Is it me or are ftd orders non existent
- Thread starter Excptnl
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By no means do I agree that there are not top notch pen and paper flsts, but if you have a POS system with order entry, why would it be faster to take on paper and then enter into the computer. You are doing double the work. Investing in the computer system should streamline your order taking process.
steve
Well-Known Member
I do understand why some people are still doing pen and paper for order taking. Here in Vermont the vast majority of florist are in small towns and probably doing less then 200K but for Florist doing over
225k it makes no sense to be doing all that double work let alone not having a data base to market too.
225k it makes no sense to be doing all that double work let alone not having a data base to market too.
You're right, actually if all the florists stopped FTD'ing and Telefloral and all the BS wire services and stuck with IFA (Independent Florist Association) you would get orders and only pay when you used the service ~if you are a filling florist 2X per month your charge is $20.00 for that month, if the following month you do not fill at least two orders you have no fees. This wire service is by far the most fair, and you are always coming out on top as each order basically is @ or about $50-100 so you consider your fee and your time and your product use and you still come out on top (figuring you have done this twice which is the only way you are billed). Other than that, I'd start getting out of the other wire services unless you are in NYC or a very high volume area, you spend too much in fees for orders you sometimes do not get! ~just a thought.
LOTAKIDS
Well-Known Member
We just find it faster, as we are not fumbling over our program as we have one with two many prompts and windows instead of one that has the whole order on one window. It's what we can afford at this time. So to get the customer off the phone fast, we write..
I do not know what system you have, but my guess is if you made it mandatory for two weeks, that all your staff enter orders online while on the phone with the customer, after two weeks no one would go back to paper. For the staff I have that are not very computer saavy or fast typers, they would have written too at the start, but then they do not improve. We make them explain to the customer that they are new, or we have just had an update or change to our order entry system and customers are very understanding and will be patient and slower. Before you know it you will have gone from taking an order in 6 or 8 minutes to 3 or 4 (assuming the customer knows what they want to order).
You might also not be maximizing the shortcuts available to you like product codes, card message shorthand codes, delivery address shorthands like hospitals, funeral homes, schools, acct lookup for repeat customers. For a repeat customer ordering to a funeral or hospital, you could easily take an order online in 2 minutes or less, especially from a corporate customer that orders for these occasions often.
marigold
Well-Known Member
pen and paper
I use a pen and paper. Mind you, it's a fancy pen and my logo is printed
on the order sheet.
I feel it is more personal , especially when the client is in the store...
you are right there with them, not staring at a screen while you are
taking an order.
I was talking with a bride the other day and the whole time she was
setting up an appointment with me, she was texting....
I found this a bit rude. IMO.
I like hand written cards.
I use a pen and paper. Mind you, it's a fancy pen and my logo is printed
on the order sheet.
I feel it is more personal , especially when the client is in the store...
you are right there with them, not staring at a screen while you are
taking an order.
I was talking with a bride the other day and the whole time she was
setting up an appointment with me, she was texting....
I found this a bit rude. IMO.
I like hand written cards.
My penmanship sucks. Sometimes I can't read my own writing. Although I have many friends like Dore, who are great note/card writers, beautiful catholic school handwriting - I am NOT one of those people.
As a customer, I feel a little more secure being able to read my receipt/invoice and know that when I call to inquire, that I can just give anyone at the company an order number to ask the status of an order, repeat a past order - or just inquire "what were those flowers I sent last year? She said they were fabulous!".
But like Steve mentioned for the smaller shops, pen and paper may be just fine. All I'm saying is if you have a computer, use it and use all the features you have available to you... customize the system for your needs.
cherrie
New Member
Depends on the kind of business you have and the size, as was stated eariler. I'm all into technology.
There is no way I could go back to without a POS system.
I have my clients info in the computer, in front of me. It' quick and easy.
My shop gets too busy. Actually, when I first got a POS, about 10 years ago, I realized that it saved me at least one full time employee. Billing, card writting, data saving, direct mail, the many services it takes care of for me. I email clients their invoices. Couldn't do that without a computer.
If I had a different kind of shop - like a studio that did primarily weddings, I can see no POS.
I'm all about technology these days.
I have set up an old snowball imac at my counter. I am waiting for the operating system software that will allow it to access the Picasa Web Albums. Then, I will have my clients pick their arrangements from my website and from Picasa. I am in the process of putting prices on the pictures. This will all happen this week. I am so exicted.
Denver's High Tech Florist.
I'm sure that it will be fun teaching my elderly client how to move around the computer. My staff and I will come around the corner and help them. Should be a fun experience for them - or maybe not, we'll see.
I'm tired of WS directory books that cost a bundle and are so antiquated that design styles have totally changed. They are so old, they are falling apart. I was asked at least 6 months ago to be part of the team that helps choose the arrangements from the TF guide.
They don't move too fast, I haven't heard a word.
I'm thinking that staying on the edge of technology is one of the reasons I'm surviving and doing well. Clients are thrilled when I ask them if they would like a copy of their invoice mailed to them. Plus, it gives them the opportunity to send a thank you email note back to me.
Get them all the time.
My shop is located in a high tech area.
You got to talk the talk.
There is no way I could go back to without a POS system.
I have my clients info in the computer, in front of me. It' quick and easy.
My shop gets too busy. Actually, when I first got a POS, about 10 years ago, I realized that it saved me at least one full time employee. Billing, card writting, data saving, direct mail, the many services it takes care of for me. I email clients their invoices. Couldn't do that without a computer.
If I had a different kind of shop - like a studio that did primarily weddings, I can see no POS.
I'm all about technology these days.
I have set up an old snowball imac at my counter. I am waiting for the operating system software that will allow it to access the Picasa Web Albums. Then, I will have my clients pick their arrangements from my website and from Picasa. I am in the process of putting prices on the pictures. This will all happen this week. I am so exicted.
Denver's High Tech Florist.
I'm sure that it will be fun teaching my elderly client how to move around the computer. My staff and I will come around the corner and help them. Should be a fun experience for them - or maybe not, we'll see.
I'm tired of WS directory books that cost a bundle and are so antiquated that design styles have totally changed. They are so old, they are falling apart. I was asked at least 6 months ago to be part of the team that helps choose the arrangements from the TF guide.
They don't move too fast, I haven't heard a word.
I'm thinking that staying on the edge of technology is one of the reasons I'm surviving and doing well. Clients are thrilled when I ask them if they would like a copy of their invoice mailed to them. Plus, it gives them the opportunity to send a thank you email note back to me.
Get them all the time.
My shop is located in a high tech area.
You got to talk the talk.
cherrie
New Member
I strongly feel we would have never grown financially past the paper days without taking the plunge to buy our first POS.
Not that we had so many orders to start with, but the ability to service customers grows so much with one that it allows for that growth.
And we had to borrow $10,000 from our Father to buy it. (cost was 14K)
Not that we had so many orders to start with, but the ability to service customers grows so much with one that it allows for that growth.
And we had to borrow $10,000 from our Father to buy it. (cost was 14K)
Cherrie, I think the idea of a watermark is to put it over the pic so someone can't just cut it out.
cherrie
New Member
I'm tired of WS directory books that cost a bundle and are so antiquated that design styles have totally changed. They are so old, they are falling apart. I was asked at least 6 months ago to be part of the team that helps choose the arrangements from the TF guide.
They don't move too fast, I haven't heard a word.
I apologize and stand corrected. Just got an email that said they have been trying to get them to me and the mail must be going in my spam folder.
Yeah, a new directory is in the works.
Still using my computer.....
They don't move too fast, I haven't heard a word.
I apologize and stand corrected. Just got an email that said they have been trying to get them to me and the mail must be going in my spam folder.
Yeah, a new directory is in the works.
Still using my computer.....
cherrie
New Member
Yea, probably.
And thanks for telling me.
I want to put it on because I think it looks so nice, I don't want to hide the arrangement. I'm just a big goob at heart.
I so love it when someone comes into my shop with a picture of something I've done and posted to recreate. it for them.
Eric S
Demoted Webmaster
LJVF
Well-Known Member
Eric, for FTD.com orders, FTD weights each member on a scale of 1 to 12. No one knows the exact formula but it has to with how active a member you are, sending volume, codified product purchases etc...
The 1 to 12 scale acts like a lottery system (ping pong balls). So the order is distributed randomly, but it's weighted. If you rank 12 you have 12 times more chance of getting the order than a member ranked 1. Think of each ranking as a number of ping pong balls each member has in a lottery, the more you have, the better chance you have at receiving an order.
lori042499
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- May 3, 2006
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Eric, FTD.COM orders are just like 800-flowers orders, they have some sort of algorithym that tells them who to send to next of their preferred list...
duanermb
New Member
Thanks for explaining this. It puts VERY MANY discussions on FC into a different perspective for me. And it definitely clears up a few things in my mind about how this works in general.
It also explains some of the actions of my local competitors.
glad someone can see this.....also, once you enter in the info...you never have to do it again...plus you have all their recipients....when you use pen and paper, there is more chance for error, less professional looking, have to take all the info everytime regardless of how many times they have ordered.
pos is sooo good, i had to get 2 of them
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