What am I missing?

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Missy

Missy

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Dec 15, 2002
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gammageflowers.com
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Ontario
The owner of our business decided in the summer to install the Daisy system. Although one may have nothing to do with the other, since the day we installed, our inwires with Teleflora have dropped in average 65% or more per month. Our outwires have increased slightly. We have been trying desparately to get an answer from Teleflora as to what is going on. The say they cannot figure it out either as the overall business in the city is up( no kidding, someone is filling the orders) For instance, last (2003) Christmas we had over 380 inwires with Teleflora, this year(2004) we had 93.
We do not live with our inwires, but you certainly order stock and supllies based on last years sales! Thankfully when we decided to invest in one companies POS system, we decided to hang on to our Mercury as we have next to no cost for having it. Good thing we did has the Mercury was humming all season long, but it in no way made up the difference! Also Telefora failed to code us properly this year for the specials( I can blame this for about a 20% drop in our inwires based on previous years) and made no financial compensation for it.The thing I cannot figure out is, the inwires started to drop from the first day we owned the Daisy! My all be it paranoid fear is, that once Teleflora knows you are paying them for a POS system, then they know they have you by the "daisies", so to speak. Any ideas anyone??? We are at a loss.
 
First question that comes to my mind is how many members in your city this year compared to last?
Second question is when you switch to Daisy, is your listing on the Dove system identical to last year's listing?
Third question: were you on top of the list on Dove last year? It does make a difference when you are.
 
Like Paul said...

Your positioning in the Dove directory DOES have a lot to do with it...
Did you make any changes to your dove listings??? You know TEL has jacked up the fees on almost EVERYTHING with regards to your listings...check out the costs...staggering...

Also, you're not alone! Our TEL in's have dropped over the past 18 months. No problem for me, since I really don't care. BUT...we SHOULD be getting more - we are in a top 10 market. I assume you're sending primarly TEL orders??? IF not, then that could be a reason.

Goofy...

- H.
 
We are at the end of the listings, second to last,now this month last, so we will be working our way back up again. Dove listings did not change. Our numbers could be compared to numbers 3 years ago, and we would still be down the same % as we have run for about 4 years with small increases in inwires each year. So it is not like we had a huge jump in 03 and then were down in 04. January to June were still holding the pattern until June when Daisy was installed and then it was like someone shut off the Dove. All of our outgoing has been sent through teleflora, that is what makes it so frustrating. Thanks for the input.
 
Missy said:
We do not live with our inwires, but you certainly order stock and supllies based on last years sales! a loss.
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To understand this trend you must look at what took place last year. FTD aggressively marketed for and went after all of Teleflora’s top senders. They made this a priority beginning in the 4th quarter of 2003. By May of 2004 they had pretty much accomplished their goal. To shift orders from Teleflora to FTD. A huge number of orders began flowing through FTD after they began paying unbelievable sending bonuses reaching close to 10.00 per order. This was no doubt a smart move for FTD although a very costly one, Teleflora’s orders dropped significantly, and their membership is dropping just as fast. Thus the emergency for Teleflora to become their own order generator, to please members looking for discounted orders. Problem is, Teleflora will never get those orders back, the trend of consumers using 3rd party services continues to fall, as they are looking for local providers or being steered to direct shippers. Best advice, don’t chase the discounted orders, pay off your daisy system as soon as possible, and build a plan to market to your local base. FTD, Teleflora and the rest of all the big guys have never been more interested in capturing your local customers. By paying those fees, you are helping them get to those customers, and potentials quicker than you.
 
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Teleflora Rep

Missy said:
For instance, last (2003) Christmas we had over 380 inwires with Teleflora, this year(2004) we had 93. We are at a loss.
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Several years ago (before all of the OG crap got out of hand), we had a similar situation. I contacted my Teleflora rep to give my percentages of incoming compared to the total town incoming (obviously they will not give individual shop totals). Not sure if they will do it anymore.
 
We have been working with our Rep for weeks, we are the only shop in the city who has had a drop(dead halt) in inwires according to Teleflora. We are a city with about 30+ florists(real ones) and we rank in the top 10 for business size.
 
Missy said:
We have been working with our Rep for weeks, we are the only shop in the city who has had a drop(dead halt) in inwires according to Teleflora. We are a city with about 30+ florists(real ones) and we rank in the top 10 for business size.
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Missy, The rep i snot going to tell you how bad their orders have dropped. It is not you or any problem with your shop. The fact is that they no longer have those orders. So all of the shops in your city are seeing close to the same results!
 
ROBSWF said:
Missy, The rep i snot going to tell you how bad their orders have dropped. It is not you or any problem with your shop. The fact is that they no longer have those orders. So all of the shops in your city are seeing close to the same results!
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Missy... they are down all over.

V
 
We've been seeing about the same percentage drops in TF incomings. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But since we require TF fees to be paid with business from TF, the end result is we've reached the point where TF's increasing costs and decreasing values are forcing us to make some decisions. TF has been given an ultimatum which they have yet to reply to. We'll see. Like we told them, a hundred percent increase in costs vs an 80% decrease in value received is totally unacceptable. They can get their fees in line with what they're producing or get out.
 
Don't believe it. Our TF rep told us the same thing. Fact is, it's happening to ALL the Tf shops in our area. The first one to drop got free membership and free half page ad as an incentive to stay in. And he was the newest TF member. You can imagine the reaction from the veteran TF shops considering the drop in business that we're all seeing.

Our TF rep has been called a liar to her face by every shop in town. Cause we've gotten together and compared numbers. The TF party line just won't fly here. And I doubt if it would in your town if your shops would compare notes. TF just isn't producing orders any more.
 
Missy said:
We have been working with our Rep for weeks, we are the only shop in the city who has had a drop(dead halt) in inwires according to Teleflora. We are a city with about 30+ florists(real ones) and we rank in the top 10 for business size.
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Your town also has more florists per capita than any other city in Canada. 30+ is a real understatement. Within the last year people at TF put the estimate closer to 80. I know a few have closed - but there is tight competition for every type of order.

If your rep is Richard, we all know he's going to toe the party line. Plus, TF only controls cloaked orders and TF.com business. You need to check WHO used to send you orders and why they aren't any more. Have your regular business been steady, or is it declining too? Is this indicative of a TF problem with order volume or does it point to a larger problem that your staff needs to investigate?
 
I went back to count and there are about 47 real florists in the city! Yeah, way too many! Our rep is new, Elaine and also Lisa has been working on it too. Our regular sales have been on an increase( small), we had a slow summer, but since we have been coming back. I can understand a 35 to 40 % drop with the decline of Teleflora and a drop in the economy, but our numbers are down far more than that.I will have to see where the orders used to come from. I am certainly hearing that we are not alone. Thanks for all the input, nice to have so many responses for so many people. .
So, anyone want to buy a lightly used Daisy? This is really Missy, I am at work!
 
So, anyone want to buy a lightly used Daisy?
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Missy, that Daisy is far more useful for local marketing, 100% sale purposes than as simply an interface for incoming and outgoing wire orders.

Are you following up with new customers? New Recipients? Capturing email addresses for future marketing? Tracking the source of new customers? Tracking average sales by employee to see where improvements can be made?

IMO, those features are far more beneficial than the WS interfaces.

Just my .02.
 
to THOSE OF YOU...

that STILL retain both WS's have you noticed the SAME dramatic changes with "incoming" orders for BOTH WS's or is TF being targeted soley, or have your FTD incoming also dropped off dramatically??
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
that STILL retain both WS's have you noticed the SAME dramatic changes with "incoming" orders for BOTH WS's or is TF being targeted soley, or have your FTD incoming also dropped off dramatically??
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Our FTD incomings are constant even with a relatively new FTD shop in town but TF has been dropping like a stone. I'm sure they'll drop even more in August when we pitch Sears and the Jackman's orders go bubye.

Audra
 
I think "some" ALOT or maybe part of this is due to the fact that Teleflora has tried to move some of their OG operations to target FTD with these orders...

Or, maybe they are just dropping in clearings like I have heard from other sources... time will tell...
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
that STILL retain both WS's have you noticed the SAME dramatic changes with "incoming" orders for BOTH WS's or is TF being targeted soley, or have your FTD incoming also dropped off dramatically??
Click to expand...

TF: incoming up slightly and no Tele.com or HQ orders
FTD: down slightly, some dot.com and all Loblaws orders rejected and 1 Loblaws order forwarded to Vancouver Flower Company......let them look after Loblaws!!!!
 
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