Star Alliance

[LORRIE]

Congrats on the mortgage! Are you having some of that Ice Wine to celebrate??

 

[Rhonda]

Ice Wine

was reviewed on the Today Show this week. They even gave a description on how it's made and stated "Very Pricey but well worth the price"...

 

[Hal Conklin]

So Mickey, to join this "alliance" you must sign-up with MAS or you can't do your transmitting of orders directly from your POS system, right?

You don't have to have MAS to join Alliance..You can have FS,VT,RTI,ADVANTAGE anything...

 

[George Simon]

and you can transmit your orders electronically to other florists in the alliance?
In other words, is the protocol for transmitting the orders electronically available for the asking to all of those companies?

 

[GFLORAL]

Good lord George, give it a rest. If you would look and read you can see that the wire orders are handled by FSI. So the orders would be transmitted with FSI. I am not a member so I don't know how they handle their order transmission. I think that they have a way of sending orders electronically. So if your system (Flowersoft) can send FSI orders then there you go, your customers are all set.

What is this need you seem to have to try to negativally comment on every thing that MAS is involved in to the point now where you making up your own scenarios.

 

[flowerknife+us]

ProFlowers

Is showing their growth as a result of entering the Market of Ideas- In a big way. They are spending a considerable amount of CASH to get the consumer to do what 1-800FL did 12 years ago. Like convince the consumer that Buying Flowers from them is Superior than how their doing it now.

Florists have not had a presence in the market place of ideas for 12 years. Should their be any outcome other than what were going through ,than the current situatuion?

The wire services rendered their operations to accomidate the re-direction of these orders. Origionally to cater to the "wired" order. to one where "local" orders are transformed into "wire" orders( the growth market).

Florists have let themselfs become a work force for a system that ultimately deminishes their own market base. Simply because they provide the means of distribution for their competitors. outside the Brick and Morter membership.

"A" Wire service is not the problem in and of itself. It is a Wire service who does not take it's Members intrests at heart. At this time, the members do not have sufficent ecomonic clout to Keep the services in line due to the continual erosion of OUR orders in relation to Their orders.

The notion that "wire Services" will be dead in 10 years is smoking too much...

Granted, the importance may not be as it is today, IT may not look like todays, It may even be more than today. The need will still be their.

I wouldn't consider the general population smart enough to all go direct. Not to mention that "my" customers may still want me to send their orders.
Can everyone currently state that they never recieved an order over their web site that Never needed to be "sent out of town"???

The issue of strength in numbers with reguards to the current situation is a real consern. Without it, no 0ne is going anywhere- fast.

Unfortunately, to get the numbers necessary to efect a change. You need to talk in the language the Masses understand. In todays market, it"s still "wire Service".

I "think" there is a large market among florists for a viable alternitive to what is currently avaliable. It could well be better to have an alternitive home to go to than it is to "not Fill" for either of the others.

It's not the case for trying to keep what we have. It's more the case for setting the ground work to take back what we let get away.

 

[George Simon]

Good lord George, give it a rest. If you would look and read you can see that the wire orders are handled by FSI. So the orders would be transmitted with FSI. I am not a member so I don't know how they handle their order transmission. I think that they have a way of sending orders electronically. So if your system (Flowersoft) can send FSI orders then there you go, your customers are all set.

What is this need you seem to have to try to negativally comment on every thing that MAS is involved in to the point now where you making up your own scenarios.

Excuse me G, but where in the following do you see an attack on MAS?

and you can transmit your orders electronically to other florists in the alliance?
In other words, is the protocol for transmitting the orders electronically available for the asking to all of those companies?

I was simply asking Hal a question. Do you feel you have to answer for him?
To me this "alliance" looks a lot like another wire service but with separate companies involved, which are not providing their services for free.
So how is that helping the real florist fight the Proflowers, 800-Flowers and other OGs?
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[BOSS]

UMMMMM>>>>>>>>

What K said!

 

[Blue Oyster Cult]

You boy's and girls have Thread Drifted ENOUGH!

All of you go back in your corner and come out with a plan to 'save this industry'.

For crying out loud Match this, Match that...Pee this, Pee that, Compair this to That and Save the World, Real Florists, Website listings, MATH PROBLEMS and yes the POS Question...

I know what were going to do in 2005 to make OUR MONEY this YEAR and it doesn't include a WS to so call help us in ORDERS.

spend your money anyway you want...no FSI for ME!.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

And HERE...

we were all worried about YOU Blue Mikey, maybe some people are "listening" really listening,to what you are saying....not everything about a wire service has to do with "transferring" orders.........

 

[Blue Oyster Cult]

Mikey

We know that not ONE CHANCE, will an OG order get into our SHOP.

We cut the disturbution channel on the WEB and Systems who find it an Open Playing Field.

Who has the Key to your door?

Folks are right here about reinventing yourselves in this industry.....no WS means NO OG Orders. Let em DIE withing their own world and go out and market yourself within your community without having any problems sending out your customers orders DIRECT.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

I hate to say this....

do you know how many shop owners "RELY" on the big, fat, profit stripped ws cheque to come in??

 

[BOSS]

Who has the Key to your door?

Ya make it sound like we can't read...or that we don't know how to run our businesses. This is NOT a one soloution fits all, not just yet it's not.

 

[Blue Oyster Cult]

I only control OUR BUSINESS

Do what you feel is best for your shop.

One thing I have learned is MATH and BUSINESS in the everyday of 'yep' we need to do this.

Do it! do something and quit with the talk of blogs and other ideas which never seem to hit this real florist industry.

For the year of 2004 I have heard many @@@@@ and complain yet here we are talking about the same things starting 2005.

Move aside...I'm going with the SURVIVAL PLAN. You figure it out.

 

[BOSS]

You figure it out.

I have Mike, thats why there will soon be a meeting of close to 100 Real Florists up my way, most former members of the defunct association.

All I had to do was ask one of my wholeslaers to distribute the flyer that is under construction right now, he was more than happy to assist. He too knows something needs to be done, and he feels what I and others are trying to acomplish has merrit. The more florists we lose, the less there are for the wholesalers and they know it.

By the way, you mentioned the blog never hit the industry...it's there, just today 3 more florists submitted to be included, and it's a free directory, so don't tell me nothing's happening.

 

[Blue Oyster Cult]

And who's fault is that?

do you know how many shop owners "RELY" on the big, fat, profit stripped ws cheque to come in??

Don't know the answer to your question but I can bet that they don't know anything about the STATEMENT.

 

[Blue Oyster Cult]

mark I'm playing Mchigan Hold em..

I have Mike, thats why there will soon be a meeting of close to 100 Real Florists up my way, most former members of the defunct association.

All I had to do was ask one of my wholeslaers to distribute the flyer that is under construction right now, he was more than happy to assist. He too knows something needs to be done, and he feels what I and others are trying to acomplish has merrit. The more florists we lose, the less there are for the wholesalers and they know it.

By the way, you mentioned the blog never hit the industry...it's there, just today 3 more florists submitted to be included, and it's a free directory, so don't tell me nothing's happening.

I'll hold on to my cards this round. Too much going on with us Branding Ourselves.

 

[Lady Biker Florist]

I wouldn't consider the general population smart enough to all go direct. Not to mention that "my" customers may still want me to send their orders.

I have been telling lots of people about calling direct and I'll be darn if quite a few don't want anything to do with it. They do not want to be bothered. They seem to enjoy the luxury of someone else doing it all for them.

Our plumber (side note* - We met this guy in MSN Classic Rock worldwide chatroom who happened to live 1 mile from us - best plumber we ever had) -anyway - he calls early one day this week and says his mother needs to wire flowers and she lives about 10 miles from us. I explained to him to how she can avoid the middleman and call direct about a five minute explanation. But she ends up making the trip to our shop anyway probably passing a dozen other shops on the way as she wanted us to do it. She trusted us because we earned it with her son and that meant more than saving money to her.

This happens more than one would think. Not everyone cares about saving $10-20 bucks.

 

[theRKF]

Blue - You said "Thread!!" I'm so happy!!!!!

Ryan

 

[GFLORAL]

Excuse me G, but where in the following do you see an attack on MAS?

I was simply asking Hal a question. Do you feel you have to answer for him?
To me this "alliance" looks a lot like another wire service but with separate companies involved, which are not providing their services for free.
So how is that helping the real florist fight the Proflowers, 800-Flowers and other OGs?
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I never said attack did I????? There you go again, you are good at twisting things around. I just said you like to negatively comment. Which if anyone does any search on the board they can see for themselves.

And no I don't have to answer for him but if you would just read and use some common sense you could get the answers for yourself. And Hal is just a rep for one part of this alliance. If you want to know about the wire service part of it and want to know about the electronic protocol why don't you pick up the phone and call FSI??????

And you fianlly got something right!!! This is like a wire service but with individual companies providing their services instead of just one wire service. But, just to let you know the wire services don't provides these services for free either. (Why would you think that these companies would give out their services for free?)

And I didn't see anywhere on their website that said they were made to help fight the order gatherers. It says right on their site what their primary goal is.