wire transfer fee

[specialoccasion]

Well, to those of us who are from older shops and who do belong to wire services - what they're doing is called 'skimming'. If you take an order and get $10 for delivery, you send $10 for delivery, you don't keep any of it. Not even if their delivery is $6. If someone sends us an order and they send $59, we have a $7 delivery so the arrangement gets filled for $52. If you're going to keep a fee or part of a fee, it's a service charge and something else entirely.

Audra

We are not skimming anything! We are charged each time we send a wire order. In addition, as you know there are several other fees involved in having a wire service (which by the way we have strictly for the customers convenience). The $9.95 service fee we charge is to help cover those cost. Each one of our customers are well informed of the svc fee in addition to the recieving florist's delivery charge and price of the arrangement. The customer always has the right to turn down the service, but more often then not they choose to place the order. In most cases our customers come through the door asking if we have TF or FTD. Do you really think that the cost of most businesses equipment, ect. is not in some way incorporated somehow in the prices of the product or services they offer?

 

[Bigted]

Pam -- ease up on the eggnog. The skimming comments were made about florist123 in Mission Viejo.

 

[Audra]

I'm sorry, Pam, but I'm just telling you why people here will say what theyre doing is wrong. By outgoing order perceptions, what is being done is skimming because it's being called a 'delivery charge'. I'm sorry you find that label hurtful but that's how it's perceived.

The easiest way to avoid this confusion is to do what many of us do - charge a delivery fee (which you pass on) and a wire charge (to cover your costs). It's the simplest solution and then there are never any hard feelings or miscommunication.

Audra

 

[specialoccasion]

skimming because you're calling it a 'delivery charge'. Audra

No, we call it a service charge and make the customer well aware this is in addition to the delivery fee and price of the arrangement.

 

[bluebonnet]

We charge $15, mainly because the delivery is different in other towns & that is what we charge for delivery...
I first ask how much the delivery is, if it is $5 then the other $10 gets added to arrangement for more value. I guess I am an old florist and do not believe in skimming the customer or the filler florist.
Now, when I get an order I tell the florist my delivery is $15 "do you want me to take it out of the total dollar amount or do you have a delivery?" If they have only collected $10 for delivery then the other $5 gets taken out of value and that is told to the florist during conversation. Same goes for hdqtr or dot com orders, $15 is taken out before the arrangement is made.
Cyndi

 

[specialoccasion]

Pam -- ease up on the eggnog. The skimming comments were made about florist123 in Mission Viejo.

Ease up on the eggnog? H**L, I probably need some eggnog w/ a little taste in it. No offense taken just want to get my point across.

 

[specialoccasion]

We charge $15

Wow! We charge $8.50 and sometimes customers think that is a lot for local delivery. Probably because there is still atleast one shop in the area that advertises free delivery. (Don't know how true it is.)
Are your customers usually ok with the $15 delivery fee or do you get a lot of static about the fee?

 

[Audra]

No, we call it a service charge and make the customer well aware this is in addition to the delivery fee and price of the arrangement.

Cool, that's what most of us do.
Hope you have a great holiday.
Audra

 

[Lady Biker Florist]

We've had a $7.99 wire charge for over 15 years. Prior to that it was $5.95. When my mom bought the shop in 1980 their wire charge was $3.50.

When it comes to the delivery charge for the other shop we tell everyone very plainly that whatever amount we give the other florist they WILL take THEIR delivery charge off the top and it WILL be anywhere between $5 and $10 leaving the rest for the flowers/item. We leave the choice to them as to whether they want it included or to add it on.

I like the idea florist123 has about a $12.50 charge to cover it all which simplifies things, but I also see the point made about how it can be considered skimming. Reason being that charges should be clear and separate so as to avoid even the appearance of skimming. It was a nice idea while it lasted all two minutes. LOL

NOW AS FAR AS SUBTRACTING A SERVICE OR "FILLING" CHARGE FROM A WIRE IN? DON'T GET ME STARTED. That is just so wrong in so many ways. We all know wire ins are not moneymakers, but that's just the way it is. Get out of the wire service if you can't accept that. I actually just expecienced that for the first time a few months ago. I reported them to FTD - of course we all know where that will end up, but I still had to do it.

 

[Eric S]

Let me get this straight florst 123 says that they charge 12.50 for a delivery/service charge. Then when they send the order they give the recieveing florist the delivery fee out of the 12.50 and then keep what ever is left.

Now I think what you guys are saying is if florist 123 charges 12.50 for delivery and 12.50 for service charge that brings the total to 25.00 and then they find out how much is delivery send the delivery charge with the order and keep whatever is remaining from the 12.50 delivery charge.

I agree thats a no no but I didn't get that from what florist123 posted.

Just making sure someone isn't getting hung incorrectly.

 

[felicityflowers]

Let me get this straight florst 123 says that they charge 12.50 for a delivery/service charge. Then when they send the order they give the recieveing florist the delivery fee out of the 12.50 and then keep what ever is left.

Just making sure someone isn't getting hung incorrectly.

I read it as florist123 is charging their customers 12.50 on top of the price of the flowers. If the delivery fee is 5.00 then they make 7.50 for placing the order. Florist123 didn't say if they tell their customers that they do this or not.

We charge a 10.00 delivery fee (no relay fee) and if delivery is 5.00 then we put that extra 5.00 back into the price of the flowers and we tell our customers that from the start.

Heather

 

[prestonway]

Not to be a pain, but sorry, Mikey...but your poll categories are out of whack as there are "holes" in your options.

For example, how would $.75, $3.50, or $6.50 charges be categorized?

Should be $0.00-to $0.99, $1.00-$2.99, $3.00-$5.99, and $6.00 & up.

Too many stats classes...way too many years ago!!!

 

[Tom Carlson]

some shops do, some shops don't...charge a wire service transfer fee!!
For some years now, we dropped charging for handling wire out fees, and with the amount of work that 'sometimes" occurs in re-handling and re-sending, and sourcing filling shops for direct orders, we implemented a nominal $2.99 handling fee starting this Christmas!!
This is what caught me completely off guard!!
When we offered the service for "free", nobody seemed to notice, and very few positive comments accompanied our wire outs!!
Soon as we started charging a 'nominal" sending fee of $2.99, we were consistently getting rave reviews about how "inexpensive it was to send orders through our shop, and our wire outs have just "exploded" whether direct wire outs, or ws handled!!
So, my question IS.....what do you all charge???

Mickey, Very Interesting.

Could it be that when something is taken for granted to be free that it has no value?

Yet the word FREE has impact in advertising.

Did you advertise the $2.99 Relay Feee?
Did you advertise "Free Sending"?
There has to be a reason for the response you have had.

The marketing logic that I fail to understand is when consumers are more aware of what they saved than what they paid.

Several years ago, when I bought a $60 artificial xmas tree for $50 [my volume cost], I priced it $149.00 and then offered discounts depending on when it was purchased [Oct, B-4 Thnksgvn, In season, and finally After Xmas Sale.]

One year I decided to offer my trees at "ONE LOW PRICE ALL SEASON" and sold the tree for $99. I HAD MY WORST YEAR EVER IN XMAS TREE SALES.

Back to Order Relay Fee, one year I tried Free Sending on larger orders to encourage pricing up to a higher level. Didn't work for me.

If customers percieved your $2.99 to be a great value, that should mean that they are aware of what others charge. If they are aware, that means they are comparison shopping.

Consumers are not dumb. A lady once asked us what we do with our old cut flowers. We told her we dump them. She asked, "Could I get some of those flowers for free a few days before you dump them?" She was serious.

Tom Carlson

 

[CHR]

Not too long ago, the WS rules explicitly stated that WS fees had to be itemized so consumers understood where their dollars were being allocated and how much was spent on product vs delivery vs service.

This policy served consumers well for nearly 80 years.

Now we have:
FTD/1-800/TF/OG method - combine product and local delivery estimate in a lump sum and charge separately for service/handling.

dOG method - combine product, delivery and unknown extra fees in a lump sum and charge separately for service/handling.

Would more consumers balk if they understood the service charges had nothing to do with the physical delivery of their flowers? I say most definitely 'yes'.

Traditional florist method - itemize product, delivery and WS fee separately. Send product and delivery charges and retain WS fee.

IMO the way we sell out-of-town orders now - truthfully listing all fees - puts us somewhat at a competitive disadvantage.

Traditional florist method #2 - itemize product, charge separately for 'delivery' (no mention of service charge) but send zero or only part of the delivery charge if the order is going out of town.

This one isn't exactly truthful, either. I see too many B&M florists expecting other shops to deliver for nothing or $5 when they charge $10 for delivery in their own areas.

Have spoken to a couple friends who have combined local and 'national' sites and the way they justify it is that they say they add more flowers than the picture for their local customers. The explanation doesn't quite wash with me....

Bottom line for me - this industry would be a lot healthier if consumers knew what their dollars were actually paying for.

 

[AKIKO'S]

Skimming Or Staying Alive?

" Incoming Wire Charge?
I talk to some shops that have what they call an incoming wire charge. Basically they have a certain amount that they deduct from the fill-to value on incoming wire orders. The explanation is that it is the only way they can make money on incoming wires.

What is the general consensus on this practice? I think I know the answer, but it seems to be fairly common."

Every wire service we know of has a charge to the recipient for an incoming order, either as an incoming order charge (FTD $.95) or as a REPORT OF ORDERS FILLED (FTD $1.00). Why do those of you that call it skimming feel that we are not entitled to recover those charges just as we are entitled to recover delivery charges? I don't remember how many years ago, but it was us that forced FTD to modify the ADVANTAGE accounting system to accept the incoming charge as a default charge to recover the incoming wire charges!:hammer:

 

[theRKF]

Devil's advocate:

When I go to my mechanic, or have service done on appliances, there is an itemized charge for products and labour.

Should florists be taking this a step further and itemizing labour? Would we be healthier if customers knew how much was coming off the top of the $150 arrangement to pay for "someone to stick flowers in a vase?" <not my opinion - customers'!!>

Or how about this: The customer DOES know what their dollars are paying for. They pay $xx and get their arrangement. However you label the costs, it's all part of the total cost of the final product.

Debate!

Ryan

 

[Frank]

What???? Exploded???

Mickey, This defies conventional logic. How do explain this?

 

[Joe Mioux]

We charge $15, mainly because the delivery is different in other towns & that is what we charge for delivery...
I first ask how much the delivery is, if it is $5 then the other $10 gets added to arrangement for more value. I guess I am an old florist and do not believe in skimming the customer or the filler florist.
Now, when I get an order I tell the florist my delivery is $15 "do you want me to take it out of the total dollar amount or do you have a delivery?" If they have only collected $10 for delivery then the other $5 gets taken out of value and that is told to the florist during conversation. Same goes for hdqtr or dot com orders, $15 is taken out before the arrangement is made.
Cyndi

Wow! We charge $8.50 and sometimes customers think that is a lot for local delivery. Probably because there is still atleast one shop in the area that advertises free delivery. (Don't know how true it is.)
Are your customers usually ok with the $15 delivery fee or do you get a lot of static about the fee?

Cyndi: Do you charge the same delivery fee for you local customers?

Joe

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Mickey, This defies conventional logic. How do explain this?

wish i knew....that was the reason for my posting!!

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Devil's advocate:

When I go to my mechanic, or have service done on appliances, there is an itemized charge for products and labour.

Should florists be taking this a step further and itemizing labour? Would we be healthier if customers knew how much was coming off the top of the $150 arrangement to pay for "someone to stick flowers in a vase?" <not my opinion - customers'!!>

Or how about this: The customer DOES know what their dollars are paying for. They pay $xx and get their arrangement. However you label the costs, it's all part of the total cost of the final product.

Debate!

Ryan

congratulations on your 4,000th post Ryan...an incredible feat for a man with all your responsibilities!!