Telelflora monthly statements: deliveries

S

Simon Says

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Apr 1, 2011
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Medford
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In the Feb statement, Teleflora, have,for the first time, included their understanding of the delivery confirmations you have been making.

In checking mine, I found numerous errors in Teleflora missing confirmations and that on some florist-to-florist orders, these were classed as late by Teleflora, despite being due to weather conditions (and on 2 occasions other factors). Weather in Jan and Feb with blizzards, snow, un-plowed roads of 18-24", freezing temps sometimes for 100 + continuous hours et cetera and recipients not being at home or way et cetera are circumstances florists all know about. Wrong funeral dates resulted in funeral home requiring delivery on a different date and an incoming order after 7pm asking for same day delivery were the 2 occasions with non-weather related factors. All the weather related and the 2 odd ones were delivered promptly the following day and so reported, with reasons given, back to Teleflora.

I questioned the Teleflora Sales Rep about this and they kicked it back to OK or AK.

Teleflora eventually confirmed - late incidentally and so, ironically meaning they failed to meet their own "delivery" response - that they had not counted some reported orders and this improved my delivery % record. They presented, when asked, no reason for not using publishing correct delivery statements (for Jan and for Feb).

TF wrote that there is "...no resolution for changing delivery dates for florist to florist orders at this time." I asked if TF were as a result of pushing the 100% score for "same day" delivery confirmations proposing that regardless of conditions, flora/plants et cetera were to be left. There was no response to that. Of course responsible florists would not leave flora to freeze or wilt or in conditions such as a lack of safety et cetera but TF is seemingly pushing for that. I make that claim because on the monthly statement from TF where they report the delivery performance, they conclude by writing that failure to provide "same-day" confirmations could impact you financially.

Simply rejecting an order is not always forseeable: for example, you receive an order on a Monday for a Thursday delivery, how do you know what the weather will be like on Thursday or that there will be some-one there to receive the delivery.

What I do know is that Teleflora making false statements about my delivery performance and writing that it could impact me financially does leave them open for a legal discussion.

Ultimately, check the accuracy of what Teleflora state is your delivery "same-day" confirmation record and, if in doubt, question it because it could impact you financially.
 
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Yeah I have been using the delivery confirmation system in our POS way before TF even began to think about this idea of doing dove delivery confirmations. So when they started enforcing this rule we had no problem since it was already something that we have done.

I received the same notice saying that our shop was not reporting the orders delivered and would be not elilegable to receive incoming orders fro HQ.

I called them up and told them that is fine since I don't believe in filling their orders but warned them that their information was not correct since we have always done delivery confirmations.

Their system is flawed since most of our outgoing orders order dates are not correct on their dove print ups and the lack of information such as delivery times and signatures are also not included with the dove print ups.

I agree that there is some room for legal discussions on this matter especially if shops are being affected by TF not sending them HQ orders based upon this faulty system that is not accurate.
 
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Thx to comments so far and Helen's is certaintly the most succinct!

On a very elementary level, if a statement you make causes proven damage, be it financial, physical or possibly mental, there would appear to be cause for legal recourse. Teleflora have stated this may impact you financially and yet they proceed to:
- provide and continue to use after the matter is drawn to their attention, computer programs that are not correct;
- penalise you if you do not deliver, regardless of conditions;
- penalise you if you do deliver, regardless of conditions, and the sender or recipient complains;
- potentially penalise you in-drectly if you do deliver, regardless of conditions, and the sender and/or recipient, while not complaining consider your product sub-standard and therefore elect not to use you;
- penalise you if you reject because, for example, the weather is not conducive to deliveries and yet, one never knows, whether you could have delivered and made the sale; and
- penalise you, in-directly, because you reject so many that their (flawed) computer programs record your high reject level and automatically push you down their automatic send orders to florist p[rogram.

Teleflora present florists with their own Catch-22 !

In England, they'd be called w*nkers ! (* = insert first letter of the alphabet)
 
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do a delivery confirmation message whether it actually gets delivered or not. I do this all the time with FTD and teleflora. If you cannot get it successfully delivered then send the confirmation message and state "attempted to deliver but noone home, weather is bad, blah blah blah"

you are dealing with automated message systems. The dove software simply checks to see if the delivery confirmation message gets sent. It doesn't care what the message actually says. I also do this for things i'll be delivering on my way home. I send confirmation, and put in the message that I will be taking it on the way home, and will advise if there was any problem with delivery. I get credit for all those confirmations.
 
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Also, stop worrying about the legality of anything TF or FTD does. Whether it is "legal" or not only matters if you ever decide to take them to court, and anything they do is "legal" because you belong to their service and have signed a contract with their terms and condidtions. There is a clause in that contract that states they can change terms and conditions at any time with no notice (and they exercise this right all the time).

If they ever do anything "illegal" and you sue if it ever gets all the way to court, the judge will simply say "yes, they shouldn't be doing this. Why don't you quit their service?"
 
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jamie said:
Also, stop worrying about the legality of anything TF or FTD does. Whether it is "legal" or not only matters if you ever decide to take them to court, and anything they do is "legal" because you belong to their service and have signed a contract with their terms and condidtions. There is a clause in that contract that states they can change terms and conditions at any time with no notice (and they exercise this right all the time).

If they ever do anything "illegal" and you sue if it ever gets all the way to court, the judge will simply say "yes, they shouldn't be doing this. Why don't you quit their service?"
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True vis-a-vis Teleflora's agreement. Yet it is true that over-riding that is a meaningful intent on the part of the wire service to deprive a party to that contract of income through lies and doing them damage. Whether Teleflora, as you state in your message prior to the one I have quoted, structures a system to record messages in the manner you report or whether it does not, for them to notify you that by not doing something it wants you to do which runs contrary to what is reasonable, sometime legal - do you break past the funeral director and demand to leave flowers in the funeral home because that is what the wire service dictates? - and what in all probability the sender/original gift giver wants, does do you damage and is therefore something they should not be doing.

To those -at present such as I- who are members of 1 or more wire service, just be aware that here is one more reason to consider your membership of that odious, nefarious, disingenuous grouping of societal miscreants. A plague upon all their houses.
 
jamie said:
do a delivery confirmation message whether it actually gets delivered or not. I do this all the time with FTD and teleflora. If you cannot get it successfully delivered then send the confirmation message and state "attempted to deliver but noone home, weather is bad, blah blah blah"

you are dealing with automated message systems. The dove software simply checks to see if the delivery confirmation message gets sent. It doesn't care what the message actually says. I also do this for things i'll be delivering on my way home. I send confirmation, and put in the message that I will be taking it on the way home, and will advise if there was any problem with delivery. I get credit for all those confirmations.
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That sounds like a great way to avoid the fees but on the same note brings up the point of how accurate the delivery information is.

I don't blame you for doing this but it's not the reason why this delivery thing is in place.

The idea is to keep the customer up to date on their order and I would hate to send them an email that just says your delivery is on it's way because someone is taking it on there way home without giving them a real delivery completed time and who accepted it.

You know I hear reference from both fillers and OGs that the blame can be placed on both sides all the time. You know what it sure seems like fillers and OGs are always looking for the short cuts.
 
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Eric S said:
That sounds like a great way to avoid the fees but on the same note brings up the point of how accurate the delivery information is.

I don't blame you for doing this but it's not the reason why this delivery thing is in place.

The idea is to keep the customer up to date on their order and I would hate to send them an email that just says your delivery is on it's way because someone is taking it on there way home without giving them a real delivery completed time and who accepted it.

You know I hear reference from both fillers and OGs that the blame can be placed on both sides all the time. You know what it sure seems like fillers and OGs are always looking for the short cuts.
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well maybe we are just more laid back down here in the South, but I treat my local customers the exact same way. I never have a complaint. I probably do about 5 deliveries a week on my way home and have never had a problem.

As a shop that fills alot of orders for FTD.com, and formerly other OGs. I can tell you that the problem lies squarely in the sales department. Sales people set unrealistic expectations (whether it be a website photo, or "low price guarantee") then do anything to get a credit card number. 99.9% of my complaints are from orders orignated at wire service order gatherers. Not real shops sending from their customers or customers on the phone.

If I had a salesperson that said "Sure, we can do that arrangement with green cymbidiums, orange dahlias, french tulips and pink lisianthus wrapped around a Fender Stratocaster signed by Stevie Ray Vaughn. Have it delivered between 9:42 and 9:46 PM? No Problem!", I'd blame him when the customer was not happy.

My customers are very even tempered, understanding and reasonable. They are perfectly comfortable with my recommendations (even first time customers). They also understand that even tho my website has 200+ arrangements on it, I cannot stock that many varieties of flowers for same day delivery. Am I just the luckiest florist in the world? Is Chattanooga stock full of the nicest people on the planet? Or is it because "smash and grab" marketing is kicking our industry in the ass? Does noone ask why internet customers are such A-holes?!

I tell all of my customers up front to let the filling shop decide what looks best. They suggest colors they like and whether they want a vase, basket or easel. I also tell them that I cannot guarantee a delivery by a certain time of day unless they want to pay a Spot Delivery Fee(which is what I do here), but we always do our best. The only time I would take an order for a codified product is those @@@@ed Thomas Kincaids at Christmas. Most are understanding, and if they are too picky, I just give them a few phone numbers in that town. I politely tell them that they should just contact a shop directly to make sure they get what they want.

Setting expectations is the number one factor in satisfying customers.

BTW that delivery confirmation thing is in place as a selling point for FTD.com (for ftd) and FUflowers(formerly of teleflora). One more unrealistic promise made by snakeoil salesmen.
 
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"If I had a salesperson that said "Sure, we can do that arrangement with green cymbidiums, orange dahlias, french tulips and pink lisianthus wrapped around a Fender Stratocaster signed by Stevie Ray Vaughn. Have it delivered between 9:42 and 9:46 PM? No Problem!", I'd blame him when the customer was not happy."
That made me laugh out loud! You are funny and right, Jamie!




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concord said:
"If I had a salesperson that said "Sure, we can do that arrangement with green cymbidiums, orange dahlias, french tulips and pink lisianthus wrapped around a Fender Stratocaster signed by Stevie Ray Vaughn. Have it delivered between 9:42 and 9:46 PM? No Problem!", I'd blame him when the customer was not happy."
That made me laugh out loud! You are funny and right, Jamie!




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Amen and ditto. Jamie, you could/should be a stand-up comedian. Of course, the entire audience would have to be florists or nobody would "get" your jokes.
 
anytimeflowers said:
Amen and ditto. Jamie, you could/should be a stand-up comedian. Of course, the entire audience would have to be florists or nobody would "get" your jokes.
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sure would made me burp/fart/giggle, all in one fell swoop...:)
 
On the April statement from TF is the advice that any delivery not reported by 7pm (Central) of the day of the requested delivery, the florist is charged $1.00. This takes effect in July. Another way to scrap up some $s.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for - indeed requiring - confirmations of delivery but if the system does not allow for human nature, Acts of God et cetera, the procedure is badly conceived and implemented and will, eventually, breakdown.
 
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