How many flowerchatters are in the process of quiting wire services? We took the plunge and will no longer be Teleflora at the end of January. Can't wait
Quiting wire service?
- Thread starter mperry
- Start date
Left FTD in 2000 and TF in June of 2008. Tough decision both times since there were sentimental relationships with both companies.... but the allegiances were clearly one-way streets with both companies (as far as the flower shop was concerned) so we made business decisions to do what we believed to be best for our future.
As people, both treated my husband and myself very well, but our store was still plagued by the same OGs that rip off consumers and treat florists shabbily today. Lots of head nodding with higher-ups, but SSDD pouring out of the Merc and Dove. Especially holidays. Lots of wasted 'prime time'.
When I calculate we needed to fill nearly $30k in FTD orders to break even with all their fees, that was enough to say adios.
We have been a member of BBrooks and it has been a terrific experience. The respect given by their employees to orders is something we hadn't experienced with a major WS for many years. They communicate. They follow up. They're knowledgeable pros and handle orders one at a time. It's everything a WS should be when it comes to serving both consumers and florists.
If major WSs work for you, great. If they don't, there are alternatives that allow florists to spend more time making profits than triaging unfulfillable orders.
As people, both treated my husband and myself very well, but our store was still plagued by the same OGs that rip off consumers and treat florists shabbily today. Lots of head nodding with higher-ups, but SSDD pouring out of the Merc and Dove. Especially holidays. Lots of wasted 'prime time'.
When I calculate we needed to fill nearly $30k in FTD orders to break even with all their fees, that was enough to say adios.
We have been a member of BBrooks and it has been a terrific experience. The respect given by their employees to orders is something we hadn't experienced with a major WS for many years. They communicate. They follow up. They're knowledgeable pros and handle orders one at a time. It's everything a WS should be when it comes to serving both consumers and florists.
If major WSs work for you, great. If they don't, there are alternatives that allow florists to spend more time making profits than triaging unfulfillable orders.
lori042499
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- May 3, 2006
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I will be sending my resignation letter to Tf this week to be out by the next directory...It has been clear to me for some time that the little guy is not any of their concern and what happened this holiday really put me over the top..I had 18 kinkade's left on dec 22. I called around to my network of friends in the biz and let them know I either had kinkade's for sale at what I paid or they coul forward the orders to me and I would fill them, I had 3 orders from a shop right here in Melrose, forwarded to me the very next morning, and telelfora intercepted them and sent them to whom ever they wanted to get them....I wasted my time calling around to arrange the security of my sales for them to circumvent that effort and screw me..When I called them and demanded that now they pick up their containers on them, I was told that because I had them since oct I had to send them and pay and they would charge a 20% restocking fee...I asked them why they were intercepting my referred orders and of course they say they don't do that...but my buddy had no reason to lie, he even told me that he had rejected a couple prior to me calling just not knowing I had any more...so why would he lie..I amde my decision right there and then, they are aligned with big senders and volume fillers and that is it..The rest of us just foot the bill...I am all done fiooting other people's bills..After 5 years of not getting paid and aligning with these blood sucking fee driven companies, I am ready to just be me and try to make a go of a profitable company...the only way I can see any of that happening is to cut the fat and Teleflora has made that easy by going up yet agian on all their fees next month and treating me like a noone...rant done!!!
Johan
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- Oct 20, 2008
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I left Teleflorist/eflorist in June/July but I am still a sending member of eflorist (no fees at all and you pay on sending the order minus your commission). I send quite a few flowers aboard so this makes it much easier. It is very liberating to just have your own business website and don't have to answer to anyone or have to pay inflated fees for everything from a wire service.
BOSS
FlowerChat Administrator
lori042499
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Mark, I had TF call me today to insist that the interception and resending fo orders did not exist...I told them to take there horse hockey stupitity elsewhere and that they have lost a customer because of this stupidity..I explained the kind of time at a holiday it took to orchestrate that kind of movement and how there interception totally wasted my and others time...idiots, she asked what else whe could help me iwth..I told her, short of telling the Resnicks that they are killing us with their fee structure and changing the whole way they do business, nope nothing...I was all done hoping and praying that they would really try to save us and now I am going to save myself..something I should have done years ago...thanks for asking though!
Let me play devil's advocate, with two caveats:
1) I have no love for any wire service
2) I haven't used Dove in a couple of years
As I recall, Dove doesn't strictly have a Forward feature the way Mercury does. (This may have changed.) I believe you have to REJ the order with a suggested filling florist, and the sender has the option of having that happen automatically or to override the suggested florist with their own selection.
If that is still the way the system operates, it's possible the sender was the one who directed the orders - not TF HQ.
I'm not trying to talk you into staying - just trying to understand the incident.
lori042499
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That is the way TF works..but it works so that the sender has the ultimate say...I let noone forward my orders...they need to come back to me directly with the suggestion of who to send it to...I would imagine TF.com has these set up this way also...the florists that I contacted refused the orders and input me as the florist of choice for the order to go to...Tf had to ignore that and send them on, unless the florists are lieing to me, in any case someone is lieing and I choose to believe at this point that they are the culprit...they have in the past, will in the future and I am all done with it all...I certainly don't need to be giving any more of my hard earned money to a company who doesn't care about me or my excess containers or raising my fees when I can't afford the current fees...so done...Ryan I will be calling you later today...to start set up of my new website...