I feel like screaming!

[FANCIES]

Everytime I look at either the TF or Bloom statement I feel like screaming! I just looked at my Dec statement from Bloom. It's always a shock! Manual process fee $4.50, Liscense fee $5, Incoming transmission fees $205, Communication network $94.99, Florology (magazine) $5.99, Quality fee $14.99, Low Sending Fee $109.99, Membership $269.99,Floral Selection Guide (3 payments) $66.66 & then there are a few more fees I didn't mention. That all comes to $777.11. What have I done to myself? And all for the privelege of filling their orders for them. I am but a fool! (((((((

 

[concord]

Why don't you quit TF? Sounds like you don't send much anyway.

 

[FANCIES]

I was going to quit TF but they came back with a better price for me so I thought I'd try it for a few more months. The #'s I stated above were from my 1800 Bloomnet Dec statement. You are right, I don't send very much so I do get hit with the low sending fee. I know instead of complaining I need to do something about it. Nothing like sitting on the fence.

 

[Victoria]

Fancie... it's like drugs. Don't continue to fall for the better deal. Just say no and get out.

V

 

[anytimeflowers]

Carol,

Go ahead and scream if it will help, I call it a cooler break.

Then, figure out how much each of those orders cost for delivery. This is real money, or is to me anyway because it is money that I had to put out because of the order, not flowers or labor that is "sitting around" waiting to be used.

I don't know of any other industry that has "incremental income" which is what the wire services tout. When it comes in increments of a whopping one or two dollars, you're better off sending your staff out to pick up pennies off the sidewalk.

 

[Flowermomma]

i was getting hit with low sending fees from FTD until i pointed out to them that i sent more that month then i got in so why i'm i paying a low sending fee?
they waved the fee.
I have since quit FTD and I quit Tele 2 yrs ago.
We will go back to Iris only for overseas and US orders and the store Credit card for in Canada orders

 

[BOSS]

Fancy... even if you filled 100 $50.00 orders, my guess is that you lost money on the deal, when you factor in the 30% COGs, $9.95 Delivery, Labor and the $7.71/order it cost you, ++ the other fees you did not mention each order comes to ZERO or more likely less than ZERO (meaning you paid them for the privilege of filling their junk) , and I doubt all orders averaged out to $50.00 each...

Why continue to put yourself through it, and put your business at risk... let the filler fool down the street fill the junk...

 

[Johan]

Everytime I look at either the TF or Bloom statement I feel like screaming! I just looked at my Dec statement from Bloom. It's always a shock! Manual process fee $4.50, Liscense fee $5, Incoming transmission fees $205, Communication network $94.99, Florology (magazine) $5.99, Quality fee $14.99, Low Sending Fee $109.99, Membership $269.99,Floral Selection Guide (3 payments) $66.66 & then there are a few more fees I didn't mention. That all comes to $777.11. What have I done to myself? And all for the privelege of filling their orders for them. I am but a fool! (((((((

How on earth do you make any money if you don't send or fill that many orders. I thought our charges in the UK were bad but this is daylight robbery. I quit full membership because of high charges and my charges were about a fifth of what you pay. I hardly made any profit from my orders for them. I know your flowers don't cost as much as our but even still it must be pretty impossible for a smaller business.

Leave you will be less stressed and probably will improve your net profit on your sales as you will not be subsidising these orders.

 

[mumsandmore]

Just get up the nerve and quit. Your florist friends on the other end of the great state of SD did. You will never look back.

 

[FANCIES]

Thanks for the encouragement! My business has changed so much over the years. I used to buy out of Miami several times a week & bring the product in using the airlines. Now I order some off of Flower Buyer and fill the rest in with the local wholesalers that service this area. It is hard to keep readjusting yourself to the way you buy based on what you think you will get in orders. I am struggling with that. Mark I know you're right and so are the others. What I worry about is keeping the employees I have busy. I'm hoping someday I just quit. I came close last month so maybe this year will do it for me. I'm done screaming, like goes on...thanks for listening.

 

[lori042499]

Fancies,

The internet has made it so difficult to buy on spec, the very nature of all these recipes and pictures has made it so that most florists cannot keep every flower on hand and must fill in everyday with the stuff they already bought, skewing cogs especially if filling for many ogs, .coms and 800flowers...I found that when I quit 800, I went to the market less often, I have greater freedom to fill to value and make some subs with TF than I did with 800...with your membership fee being 269.99 you are filling over 100 orders a monbth if I remember correctly, but if you are buying your flowers at top dollarit looks as though you lost...if you got 4000.00 of orders(just a big giant guess) it cost you around 700 for delivery and at least 1100 for flowers....so you very well may have paid them for the priviledge to fill their crap...

 

[LOTAKIDS]

Fancie... a year and a half ago... I tried to keep busy to keep my employee with wire services. It wasn't going to work, we both knew that. So I had to let go of her. That was the hardest decision. The next decision was to let go of Bloomnet. Yes it is hard because you think.. next month will be better. What I have found out by doing almost everything myself (I have a son who deivers most days) is that I have more money from just filling direct calls. Yes I still have TF... that will be the next thing that will probably have to go. But for now.. My business seems heathlier.

 

[theRKF]

Similar to other stories on here, I realized earlier this year that I was making decisions based on keeping employees, not on what was best for the business. It was stressing me into poor health and no sleep.

So, I had to make the decision to fire a good friend (and brother from church), and while it was difficult he was very understanding and has gone on to start is own successful business. Meantime, we reorganized our staffing, cut to the bone, rehired, and now the company and the bottom line are healthier than ever.

Sometimes I have to remind myself: We went into business because we wanted to make the big decisions, right? Right.

 

[concord]

The last thing we can afford to do is keep employees just to fill unprofitable wire orders. It's the worst thing about being the boss, but sometimes reducing payroll by letting people go is the only way to survive. After all, if you close the doors, everyone is out a job. If you make the hard decisions that enable you to be profitable, you will stay open and save some jobs. Good luck, what ever you decide.

 

[WSFLORIST]

I was once in your shoes too. I cut FTD 3 years ago and held onto TF. When I realized my bottom line was suffering from the ever increasing TF fees, I made the final choice to rid myself of any further wire services. Since that time, I can tell you my bottom line has been healthier than ever. Even though I had to reduce staff hours and tighten the belt in a few areas, I am stronger than ever before. For me, that was a bit easier since we are family owned and operated and everyone understood the need for cutbacks.

Change is never easy, but for me, it was either change or close. Glad I embraced the change because I am here to stay.

 

[Flowersand]

I did almost the exact same volume and ended up in the red. When I read all the fees, I almost s---.
Yes, we are crazy and working at our expense.
Sue

 

[BobbiR]

We are in the same position--dropped Bloomnet a year ago before Mother's Day--Was the best Mother'ds Day in a long time--Now, on to getting rid of Teleflora--this Christmas I did not accept one TELEFLORA.COM order!
They expected me to do arrangements we both shared on our sites--for less than my web price
I could not do that to myself or my local customers and I told them as such!!
The industry has indeed changed (I started around 1978) we have been forced to change and adapt--in my opinion the OG's get what they deserve--pretty soon (I hope) they will have no more hands to feed them!

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

So, I'm gonna say it again...

why are we STILL having this "conversation"??.....
The wire services have been ripping off florist shops for a long time now, WHY are some of our smartest minds STILL playing in THEIR sandbox??
Fancies, those kinds of "fees" are NOT fees at all, they are terrorist taxes, based on YOUR vulnerability!!...Please, give it up already, THEY HAVE NO INTEREST in YOUR well being!!