- Jul 21, 2009
- 22
- 34
- 13
- State / Prov
- NL
Has anyone come across local listings in Google for a shop, www.localblossom.com? I was doing a search for "wedding flowers Newfoundland" to see if a new Adwords campaign we are running would show up and I was surprised to find a new shop, www.stjohnsflowers.net, listed in the map section for our city.
When I clicked on the "more information and reviews" link, I was even more surprised to see a detailed listing, complete with photo from Google Maps, for an address here that is a well-established B&B, not a flowershop. I called the owner to find out if he'd recently branched out and joined our ranks. He was even more surprised than I was. The URL, www.stjohnsflowers.net, brings you to the site for www.localblossom.com. This certainly looks like a classic dOG, but one far more brazen than I have previously seen in Canada.
Not only does their Google Local listing give a false address. They also have a slew of suspect testimonials. When I checked into these, I found that the reviewers have posted comparable "reviews" for shops in cities all over North America, including one in Ottawa at an address (99 Metcalfe Street) that, to the best of my knowledge, is occupied by a Second Cup outlet.
The localblossom.com website features Teleflora products, so I checked with the Teleflora office in Canada and was informed that Local Blossom is a "send only" shop that joined TF last December - member number 05-075200. The TF office tells me they are based in Thornhill, Ontario but I can't find any listing for them in Canada411.ca. Also no info in a reverse lookup search for the only phone number given on their website (866-290-5757).
Considering the fact that at least some of the street addresses listed on the Internet and attributed to URLs that ultimately link back to www.localblossom.com are completely misleading and in fact have been appropriated without permission of the legitimate occupants and owners of these addresses, I am wondering whether someone has crossed the line of legality into outright fraud here. What if anything does TF do to police the practices of member florists like this? I'm not holding my breath waiting for an answer to that question.
This ground has been well tilled here in FC so no need to go over the long-standing complaints about wire services, dOGs and deceptive advertising. I'm simply wondering whether the time has come for us in Canada to follow the lead of many US jurisdictions and to push for laws banning this sort of misrepresentation. We still have a chance here to nip at least the more extreme forms of misrepresentation in the bud as these practices in Canada are not yet as widespread or blatant as in the US. SAF has been quite active on this front. Maybe this is something for Flowers Canada to take on.
John Frecker
Holland Nurseries
401 Torbay Road
St. John's NL
www.hollandnurseries.com
When I clicked on the "more information and reviews" link, I was even more surprised to see a detailed listing, complete with photo from Google Maps, for an address here that is a well-established B&B, not a flowershop. I called the owner to find out if he'd recently branched out and joined our ranks. He was even more surprised than I was. The URL, www.stjohnsflowers.net, brings you to the site for www.localblossom.com. This certainly looks like a classic dOG, but one far more brazen than I have previously seen in Canada.
Not only does their Google Local listing give a false address. They also have a slew of suspect testimonials. When I checked into these, I found that the reviewers have posted comparable "reviews" for shops in cities all over North America, including one in Ottawa at an address (99 Metcalfe Street) that, to the best of my knowledge, is occupied by a Second Cup outlet.
The localblossom.com website features Teleflora products, so I checked with the Teleflora office in Canada and was informed that Local Blossom is a "send only" shop that joined TF last December - member number 05-075200. The TF office tells me they are based in Thornhill, Ontario but I can't find any listing for them in Canada411.ca. Also no info in a reverse lookup search for the only phone number given on their website (866-290-5757).
Considering the fact that at least some of the street addresses listed on the Internet and attributed to URLs that ultimately link back to www.localblossom.com are completely misleading and in fact have been appropriated without permission of the legitimate occupants and owners of these addresses, I am wondering whether someone has crossed the line of legality into outright fraud here. What if anything does TF do to police the practices of member florists like this? I'm not holding my breath waiting for an answer to that question.
This ground has been well tilled here in FC so no need to go over the long-standing complaints about wire services, dOGs and deceptive advertising. I'm simply wondering whether the time has come for us in Canada to follow the lead of many US jurisdictions and to push for laws banning this sort of misrepresentation. We still have a chance here to nip at least the more extreme forms of misrepresentation in the bud as these practices in Canada are not yet as widespread or blatant as in the US. SAF has been quite active on this front. Maybe this is something for Flowers Canada to take on.
John Frecker
Holland Nurseries
401 Torbay Road
St. John's NL
www.hollandnurseries.com
