Teleflora to require DCON's in August

[Knife's Wife]

So, topic drift just a bit...

I know nothing about pool deliveries and always kinda sorta thought that would be weird to be having MY product delivered in a truck labeled with somebody else's shop, also feeling they wouldn't be as careful with it as their own, knowing that their Ambassador (delivery person) could make or break you. (I've heard and believe the delivery person could be the most important person in your team - I know it was when I was doing all our deliveries, snuk snuk)
Never have had a problem with this, very strick rules to be part of the Club.

Sounds like a sticky wicket (I don't actually understand that term, but I felt like trying it out) to me.

I understand why you don't wire orders across town thank to a great post once by RC something to the effect of "How do you build your brand with their flowers?"

But, what am I getting at here - why exactly would you want or have to get everyone on board with this? Right now it only applies to TF shops - for now, oh and BN
Because every florist will have to provide me with the dcon in order for me to have to send it back to you silly. How else will you get your dcon if all the pool florist are not on board to providing it to me.


Independent shops - why would you push them to do something like this that will level the playing field?

So, this is a Teleflora members "benefit" (I know that will choke a few of you - enjoy) - why give your pool member/competitors the same advantage it is going to give you???

This is a "you're going to provide better service whether you like it or not" matter, and I just know after you get used to it and see how your own customers like it - you'll be sold and maybe even thank Teleflora for forcing you to move into the first decade of the new millenium.


I mean, you're gonna have to do them (if you want incoming) - if you don't spread that same service to your own local customer base you'll be needing your head examined.

Call me selfish or diabolical if you like, but if it were me I would try harder to figure out a way this will benefit me and not them.
Who is them? The other pool members?
Rickie you'll have to forgive me for staying in this thread - it's cohesive to my scattered mind to have it all in one place.

Don't think for a minute that I am not trying to find a solution, and make it work to my benefit.
Joan

 

[RWK]

So, topic drift just a bit...

I know nothing about pool deliveries....................Rickie you'll have to forgive me for staying in this thread - it's cohesive to my scattered mind to have it all in one place.

Let me make this clear, I don't have any problems with delivery confirmation, I like the idea of providing that and providing a picture of what I sent to the customer. It adds another little bit to just good customer service in my personal viewpoint.

The reason I started the other thread was in an effort - I hope not a vain effort - to endeavor to try and help Joan and others who deal with the pool issue find some possible solutions. In the 20 plus pages of posts, questions and possible answers were getting lost in the sea of commentary on whether or not it is or is not a good idea, reason why I ain't doing it, reason why I am doing it, and so forth.

So JB, want to help me find a possible solution for someone's problems so it is not in vain?

 

[bloomz]

I like the idea of providing that and providing a picture of what I sent to the customer. It adds another little bit to just good customer service in my personal viewpoint.

Now when that gets mandated you're gonna see me on the other side of this argument/discussion.

That idea blows and is a total can of worms IMNSHO.:corky

 

[Doug Munro]

Do I sense a slight shift?

Is it just me or do I sense a slight shift in the mood towards Dcon? I have a sneaky suspicion that some are coming over to the "in favor of" side of things.

 

[goldfish]

tracking is not delivery confirmation to the correct recepient. Case and point all those "lost" holiday orders from PF, 800, FTD etc. including the one I ordered, tracked, stated delivered at my home and was left on a neighbors porch two doors down when my house clearly had the numbers on the front - can't miss them - and the address was correct on the delivery tag. When questioned regarding where it was, I was told the carrier left it on my front porch. I have no front porch.
To believe that order had been confirmed as delivered...no way. It was just dropped off - no one signed, no one accepted.

You are correct, there's a difference between delivery tracking and delivery confirmation. I never said they are the same.

My point is simply that, just like delivery confirmation, there is no "need" for delivery tracking; yet, FEDEX/UPS does provide this service for free. Why? Because customers appreciate it.

Just because there's no "need" for the service, doesn't mean that it is unnecessary - that's what I wanted to say.

 

[goldfish]

I am shop A. I have a delivery that goes to Shop B's delivery area. I give the arrangement to Shop B at the pool. Now, How DO I AS SHOP A handle the confirmation of delivery when it is actually Shop B making the delivery?

Like 15 pages back, I said Twitter is an ideal tool for this.

it goes like this.

Shop A creates a Twitter account: e.g., @delivery_a
Shop B creates another account: @delivery_b

A and B "follow" each other. If you have 50 members, every shop creates its own Twitter acc and follow everyone else. Easy.

As soon as Shop-B completes delivery, it sends a "tweet" like this
123xyz-1215-lad

123xyz: order ID
1215: delivery time (optional)
lad: left at door (or any other code indicating the delivery status)

Shop A can immediately see what's going on. No need to call Shop-B.

The only technical requirement is for the delivery guys to carry cell phones.

 

[BOSS]

IMO Twitter is not an option. It won't work! Sure it might for the shop with less than 10 deliveries a day, but someone like me with 40 or Randy with 150+ would have to have someone monitor Twitter all dang day and then convert (enter) that data into another system.

There is a way to make this work, I started to explain it in the other DCON thread... (who's idea was it to start another DCON thread anyway, was not one enough??)

 

[RWK]

Boss, It was MY idea to start the other thread. In the sea of commentary about dcon, both pro and con, some real problems emerged and possible solutions were getting lost in the shuffle.

I started the thread to try and weed through the commentary to find and encourage specific answers to specific problems. THAT WAS MY IDEA

 

[BOSS]

Yea Rick, I know... sorry about this mornings sarcasm... it's all good....

(I was only kidding...really)

 

[RWK]

I know you wuz kidding.......But hey, If'n I did it, then I sez I did it......Now, Whose comin ta gives me my whoopin ??? rofl

 

[bloomz]

Its a sad state of affairs when you think about it, the only time you know an order has not been delivered is when a customer complains. By that time the damage is done, the customer is angry, and worse yet you look like you don't know your business.

It makes us look very inept - they trusted us to deliver their emotional message - and why should we not be able to know if it wasn't delivered?

I'd be pissed too...

 

[Joe Mioux]

It makes us look very inept - they trusted us to deliver their emotional message - and why should we not be able to know if it wasn't delivered?

I'd be pissed too...

Good manners would suggest that the Recipient would thank the customer for the flowers upon receipt.

 

[Connie]

Good manners would suggest that the Recipient would thank the customer for the flowers upon receipt.

You are absolutely right, Joe, and how many times have you had customers who called to say, "I know s/he didn't get the flowers because s/he hasn't called me." 'Tis sad that good manners are not that good anymore.

 

[RWK]

Like I have said before in this thread. To me, deliver confirmations just make good sense. I want to be the ruler by which all other shops are measured......to be the standard that everyone else is trying to catch up to.....and if a delivery confirmation will help me acheive that.......so be it. I realize I am speaking for three people - Me, Myself, and I.

Now, is this to say that there won't be problems with d-cons? - Of course there will be......It's stupid to think there won't be a problem. You can't confimre a delivery if the recipient isn't home, or they have left work early, or been heavenly discharged from the hospital, or been given an incorrect address by the sender - either a ws or a customer, or even if your delivery vehicle is totaled in an accident and all flowers detroyed by the impact....Dove or Merc screw-up and you didn't get the order........point being.....nothing is going to go right all the time.....even with d-cons.

Now, for shop's who deal with delivery pools.....they face even more problems when another shop makes the delivery for them in addition to the myriad of problems above.

I believe dcons are beneficial......however, it boils down to a simple thing...WANT.....Do you WANT to do the decons or not? If you don't WANT to, nothing and no one will convince you otherwise. Even making it madantory will have no effect if you don't WANT to.......they'll accept any fines, lack of orders, or even get out of the WS.

20 plus pages of discussion and the ultimate reason for or against boils down to either you want to or you don't.

 

[BOSS]

You can't confimre a delivery if the recipient isn't home, or they have left work early, or been heavenly discharged from the hospital, or been given an incorrect address by the sender - either a ws or a customer, or even if your delivery vehicle is totaled in an accident and all flowers detroyed by the impact....Dove or Merc screw-up and you didn't get the order........point being.....nothing is going to go right all the time.....

Um... a slight correction....

We send a confirmation when the recipient is not home, it advises our customer what time we were there and that they were not home. Same thing with someone that is not at work...and incorrect address is also possible. In the case of a deceased recipient.. we do call, it just seems a little more personal, and it gives us the opportunity to sell the customer on flowers for the funeral (sick I know...but)...

I'll have to add one for the truck wreck thing... but knock on wood I'd hope I never had to use it, but it is technologically possible....

Yes, Merc and Dove are screw-ups... that's why we use MAS

Added: In today's techno-connected world, often, our delivery confirmation/customer notifications result in our customer calling us before we can call them, because they got our notices in their email at work, or on their phone...

 

[RWK]

I'll give you that one Boss, your problems might not be the same as Bloomz, Joe might run into a whole aother set of problems than CHR.......the point I was making still is valid..............

NOTHING, EVEN D-CONS, is going to go perfect all the time.....sooner or later, something is gonna screw it up.

 

[sfox]

Yes, Merc and Dove are screw-ups... that's why we use MAS

Boss, without trying to start a fight, if MAS is as good as the MAS cheerleaders keep saying it is, why isn't it the industry leader today? Shouldn't the owners of the system number in the thousands? MAS has been around for a number of years now and yet it is had by only a few florists.

If MAS direct is the heads above leader, why are Mercury and Dove still here?

The biggest question is why aren't florists standing in line to purchase MAS and MAS Direct if they are so much better? It would be logical to expect that a system that is so far advanced would have crushed the competition by now. Because the flip side of the argument would be that all those bells and whistles are not as valued by florists as is being stated.

Now please keep in mind, this is not a knock of MAS, only questions about florists.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

LOOK...guys and gals...we GOTTA get this done.....
You HAFTA get up in the morning, you HAFTA go to your shops, you HAFTA buy, design, and "administrate" staff and solutions, and you HAFTA STILL find a way to raise your family.
AND DCONS are an "issue"...c'mon folks...we just GOTTA get it done!!

 

[BOSS]

The biggest question is why aren't florists standing in line to purchase MAS and MAS Direct if they are so much better? It would be logical to expect that a system that is so far advanced would have crushed the competition by now. Because the flip side of the argument would be that all those bells and whistles are not as valued by florists as is being stated.

Short answer...

Because in *most* cases, the wires give florists a system, **FREE** paid for by rebates... something MAS can not do, it's a small company. And, once locked into a wire service system, they are continually *given* upgrades that further lock them into technology jail.

I'm pretty sure Gary Reed of FAS would echo that same comment, as FAS too is superior to any wire service system.

One other note, MAS have hundreds of users these days...and combined with FAS, Floristware and the other independents, the independent base is growing...

For some reason I want to quote Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth"... but the truth it is...

Try this on for size:

We are serious... What if we were to provide MASDirect and you choose ???

Your thoughts?

 

[sfox]

Your thoughts?

Quick answer, it's all in the details.