I don't like to be told what I HAVE TO DO in MY SHOP!!!

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Luc

Well-Known Member
Nov 1, 2002
2,895
777
113
Elliot Lake
www.a1florists.com
State / Prov
Ontario
Gets a order this morning from TF HQ for the Teleflora celebration Bouquet. FIrst I don't carry it, second I did similar to what they gave me which is fine.
In the afternoon, I get another message from HQ, asking for delivery confirmation and time, the sending florist is requesting this info.
Curiosity got to me to which florist is sending this order, just in case it is one of my favorite do not fill florist, So I phone and request the info, they tell me it is from India, overseas. Ok then I tell them I don't have people sign for their delivery in this town. Well that was the begining of a back and forth verbal match between me and the other person at HQ. I simply said to her that the arr will be delivered between 5-6 pm. today. She tell me get a signature, sorry we don;t do that here. Why can't you get a piece of paper signed. I said we don't do that here. How can you confirm the delivery. I said by my good honor and honesty. Well the sending florist request a signature. How many time do I have to explain that we don't do this here. I know the customer, she is my customer and I trust her as much as she trust me.
End of discussion.
I feel strongly on this and can not understand the request signature program florist ask us to do. I have been in business for 8 years, and in the industry for many more and I never had no one complain they did not received a order if it was delivered.
I know there is good point to this issue, but what I don't like is what I HAVE TO DO IN MY SHOP. I will take full responsibility for everything that happen here, but don't pis* me off...
Luc :fdevil:
 
I ask for signatures........

Luc, for us it means that we can let our customer know that you have delivered and we do that by email. You would be surprised how many times a florist does not deliver and does not call and tell you there was a problem, or that the address needs tweaking.........sometimes they let it sit and it is a week later that your customer calls and is really po'd. So we ask for a time of delivery and a signature. Saves a lot of aggravation for all of us.
By the way, Joe says he is glad for the news but wants more info on your lovely!
Talk to ya later,
Sher.......
 
Luc

Here's some info on the likely seller of that arrangement - http://flora2000.com/shopping/ViewResults.asp?country=25&occassion=2 . 'Free shipping" in Canada. "No extra charges - no extra taxes" Of Course Not! They're in India so they don't have to pay all those darn Canadian taxes like you do.

These guys are the ultimate in 'outsourcing' because they're actually a call center in Bombay.

Here's some more info on them:
http://www.featurerelease.com/1074.htm - Press Release
http://www.refer-it.com/item.asp?screen=displayProfile&id=7620&cid=58&header=directory - Affiliate program.

Please note that I could be wrong about them being the source of your order, but I don't think so.

Looks like they're no longer an FTD member since their FTD header page shows TF product. http://www.flora2000.com/ftd-florist.asp .
 
We almost always get a signature

I've been in business for almost 30 years.. and lots of things have changed and we have changed with the times.. We are in a small town too.. but people now a days expect to sign for things.. and in the case of 3rd party delivery, like hospitals & colleges, schools business etc., the signature re enforces the responsiblity of the signee to get the flowers to the right person..
Far be it from me to tell someone how to run their business., but there is real value in getting signatures & del, times... when we use contract drivers this is how I know it really was delivered & not just dumped in a ditch (yes this really happened to one of my competitors years ago).
and with a signature I don't have to re deliver something if there is a claim of non delivery.. years ago that was standard practice with an apology from us for the problem (always wondered how many times it was a rip off).
So signatures are the way to go for us... exect at funeral homes.. and the only reason we don't do it there is that I don't want to annoy the Funeral Directors and there are rarely problems with deliveries there
 
No signatures here, just exact times.

We have never done the signature thing in 24 years and it has never come back to hurt us. We do however have a space on our route sheet for the exact time of delivery to be recorded and a place for notes like if is was left with a neighbor and which neighbor for instance.

Since we are a small family business and my older brother (14 yrs. older - ha ha)delivered for us for the last nine years as a sub-contractor I let him do it his way pretty much.

I will say that there are occasional deliveries where it would be completely unwise to NOT get a signature. My brother agreed, as he did not want the responsibility if a problem occurred. When jewelry was sent with the flowers, or on a few different occasions money was sent also and in large amounts. These are rare and unusual cases.

Of the few times over the years I have been asked about a delivery (always a wire service order :( ) they asked if I got a signature. I state our delivery man writes records the exact time of delivery and he is my brother. Happy to report I never had a problem with that answer.
 
No signatures here either. It's never been a problem. However, we do call before we deliver so maybe that's why it's worked.

V
 
Victoria said:
No signatures here either. It's never been a problem. However, we do call before we deliver so maybe that's why it's worked.

V
Click to expand...
Yes, we call before delivery also, forgot to mention that. The occasional, "oh, but I wanted it to be a surprise" person is easy to handle. You say that is no problem, it's $8.95 per delivery try until they are home. Is that ok? All of a sudden the surprise is not that big of a deal. Anyway, it's still a surprise!
 
Folks, per the WS rules, the onus of proof of delivery has always been on the filling florist. The rules even go so far as to say signature from a third party (the nurse, boss, Mom of, undertaker for the recipient) is considered insufficient.

Direct ship product is just the opposite. The onus is placed on the sender to know that the recipient will be where the product is shipped. Products must be release without signature (this is primarily due to rules of FedEx, UPS). A $10 fee for address correction after the order has been placed is standard.

We, as filling florists, have long absorbed the cost of mis-information on the part of senders/selling florists...incorrect and/or incomplete addresses, folks out of town, incorrect funeral service times, and the like. Think about how much time it costs just to verify hospital rooms and funeral service times. But...if we don't...we can still do all the work, filling the order 100% as specificied, and yet received NOT A DIME for it. THIS IS WRONG.

IMO, its time for a serious revision of these rules, especailly in light of the increase in OGs.

My suggestions:

- Require release of orders without signature unless a premium fee (say $5-10 above base) is paid.
- Require a 'cancellation fee' of 100% if the order is filled as specified but cancelled due to incomplete or incorrect information.
- Require a $10 'change of address' fee for orders which have to be redelivered due to incorrect and/or incomplete information.

Not perfect, but a start......
 
Rosiescenario said:
Folks, per the WS rules, the onus of proof of delivery has always been on the filling florist. The rules even go so far as to say signature from a third party (the nurse, boss, Mom of, undertaker for the recipient) is considered insufficient.

Direct ship product is just the opposite. The onus is placed on the sender to know that the recipient will be where the product is shipped. Products must be release without signature (this is primarily due to rules of FedEx, UPS). A $10 fee for address correction after the order has been placed is standard.

We, as filling florists, have long absorbed the cost of mis-information on the part of senders/selling florists...incorrect and/or incomplete addresses, folks out of town, incorrect funeral service times, and the like. Think about how much time it costs just to verify hospital rooms and funeral service times. But...if we don't...we can still do all the work, filling the order 100% as specificied, and yet received NOT A DIME for it. THIS IS WRONG.

IMO, its time for a serious revision of these rules, especailly in light of the increase in OGs.

My suggestions:

- Require release of orders without signature unless a premium fee (say $5-10 above base) is paid.
- Require a 'cancellation fee' of 100% if the order is filled as specified but cancelled due to incomplete or incorrect information.
- Require a $10 'change of address' fee for orders which have to be redelivered due to incorrect and/or incomplete information.

Not perfect, but a start......
Click to expand...
Yup I agree - we've had these policies on our website for almost a year. Incorrect address ... another $12.95 delivery fee. Cancel the order? 10% fee or $5, whichever is greater. Want a signature? Delivery fee just went up.

Ryan
 
We have every single delivery reciept since we opened the store! We have had to go back in the "archives" on at least 3 occasions 6-8 months! In this part of the country people expect to sign for things so it's not difficult to get a signature- but a pain to keep them so long.

I especially agree that we need a change of address fee, 10.00 seems about right. Pattys Idea of repeat delivery fee will be on our wall in the morning!

It is hard enough to keep good drivers and I especially appreciate them since it wasn't so long ago that I had to do that myself. I like to pay a decent wage and these to issues would go far to help me keep my driver. He is an elderly man who delivered for a Chineese restaurant - his motto- No address, no phone - no problem, he is a gem worth keeping!
 
You know From now on, if they request a delivery confirmation, they will get a price change for a additional $10.00 fee for that purpose only.
We will see how they re act to this now....
Luc
 
What an enlightening thread. We get signatures on all deliveries as I have stated every time this subject comes up. We have been doing it for 6 or 7 years now. I have no problem with you that do not, but I am shocked that your customers do not ask who signed for it more than they apparently do. What is it that makes it so hard to get a signature?

We do not get them at hospitals or funeral homes because we are not going to hold the little ol lady volunteers responsible and the funereal homes it is too hard to track someone down every time. As far as getting a receptionist or the actual recipient to sign it has never slowed down the drivers and it saves time when there is an accusation that we did not deliver.
 
K A Hall said:
What an enlightening thread. We get signatures on all deliveries as I have stated every time this subject comes up. We have been doing it for 6 or 7 years now. I have no problem with you that do not, but I am shocked that your customers do not ask who signed for it more than they apparently do. What is it that makes it so hard to get a signature?

We do not get them at hospitals or funeral homes because we are not going to hold the little ol lady volunteers responsible and the funereal homes it is too hard to track someone down every time. As far as getting a receptionist or the actual recipient to sign it has never slowed down the drivers and it saves time when there is an accusation that we did not deliver.
Click to expand...
Simple answer is that over 80% of our deliveries are sent with a third party service. Of those, only 10% are sent with a service that provides confirmation (ex: courier). The rest go with floral delivery services who collect from shops during the morning and gather at a depot around noon to distribute the parcels. Even if the collected signatures on our tags it would be 3 days before the signature got back to the store. They do often get signatures, but only on their log sheets.

Still - no problems here, even in the big city :)

Ryan
 
Infinite said:
Simple answer is that over 80% of our deliveries are sent with a third party service. Of those, only 10% are sent with a service that provides confirmation (ex: courier). The rest go with floral delivery services who collect from shops during the morning and gather at a depot around noon to distribute the parcels. Even if the collected signatures on our tags it would be 3 days before the signature got back to the store. They do often get signatures, but only on their log sheets.

Still - no problems here, even in the big city :)

Ryan
Click to expand...
So strange to me.. I would be even more antsy if a 3rd party delivered my flowers.. since I have less control of the process I would want more verification.. not sure I need a copy of the log pages with singatures but I surely want someone to be able to get a copy of that page if a signature is needed.. and don't your 3rd party drivers sign for the deliveries they pick up at the depot?? if not how do you know who has your orders and who is responsible if it is not delivered??
In all my travelling around the country every delivery co op or service I have seen has some method of accountability if only to process the payment process for these deliveries
I am sure I would be uncomfortable assuming there was no problem if I got no complaints... but then I am in the country with a smaller population and I need to keep every customer I have.. not alot of new people available to replace those that complain to friends and not tell me of a problem..
Different mores for different parts of the country I guess!
 
Smaler town

Maybe another reason is my smaller town atmosphere that I have. Maybe in our neck of the woods, we are more hosnest people than some big cities.
I know many people and I even track down some of my customers if they are not home. I alwasy call to make sure someone is home.
Also I think Lorie earlier post, has directed me to look at a web page from India. If that was the senders, they requested confirmation before they charge the customer. Never heard of this, and I probably would be spectical that a company would go to a that lenght to send flowers wait for confrimation and than charge the flowers...Sound like another mis leading site to me.
Luc
 
carol said:
So strange to me.. I would be even more antsy if a 3rd party delivered my flowers.. since I have less control of the process I would want more verification.. not sure I need a copy of the log pages with singatures but I surely want someone to be able to get a copy of that page if a signature is needed.. and don't your 3rd party drivers sign for the deliveries they pick up at the depot?? if not how do you know who has your orders and who is responsible if it is not delivered??
In all my travelling around the country every delivery co op or service I have seen has some method of accountability if only to process the payment process for these deliveries
I am sure I would be uncomfortable assuming there was no problem if I got no complaints... but then I am in the country with a smaller population and I need to keep every customer I have.. not alot of new people available to replace those that complain to friends and not tell me of a problem..
Different mores for different parts of the country I guess!
Click to expand...
Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. The delivery service will have INTERNAL records. They know what happens to each piece. The problem is that the business model is designed for ONE WAY traffic. Stuff goes from my shop to driver to depot to driver - same day. Going against the flow from driver to depot to driver to shop takes 3 days. The logistics of this "against the flow" method make getting signatures back at the shop unrealistic - however I can always find a delivery or where it was left with a call to the service. I just don't have the signature ON HAND to provide to a customer.

Ryan

PS - BTW, we have a very low attrition rate for customers. I doubt we're loosing many over the signature issue, since no one asks in the first place. We never have to say "I don't have a signature."
 
pretty interesting thread.....

I must admit...there ARE times, when I'd wished that we DID get a signature on a delivery, HOWEVER, we too, have experienced so few problems with our delivery network, that acquiring a verified delivery slip, signed by the recipient, as semi-redundant.
BUT, the more stories I hear, and the more I think about it, there IS NO VALID REASON not to get a signature.....ESPECIALLY if you hand the gift to the recipient......
I KNOW it takes extra time, and I KNOW that would be far more expediente, to have those handy hand held 'signable" hand scanners that few of us could afford to buy and use, BUT...you ALREADY have a "captive" recipient...a signature is no big deal, AND...you never know.....a "captive" recipient may be more likely to "tip" your driver....maybe.
I'M not sure why floral delivery drivers are not usually "tipped", but, thats another subject....
Mike
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
you ALREADY have a "captive" recipient...a signature is no big deal, AND...you never know.....a "captive" recipient may be more likely to "tip" your driver....maybe.
I'M not sure why floral delivery drivers are not usually "tipped", but, thats another subject....
Mike
Click to expand...
True...sigs for us are no big deal either...only requests I have had for them are from DaDot and I simply tell them no thanks...

As to the other subject..."tipping" the driver... mine is easy to "tip" over especially in the morning before he has had his caffine...

But seriously, I have found, that requesting a signature, and "baiting" the recipient with the clipboard, with a couple dollar bills cliped under the top increases tips by a large margin...
 
Our drivers are starting to be tipped a bit more often now, but one of the nice things about being in a small community .... they have often come back with a newly baked cookie because someone has been baking.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back