Pink Is Out of Season!

[CHR]

Another blogger is writing about shopping online - this time at both FTD and 1-800-Flowers.

1-800-Flowers: Pretty in Pink? I don't think so!

She ordered the 'Florist Select' European Hand-tied Bouquet and assumed the colors would be the same as the ones in the picture. (The photo on the site is different today - it's here.)

The product description is as follows:

Send a true stunner —our finest European hand-tied bouquet created by our select florists using only the freshest, most spectacular blooms of the season! Bound by hand with ribbon in the predominant style used throughout Europe, this breathtaking bouquet arrives fully designed and ready to be placed in a favorite vase or easily carried to their next destination. Components may vary.

Not exactly clear that the florist chooses the color, IMO. Anyway, the funny part comes when the 1-800 CSR tells the shopper that 'pink is out of season.'

Yes, my dear readers. Dora, from 1-800-FLOWERS asked me if I knew how to read. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA How ya like that for customer service? Oh, my! You all know how much I value customer s a t i s f a c t i o n!

Well, I told her of course I knew how to read, but the picture was pink. She said the pic is just a general idea of what the types and colors of the flowers would be, becase "as the website states: it is "Florist Select" which means choice." I said it does not say the word "choice" and she reiterated that it said Florist Select which means choice.

Oh, my! Well... you can imagine I am extremely pissed at that moment and asked her if she knew what the stock ticker was for 1-800-FLOWERS (lol!) and she said she didn't care what the ticker was. I told her that I was a stock blogger and had invested in FLWS for many months. I told her that some of my readers had told me of terrible experiences with FLWS. I told her this was my first time ordering. To which she said she didn't care. lol!

Dora's bottom line was that because they did not make a mistake, that I had made the mistake in not calling them up on the phone and specifically specifying that I wanted pink flowers with pink wrapping paper, which she couldn't guarantee anyway, seeing how they were not in season, that the only thing she could do was to offer to send out a new order, with the notation to only send pink flowers - and she had no idea what they would be, and that she would give me a 20% discount on the new order.

Blaming the customer is just ludicrous here. The 1-800 team is a group of fast learners so I expect they'll get the product description fixed real soon.

But I just want to yell at the top of my lungs "Call a local florist. We know when pink is in season!"

 

[lori042499]

This just goes to show you that with some people it is not possible to sell flowers on the web, because of their many varied types, shades and seasons. Some people are just too rigid. My question is: Is it the OG's that are killing our industry or the internet and its inability to get across to people that flowers are a natural product with variations and sometimes inavailability...The fact that the product is not alway reproducable...if that is even a word..

 

[Carol Bice]

Pink out of season

Kathy, this story reminds me of a driver I hired years ago.

I sent him to pick up electrial ties and gave him a sample. He was gone for two hours and came back with nothing. He told me had gone to about 15 stores and no one had them because he found out they were a only sold in the spring.

Needless to say, that was the end of his job.

Carol Bice

 

[Bigted]

Just another example of crummy customer service. 800 and FTD's current stock prices reflect this trend in thinking.

ALTHOUGH, I do think that people are more and more expecting the arrangements to look exactly like the pic--no substitutions, no deviations. This brings up a couple of problems.

1. Pictures, especially WS pictures are often pretty tough, if not impossible, to make for the money. Customers don't understand that all of the flowers are crammed to one side in the picture but in real life, you can't do that. I have been told by 2 of the WS that this is something the florist has to deal with because they won't get orders otherwise.

2. Colors and substituted flowers. It's not enough to make it similar and to value. More and more customers want it exact. If they don't get it, they want a full refund. That's a problem.

 

[Chezbloom]

Half of this customers anger came from being treated like crap from a rude and ignorant CS rep. The other from the color choice, I thought the first arrangement the customer received was ok but the second was a joke. IMHO, the only way to (for me anyway) to solve this kind of issue: Put only your own designs on your website, don't belong to a WS or fill for anyone but your own customers, buy flowers to design the selections you have put on your website. I know this sounds extreme and unrealistic for some, but I really think its the only way to go.
And maybe, just maybe, I can win back flower buying customers..one at a time if need be.

 

[Tuberose]

I was taking an order from an OG the other day (sorry) and I told them I would be making substitutions, they wanted specifics and then informed me that I should add extra product to compensate for the substitution. I didn't bother, but I should have taken the opportunity to enlighten her especially since we were only getting $32.50 for the bouquet, but we're up to our necks in freight, packing Christmas up, etc., no time to argue with a nitwit.

 

[lori042499]

Half of this customers anger came from being treated like crap from a rude and ignorant CS rep. The other from the color choice, I thought the first arrangement the customer received was ok but the second was a joke. IMHO, the only way to (for me anyway) to solve this kind of issue: Put only your own designs on your website, don't belong to a WS or fill for anyone but your own customers, buy flowers to design the selections you have put on your website. I know this sounds extreme and unrealistic for some, but I really think its the only way to go.
And maybe, just maybe, I can win back flower buying customers..one at a time if need be.

Chez, I do agree that she was pissed at being treated poorly...I only have one question, Can you with 100% certainty garauntee that you can make every arrangement on your website exactly as shown on any given day even if they are your own pictures? What is product is not available in the exact shade you used the day you took the pic? What if the daisy poms come in real healthy and big for the pic but whimpy for the order? These are the challenges with making pictures exact, not to mention that some stock pictures are staged for the photoshoot(even some of our own). I am not defending any OG just questioning the internet as a viable way to do business for flowers...Seeing as flowers should be a multi sensory experience, and we have gone to it being so robotic..

 

[Chezbloom]

Nope, I cant quarantee that I will have say, lavender roses the day they order, But......I can tell them that on the phone and suggest an alternative.
If they order via my shopping cart, I do not run the credit card until I can determine that the order can be filled, if not...I can call the customer and suggest an alternative. That way, there are no surprises.
For me: No middleman......no way.
Now, maybe I will go out of business with this method, but at least I'll go with a fight. Grrrrrrrr

 

[lori042499]

Nope, I cant quarantee that I will have say, lavender roses the day they order, But......I can tell them that on the phone and suggest an alternative.
If they order via my shopping cart, I do not run the credit card until I can determine that the order can be filled, if not...I can call the customer and suggest an alternative. That way, there are no surprises.
For me: No middleman......no way.
Now, maybe I will go out of business with this method, but at least I'll go with a fight. Grrrrrrrr

That, I am sure works for a small volume shop, but is not as doable for a large volume shop that gets lots of orders over the internet. I do that here when people order off my webpage and I have to make subs...I do not however make it a habit to tell TF or 800-flowers. I have a list of reasonable subs and if I will be losing the feel of an arrangement by making subs or have to sub more than one type I let them know, do they care, sometimes....But, no doubt, selling flowers on the web is hard business because of the difference in product at times of the year..

 

[MANORVILLE]

Nope, I cant quarantee that I will have say, lavender roses the day they order, But......I can tell them that on the phone and suggest an alternative.
If they order via my shopping cart, I do not run the credit card until I can determine that the order can be filled, if not...I can call the customer and suggest an alternative. That way, there are no surprises.
For me: No middleman......no way.
Now, maybe I will go out of business with this method, but at least I'll go with a fight. Grrrrrrrr

HOORAH CHEZBLOOM !

 

[MANORVILLE]

That, I am sure works for a small volume shop, but is not as doable for a large volume shop that gets lots of orders over the internet. I do that here when people order off my webpage and I have to make subs...I do not however make it a habit to tell TF or 800-flowers. I have a list of reasonable subs and if I will be losing the feel of an arrangement by making subs or have to sub more than one type I let them know, do they care, sometimes....But, no doubt, selling flowers on the web is hard business because of the difference in product at times of the year..

Not that we can all do it, but we do, most of the time, contact someone with regards to a substitution, especially a callin, walk-in or internet based order.
It's a judgement call on our part and fortunately things usually go well.
We also, like most shops don't have everything on hand but are fortunate to have availability on many products until very late in the day if we get jammed up.

 

[lori042499]

Not that we can all do it, but we do, most of the time, contact someone with regards to a substitution, especially a callin, walk-in or internet based order.
It's a judgement call on our part and fortunately things usually go well.
We also, like most shops don't have everything on hand but are fortunate to have availability on many products until very late in the day if we get jammed up.

Most people do understand about subs, but the woman in the blog is not IMHO most people. She ordered something that was a seasonal selection, maybe because I am a florist, but that is pretty clear to me that it will not be as pictured. Not sure how else they would put it, without getting long winded and silly. She clearly should have called instead of placing an order on the web if color choice was so important to her. Most people are not that picky and are happy with everything as long as it is similar style and similar color. Vast difference between the 2 orders were one was florist designed and one was a diy. This right here can make someone unhappy when the professionally designed one looks good and the one that comes in the wrap only looks OK when it is unwrapped and ploped in a vase all floopy...Not that the wrap was done right, I think it was a regular wrap and not a euro wrap(which the majority of florists in the US do not know how to make)

 

[Chezbloom]

Maybe I cant read, because I don't see where her order was a seasonal selection. Its not as though she was ordering French tulips in October.
I'm going to have to side with the customer on this one even though I think her first arrangement was pretty nice. My real concern is that the CS rep was so outragously rude as to encourage this customer to take the time to blog about it. That is just bad PR for our industry any way you put it.
Most customer service reps could'nt tell you when a flower is in season or even what the proper pronunciation is. Its kinda sad really.

 

[MANORVILLE]

Maybe I cant read, because I don't see where her order was a seasonal selection. Its not as though she was ordering French tulips in October.
I'm going to have to side with the customer on this one even though I think her first arrangement was pretty nice. My real concern is that the CS rep was so outragously rude as to encourage this customer to take the time to blog about it. That is just bad PR for our industry any way you put it.
Most customer service reps could'nt tell you when a flower is in season or even what the proper pronunciation is. Its kinda sad really.

But " They're your florist of choice ", as the saying goes !

NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lori042499]

Maybe I cant read, because I don't see where her order was a seasonal selection. Its not as though she was ordering French tulips in October.
I'm going to have to side with the customer on this one even though I think her first arrangement was pretty nice. My real concern is that the CS rep was so outragously rude as to encourage this customer to take the time to blog about it. That is just bad PR for our industry any way you put it.
Most customer service reps could'nt tell you when a flower is in season or even what the proper pronunciation is. Its kinda sad really.

Send a true stunner —(our finest European hand-tied bouquet created by our select florists using only the freshest, most spectacular blooms of the season!) Bound by hand with ribbon in the predominant style used throughout Europe, this breathtaking bouquet arrives fully designed and ready to be placed in a favorite vase or easily carried to their next destination.


I put the phrase in parentheses that says what the item is. Not really sure what could have been said to say mixed arrangement in florist choice any better without sounding blah. I am sure a more word savvy CS agent could have explained it better or smoothed it over better, but still her initial complaint was that she wanted pink flowers, she should have called and spoke to a live person to be sure they fully understood that she wanted pink flowers. She could have been directed to a better choice, like 800-flowers pretty in pink it is a pink vase with pink gerbs and pink snaps...You can't sub anything in this arrangement it has to be pink...

we are in full agreement that the CS agent needs to be trained as do almost all CS agents for any Big Box company. Customer service is only good at small businesses that are run by the owners, once a business gets so big that the oner is behind the scenes the first thing to bite the dust is CS. No one takes care of your business like you will take care of your business....

 

[Chezbloom]

send a true stunner —(our finest European hand-tied bouquet created by our select florists using only the freshest, most spectacular blooms of the season!) Bound by hand with ribbon in the predominant style used throughout Europe, this breathtaking bouquet arrives fully designed and ready to be placed in a favorite vase or easily carried to their next destination.

Would they have been more accurate to say, "The flowers you receive may look nothing like this picture, it all depends on what we have. Maybe they could call it the "European crapshoot bouquet".

 

[MANORVILLE]

send a true stunner —(our finest European hand-tied bouquet created by our select florists using only the freshest, most spectacular blooms of the season!) Bound by hand with ribbon in the predominant style used throughout Europe, this breathtaking bouquet arrives fully designed and ready to be placed in a favorite vase or easily carried to their next destination.

Would they have been more accurate to say, "The flowers you receive may look nothing like this picture, it all depends on what we have. Maybe they could call it the "European crapshoot bouquet".

GO WITH YOUR BAD SELF !

 

[CHR]

Not really sure what could have been said to say mixed arrangement in florist choice any better without sounding blah.

Components may vary. ------>Color and flower varieties may vary.

My guess is some shoppers interpret the word 'select' to describe 'quality' since the term is commonly used to describe other items. 'Select meat' & 'select apples' don't mean the butcher or the guy in the produce aisle get to give you what they want to get rid of.

Plus - Who here really believes the $39.95 bouquet (including delivery) is 16" in diameter in a hand-tied European style?

 

[lori042499]

send a true stunner —(our finest European hand-tied bouquet created by our select florists using only the freshest, most spectacular blooms of the season!) Bound by hand with ribbon in the predominant style used throughout Europe, this breathtaking bouquet arrives fully designed and ready to be placed in a favorite vase or easily carried to their next destination.

Would they have been more accurate to say, "The flowers you receive may look nothing like this picture, it all depends on what we have. Maybe they could call it the "European crapshoot bouquet".

That doesn't sell flowers.....I have said this before McDonald's markets their food as edible and good looking because it sells, they certainly can't sell it as pure fat and crap that will make you have a heart attack....Again my question here is the internet really a good way to sell flowers??? I am getting a resounding NO...yet it is one of the most sought after products on the web, go figure...

 

[Chezbloom]

If it was not for our website and the ability to sell flowers through the internet. I would be out of business by now. I think it is a great way to sell flowers, if the seller is honest, and has a good product, what better way to let the world see what you can do?