Missing 'Find a Florist" button

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goldfish

goldfish

New Member
Feb 8, 2006
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Huntington
www.flowers-insolita.com
State / Prov
NY
I am not sure whether this issue has already been discussed, but I'm new here so I am going to ask it anyway.

I recently noticed something very weird at FTD.com.:confused: Depending on how to reach FTD.com, sometimes there is no 'Find a Florist' button. Why is that?

OK, we all know that this button is so deliberately tiny (in both TF and FTD sites) that it's hard to locate without 20Xmagnifier. But believe me, I know where it is and I can't find it in some of the FTD.com sites.

Here's the regular FTD.com: www.ftd.com Click on that (goes to ...com/home1 or /home2) and you will see a "Find a Florist" button at the top right.

But I noticed that there is at least one more ftd.com. To go there, you need to use google.

First in Google, look simply for "FTD"

In the sponsored link at the top, you will see "www.FTD.COM" (somehow it's capital FTD.COM). You click on that, and you will go to an almost identical FTD site (usually ftd.com/xxxx where xxxx is a 4-digit number).

Take a close look at the top right corner. Now the "Find a Florist" button is gone. In other words, if a customer goes to FTD.com this way, they won't find local FTD florists. Isn't this weird?
 
You'll also notice that if you go to any FTD.coN site showing the find a florist button, click on any image or link and then return to the main page the button will be gone...

I used to worry about this little thing, but then I stopped filling for FTD.com (my direct competition) and forgot about it...
 
Always seems to disappear close to a holiday.....
Like Mark I don't fill for tf National Marketing Headquarters Overseas order just in case it is a order gatherer.
Luc
 
Bloomz caught this about 3 years back. If you reach FTD via pay per click they want to keep the sale, not have you move on to a member site on their dime.

Ryan
 
Honestly, most of FTD/TEL "customers" ...meaning their filling florists don't know and most of the most.....don't care. I have tried to educate but most only see the numbers they get in (especially holidays) but don't figure where the order actually was taken "from them". AND a great few are too focused on the wire services POS to give a care. And with basically no representation here in this state from either WS...they still depend on their contributions for their educational programs. In other words..."don't alienate those who help us when we need it"
I think if you took a poll here in this state, you'd be very surprised at the low numbers of shops that actually have internet on any shop computer "in house". This is very sad :(
 
NOT at all "kneejerk".....

goldfish said:
How long does it take for a new florist to get used to all those silly things FTD/TF are doing and not get too mad at them? How long did it take for you to evolve from 'what the f*ck are they doing!?" :mad: knee-jerk response to 'here they go again, oh well' :dunno: kind of response?
Click to expand...

Believe me, when I tell you, that the "residual effects" from the offending sites, caught our attention long ago, and in time, will be their downfall...in time.
 
goldfish said:
How long does it take for a new florist to get used to all those silly things FTD/TF are doing and not get too mad at them? How long did it take for you to evolve from 'what the f*ck are they doing!?" :mad: knee-jerk response to 'here they go again, oh well' :dunno: kind of response?
Click to expand...
Well "Fish" not as long as it used to cuz you found FlowerChat so you'll know more about whats really going on long before most other florists.

How long did it take...Hmmmm...for me it took a while, I was on of those FTD Cheerleaders back in the days of Bad Bobby, believing I could make a difference in the direction of the company for the florists best interests. While I tried, and tried I only ended up :wallhead: because I did not want to believe that the company that had been around since MY beginning in the industry was morphing into a competitor. FTD had been around since The Day, in fact one of my ancestors was on of the original 12 that started the whole mess way back in 1910....

We MUST keep in mind, there is NOTHING we can do to change them in our favor. We have to decide what works for OUR shops, and take that and leave the rest because they are a for profit company these days and their main goal is to make a profit. We must make a decission whether or not we are going to help them do that easily by doing things like filling thier company orders, buying their branded junk and using their programs.

Myself, being a Top 200 member, I used to use them all, bought them all and tried that route...today I can atest that that route don't pay MY bills. I eliminated FTD.com the day they announced their partnership with Walmart, not being willing to fill their discounted orders, placed by perhaps a local consumer at Walmart and filled and delivered by the most high end shop in town (me) nor do I want my rep attached to them any more.

It is no longer in my businesses best interest to allow it to be too exposed to their crap. Nowdays there are alternatives, back then there were not that many.

I'll shut up now...I'm starting to sound like TOTO....
 
BOSS said:
It is no longer in my businesses best interest to allow it to be too exposed to their crap. Nowdays there are alternatives, back then there were not that many.

I'll shut up now...I'm starting to sound like TOTO....
Click to expand...

It's evolution AND revolution, that is beginning to make us ALL sound like Toto....it's time AND experience that is making us sound like YOU Boss!!
 
Well Goldfish - take a look at this ....

goldfish said:
How long does it take for a new florist to get used to all those silly things FTD/TF are doing and not get too mad at them?
Click to expand...

Hi Gold fish ... bet you didn't know that this many sites are actually FTD:

1800ftdflowers.com
1800sendftd.com
1800sendftd.org
1888florists.com
1888sendftd.com
800-ftd.com
800-send-ftd.com
800-sendftd.com
800e-flowers.com
800send-ftd.com
800sendftd.com
800sendftd.org
888-ftd.com
888-send-ftd.com
888-sendftd.com
888florist.com
888florist.net
888florist.org
888florists.com
888florists.net
888florists.org
888send-ftd.com
888sendftd.com
anniversaryflower.com
basketdirect.com
buyftdflowers.com
christmasflower.com
dinersclubflowers.com
e-bouquet.com
e-flowers.com
e-flowers.net
e-flowers.org
e-flowersdirect.com
easterflower.com
ebouquet.com
ebouquets.com
efloers.com
eflowers.com
eflowers.net
eflowers.org
eflowersdirect.com
eflowesgreetings.com
eflowres.com
eflowrs.com
eflowrsgreetings.com
eftd.com
exp-florist.com
expressblumen.com
expressfloristd.com
expressflorists.com
f-t-d.com
floraldelivery.net
flowerdirect.com
flowerdirectgreeting.com
flowers-direct.com
flowersdirectgreeting.com
flowersdirectgreetings.com
flowersdirectusa.com
flowersftd.com
franceflorist.com
fresh-cuts.com
freshcuts.net
freshcuts.org
ftd-flower.com
ftd-flowers.com
ftd.com
ftd.org
ftdaffiliate.com
ftdaffiliates.com
ftdbouquets.com
ftdcuba.com
ftdcuba.net
ftdcuba.org
ftdflower.com
ftdflower.net
ftdflower.org
ftdflowerandgarden.com
ftdflowers.net
ftdflowers.org
ftdflowersandgifts.com
ftdflowershops.com
ftdfreshflower.com
ftdfreshflowers.com
ftdgarden.com
ftdgarden.net
ftdgarden.org
ftdgift.com
ftdgourmetgifts.com
ftdgreetings.com
ftdrose.com
ftdroses.com
ftdshop.com
ftdvirtualflowers.com
ftdwebsite.com
ftdworldwide.com
germanyflorist.com
giftsatftd.com
hsnflowers.com
hsnflowers.net
hsnflowers.org
iworldflorist.com
japanflorist.com
livingvirtualflower.com
livingvirtualflowers.com
lowesfoodsflowers.com
mexicanflorist.com
mothersdayflower.com
myftd.com
myftdgarden.com
myftdgarden.net
myftdgarden.org
nationalflora.com
nationalflora.net
nationalflora.org
nationalfloral.com
originalsflorist.com
proflowersusa.com
send-ftd.com
sendftd.com
sendftdflower.com
web-florist.net
ftds.com

This is a few weeks old so it is likely out of date.Have a GOOD day :))

Cheers, David L.
 
BOSS said:
... because they [FTD] are a for profit company these days and their main goal is to make a profit...
Click to expand...

I agree with almost everything you wrote. I would, however, rephrase the above to: "their main goal is to increase their stock price." Most CEOs' compensations are tied to the performance of their stock prices.

While a stock price ultimately is supposed to parallel corporate earning, in reality (especially after 90's) it has more to do so-called "beating" the analysts' quarterly "expectation" which is just a meaningless number manufactured by the analysts to make them appear knowledgable.

"Quarterly" is also a keyword, indicating that these days most investors (except Warren Buffet) are shortsighted; they care only about short-term results, which are precisely what most (if not all) CEOs are focused on.

The problem is that CEOs' focus are only on shareholders, not customers, employees, and other stakeholders, such as member florists in the case for FTD or 1-800.

I think that a true leadership of a company, regardless of whether it's a big corporation or small mom-and-pop shop like us, should be mission-driven. Of course FTD is for-profit and needs to make money, everyone understands that. There is nothing wrong with it.

What I fail to see, however, is a clear, well-laidout FTD mission that customers, employees, and member florists can understand and support.

Same goes to Teleflora. TF is not a publicly traded company. They are immune from stock-market related worries, and so should be better positioned than FTD to take a more mission-oriented business strategy. Unfortunately, I don't see that coming from TF. In fact I have no idea what they are trying to do.
 
Like Boss said Only a couple years earlier. Boy, those were the day!

If Florists were more united in what they wished. More focused with their message. More openminded to the needs of others/ You may see change in one wire service.

No service will ever change if all we ever expect from them is our own well being.

One way or another. Florists have always paid for what ever a wire service did. When some wire services went public. Investors paid for some of the re-direction of the business. The florists then contributed to their return on investment as well.
declining revenue and increasing costs.

Florists need a voise in the market place of Ideas more than anything else.
Florists need to figure out who their going to leverage to get it.
Florists need to figure out what their willing to pay for it.
Florists need to figure out what their willing to change to make it happen.
 
flowerknife+us said:
Florists need a voise in the market place of Ideas more than anything else.
Florists need to figure out who their going to leverage to get it.
Florists need to figure out what their willing to pay for it.
Florists need to figure out what their willing to change to make it happen.
Click to expand...
Florists need to circle the wagons and build a united voice in numbers large enuf to get attention.

Perhaps, with all the great things happening here on FC, that will be our next step...the FlowerChat Industry Relations Committee :)
 
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