interesting tidbit of good news from FTD's new owner

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bloomz

bloomz

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In his speech at SAF - he brought out a tidbit.

He ordered two dozen Vera Wang roses for his wife, was shocked when they came to him in 2 boxes.

Said he called Mike Soenen and asked WTF is this?

He was told he should have noticed the little florist delivery clock, or absense thereof, that went to the disclaimer.

Said they were dressed up to go out to dinner and had to stop and find a vase and do all this cutting and stuff.

So one thing some of us will take as rather good news is that he plans to make items like this clearly labeled and not deceptive, as he knew first hand what a turn off it was. I'm only guessing imagery would reflect that.

Now I asked him myself if there would be less of a prevalence of drop ship vs florist delivered on their site, and he seemed surprised that there was. And that this was a major b*tch we have as florists. That the way it is ramped up then all of a sudden dropped on florists, overloading them at last minute, leads to a huge quality issue. They have the data and know when they exceed capacity, yet they choose to do it anyway, and their quality scores reflect this.

From his reaction - I actually think he hadn't noticed that.

I know some here profess they don't care about quality::BS, and will find a way to discount this - go for it, knock yourself out.


On another side note - I spoke to "the Architect" of the Delayed Response program and gave my input again that I felt an ASK should stop the clock to start it again when the ANS is sent. Senders need to be held to the same timely response standards as fillers.

He said they have that capability now, already built into the software, but have chosen not to flip that switch because they fear they will get back and forths all day.

I had the feeling that if enough people told them that would be a good idea - it could possibly get that switch filipped.

Rock on
 
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bloomz said:
On another side note - I spoke to "the Architect" of the Delayed Response program and gave my input again that I felt an ASK should stop the clock to start it again when the ANS is sent. Senders need to be held to the same timely response standards as fillers.

He said they have that capability now, already built into the software, but have chosen not to flip that switch because they fear they will get back and forths all day.

I had the feeling that if enough people told them that would be a good idea - it could possibly get that switch filipped.

Rock on
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Jon, invite the new dude here, since you have his ear, and we'll fill the other one.

He should be made aware that FTD.coN is THE worst at order follow-up, while florists generally answer relative quickly, DacoN sends back a "canned" message "If your requesting information"(blah blah) which would start the clock again without getting the filling florist the information they need.

I was against the Delayed Response Program (DRP) in the beginning, and still am in it's current incarnation, however I would be in favor *if* it worked as it should with the onis put back on the originating shop when there is a question on an order. IMO...too often shops think once the order is sent it's a done deal...when it reality the game has just begun.

(You got his email address?)

As to the direct ship issue....only time will tell if this guy found the smoke and mirrors Bady Bobby left in the corner closet.....
 
At the SCFA board meeting yesterday, I spoke with a member who was quite impressed with this new guy. She said that he stated (cannot remember the exact words) that he was interested in returning FTD to the florist-focused organization that it once was.
 
BOSS said:
I was against the Delayed Response Program (DRP) in the beginning, and still am in it's current incarnation, however I would be in favor *if* it worked as it should with the onis put back on the originating shop when there is a question on an order. IMO...too often shops think once the order is sent it's a done deal...when it reality the game has just begun.

(You got his email address?)

As to the direct ship issue....only time will tell if this guy found the smoke and mirrors Bady Bobby left in the corner closet.....
Click to expand...

My guess is it woudl be [email protected] but I'm not sure about that.

Like I said - I felt if enough people gave nput on that deal. I certainly felt I had the right and duty to, since they have my ass hanging out the as poster child for the program (make that the concept of the program)

Boss this guy has some shades of Bad Bobby - you may like that. Lot more than Mike.
 
I think his name is Goldston....iirc.And he did remind me of Norton a bit..very cool looking guy and sharp as a tack. Did not "hide" behind the usual front ( southern for BS) thaT we have seen before but answered the questions while looking you in the eye. Also did say he wanted a return to the florist concept of the association days but that some things we would like and some we would not..he has stock holders to answer too. But none of th arrogance of MS that he openly displayed over the years. I look forward to his departure in Nov..I will dance in the streets when that day comes.I personally feel he ( MS) is very responsible for the decline on the brand, the loss of some awesome VP's and Regionals , and in the overall quality of FTD...hopefully this new guy will be given a chance to improve things....he is going to have the florist advisory group come back as well...FC ers should offer to be part of that....can you imagine...lol....but I think he is brave enough to listen.
Sher
 
bloomz

i actually liked what i saw of the guy at saf. we ran into each other coming off of the dance floor at the prez banquet. when he asked who i was...i told him that i was part of the ftd alumni association.
we spoke for a few minutes and i walked away with positive vibes.
to his credit...folks that have been in his presence...are indicating that he is saying all of the right things....
i'm not going to erect a statue in his honor yet....but the wire service segment are in need of a little positive spin.
 
bill schodowski said:
i actually liked what i saw of the guy at saf. we ran into each other coming off of the dance floor at the prez banquet. when he asked who i was...i told him that i was part of the ftd alumni association.
we spoke for a few minutes and i walked away with positive vibes.
to his credit...folks that have been in his presence...are indicating that he is saying all of the right things....
i'm not going to erect a statue in his honor yet....but the wire service segment are in need of a little positive spin.
Click to expand...

You should have taken HIS PICTURE and made him look 50 POUNDS heavier than he is ..that is the least you could have done...lol
Sher
 
lovely sher

i have no idea what you are fussing about. you looked .....marvelous!
it is an inferior camera. did you see my picture? i looked like an old waiter at sardi's.
by the way...the flowerchat table at the saf prez dinner looked fantastic!!!!
 
Of course, I could be wrong, but I have observed that when bad things happen to the OWNER, things tend to change......FOr the better or the worse remains to be seen.
 
Well they did deceive the wrong person it looks like.....

and apparently he knew exactly who to call, and had his direct phone number.
 
Ok, I can't find the FTD thread about how they changed prices on member websites recently. But...I did notice several FTD hosted websites now have all the arrangements pictured but say, "Call for pricing". No prices listed at all, which means no internet orders as everyone has to call now. Does that seem weird to anyone but me?
 
Connie said:
At the SCFA board meeting yesterday, I spoke with a member who was quite impressed with this new guy. She said that he stated (cannot remember the exact words) that he was interested in returning FTD to the florist-focused organization that it once was.
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The local FTD rep was here saying the same thing. I told him that we'd "wait and see" before we considered rejoining FTD. The rep seemed surprised and responded that the new president wanted him to find out why so many shops were hesitant, given the promised changes. I explained that, for me, the biggest objection was on-line competition from the wire service that professed to be trying to focus on the local florist. Basically, the rep. replied that would never change. "That's the problem." I replied.

Hopefully, he'll pass the info on. I don't expect it will make a difference, it just need to be said.
 
Looks like they have added a "Same Day Florist Delivered" tag to their images instead of the little tag and a "FTD Direct" image to their drop ship products but, looks like they are now using the old PF tag line "fresh from the fields"...wonder how PF feels about that!?!? :fdevil:

You can see it here: http://www.ftd.com/popups/display_popup.epl?popup_id=dropship_popover
 
hmm, notice the misspelling of "presentation" in that pop-up??
 
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