Interesting offer from Teleflora

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ivysue

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Feb 16, 2006
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Homer
www.lilyofthevillage.com
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MI
I quit Teleflora in March, after a long and drawn out "we'll give you three months free...another three months free..." I finally said no, and cut the ties. I did so after asking if they had some kind of small town florist rate that they could charge because we simply do not come out ahead even counting the commission on wires in and wires out. They said they had no such plan. Today I received a call from Teleflora offering a new "small town florist rate". The first three months are free, and after that we are charged one final and total amount of $99 a month, forever. According to the Rep, this includes membership, Dove, quality assurance fees, PLUS a box of free coded containers, a box of free roses (100) and free listing in the member directory. After my many questions, they assured there were no hidden surprises.
I asked them to send me something in writing, and they faxed the exact same above information. Has anyone else ever been offered this and were there any hidden costs or surprises?
 
Sounds like they need a shop in your area and are willing to deal.
Wonder if they did that with the three shops they have in my area?
Good luck, if you have it in writing for "ever".. use them!!
 
'bout bloody time a wire service concluded that it needs florists ivysue!!
Good job girl......IF they deviate, we'll help you sue their pants off!!
 
I'd be upset that they haven't been charging you $99 from the start. What's up with that? They Scr*w you over until you quit and then give you the real deal. Reminds me of a guy who beat his wife and says, , OK NOW I will change.. here are the roses, a better me, some free containers, etc...

Also ask yourself, is the profit > than the headache.

Gl! :)
 
When all else fails, please look at the math

I know. Who wants to deal with numbers, anyway??

Well before you start cheering for ivysue, here is some things to take into account. It is very difficult for small town florists to make anything these days with just one WS, let alone two. Listings show there are 2 florists in her town. Forget about the real numbers. Let's just use an example. Both florists in this town belong to the same WS and one florist is offered a special deal to join a second service for $99 a month all inclusive.

The problem is joining that second WS doesn't increase the number of orders she is going to send OUT. If that florist was sending an average of 30 orders out a month for $1500 a month in sales, the commission and rebate would equal maybe $390 <example>. But it costs $150 a month <example> with the first WS and the commission rate actually calculates to 16% <rebates included>. If she joins a second service, that doesn't increase the number of orders OUT. It does, however, increase the cost of sending out and NOW the actual commission earned on those 30 orders is less then 10%. You also have an added expense of not sending enough orders out to satisfy BOTH WS. You commission on outgoing business is going to be almost nothing.

You may gain some additonal incoming but with both WS charging .75 to $1.00 on every incoming, based on the average order size going into that small town, the discounted value of the order could be a 70% or less. Can any small town florist make any money on orders valued at 70% or less of face value??

It may be flattering to have WS making what appears to be "special" offerings just to get you back, but please remember, THERE IS ALWAYS A PRICE! And that price will be from your pocket, not there's.
 
ivysue said:
I quit Teleflora in March, after a long and drawn out "we'll give you three months free...another three months free..." I finally said no, and cut the ties. I did so after asking if they had some kind of small town florist rate that they could charge because we simply do not come out ahead even counting the commission on wires in and wires out. They said they had no such plan. Today I received a call from Teleflora offering a new "small town florist rate". The first three months are free, and after that we are charged one final and total amount of $99 a month, forever. According to the Rep, this includes membership, Dove, quality assurance fees, PLUS a box of free coded containers, a box of free roses (100) and free listing in the member directory. After my many questions, they assured there were no hidden surprises.
I asked them to send me something in writing, and they faxed the exact same above information. Has anyone else ever been offered this and were there any hidden costs or surprises?
Click to expand...

I received the exact same offer with one exception and also in writing. It was not forever, it was only until November. That's a joke of an offer IMHO. If it is forever and that is in writing then it's a whole different ballgame. I'd bite with forever in writing.

Ask about the $200.00 refundable security fee. I was told this at the end and it was muttered in mumbling, but I asked him to repeat clearly and slowly. Not sure why, maybe because when we quit TF last time I owed them and took my time paying them. So now maybe they tagged us to have a security fee. So they might not make you pay one.
 
ivysue,
In March you did a very smart thing; don't screw it up in May! :)
If they're offering you this now THEY NEED YOU ! So why pay them $99 / month?
REJECT their offer and counter with.....
"Give me the order with your credit card and I'll fill it with NO DISCOUNT."

AND DON'T BACK DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Mikey,
Sorry, I don't know; we left TF in 2003 (spend August sitting on the deck recovering from a broken leg, drinking lemonade (ok, :beer :pblush: ) trying to decide why I was a member) and FTD last June so I don't have a current directory. Maybe Brian can tell us.
Rockin' on...................
 
Lady Biker Florist said:
I received the exact same offer with one exception and also in writing. It was not forever, it was only until November. That's a joke of an offer IMHO. If it is forever and that is in writing then it's a whole different ballgame. I'd bite with forever in writing.

Ask about the $200.00 refundable security fee. I was told this at the end and it was muttered in mumbling, but I asked him to repeat clearly and slowly. Not sure why, maybe because when we quit TF last time I owed them and took my time paying them. So now maybe they tagged us to have a security fee. So they might not make you pay one.
Click to expand...

Patti,

As far as I know everyone pays a deposit. I had to pay $200 when I joined in 1997. As I understand it, this is the lowest based on one's credit standing. There are some florists that have to pay much, much more. I was told by a florist once that they had paid a $2000 deposit.

Erlene
 
Lady Biker Florist said:
Ask about the $200.00 refundable security fee. I was told this at the end and it was muttered in mumbling, but I asked him to repeat clearly and slowly.
Click to expand...
Was that the Hopper dude Patty?

Still a putz in my book...a guy that'll say anything to get what he wants, and often, even when I/you know the opposite is true....
 
I allowed myself to be suckered into a similar offer from FTD, much to my regret.
 
Patty - yes I did have the $200 security deposit on my paperwork too. I hadn't got to scrutinizing that part yet, because I wasn't yet convinced the rest of it was legit. Thanks!
 
Griff - No, I am the only florist in town. Some listings do still show the other one, but she retired over a year ago. You're right, I can't afford to be ANY wire service. We're considering taking the leap away from both, but just haven't bit the bullet yet. Very good facts you pointed out, and very true. There's just no profit on WS for the small town florist. Thank you!
 
Ivysue, It's not a leap into the unknown anymore, WS free is the only way to stop the enabling going on in this industry. And the added pressure it puts on the ASB's for a community is not a small thing either, it's huge, when you think of gas prices now, and lower dollar orders sent through the system.

If you have any questions about being FREE, we are just a PM away.
 
With permission from above parties, I would like to cut and paste this info and send it to my friend in Petrolia. She's carrying two WS and I can't convince her to drop them. There are at least 3 shops in that town... all of whom, I believe are TF.

V
 
Feel free to pass along any numbers I have provided, but don't be surprised if the florist you give them to DOESN'T thank you. Many florists just don't want to deal with the numbers.

Here is another added problem for the small town florists that want to carry multiple WS. All WS want you, the florist, to have their "sending system" in your shop. Let's just use an example of a florist that already has one WS machine and is now ENCOURAGED to carry the second WS's machine and it costs $50 a month <example>. This small shop only sends out approx 35 orders a month and really can't split the outgoing between the 2 WS because one or both will start charging a low sending fee of $19.95. So one of the first dilemmas for this florist is by joining a second WS, you have a hidden cost of at least $20 a month. Now the florist gets in an additional 12 orders the first month on the new "sending system" and is elated. Remember, this florist is unable to send any orders out for the reasons already mentioned. So how much did those INCOMING really cost. On an average incoming order of $45, this florist is giving up $12.15 on discount, another $1 for receiving and $4.17 for the rental of the "sending system". In other words, the actual DISCOUNT on those 12 incoming orders is 38.5% resulting in a net payment of $27.68 on the average order. Experience shows us the florists join multiple WS for MORE incoming order business. Wire services have managed to recreate themselves time and time again by selling florists on how they are going to help them and their business.

The whole point of this is if you are going to add any additional expense to your company, then you must do the math first to see how bad it is going to hurt you. Beware of anyone today that is selling you something based on improving internal efficiencies. Internal efficiencies are NOT our problem. Lack of profit is!
 
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