Wire Services Are Buying Your Customer
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Hollywood
Active Member
Dear LJVF
With all due respect.
I am a florist (with what they say, brick, mortar, flowers, baskets, vases, etc....etc...., we pay rent and utilities we are recorded with the County, all this good stuff that allows us to be called "legitimate business" "florist" etc...etc.....
When we take somethings from here to there we gather these things, we also gather our thoughts, gather water, gather what ever..
It is an expression to describe an action, Good or bad.
We here get rid of the bad and keep only the good.
We have a personal website too :
www.countryflorist.net
Check it out.
Good day now..........Hollywood:headbang::headbang:
With all due respect.
I am a florist (with what they say, brick, mortar, flowers, baskets, vases, etc....etc...., we pay rent and utilities we are recorded with the County, all this good stuff that allows us to be called "legitimate business" "florist" etc...etc.....
When we take somethings from here to there we gather these things, we also gather our thoughts, gather water, gather what ever..
It is an expression to describe an action, Good or bad.
We here get rid of the bad and keep only the good.
We have a personal website too :
www.countryflorist.net
Check it out.
Good day now..........Hollywood:headbang::headbang:
Ditto that!
I feel I am being snubbed.....tell me I am wrong. :grovel:Nevertheless, I will take your offerings as they are given because I respect all "real" or "b & m" or "home-grown" or "newbies"....
We're not snubbing you - we're trying very hard to answer your legitimate questions, even tho we've been over this 100 times up in here.
So do we - totally - I have one of the very finest full service flower shops in the state.
Now that we agree on that...take Ryan's advice and read the Top Member thread - there's a lot to learn in there about highly Professional Real Florist Brick and Mortar OG's.
Here I found them for you
http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15208
an older one from previous year
http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9693
I call them Progressive Florists.
Or just smart.
So do we - totally - I have one of the very finest full service flower shops in the state.
Now that we agree on that...take Ryan's advice and read the Top Member thread - there's a lot to learn in there about highly Professional Real Florist Brick and Mortar OG's.
Here I found them for you
http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15208
an older one from previous year
http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9693
I call them Progressive Florists.
Or just smart.
LJVF
Well-Known Member
I agree the words "Order" and "Gatherer" can mean a lot of different things. And I agree that technically we are "Order Gatherers". All I am saying is that the word "Order Gatherer" has a specific meaning already and is directed at particular type of business in the floral industry which generally has a negative connotation to it.
I like bloomz term "progressive florist", which is I believe may be the future for us.
As much as I sorta hate to say this - progressive may no longer apply.
Progressive was a term needed to be put into action about 5,6,7,8 years ago. Past tense.
If you haven't done what progressive florists have already done - years ago -you're severely and seriously behind the ball and it my well be too late.
RC believes most florists are on the slide to extinction, and I see the validity of that point. I think somehow it's going to be OK, the tenacious serious progressive ones will hopefully last, and the market will adapt to the changing landscape - but lots and lots of florists will not. (That's totally already happening, and accelerating thanks to our wonderful leadership in DC.)
Think of the millions of the flower buying public that are already owned by the 800PROTFTD goliaths.
Yes we get 1 or 2 back now and then, and it's a halleleujiah moment, while in the meantime they've horked another thousand or five or ten (America's Favorite Mom Contest anyone?) - and now those buyers are owned by those companies who relentlesly market to them. It takes a major screw up for them to lose the customer, and if a filler screws up those goliaths blame the filler anyway, while offering the customer a discount to stay with them.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...I care cuz I'm a real full service florist too.
And I would hate to lose that as much as anyone here.
opinions vary
Progressive was a term needed to be put into action about 5,6,7,8 years ago. Past tense.
If you haven't done what progressive florists have already done - years ago -you're severely and seriously behind the ball and it my well be too late.
RC believes most florists are on the slide to extinction, and I see the validity of that point. I think somehow it's going to be OK, the tenacious serious progressive ones will hopefully last, and the market will adapt to the changing landscape - but lots and lots of florists will not. (That's totally already happening, and accelerating thanks to our wonderful leadership in DC.)
Think of the millions of the flower buying public that are already owned by the 800PROTFTD goliaths.
Yes we get 1 or 2 back now and then, and it's a halleleujiah moment, while in the meantime they've horked another thousand or five or ten (America's Favorite Mom Contest anyone?) - and now those buyers are owned by those companies who relentlesly market to them. It takes a major screw up for them to lose the customer, and if a filler screws up those goliaths blame the filler anyway, while offering the customer a discount to stay with them.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...I care cuz I'm a real full service florist too.
And I would hate to lose that as much as anyone here.
opinions vary
LJVF
Well-Known Member
I get calls from savvy customers that want to bypass the WS and OG due to poor service or quality in the past. But for 30 years I've gotten these same calls from customers who have had bad experiences from "local real florists" and want to try a different one. For 30 years I've had complaints about FTD, Teleflora, AFS, 1800Flowers, etc... The point I'm trying to make is that there will always be complaints in any business. Just because a few customers here and there see the so-called light, it doesn't mean the wire services, order gatherers or even your direct local competitor will go away.
The internet may have closed the door for the need of customers to use a local florist to wire orders to an out of town florist but it also opened the door for the wire services to grab their orders directly. Gone our the days the customer would rely on their local florist for sending flowers out of town. Customers can now go online and order directly. The wire services saw this trend a long time ago and jumped on it. Now they rely on their member florists for revenue less then they ever had before.
BOSS
FlowerChat Administrator
True enuf, and since I invented the term (true story)(I'm still holding realflorist.com for some war down the road)...they are brick and mortar shops...
But they are often more as well, some of the best RealFlorists in the world are also some of the saviest internet marketers around, and I know of several I would call RealFlorists that have thousands upon thousands of outgoing orders a year.
A RealFlorist can not be an dOG (Deceptive Order Gatherer) as this term implies they have no retail store front, but likewise a RealFlorist can gather orders. At the risk of opening this can of worms again for the 23rd time here, some would say if you accept an order from anyone out side of your delivery area you are a OG (order gatherer)...some not...
I take an afternoon off, and look at you kidZ...I'm tired just from reading all your replies...glad I was not here to type in the marathon....
Huh?????
Insert this post a few hours ago--before I had to drop it to meet with the family mentioned in this post.
My "join the order gatherers" statement was more sarcastic than serious. I guess the secret as I see it is to have a mix that works for you. If gathering orders is your desire, then by all means. I think the call here was to Stick it to the Ivory towers. if none of the bricks and Mortar florists would FILL they would soon lose market share in that area. We are in fact one of their workhorses. It would take them a while to put in place a replacement. If we stood together we could beat them. the order gatherers would have no-one to fill their orders. If we said local orders only. If we could band together. It would have to verge on Cultish. But it would happen. Or maybe they already have things in the work to cut us out of the mix. Perhaps fed-ex could ship an arranged order. They might just have that all waiting in the wings. I don't think they will ever replace the things we all like best about this business. This afternoon I will sit with a customer who lost their newborn baby. they called us to hold their hand and walk them thru the process. People yearn for human contact. All things can't be sent through the net. There is a world without wire services, we live it and have for 3 years. Our customers love us and there are lots of other florists out there that extend a little professional courtesy and help me send grandmas and grandchildren and kids and friends of our customers a beautiful floral experience. With a lot less headache than we ever had with the WS. So I for one am still on the wagon. and I could say I have thrown the first punch, in the ring. I'd rather have my opponent(ivory towers) knocked out, than just swinging at them for years on end to only "gather" up their stuff between rounds.
I for one can always wish they were no longer part of the market . That and World Peace. Best Wishes mrflowermarket
After meeting with this young family, I really like the emotional side of this business. I for one am going to continue to make this business work without the Ivory towers. Like I said before you can either take them or leave them. that's why It's a free world--Sorta. I'd love feedback from those who have found ways to thrive locally, without the ivory towers.
Insert this post a few hours ago--before I had to drop it to meet with the family mentioned in this post.
My "join the order gatherers" statement was more sarcastic than serious. I guess the secret as I see it is to have a mix that works for you. If gathering orders is your desire, then by all means. I think the call here was to Stick it to the Ivory towers. if none of the bricks and Mortar florists would FILL they would soon lose market share in that area. We are in fact one of their workhorses. It would take them a while to put in place a replacement. If we stood together we could beat them. the order gatherers would have no-one to fill their orders. If we said local orders only. If we could band together. It would have to verge on Cultish. But it would happen. Or maybe they already have things in the work to cut us out of the mix. Perhaps fed-ex could ship an arranged order. They might just have that all waiting in the wings. I don't think they will ever replace the things we all like best about this business. This afternoon I will sit with a customer who lost their newborn baby. they called us to hold their hand and walk them thru the process. People yearn for human contact. All things can't be sent through the net. There is a world without wire services, we live it and have for 3 years. Our customers love us and there are lots of other florists out there that extend a little professional courtesy and help me send grandmas and grandchildren and kids and friends of our customers a beautiful floral experience. With a lot less headache than we ever had with the WS. So I for one am still on the wagon. and I could say I have thrown the first punch, in the ring. I'd rather have my opponent(ivory towers) knocked out, than just swinging at them for years on end to only "gather" up their stuff between rounds.
I for one can always wish they were no longer part of the market . That and World Peace. Best Wishes mrflowermarket
After meeting with this young family, I really like the emotional side of this business. I for one am going to continue to make this business work without the Ivory towers. Like I said before you can either take them or leave them. that's why It's a free world--Sorta. I'd love feedback from those who have found ways to thrive locally, without the ivory towers.
Hollywood
Active Member
Hollywood
Active Member
:grovel::grovel::grovel:To LJVF,
Since this afternoon was slow, I decided to involve Sherry, my wife and Boss in this discussion about OG's.
Of course she disagreed with me and agreed with you ( see "the book of Women") on the meaning of OG's.
Me like always wanting to make my point ( see the "book of Women" chapter Men don't have the right to make their point) tell her : Why don't you Google Order Gatherers??........My, my,my, what did I say.
20 pages of negatives sites, opinions etc......came back for OG's, from everybody and every direction.
SOOOOOOOOO, I must APOLOGIZE and beg your forgiveness, I thought to make it real and true I had to do it publicly.
I will not be an OG anymore for our store, I think I will only be an humble florist, stay at my table and shut up.
This book of Women must be right.:grovel::grovel::grovel::grovel::grovel:
Women, wives and women bosses are ALWAYS right.
Warmest regards.....Hollywood!!:tongue:
Since this afternoon was slow, I decided to involve Sherry, my wife and Boss in this discussion about OG's.
Of course she disagreed with me and agreed with you ( see "the book of Women") on the meaning of OG's.
Me like always wanting to make my point ( see the "book of Women" chapter Men don't have the right to make their point) tell her : Why don't you Google Order Gatherers??........My, my,my, what did I say.
20 pages of negatives sites, opinions etc......came back for OG's, from everybody and every direction.
SOOOOOOOOO, I must APOLOGIZE and beg your forgiveness, I thought to make it real and true I had to do it publicly.
I will not be an OG anymore for our store, I think I will only be an humble florist, stay at my table and shut up.
This book of Women must be right.:grovel::grovel::grovel::grovel::grovel:
Women, wives and women bosses are ALWAYS right.
Warmest regards.....Hollywood!!:tongue:
LJVF
Well-Known Member
Hollywood, did you change your name?
You're forgiven, but an apology wasn't necessary. Not a big deal.
You're forgiven, but an apology wasn't necessary. Not a big deal.
Hollywood
Active Member
To LJVF:hug:
Since most of us use their screen names, I decided to use mine.
"hollywood", which was given to me in the 70's when I owned a French restaurant on Sunset Blvd between Hollywood and Beverly Hills in L.A.
But that was a long time ago and another long story.
The name stuck........I like it.
My given name is Henry.
My staff during the Holidays call me Henry Mc Nasty.
urpleteaurpleteaurpletea
My wife calls me Darling ( most of the time, see the book of women).
I don't have any problem to be proven wrong, when I am.
I respect people who do.
Later........Hollywood!!:tongue::tongue::tongue:
Since most of us use their screen names, I decided to use mine.
"hollywood", which was given to me in the 70's when I owned a French restaurant on Sunset Blvd between Hollywood and Beverly Hills in L.A.
But that was a long time ago and another long story.
The name stuck........I like it.
My given name is Henry.
My staff during the Holidays call me Henry Mc Nasty.
urpleteaurpleteaurpleteaMy wife calls me Darling ( most of the time, see the book of women).
I don't have any problem to be proven wrong, when I am.
I respect people who do.
Later........Hollywood!!:tongue::tongue::tongue:
BOSS
FlowerChat Administrator
Dang and the list keeps growing.... thanks for the reminder, I had not checked that search result for a while...for you newer folks, most of those links lead to other RealFlorists that have blogged and even put pages up on their sites...
Also for the newer folks that may not have seen it, you may want to check out www.floristdetective.com I think you'll be pleased by what you find there.
Yes they do and are it ain't in the wings - already doing that - thse Todd Oldham/Vera Wang etc stuff on dotcon is all drop shipped arrangements.
Beats me how they do it - maybe have to order one to see how it comes?
Bloomz, Thanks for the thread links. I guess you have been debated this for a few years. Just sat down for lunch and was trying to catch up and after reading those threads a few things came to mind....
First, I don't know about anyone else but anytime I have ever sent over a WS and had a problem with the filling florist and then contacted my Rep and the WS.....nothing done, or hardly nothing. I even had a rep tell me that one particular florist I complained about (who by the way told the recipient that I didn't send the order until Sat. but in fact had sent on Wed for Fri delivery) received numerous complaints over recent years. Then suggested that I contact them directly and I did without success. Then after 3 months got my money back ($90) and was told they didn't take it back from the filling florist. AND THEN, I asked why they continue to be a member of the WS......the answer? "Because we need them in that area." For the people here that are of the opinion that the WS don't need us....oh yes they do.
Second, if they didn't need us then why do they fight so hard to keep us? Why does teleflora call me once a week to try to talk me into joining them?
If it is so easy for them to drop ship or open stores why haven't they done it already? Are they simply buying time until they do move on without us?
I guess that was more than a few thoughts....
LJVF
Well-Known Member
I truly believe they will continue to adapt and adjust and stay successful for a long time to come. If not them then someone else. There will always be some other corporate giant who will. The flower industry is too big for the big players to ignore. The only way we will know for sure is to see how things play out. In the meantime, I am going to continue to try to also adapt and adjust and stay forward thinking.
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