Keep TF Drop Dove?

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concord

Helen
Jun 3, 2009
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Concord
www.concordflowershop.com
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As I continue moving towards my goal of being WS free I had an idea that I want to run by you all and see if I am missing something. What if my next step is to quit the technology and save those charges? If I call out orders or get calls in I can't get fee'd to death for cancels and rejects, right? I could still send orders by phone until I am ready to go direct. I would definately see a decrease in incomings, but everyone says the money is in sending anyway. Is there a huge downside to this that I am missing? If so, please set me straight!
 
If you send out any significant amount of wire orders, keep the Dove until you are ready to quit.

But put a policy in place at your store about handling Dove orders in order to limit yourself with all those added REJ fees.

At our store, we look at every order immediately upon it's arrival. If we are not able to fill the order, either because it is missed priced, we lack the product requested, etc we reject the order immediately.

If the order orginates from a OG, we send a ask message, again immediately, requesting them to cancel the order. That's it. If there is no repsonse on their part, too bad. This stops the order from bouncing back numerous times making more work and adding to our costs. We did our part. We can only run our business, not theirs.

Florists have a problem when it comes to orders off the Dove or Merc. They are just requests for service from either other florists or OG's. They are not fully an order until they meet our pricing needs and our product availibility. If an order does not meet both of those requirements, we send it on it's way. We don't make a big project out of it. Now if the order comes from a real florist we try to work with them to make their customer happy. But if they undersold the item or promised a flower we could not deliver, we would rather turn down their order. We don't look at that as lost business. WE won't fill that order if it sounds like their customer really wanted that flower. It's not worth trying to make it right later on, even if the florist says go ahead. We want them to first check with their customer to make sure the sub is OK with them.

If you don't send out many wire orders don't just drop the Dove, but quit now. Why wait?
 
I think once you are on Dove (or Mercury w/FTD) it might be a mandatory thing, and it also might be mandatory for all new members, except in very, very extenuating circumstances. Existing members who are still not on a wire service's technology might be grandfathered in.

But wire services rules change by the minute, so you can always ask. Who knows, they may be caving into member demands to save a member from cancelling -- I'm sure they are all hurting in this economy.
 
Hey Helen,

What is the key thing keeping you with your current wire service? Is it the images, website, sending ability, incoming orders or something else?

Thanks.
I am in the process of replacing my e-site currently hosted by TF. Once that is done and I get a lot better at the Floristware POS I will have time to figure out how I want to deal with out going orders. We are a big sending shop, especially around the holidays when some customers bring in lists of out going orders. Even when my site isn't hosted by them anymore it's going to take me a few months to have enough of my own images to relace TF images. That's what's keeping me TF for now but I am slowly making progress towards my goal of being WS free.
 
For TOTO, since he said "I like KISS"

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We got a divorce from Dove in the Spring of 2008 and recommend it to everyone. We did this after Valentine's when it took one employee full time to bat down orders we didn't want/couldn't fill. Our Teleflora rep at the time (great guy recently terminated at age 54 for no reason other than making more $ for the company), set up a meeting with the regional veep. The three of us agreed that, given our approach to the business (upscale flowers/no Teleflora containers in 20 years), we should drop Dove. Since that time we have worked less and watched our profit margin increase. Isn't it a basic maxim that we make money sending orders, not on receiving? Any shop depending on receiving orders for survival has not figured out the path to success and may, in fact, be heading toward extinction. We have as minimal contact with Teleflora as possible. We stay with them only as a means of sending orders to places where we haven't already developed a direct bill situation. Teleflora is slightly better than FTD is our opinion, in the years since we sold our souls to the devil. Obviously, I am one of the old salts who was FTD only for over five decades.

While I'm on the soapbox, let me share another means to increase both volume and profit. While we were shut down three months because of Katrina my ace/right hand/manager developed our website. It's not slick, and that's a good thing. It seems the majority of shops just plug in to the Teleflora or FTD program. In my opinion they are virtually worthless and just pile more wealth on the WS. A large chunk of our business is now generated by our website. People Google "Flowers New Orleans" and quickly find our site. Orders have come in from as far away as Australia and Finland. I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers, but I thank God every day for Peggy and our website.

This is my first post, but I have been tuning in for some time. I want to say Flower Chat is the best thing to happen for retail florists in a long time, perhaps since the invention of florist's foam back in the 1950s. I look forward to profitable dialogue with savvy florists out there.

How does that slogan go? Something like "Florists of the world unite...lose those chains..."
 
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BOSS's Quote of the day!

Isn't it a basic maxim that we make money sending orders, not on receiving?

Any shop depending on receiving orders for survival has not figured out the path to success and may, in fact, be heading toward extinction.
Well John, for a first post I'd say you pretty much nailed it on the head...

Welcome to the community....again~!
 
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I am in the process of replacing my e-site currently hosted by TF. Once that is done and I get a lot better at the Floristware POS I will have time to figure out how I want to deal with out going orders. We are a big sending shop, especially around the holidays when some customers bring in lists of out going orders. Even when my site isn't hosted by them anymore it's going to take me a few months to have enough of my own images to relace TF images. That's what's keeping me TF for now but I am slowly making progress towards my goal of being WS free.

If you are a big sending shop and you are using Floristware POS, why not just dump TF & become a Bloomnet sending only shop for only $50 a month and get $5 rebates(if you send 20 or more a month).it's easy to send Bloomnet through Floristware POS! Just a suggestion, could be a nice fit for you, and save a lot of WS fees!:musical:

You could also use FSN through Floristware POS as another option but you pay $4 for all wire outs instead of $5 rebate

Gl with your decision!
 
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Our Teleflora rep at the time (great guy recently terminated at age 54 for no reason other than making more $ for the company), set up a meeting with the regional veep.


Oh boy, was it Andy, formerly FTD? Great guy, great, caring rep and friend. I hope not.
 
If you join Bloomnet as Send Only, ask them if the Floral Selection Guide is mandatory. (It was as of last year) You will pay $300 for the current one, and it's 2 1/2 years old now, so when a new version comes out soon, you will have to get another one and pony up another pretty penny for it.
 
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all wire services are here to make a buck, the times have changed, they are not in it to "help" the florists. Can they find any more "fees" to charge, 3.99 to get your statement? or go paperless for free!!!, but hey, those heavy thick directories, useless, are those paperless???
We have been ftd and tele for years, dropping ftd and tele may be next! Our own website works well, for the past 9 years, it's just taking the plunge to get out. A few more added fees is enough for me!
 
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