Teleflora refund...

shannonlovesflowers

shannonlovesflowers

New Member
Oct 16, 2007
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Albuquerque
State / Prov
New Mexico
So as you may or may not know- My hubby and I are in the midst of MAYBE buying this shop.

Before I went any furthur I wanted to ask my rep about charges on our statement that just looked fishy to me. I asked the shop owner about them in Jan of 2010. She said "Well that's just something we have to pay!" I thought- "well, ok then"

We have the Dove POS.
We have been getting charged for not only the Dove POS but also a bunch of "Eagle" stuff.
Didn't make sense to me- but hey I'm just a dumb employee NOT the owner- so what do I know.

Well- as a potential buyer I want to know what I'm buying. So I went over everything in our statement with our TF rep. When I asked why we are paying for Eagle when we have Dove POS the rep said - "humm, that's a good question. I'll have to look into that."
Okey dokey..

Just got a call saying - "hey you were right. You shouldn't have been charged that. You will get a refund on your next statement for all the months you have been charged for Eagle since you've had the Dove POS." It was installed in April of 2009.

I added it all up. Should be over $3,600.

Who knows what else sort of nonsense I will find.
 
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Oh, Mark, Mark, Mark...

I would say lots...My guess is that for every florist that actually reads their statement there are probably 10 that don't bother with it...and out of those florists that read it a good portion don't even know what the charges are for and just reconcile the orders are correct...We aren't silly for nothing, you know...I for one read my statement, know what I am being charged for and understand all too well how much I am being screwed, blued and tatooed...no more koolaid for me..

Shannon, good on you for trying to figure out the statements before you buy the shop and trying to figure out if you are making money on them or not...
 
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Shannon, I think we were supposed to read Rick's statement with sarcasm....
 
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bootcampguy said:
You're suppose to read those statements and understand them?
Click to expand...
ha.... I was just thinking maybe I should start an "Understanding Wire Service Statements" thread (class) to help those who don't know, get in the know. Shannon's is a perfect example...

They're not going to fix anything, unless you catch them yourself.
 
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I think the best place for this is in the Wire Service Forum... since that's what it applies to. I'll post contact info there, and if there are a couple other senior members that want to help out, that would be great.
 
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BOSS said:
ha.... I was just thinking maybe I should start an "Understanding Wire Service Statements" thread (class) to help those who don't know, get in the know. Shannon's is a perfect example...

They're not going to fix anything, unless you catch them yourself.
Click to expand...

no need....just hire "SHANNON P.I.", available monday to thursday in Albuquerque, and fridays to sundays, in the Bahamas.....:) (just sayin)
 
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BOSS said:
I think the best place for this is in the Wire Service Forum... since that's what it applies to. I'll post contact info there, and if there are a couple other senior members that want to help out, that would be great.
Click to expand...
this "could" be fun......more likely, humiliating and embarrassing, AND NECESSARY!!
 
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Mikey the Flower Guy said:
no need....just hire "SHANNON P.I.", available monday to thursday in Albuquerque, and fridays to sundays, in the Bahamas.....:) (just sayin)
Click to expand...

I have seriously thought of starting a consulting business for shops who need a little push. I'm really good at observing a shop and pin pointing problems...then coming up with a plan to fix them.
 
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shannonlovesflowers said:
I have seriously thought of starting a consulting business for shops who need a little push. I'm really good at observing a shop and pin pointing problems...then coming up with a plan to fix them.
Click to expand...


Other businesses bring in consultants to help improve their bottom line! MY husband's uncle does that he goes in and "fixes companies" then moves on to the next one.
 
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The thing with florists is they all think they know everything about everything and "no one will buy that in my town" and "this is the way we've always done things" etc etc etc... Very stubborn people.
OR they just want a permanate employee to run everything for them but not really ever learn how to do it themselves.
Case in point- my situation right now. You can lead a horse to water.......

PLUS- a failing shop I think would have a hard time wanting to pay for such a service.
 
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Unfortunately, the wire services have the upper hand. When we "upgraded" from FTD Advantage to Mercury, part of the deal was a lower credit card discount. I have always checked my statements, and saw that, after three months, the rate had not been reduced. I started emailing and calling. Eventually, what they owed me amounted to about $1,400. After a number of promises that it would be taken care of, I received a credit of about $700 on my statement, as well as an adjustment in the credit card charges. They also took away my CashFlo rebate, which wasn't mentioned in the contract. It took several more months to get the other $700. Then, last November, the CashFlo rebate came back. At the same time, the credit card discount jumped back up. The deal they had offered was for the life of the contract: 60 months. We have 30 months to go. I've started writing and calling again. They don't reply. And I have to pay whatever's on the statement. I'll continue to work on it, but it's frustrating and unnecessary.
 
Sometimes the effort in calling is not worth the price of membership....I feel that with everything else on my plate, the aggravation in chasing who I need to get the job done and the effort for keeping track of all of that and then the follow up and rinse and repeat situation far exceeds the measley dollars made on the orders at hand, then when you factor in the complaint ratio, CS foolishness, the delivery foolishness, etc...I really am in the belief that even top sending/receiving shops are spenning way more than they think and doing way more damage to themselves and the industry than they think or can't realistically put a value on...

ROI is just not there to bother not for 12000 dollars a year not for 130000 dollars a year...just sayin'
 
I don't want to get too deep into your business, but if you are going to buy someone's shop. You may want to consider just letting the WS go away with the old ownership. You might get a better deal as a new prospect. Tell your sales rep that you decided NOT to continue with teleflora once the shop changes hands and see what happens. I got TF for free for 8 months when i bought this shop.

Also, make sure that you are not counting incoming wire sales when factoring in yearly sales for that business. Incoming wire sales give a business ZERO assets because you could open a shop anywhere in town and get exactly the same sales. The shop down the road from me is for sale for $350,000. She claims $400,000 a year in sales, but I'd guess a good third/half of that is wire service because she does more advertising in the directories than i do.
 
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