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

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

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

strong enough to be our next Prime Minister...what you've said, makes a LOT more sense, than ANYTHING they've said...!!

 

[ivygreen]

I think honesty would show many of us like to receive designer's choice, for availbility, creativity, and ease. And we like to send more specific, and with product #'s because we have been burnt on someone else's availablity, creativity, and ease.

JMHO

 

[Gracie]

I like to receive "designer's choice" for the same reason others have stated. Just give me some parameters -- vase or container, must haves, must not haves, preferred colour scheme if any, all round or one-sided.

I send "designer's choice" when I know the reputation of the filling florist, along with the parameters. (Although we seem to have many customers, mostly corporate, who don't really have any parameters.) If I don't know the filling florist, I'll pick an example from the FTD or TF books and ask for something as close to that as possible.

Always, always allow substitutions -- and explain clearly to the customer why that's a good idea.

 

[Gracie]

Just thinking some more about this thread and the comment about orange and purple not being a pleasing colour combination. I'm having trouble with that one. I can see why it didn't work in the example given, but it is a palette I've used often. It's success or failure probably has much to do with the proportion and the tonal & chroma values of the materials. After all, are the colours of a single bird of paradise not beautiful?

 

[lori042499]

Just thinking some more about this thread and the comment about orange and purple not being a pleasing colour combination. I'm having trouble with that one. I can see why it didn't work in the example given, but it is a palette I've used often. It's success or failure probably has much to do with the proportion and the tonal & chroma values of the materials. After all, are the colours of a single bird of paradise not beautiful?

It is the white that screws it up, If you change that white to green it is more pleasing to the eye. Better color harmony...The white is an absence of color and tends to such the color out of the other components...It has been a number of years since I was in a color theory class and have since lost many of the correct names of these specific theories...Just the fact that we use foliage with an orange and purple arrangement makes those colors pleasing together...throw in too much white and you lose the harmony...White works better with one additional color rather than many unless used as a small accent with cool colors...the absense of color lets you add to a monochromatic arrangement and keep it monochromatic without using all the same color if done in the proper balance...

 

[mcf]

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..

We do wire out mant designer choice selections when we know the receiving shop. Also, because we know the shop, some only receive plant orders - LOL. You have to admit that not all "floral designers" have earned the right to the title. Many are "floral arrangers". Some should just answer the phones.

 

[lori042499]

We do wire out mant designer choice selections when we know the receiving shop. Also, because we know the shop, some only receive plant orders - LOL. You have to admit that not all "floral designers" have earned the right to the title. Many are "floral arrangers". Some should just answer the phones.

This is true and in those cases, would a picture really help???

I'm just sayin' well you know....if it barks like a dog and wags its tail like a dog, It must be a dog...designers choice or a picture design skill not there dog arrangemnt to be had and complaint to follow..

 

[mcf]

i prefer receiving "designer's choice" much more than a requested item. keeps the creativity flowing and the "chi" in the atmosphere.

I get what you mean, but most customers could care less about your creative flow and I've rarely seen chi on my bank statement.

This is not a personal attack, I'm sure you're very talented. However, consumers who are willing to settle for flowers dropped in a vase are not interested in floral art. The ones who are impressed with and willing to pay for your talent usually express that during the sales consultation.

Many times we note instructions such as "AIFD-type design", "$ in flowers, not container", "looking for something unusual", "Martha Stewart look", etc.

Most mistakes in meeting customer expectations do not occur in the design room. They occur in the sales consultation.

 

[bloomz]

We do wire out mant designer choice selections when we know the receiving shop. Also, because we know the shop, some only receive plant orders - LOL. You have to admit that not all "floral designers" have earned the right to the title. Many are "floral arrangers". Some should just answer the phones.

This is true and in those cases, would a picture really help???

I'm just sayin' well you know.... ..

I most certainly think so. I *think* even I could make a facile copy of a picure. But I wouldn't bet on that.

I get what you mean, but most customers could care less about your creative flow and I've rarely seen chi on my bank statement.

This is not a personal attack, I'm sure you're very talented. However, consumers who are willing to settle for flowers dropped in a vase are not interested in floral art. The ones who are impressed with and willing to pay for your talent usually express that during the sales consultation.

Many times we note instructions such as "AIFD-type design", "$ in flowers, not container", "looking for something unusual", "Martha Stewart look", etc.

Absolutely and spot on. Please don't exercise your creativity on my customer unless specifically asked to - about a 1 in 200 occurence for me (if that often).

On this note - one of my friends who sends a lot of orders tells me that "seasonal mixed bouquet" gets the least complaints, but of course it is sold as such as well.

I still like using pictures cuz they're worth a thousand words.

 

[CHERYL BAKIN]

Gracie:
I do not object to Orange & purple together -- I use them often in our work. It was the ORANGE/PUPLE AND WHITE COMBO that thru the family into spasms, coupled with the fact that the 2 stems of orange lilies were completely unopened, and that the majority of white flowers were cushion pomp and whte glads. The arr was butt-ugly (I saw a pic!) and the color co-ordination choices were poor. and, further, since when did white become a "fall color??" (We discussed fall on the phone prior to transmitting the order.)

Jon, a agree in pictures, and reference #s -- helps me fill your order tremendously. ...and, as Doug said, allows me to hit a home run every time for YOUR customer!!

Regards,

Cheryl


ps...and yes, I know, beauty is in th eye of the beholder. However, this maker & beholder must have been drunk or blind....or maybe both!

 

[Gracie]

>nodding head< I get what you're saying about the addition of white -- I was responding more to this:

Originally Posted by lori042499
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...

You made me giggle with your "p.s."