Help handling a complaint

[Lizi]

I have a complaint on wedding flowers, the bride waited almost one month to email me about this. The complaint is not on the quality, but the color and size. I would like some advise as to how to respond to this. I had posted pictures of the wedding in one of the threads earlier. Anyway. I am just dumbfounded by this. I am not really sure what she wants or if she wants anything. This is her complaint.

The wedding and reception went well, unfortunately the flowers were not what____ and _____ felt we paid for. This was one of the largest pieces of our budget so we had high expectations and unfortunately they were not met. The flower color was cream, not white. This definitely stands out in our photos. The flowers themselves were nice but they were the wrong color. The pink was bubble gum pink and I wanted something paler. This was completely not what I selected. My bouquet was smaller than what we discussed. The size wasn't as much as an issue and the color. As a positive, the wrap and charms looked great and this did help as far as photos go.

The bridesmaids bouquets were also a lot smaller that we discussed. It was my understanding that their flowers were to be the size that mine turned out to be and mine would have been a little larger than theirs.

The week before the wedding you told me that you would email me pictures of the flowers, ribbon and vases for my approval and to get a sneak preview. I never received any pictures, if I had I would have addressed the issue then.

I am disappointed because we had the most meeting of any of our vendors and I thought we were on the same page.

Signed____________


Ok, for starters I used escimo roses, I alway use escimo for bridal work. The bride had looked at over 30 pictures of bouquets with the escimo rose in it, and she had no problem with the color. She saw the bouquet against white and ivory dresses. I used light Orlando for the pink, the bride was in the shop at Mothers Day and saw the light Orlando and said, this pink will work great.

Second, there was a 45.00 price difference in the maids bouquets and her bouquet. So I am not seeing where she thought that hers would be a little larger than theirs.

When we arrived at the venue, the bride met me in the hallway, I had one of the altar arrangements in my hands and she commented, oh how gorgeous. Then I didn't see her again, she was getting dressed and they would not let anyone in the room. The Grooms parents kept commenting on how beautiful everything was.

I know know that we all perceive color and size differently, and I just need some advise on this. I haven't had a complaint on a wedding in a really long time.

 

[Flowerchatter03]

Quick question for you...did you have the bride come into your shop the day before and review her wedding flowers? Thanks!

 

[master J]

Quick question for you...did you have the bride come into your shop the day before and review her wedding flowers? Thanks!

IMO, I would never let the bride come in the day before to see flowers, I think thats a recipe for disaster! I mean really, what if she doesnt like the flowers you show her the day before/ Are you going to miraculously re-order last minute? There's really no solution for fixing a problem like that last minute.

As for how to handle the complaint at this point.....hmmmmm
Why did she wait a month to say something? Maybe she just got pictures, & she wasn't happy with how the colors & sizes turned out in photos?

Unfortunately there really isn't anything you can do at this point
Maybe offer her some store credit for future orders along with an apology. I would not refund her anything at this point though....

I'm sorry you got a complaint, it happens now and then. Don't let it get to you.

As for roses and colors, hey, I remember a thread on here about how the color from a picture is never the same as the actual rose. Also escimo roses look different every week, depending on farm, some escimos are more white, others are very ivory looking....we try to communicate with brides that we can never guarantee the exact shade all the time, it can vary from times of year and farms used. I have been fortunate enough to not have overly picky brides when it comes to exact color shade.

The only part of the complaint I would be concerned with is the size of the bouquets. Do you have pictures you can show us?

Good luck and don't let it bother you too much

 

[Spookyflowers]

A month later I don't think so I'm betting she got her pictures back and is not happy with them. As for the most expensive part of her wedding I doubt that very much unless she didn't have food at her wedding. She's trying to lay a guilt trip on you.
It sounds like she picked out her color of flowers when she was in your shop a few times so she knew what she was getting.
I'm lucky that I don't have over picky brides I also tell them up front the colors may vary and we may not be able to get everything they want so always have a second choice.

 

[Flowerchatter03]

Adam, I understand your position, however, it has always been our policy that the bride must stop by and see her flowers the day before the wedding. In all my years in the flower business, I only had 2 that requested adjustments. One was a silk wedding and she decided she wanted her bouquet bigger. The other decided on no greenery. Both an easy fix.

I know that there are lots of opinions about this subject, however, this is what has always worked for me. My brides cannot come back to me after their wedding and say things weren't right. Personally, I can't imagine waiting til the day of, drop it off and hope for the best.

How do you handle her NOT seeing her flowers until the day and she doesn't like it then? How would you fix the situation? At least by brides seeing it a day in advance, I have time to correct anything that might be wrong.

Like I said, there are many opinions about the subject and everyone has to do whatever they need to do to run their business the way they see fit.

My point was that if she saw her flowers and signed off on them, then to bad. She looked, she approved. If not, you run the risk of just this situation happening. There is no winner here. Even if the bride in question gets any type of adjustment, she is still going to tell people that her flowers weren't right.

 

[KABERS]

I personally like the bride coming in the day before to see everything. I may not be able to order new but I can make size changes or hit with paint if I absolutely have to. Weddings really stress me out and waiting till arrival at the church makes me want a drink. I had a bride that basically wanted a totally weedy bouquet. She liked it till the bridesmaid said "you're carrying that?" It all went to hell after that and there was nothing I could do.
I wouldn't give a refund either, I'm sorry she was disappointed and fell I really tried to exceed her wishes.

 

[Lizi]

No, I did not have the bride in to look at the flowers the day before. I have only had maybe 5 or 6 brides in 15 years ask to see the flowers before the wedding. Most don't have time to come by with everything else they have going on. I do explain to brides that flower do vary due to growing conditions, and time of year. This is also in our contract. Here are two photos from the photographer. The Brides bouquet had 23 roses, the maids 10. So I don't see how she felt that the bouquet with 23 roses would be just a little larger than the ones with 10.



I had been to her FB page and seen the compliments by some of the quest that attended, she blocked me from her FB page.

 

[Palms]

Legally, if she signed a contract which included an exclusion clause about the natural colour, she basically does not have a leg to stand on.. (well over here.).

I would say that you were sorry "that she was not happy" with her flowers and to thank her for the feedback. I would perhaps ask her what she would like you to do. To me it sounds like she wants some money back.

I would not give her any money back. I would not give her a store credit. She has agreed to the flowers and now has a hint of buyers remorse. Some brides need to realise that this is fresh produce we are dealing with and that we are not in control of a specific shade of a variety.

I do not let brides view their flowers. I think it could open it up to... could you just add, could you just do this and just do that... Answers - NO SOD OFF!! lol

I dont know if this helps but i always tell brides that the colour may be slightly different and that we can never get brilliant white. They compare them to a manmade colour and you are never in a million years going to match it.

Undersell, overachieve..

 

[Kristine]

tough one.

Looking at her pictures posted at the photographers web site, I would almost say buyers remorse. Those pictures have to be one of the top 3 costs for her, and no, you aren't 1 or 2.

 

[CHR]

Always include approximate sizes of the the bouquets in your contract. This way there's no 'communications issue' regarding size.

I pull out a small tape measure during the consultation and show the measurements on the bride in front of a mirror so she can 'see' proportions with respect to her own figure.

Hearing a complaint from a bride a month later, it does sound like buyer's remorse - or that someone made a remark and set her off.

 

[anytimeflowers]

On color, what shows in a photo and especially on line does not always agree what the eye sees. For my oldest daughter's wedding, I had some vases that included royal purple larkspur. They were purple for the wedding, her colors were purple. In some of the photographer's pix, they are clearly royal blue, I mean ROYAL BLUE.

I think everybody is right in thinking she just got her pix and those don't look right to her.

Too bad. Had she said something even a few days or a week after her wedding, I would have said some in-store credit might be okay just to appease her. A month? Uh uh. Nope.

23 roses is already pretty darn heavy. She expected ALL of the bouquets to be bigger. It's too bad the roses were not fully reflexed, the bouquets would have been bigger. Did you have the flower count written down? I always used to do that so that there were no mis-understandings.

 

[sophiejs]

I would not give her the money back. I agree, buyer's remorse...who knows what else is going on ('wrong') in her new marriage...

 

[daisy mae]

For the brides to experience the size during consultations I have some silk bouquets in various sizes for them hold and declare which size they want and I then put that in their contract.
Or cut out paper discs and label them with inches. Before I put out the silks I always compared bouquet sizes to saucer, salad plate and dinner plate. Most girls can relate to dishes.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

"thank you for your feedback, we appreciate all, positive, and less than, since you've gone out of your way, to NOT allow me to see the results, on your FB page, it appears that there is nothing I can do for you, and on a lighter note, you and your new husband look stunning together...ta-ta"......
Do NOT get into ANY kind of email debate (which can be copy & pasted) and do NOT offer ANY kind of "refund"...period!
There ARE 142 shades of white.......

 

[Victoria]

"The week before the wedding you told me that you would email me pictures of the flowers, ribbon and vases for my approval and to get a sneak preview. I never received any pictures, if I had I would have addressed the issue then."


This line in the letter jumped out at me.

V

 

[Lizi]

Victoria,
I do not know where she got this from, I had told her and I tell all of my brides, that the week of their wedding, their flowers, ribbon, and other things will be posted on my FB page and they can get a sneak preview. She was never told pictures would be emailed to her. She had the opportunity to look at the flowers and ribbon there on the FB page. She had already seen the vases as they were rental items are on display in the shop.

Our Brides and other prospective customers love to see the flowers when they come in and then later see the finished products. So, that is why they are posted on FB.

Daisy Mae,
I do have silk bouquets here in the shop, as I am working with a bride, I will show her different sizes and ask her to look at them in the mirror so she can get an idea of how different sizes will look. So I do try to give the bride every indication of size and color when they are here for their first meeting.

Everyone,
Thanks for the input and advise. I still welcome your comments and advise.

 

[Victoria]

Thanks for the explanation. It would seem there is a miscommunication with the bride.

I too would look for ways to smooth the waters without losing your integrity or money. I do like the idea of an inhouse credit (you determine the amount). The key is to keep your shop out of a bashing on line.

V

 

[RWK]

It is exactly because of situations like this that I have a signature page in my independent wedding/floral event forms. THe way I have my forms set up is that the bride signs off at the initial consultation that everything she wanted to discuss was covered. Then she does the same thing at the next two PLANNED followup consultations. Then I have the bride or her representative come in the day before and look at everything.....and sign off on it......and then I have the final signature when everything is delivered and set up.

If at any time after that I get a complaint. I can look up and see exactly when she signed off on it and gave her approval at that time.

After the New york wedding fiasco about the pink hydrangea and the lawyer/bride sueing for 40 plus thousand dollars.....I decided right then and there to augment my independent forms so that there is no risk of error.

 

[Lizi]

Ricky, do you have a specific form that you use?

 

[master J]

...even if a bride signs a contract or is told about the exact sizes, etc. She still can be disappointed with final result, and no matter how much you told her in advance, she is still disappointed. Yes, we can all do things to cover our own butts like contrats, emails, etc., but in the end, the bride was not happy. So it's all about damage control at this point, and hopefully she doesnt write bad reviews, etc....

Keep us posted on what happens.