price check please

Kristine

Kristine

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2002
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Middleville
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michigan
gmfoote.jpgGrandma F passed this week. unfortunately not close enough to deliver myself. This is what was delivered.
the pink roses were not requested - any flowers used were supposed to be lavender. The request was for natural, outdoors with a Upper peninsula type feel (hence the pine) with cones, grass , twiggs etc. the lantern in the middle was provided by the family.

thanks
 
First off- I think the roses very well could be lavander, they just look pink next to the novi.

I can see 12 roses, so based on 12 roses I'd say the piece would run about $125. If there were 18 roses $175
 
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no the roses where pink, My sister took this photo at the grave site service yesterday. She was one who went to discuss the arrangements with the shop. She has prev exp in the biz,so she knows her stuff. :)
 
Those look like they could be faith roses, which I would consider pink with a hint of lavender, some people might fluff them off as lavender...I would say that this should be no more than 125...Even though the greens were probably harvested rosidia style, they will still charge for them as it does cost them to harvest and process...I would charge going rate, just because...With all those greens used as flowers, in the picture it makes it look a bit bare, but it is in actuality very full is you look at the greens as part of the design, instead of just fill or background...The designer may have wanted to showcase that part thinking it was an important symbol because it was specified...I am curious to see how much was really charged as you are obviously peeved by it hence the price check!
 
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the charge was $200 plus tax and delivery.
 
Well, at least the design isn't bad...the person making it was at least trained...I don't know what kind of an overhead they have or what kind of a shop it is so it is hard to say why it looks like so much less than what you paid...those are a premium rose, the trichelium is expensive, I would have used a more solid flower rather that such a pricey fillery looking flower for the same money with a better weight....Is there alot in the back that we don't see...I do my covers all around so that there isn't a blank spot on the back when in church or graveside?
 
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$200 would be the price I charged at Aprils in Durango. We had much higher overhead than what we I have here in Albuquerque.

May I ask why your sister who has worked in a shop and knows her stuff didn't make the casket peice?
 
no the design was fine (back just greenery no flowers) my sister specifically request no roses and only lavender flowers. Even tho the pic is not the best, when we talked about it yesterday morning, she state there was no way those roses were even a hint of lavender and they specifically stated NO ROSES. gma foote really disliked roses.

Siss felt like they had overcharged for the design requested and stuck the roses in for the value.

same thing happened for the grandkids tribute. request was for a nontraditional style funeral arr. ( traditional style funeral arr is: fan shape in mache or basket type cont) with the same flowers, twigs etc. That too had the pink roses and was traditional funeral piece in basket - exactly what she didn't request.

I told her she should call. Either the person who they worked with did not convey the specific request or the designer didn't read. there was certainly an issue
 
shannonlovesflowers said:
$200 would be the price I charged at Aprils in Durango. We had much higher overhead than what we I have here in Albuquerque.

May I ask why your sister who has worked in a shop and knows her stuff didn't make the casket peice?
Click to expand...

My sister is no longer in the biz (she like you, realized she needed another career to have a living wage esp when she lived in Chicago. Now she works with adoptive parents, does seminars and workshops and is finishing her first book - to be published in Nov, plus two very busy boys)

so she no longer has any supplies and tracking down everything needed would take way too much time. Besides she is all about buying local and was happy to leave the job in what she thought were capable hands.

this design would have easily been $200+ in chi. but she now lives on the east side of the state. the cost of living there isn't any different than for me here
 
Here in Maine where we use our own cut greens (winter greens that is) I would probably have charged around $125 for that... doz roses and bunch of monte, curly willow, birch twigs and I'm sorry, I think (from that first picture angle) that the designer is NOT well trained. Personally, I don't think I'd let that out of my shop (sorry) Second picture -larger dead on pic - yep...don't like the design.
Using the lantern as a focal? I'd not have my roses splayed out to the sides... definitely a design that needed to be grouped allowing the greens, weeds, & pods to take center stage. Since "no roses" was requested, the florist should have used something like lisianthus or even florigenes (would have been pretty)...
 
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OK, so that is the real reason that this is such an issue...and it is huge..if no roses was requested than I don't care if your were charged 30.00 it is all roses and the wrong color to be exact....This florist epic failed in terms of service in executing the sale to its specifications....They atleast need to be called and spoken to to find out why when you requested no roses and all lavender flowers that your were given all roses and pink...let them give you a reason and decide if they just failed miserably or if they had just cause for the change...You have every reason to be upset with this list of failures...All I can say is that, this is the very reason we, as florists, need to ask more questions of complaints and such...because I am sure that if the design was mediocre and it wasn't that abundantly full, but there were lots of pretty lavender flowers and no roses, there wouldn't have been as big a dissapointment as there was, so it really isn't the price that you are upset about it is the disappointment in feeling unlistened to and uncared about in your time of need in placing an order for a very special person in your life...and you should feel this way...and the florist should be made aware, they way they handle this will let you know without a doubt if you should ever use them again...
 
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Carol Bice said:
This is so typical of so many shops. I am sure they did the very best they knew how to do, but, their best is not up to your standards.....so, what to do? They will not understand why you are dissapointed.
Click to expand...

when my sis called me we talked about what was sent. WE decide this: design was ok; style was ok; UP theme was ok; Roses NO (specific request was NONE); value, is relative. Her comment was that perhaps they over estimated the cost of the arr and put in the roses to give value. So it really wasn't about price (we felt with the roses the value was there) is was about PINK ROSES.

So then she asked me what should I do. My advice was to call them. She obviously wasn't happy. IF it was me at my store, I would want to know. Something didn't happen correctly, did the sales person omit information or did the designer not follow instructions? There was a failure. The fact that Sis knows more about the business isn't coming into play here, sure she has a more discerning eye, but design, style, theme were fine, that wasn't the main factor. The PINK ROSES were the main issue.

However, the style of the other arr was an issue when it was exactly what was NOT ORDERED. She can discuss that one.



I threw this out to see what others thought about the value presented. You know, Like hum, "I know what I would charge for this, but perhaps I am way off base and the true costs really should be more or less".

Her issue isn't money, she just couldn't understand the pink roses [on that note, you all don't know my sister, but I do. and if she said NO roses and only lavender flowers it wasn't just once but several times to MAKE SURE you got the POINT. She is a very exacting and detailed oriented person and is very good about getting across exactly what she wants or does not want in a very matter of fact way. - her wedding flowers were the easiest of all my sisters to produce and I have 4 sisters :) ]

HTH explain a little better

thanks for the input everyone.
 
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Carol Bice said:
This is so typical of so many shops. I am sure they did the very best they knew how to do, but, their best is not up to your standards.....so, what to do? They will not understand why you are dissapointed.
Click to expand...

I was going to say this, however, as I read down the line, I'd be VERY disappointed with what was asked for, and what was delivered!!. Between 150-200 is NOT out of line, BUT, it's worth ZERO, if specifically NOT as requested!
There "may" be a caveat....many shops have reduced their stoc on hand, and some things just CANNOT be pulled out of thin air, so the last "question" IS, how much lead time, did the filling shop have??....
 
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Mikey the Flower Guy said:
I was going to say this, however, as I read down the line, I'd be VERY disappointed with what was asked for, and what was delivered!!. Between 150-200 is NOT out of line, BUT, it's worth ZERO, if specifically NOT as requested!
There "may" be a caveat....many shops have reduced their stoc on hand, and some things just CANNOT be pulled out of thin air, so the last "question" IS, how much lead time, did the filling shop have??....
Click to expand...

flowers were ordered Monday morning for a viewing Tuesday at 4pm.
 
Kristine said:
My sister is no longer in the biz (she like you, realized she needed another career to have a living wage esp when she lived in Chicago. Now she works with adoptive parents, does seminars and workshops and is finishing her first book - to be published in Nov, plus two very busy boys)

so she no longer has any supplies and tracking down everything needed would take way too much time. Besides she is all about buying local and was happy to leave the job in what she thought were capable hands.

this design would have easily been $200+ in chi. but she now lives on the east side of the state. the cost of living there isn't any different than for me here
Click to expand...

I see.

I guess I'm just the type of person who thinks..."if you want it done right, do it yourself."

The one and only time I wired out flowers for a funeral and was NOT dissapointed was when Cathy's, Avante Gardens, shop did 2 funeral sprays for my Aunt last year. Every other time it was mass amounts of WTF.

oh and btw- your sister sounds like me.....i'd say "I really need to stress NO roses. none none none none...No roses."
That's how I roll..
 
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shannonlovesflowers said:
I see.

I guess I'm just the type of person who thinks..."if you want it done right, do it yourself."

The one and only time I wired out flowers for a funeral and was NOT dissapointed was when Cathy's, Avante Gardens, shop did 2 funeral sprays for my Aunt last year. Every other time it was mass amounts of WTF.

oh and btw- your sister sounds like me.....i'd say "I really need to stress NO roses. none none none none...No roses."
That's how I roll..
Click to expand...

unfortunately circumstance were such that it wasn't possible for her or me to do the doo.
she has 2 little boys who are grieving the loss of a Gma and me, I spent last Friday afternoon in the ER so going across the state was not an option on Monday or Tuesday.

but ya
when I read you I can "see" some of my sister in your answers. and I say that in a good way. :)
 
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Kristine,

Wow, I hope you're okay? (emergency room?)

Anyway, for me that spray would be $150-$175 because of the varied pines. They probably were not beyond reason in that.

However, no roses, all lavender flowers. They completely missed the boat and need to be told. It can be as simple as, "I am not expecting you to do anything about this but I thought you should know......". This approach would probably be most likely to get a conversation going and the least likely to become confrontational. If they understand that your sister is not asking for a refund, they may be more open to learning a valuable lesson for future grieving people who won't be so easy-going.

I want to know if I screwed up so that I have an opportunity to make amends.
 
I would be furious if i asked for NO roses that specifically, and they gave me Roses. Not on, at any level. I would love to hear if you called the florist and what their excuse was. If they could not get hold of the flowers you had asked for within the time scale, they should have explained that and had a back up plan in place. To be honest, a bit of lilac september spray and trachelium to me does not represent choice flowers.

I would, as an owner, want to know about this.
 
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