Which do you prefer to receive as an incoming wire order?

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coppercountryflowers

coppercountryflowers

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When receiving an incoming wire order, would you rather have it state to creat a "designer's choice" or be given a specific wire service item?

The reason I'm asking is that sometimes I'll actually look for a wire service item that looks like something the customer described..."in a basket with red roses, yellow daisies, purple iris, etc." and sometimes I'll just type what they've asked for.... I'm curious if you are the receiving florist which would you prefer?
 
coppercountryflowers said:
When receiving an incoming wire order, would you rather have it state to creat a "designer's choice" or be given a specific wire service item?

The reason I'm asking is that sometimes I'll actually look for a wire service item that looks like something the customer described..."in a basket with red roses, yellow daisies, purple iris, etc." and sometimes I'll just type what they've asked for.... I'm curious if you are the receiving florist which would you prefer?
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I think you'll find your GREATEST successes, when you "describe" the requested selection, and ask that they "match" it as closely as is possible to "#xx-OOOO if at all possible.
It's impossible to "know" what the fill shop actually has in stock!!
 
I usually like to get designer's choice, It helps me use the flowers that are selling a bit slower or flowers that I have an abundace of, Like this week I will have an abundance of white flowers and will relish in using the left over whites from Rosh Hashana in those designers choice arrangements..

I personally thing when sending f2f, as long as the customer is not picky, you will get a better product sending what they do best...rather than picking something out of a book that they may or may not have all the components of..
 
I prefer that you at least give me a general idea of what the customer is after....in a vase or basket? pastels, or bright bold hues??
No roses? No carnations? etc.

We just has a HORRIBLE experience with a shop over a designer's choice fuenral arrangement. Called the shop to make sure that they could fill it first, on a Saturday, at around noon, for an evening viewing. We discussed, by phone, using a fall based theme. We sent an open order, fill to value........They sent: White glads, orange lilies (with no open blooms showing),pink carns, with white & purple cushion pomp & bb!!!! SAY WHAT!!!!! UGLY....!!!!! NOT AT ALL FILLED TO VALUE.

I saw the pics from my customer, who was furious! I am too. We have already fully refunded our customer, and are disputing the charges thru TF now.

This is the kind of stuff that "designer's choice" scares me about.

Cheryl
 
I would like to send and receive general descriptions

example: clear glass vase, bright colors to include or not include certain flowers (if the customer requests this)
or see tfxxx for style and colors.

that way if the customer did have a style and color preference in mind, that is what they would get. However variety would be chosen by the designing shop as to what is in stock.

in our experience most customers have a general idea of what they want the flowers to look like, They don't necessarily have a preference on the varieties. If they do they state no roses or no carnations etc.
 
I prefer designers choice as well, can't tell you how many people complain that we used purple mini carns instead of the little purple asters called for or substituted something else we felt was appropriate. Some people get picky about that and can't understand that we don't have every flower in the book every week. It's a catch 22, they think they're getting tf32-3 or whatever, and then the filling florist has to substitute, so they don't actually get that. We're not Bloomnet, but those idiots send us orders for their special container and then cancel when they find out we don't have it, DUH. Waste of my time people, get a clue.

Sorry, got carried away, just frosts my nanny sometimes.:wallhead:

Trish
 
CHERYL BAKIN said:
We discussed, by phone, using a fall based theme. We sent an open order, fill to value........They sent: White glads, orange lilies (with no open blooms showing),pink carns, with white & purple cushion pomp & bb!!!! SAY WHAT!!!!! UGLY....!!!!! NOT AT ALL FILLED TO VALUE.
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Yuck, Cheryl, that sounds fugly! Nasty color combo and so not fall-themed!
 
Beth said:
Yuck, Cheryl, that sounds fugly! Nasty color combo and so not fall-themed!
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I can distinctly remember being about 17 or 18 years old and making a fall arrangement with whit orange and purple....and being told it was not fall. I have never since used that combo again....Then i learned in college why that color combo just didn't work in the real way...
 
If the choices are "designers choice" and "TFxxx-x" because you chose based on what you are thinking the customer will like, I'd choose "designer's choice". Like Cheryl, I like a little guidance if available - vase/basket, premium flowers/best value, no roses etc etc.

Cheryl, I think I saw that very same arr in a funeral home recently - I really don't know how some places stay in business. Really.
 
CHERYL BAKIN said:
We just has a HORRIBLE experience with a shop over a designer's choice funeral arrangement ~ Cheryl
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This is why I prefer to send and receive using selected photos...Even then some get it totally wrong. We wire out a Fresh Vase similar to TF*-* in bright colors. Hoping if they can't do similar with reasonable substitutions they are professional enough to let us know.

I realize as designers, you want the freedom to express your talent, but as an owner I don't want to replace orders because the art wasn't appreciated or was not considered "too value".

We just ate an order from this weekend because it was "undervalue". Customer sent a $65 funeral basket. Her two friends each spent $85. FD set them together at the FH with the smaller one in the middle. All three orders were designer's choice. All three wired in from the same flower shop. If she had picked a photo she would have known what to expect for $65.
 
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I'm with Renee - less room for error.
 
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mcf said:
I realize as designers, you want the freedom to express your talent, but as an owner I don't want to replace orders because the art wasn't appreciated.
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Most excellent point - I don't want anyone experimenting on my customers, or trying to make a judgement for them on what's good.

Asking for a designer to use their judgment is...well, can be...not a good choice.
 
bloomz said:
Most excellent point - I don't want anyone experimenting on my customers, or trying to make a judgement for them on what's good.

Asking for a designer to use their judgment is...well, can be...not a good choice.
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The whole reason I like designers choice is for the simplicity of using what I have freshest that day...I always have enough flowers on hand to make at least a thousand dollars worth of flower arrangements. But I would prefer, people to leave me the choice...I would never ever experiment with anew design style on a customer that I did not talk with...If it said bright vase designers choice thats what it would be...not a funky high style thinga ma bob, that someone may not remotely like with just a few flowers....

However for those of you with picky ass customers, pictures are the way to go...it helps everyone involved..
 
lori042499 said:
I can distinctly remember being about 17 or 18 years old and making a fall arrangement with whit orange and purple....and being told it was not fall. I have never since used that combo again....Then i learned in college why that color combo just didn't work in the real way...
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LOL, in my area, that can be a popular color combination. Clemson University's colors are orange, white, and purple. We're just a few miles from the university, and our population is strongly "orange."

Just curious, what did you learn in college about that color combo not working in the real way? And what do you mean by "the real way?" I'm not challenging you, but I'd just like to know the reason(s).

Back to the subject of this thread, we prefer designer's choice with some guidance, especially being referred to a picture. For example, we often send out orders that say, "Our customer liked so-and-so from our website. Will you please look at that and do something similar?"
 
coppercountryflowers said:
When receiving an incoming wire order, would you rather have it state to creat a "designer's choice" or be given a specific wire service item?

The reason I'm asking is that sometimes I'll actually look for a wire service item that looks like something the customer described..."in a basket with red roses, yellow daisies, purple iris, etc." and sometimes I'll just type what they've asked for.... I'm curious if you are the receiving florist which would you prefer?
Click to expand...
i prefer receiving "designer's choice" much more than a requested item. keeps the creativity flowing and the "chi" in the atmosphere.
 
My choice for incoming wire orders is.

My choice for an incoming wire order is an order that has been taken by someone who is involved with the order, who has taken the time to find out what the customer wants to send and more importantly what will be seen and recieved at the other end.

Tell me what they want, more importantly tell me what they don't want. Give me every chance under the sun to smack a home run with your order and make everyone happy, instead of a snowball's chance in Hades to accomplish the same thing.

Be realistic, with flower choice, time demands everything.

Create a mental image in the customer's mind as to what will be sent without being too specific in terms of sending a shopping list of flower demands. Each item that is not available is something they were expecting to be sent.

If the sending store is so un-interested in finding out what the customer wants and to commit that information to an order and sends "flower arrangement" or "funeral tribute" or "centre-piece" why should we be any more interested in the order than they are.

Of late I have noticed even more of a disconnect between the sending store and their customer who is placing the order. Yet who gets the blame if their is a problem.

If you create excitement in yourself, you create it in your customer and for that order. That order is polarized with excitement and professionalism. That type of order has a greater chance of success than some, vague, non descript, wishy washy, blah-blah waste of time that no wants to be involved with.

We had a few incoming orders for Rosh Hashanah the majority just said "centre-piece", "arrangement", we had to send messages asking what colours, etc. We call orders with no information as to what it is to be a "recipe for disaster"

I believe we all have a psychic ability to varying degrees but we should not have to use it for trying to figure out what an order should be. We do not have signs in our windows that say "Psychic" the signs say "Florist" so let's all use our florist abilities all through the process.

Wow how strong did I make the coffee this morning?

Doug
 
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