some pretty exciting.....

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Mikey the Flower Guy

Mikey the Flower Guy

It's a GREAT DAY to live, and love!
Nov 10, 2002
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Dundas, Ontario, Canada
www.hamiltonflorists.com
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stuff is coming down the pipe from FTD's new CEO Mike Soenen...he and his staff have spent the last year or so, revising their plans for the next 5 years, and it's a pretty interesting mix of good usable and money saving ideas for FTD Member florists
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
biggest beefs with FTD as it currently exists??,,,,,
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.Mikey,
My response is not meant to get you worked up. But since you asked, FTD is moving in the direction of changing the way consumers buy & receive flowers. Products like JAWS add no value to florists. After all we already know how to make the flowers look pretty. JAWS does bring value to a consumer. One looking to by-pass a traditional florist. It is instant, pretty flowers in a vase they did themselves. Problem being they do this at the florists expense. The ones buying and promoting it. FTD advertising 20.00 dz roses or gifts from 14.99. Or how about 60% of the products on FTD.com either not related to florists or not needing a florist to be involved with the transaction. I could go on and on here. The real future of FTD is all about them. Their brand and the increases in dollar volume that they offer wall street. The FTD we all knew ended when it was sold from it’s members many moons ago. No matter what FTD has on the burner for the next 5 years, none of it will build on anyone’s business except their own. After all both of the big 2 claimed to have spent record amounts of money over the last 2 years. They claimed to be driving business to local florists. But we all have seen the truth. We have all seen the numbers. We lost over 550 million dollars last year alone. So I ask, if they have been sending customers anywhere, where have they gone??
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
biggest beefs with FTD as it currently exists??,,,,,
Click to expand...
Hmmm...do you want them in any certain order? Not sure the server has the room :)

MY biggest, is that they are driven by corperate GREED over what is in the best interest of their member Real Florists, which is I guess inevitable in "most" public companies.

Next would be, paying OG's more than they do the people doing the Real Florist WORK.

And then, when you do try to help them, they tell you "We have everything under control". But they don't realize that control is an illusion.

Ah...shut up mark...
 
No, no....

i want you to keep this going.......I LIKE MIKE Soenen, a lot, and I really hope that the "baggage" he must carry is NOT from the past, but, the future, and he's a pretty bright light, with LOTS of ideas for FTD, and it's members.
Some MAY be acceptable to you, and some may not, ...at least he too, is willing to try new stuff!!
 
Mikey , does Mike have a crystal ball that he's let you see inside where , FTD will jettison the order gathering outfits and bring it back to the paying members. Don't see that happening , even now HQ handles and places the orders for the largest grocery chain in the dominion, saves them the hassle of F***ing around with all the rejected orders.
 
If Mike Soenen is such a good guy...

why didn't he respond to my email concerning Vanouver Flower Co?
No one did except my FBC who knows I'll haunt him if he didn't call.
Typical, they don't want to lose the income these skimmers/gatherers provide them. 1st beef....fraudulent FTD florists especially on the web.
 
Brian.....

I have re-inforced the DR issue, and the organization is aware how much "credibility" is at stake, and how much has been lost...and the crystal ball is "broke"..... probably old technology.
OK...please answer me THIS...WHY do so many members refuse to give up their old antiquated Merc 2000's that are literally costing FTD millions each year to maintain, with NO end in sight??
Please use your modern media for an answer..
 
WHY do so many members refuse to give up their old antiquated Merc 2000's that are literally costing FTD millions each year to maintain, with NO end in sight??
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And after you get through those, you have to get through the Mercury 3000's.
Perhaps, Mickey, they don't want to change because they'd have to buy a PC and get a DSL/Cable connection? If they cost FTD so much money, why don't they replace them free of charge? Still, some might not want to switch because of the monthly cost of a DSL line. However, for the amount of money they charge each month to rent those old 386's, I wouldn't have thought they'd want to get rid of those Merc 3000's.
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
please answer me THIS...WHY do so many members refuse to give up their old antiquated Merc 2000's
Click to expand...
Why so many... because there are litteraly thousands connected to Daisy platforms, Visual Ticket platforms, RTI platforms and other NON-FTD technology and the only other option is to go with MAS or FTD tech.

Why they won;t give it up...simple, florists don;t like change!

And lastly, if FTD would simply REFUSE to replace the broken ones it would go away eventually.
 
That's...

already been tried...cost FTD almost 7,000 members when the "OLD" FTD announced that they would "force" members to replace the old crap
 
I hung to the old 2000 for quite a while waiting for the promised new machines from FTD technology , they have never materialized, still waiting , but when merc direct was offered at a sensible price , I took it. If it's that expensive to keep up , shut it down or offer some sort of technology update that is affordable for the small REAL FLORIST, I unfortunately don't have a lot of time to research , and learn how to operate new systems, and I would imagine that al lot of the smaller operators are in the same boat, I take lessons on this stuff from my daughter, when she has the time to teach me. Unless I can afford to bring some system home and another internet hookup etc, this is where I have to be to access and learn , oh and design , deliver and the rest of the daily routine.
 
Oh I can answer this one too...

I had the merc 2000, went to the 3000 (as told to by FTD). Had to go to Merc Wings cause they weren't going to support the 3000's anymore. I had to enter a lease (couldn't afford to buy the pc outright) Glad it's only a lease cause my time is up with it in May and it's going BACK. I am looking into merc direct. I would have stayed with a send/receive machine like the 3000 too if not intimidated by my FSR. At least Teleflora did it right with the Dove system......CD my machine and up and running. Used to be able to do that with FTD too but they found out it was much easier to sell a system.
My 3000 had NO problems when I shipped it back to them. This small shop as well as many of the small shops don't need Advantage/POS etc just send/receive. Too many have been intimidated into buying systems they don't need or want. Yeah I probably should have bought the HP system but the only thing I like about it is the laser printer. So glad it's soon outtta here!
 
merc 2000's

Mikey the Flower Guy said:
I have re-inforced the DR issue, and the organization is aware how much "credibility" is at stake, and how much has been lost...and the crystal ball is "broke"..... probably old technology.
OK...please answer me THIS...WHY do so many members refuse to give up their old antiquated Merc 2000's that are literally costing FTD millions each year to maintain, with NO end in sight??
Please use your modern media for an answer..
Click to expand...
I still have the Mercury 2000 because it is the only way I can interface my Daisy computer with FTD.
 
Boss said,


Why they won;t give it up...simple, florists don;t like change!


Well let see, if I remember correctly we hung on to our 3000 because...

When we were FTD we had 5 locations, FTD charge us 5 membership fee's, 5 selection guides, 5 QA charges.....You get the point.

I've always been curious as to whether FTD charged all the ordergatherer operations like 1-800 and others fee's for every location they had or have. Does anyone know the answer to that? We were not even afforded a discount for 5 memberships the only thing they did for us was agree to put it all together in one BIG bill.

Can't say that TF is much different but a least we were not forced to have five memberships we just couldn't have Dove systems in each store without paying seperate memberships. They did however allow us to send all orders to one location to be sent by dove or call them out from each location using one membership.

Knifes Wife
 
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