yesterday and today I and JF had a few options.

1, i could fill the order to value and lose money. Advantage JF

2, I could fill the order to value minus the delivery, which should really $20 for a WS order (73 pct... means about $15.). Advantage Jf. BIG disadvantage to me as I would be the business branded as providing the inferior product.

OR

3, cancel, accept, INQ, ASK for more $, have order CAN, phone calls, phone calls, INQ about substition and have the order CAN.

who looks bad in option 3? JF not me.

joe

3.

 

[Joe Mioux]

BTW:

Since the WS and OG's have changed the rules re: filling to full value, I think I have finally evolved my position on OG orders.

I will fill to my value minus the GD skims, and deceptive marketing.

like Bill Maher says. NEW RULES.....

Incoming OG orders will be filled at 70 pct of value and OG approval. I don't need them, but they need me! The WS changed the rules which in my mind means I don't have to abide by the old rules. As long as I get documentation to SUB and order I will. It is hard enough to fill those photo shopped orders anyway, so why bother. Fill OG orders at 70 pct.... fill all retail flower shop orders at full value.

joe

 

[ourfathershou25]

Ole Saybrook is the order gather that drives us crazy. They send an order for Saturday delivery after we close, and later on Saturday they want a name and signature for delivery. We contact them on Monday and send a comment to them, they never respond until 8:00 pm, we rejected the order at 12:00 on Monday, and they send us a price change asking for us to take the order for more money after we close on Monday.

 

[Joe Mioux]

I started this thread as a possible way to make the customer view JF, OS, FU etc in a bad light.

If they want a bunch of florists to play their game, then they need to ante up the extra money for order fullfillment.

joe

 

[Rhonda]

always my answer to them in the past. Could never get them to pony up due to the other shops here but for some reason, they're having a hard time getting orders filled here now. They give me a design # or name, I look it up, ask how much more I can get to fill the order they show at more $$ + my delivery. They say...we'll find another shop but call back at least three times more in the day.
Oh yeah, and over Mother's Day.....Weasley called at night...later than 7, 8 and even 9 p.m. Never called during the day!

 

[Joe Mioux]

and Rhonda you just stumbled upon part of the reason I created this thread.

with retail profit margins shrinking, JF and the others are having a harder time finding shops willing to accept these orders.

I don't see any reason to honor the "old rules" re: filling to value without 100 pct compensation for delivery.

joe

 

[Sher]

My response to one today

Came in as a intercat ftd350 for 42.40 going to an address that I service but with a 14.95 del charge
Ask: please tell me what this item is..va, candy, wrapped flowers, ballon ??
Ans: automatic from them blah blah will contact customer ( hey stupid, you took the order and you have to ask the customer what it is?)
Ask again...could you tell us what it is that you want ( also did a google search..turns out it is a basket listed for $ 77.00 . At this ask I did a price change for 69.00
Ans; It is a basket (with descriptions). Please fill to price originally sent
Rej..with the following
You sent us an order for less than what is on your website. Please share with us your reason to think that we would be willing to deliver something undevalued and underpriced from what shows on your own site.
Did not hear back but they will continue to be challenged as long as they send stuff like this...

 

[CHR]

Having my head nearly taken off in another thread because some up in here think we should be the most concerned about the duped purchasers not getting their flowers delivered than for our own skins, all I can say is thank you for this thread.

I was beginning to think I was at a FlowerChat in a parallel universe. :vader

 

[bloomz]

Having been innacurately accused of supporting all kinds of deception lies and baloney in another thread - do I dare ask the question - who do you think they will blame for the non-delivery Joe???

But I will still state my take on it, cuz that's the way I roll - I would never fill to 70% value because I know fully well whose name is on the order and who they will blame - not to mention I also know if they choose to adjust the value when and if they get a complaint they have full power to do so.

Simple self preservation.

In my particular situation I would rather see that order go unfilled than put my name on their skim, but especially.....

Does anyone really want a double skimmed order sitting in someone's house with their name on it??? Is that being advocated here? Is that what the high fiving is saying?

I think condoning double skimming may qualify as parallel universe material.:boggles:

Let's screw the consumers to get back at the order gatherers.:drunk: Who needs those dumbass consumers anyway?

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

your spelling is atrocious....it's The TWILA Zone......
Joe...I'm backing up JB on this one...ain't NO WAY, no how, I'm putting MY shop name on ANY order that's skimmed, and under NO circumstance, am I gonna purposely UNDERFILL anyone's order, just to get back at them, for whatever reason...forward the order, or just reject it!!
We too service a LARGE area otherwise unserviced, and are happy to do so, and experience teaches us that when a customer REALLY wants an order filled, they'll eventually call YOU, instead of the OG!!
Substantial under fill is far more damaging.......

 

[CHR]

To be clear....

Joe - curtailing on the receiving end is not the answer.

Being painfully aware of what's going on in this industry is an answer in its own way.

I honestly don't believe you'd ever short a recipient, but the anger about being put in the middle and played the fool is palpable. It evokes that memorable moment from 'Network' when the guy said he was mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore.

How much wasted time in the foolishness of ASKS ANS PRC CANS and BFDs? Believe me, if you had gotten the $ and filled the order, a price adjustment (downward) was probably headed your way anyway. And a complaint, too. No amount of promises of OKs to 'fill to value' or 'sub OKs' matter. You know the buyers never OK such deals - so you, the delivering florist, will be hit with the ultimate blame.

You are truly right in that the 'rules' are only being upheld (and enforced) on the filling side. The selling side has a 'by-any-means-necessary' green light.

Just refuse and remove yourself from the sty. Let the well-deserved mud stick to others.

 

[Joe Mioux]

JB and Mikey,

You have to understand this order can only be filled by me. JF tried to find other shops to fill and they failed so they came back to me. I am geographically unique to the recipient's area.

Since I did not fill the order because they CAN the order ..... twice....., the customer doesn't know who the I am.

JF got the black eye,

I did not fill the order therefore I didn't skim anything.

Additional revenue and profit can be made on incomings, however, in this case, making one single delivery with $0 allocated to delivery, on an already skimmed order, makes this order a money loser.

Ask yourself, what does it cost you to send a driver out for one WS order on a 28 mile - 45 minute round trip?

Labor alone is over $10, mileage? $14 (say at .50 cents per mile, which I think is IRS numbers).

And yes this is one time and a good example of when delivery labor should be factored in as part of the VC, because tying up an employee for 45 minutes directly goes to the cost of this sale. Other times when a delivery person is making multiple deliveries, such as to a funeral home then no, delivery labor can go to FC. It seems more like a delivery service cost. Again if I would have multiple orders going out that way every day, then delivery costs could be averaged out of the additional revenue, but with only one order, no.

joe

 

[Erlene]

Since I did not fill the order because they CAN the order ..... twice....., the customer doesn't know who the I am.

JF got the black eye,

Something to consider is if you're the only one in the area Joe, they may very well know it was you that would likely have delivered the order. Or Just Flowers could potentially have told them.

 

[BOSS]

Ya know what just hit me... if we all stopped filling incoming junk orders, we would not have anything to argue about and we'd actually have to work on building up our own businesses, and marketing nationally as a group...

Does not sound like much fun... ya'll keep filling that junk so we have wire services around forever to piss, moan, argue and debate about...

Carry on...........................................................................:thumbsup

 

[ivygreen]

Interesting point Earlene. I noticed lately, and especially over MD that they are giving out the delivering florist's info to the customer's. I have had several calls about what time will my order be delivered, and one about a substitution issue, directly from the buying customer, not the W/S, before the left the shop. Yet another reason to be very selective in what you take.

 

[Joe Mioux]

Something to consider is if you're the only one in the area Joe, they may very well know it was you that would likely have delivered the order. Or Just Flowers could potentially have told them.

There are other flower shops, but I happen to be the one who gets jf orders. 800 orders go to a shop that is must travel, with some orders 56 miles round trip. Unfortunately, I think that shop sends some of their 800 orders to me via FTD.

Also, you make the assumption that JF blamed the problem on me....

remember two things, if the customer was thinking they would have googled my business and ordered directly. So I am not giving the customer much credit for forethought.

Secondly the reason for the CAN yesterday was because I didn't have the product. That is a legitimate reason for JF to CAN.

In addition, [U]they, not me, were then obligated by their contract[/U] with the customer to get the order filled.

 

[Joe Mioux]

Interesting point Earlene. I noticed lately, and especially over MD that they are giving out the delivering florist's info to the customer's. I have had several calls about what time will my order be delivered, and one about a substitution issue, directly from the buying customer, not the W/S, before the left the shop. Yet another reason to be very selective in what you take.

I think that is great. Let the OG customer contact the filling florist!!! If that happens to me, I will do everything I can to convert them from an OG customer to a Mioux customer.

joe

 

[Luc]

I did this, this past mother's Day.
Order comes in from HQ. Lower than my SRP, so instead of asking for more, because they would only reject anyway, I rejected the order.

THe order came back to us the following thurs. Under the delivery date it was thursday. But under instruction it said deliver mon or tues.

So I called, ask them if it was a Mother's Day order? Which I knew it was from the card, message was in french. They play around that question everytime I ask that question. They kept putting me on hold and eventually they said the order was cancelled by the sender.

I knew the lady that was suppose to receive it and called her. I ask to give me the phone number of her daughter.

Called her and explain what happen to her order.

She believe it was a Flower by Sears site she went on. But was a teleflora site.US money.

She place order.
We get order and refuse, under minimum
They (HQ) sent order to the other florist in town
Order was not filled, ran out of flowers store close Mon and Tues.
Wed, order cancel by other florist
Try us again, in the mean time the sender had cancelled order with them.
I guess they wanted the order filled so they did not have to refund money. They could have told them order was filled even if it was late.
We refuse order.
They send cancelation!
I talk to daughter and now she has me bookmarked!
Talked to mother, sent her a arr as good customer service.
Yesterday, I receive a nice note for everything I did.

Gain 1 more customer.

THe other thing they do not understand is the delivery fee. THey think everyone delivers for $7.00. Receive 2 orders way out of my delivery area and refuse them both because not enough money to deliver. They tried and tried to get those ordes filled it is un believable.

Luc