would you hire this designer??

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

I found the background and table cloth to be really distracting. Perhaps that's what detracted from the design from a visual point of view.

Honestly, it looks very dated to me (eliminating the gobbledegook background).

V

The background IS distracting, and IS a visual calamity,but, it was a design and run, no time to set up a "pretty".....

 

[RWK]

Cathy's husband Phil has a quote......There is more than I can remember, but the essence of it is this..........." GOOD ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BETTER, AND BETTER IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BEST"

If there is one thing in a flower shop that I despise, if I owned a shop, this would be a firing offense to me........to hear this phrase : " That's good enough for them "

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Cathy's husband Phil has a quote......There is more than I can remember, but the essence of it is this..........." GOOD ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BETTER, AND BETTER IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BEST"

If there is one thing in a flower shop that I despise, if I owned a shop, this would be a firing offense to me........to hear this phrase : " That's good enough for them "

a comic essence of critique, I must say......Ricky, forget about designing, write books (there's more money in it,I'm sure!!)

 

[RWK]

Mikey.....I am my own worst critic. I do my level best to try to be better today than I was yesterday. I am only as good as my last satisfied customer. I never want to find myself being complacent. I am a difficult employee and I admit it........because I set the bar so high for me......and when I don't jump that bar or reach the pinnacle.....I kick myself

 

[OB1]

Would I hire this designer... Hell No.
JP

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Well Mikey- If crappy design is what your customers want..I guess give it to them.

I would have been embarassed to have sent that out. If a designer working under me would have made that to send out I would have fixed it before it went out and explained to the designer why I was fixing it. In fact - If a designer that was superior to me made that to send out I may have said "seriously?" or something like that. When I make a crap design I like it (eventually, maybe not in the moment I will admit) when I'm called out. It makes me a better designer.

I was under the impression that she came in to the shop to make this design, as shown in the pic, for her family. If that were the case- it was fine. But it was for a paying customer. Lucky for you that customer dug it.

The background has nothing to do with my opinion of the design.

 

[ChristiBrown]

Again I think it would depend on what level of designer you are hiring her for--simple stuff like recipies might be ok and for arrangements for pretty please or make a wish from tf do you really want to pay a high priced designer? I have two temps who work in my shop for holidays--one is a fabulous designer and I pay her really well and I don't give her any order under $75 to do, the other one not so fabulous but still good, but she makes less and I have her do the easy ones. Both are equally fast. I don't need to high priced designers. It all depends on what you need. And I have customers that know each designer and will request their vase done by so and so. just food for thought. I agree the picture was not fabulous, but with the circumstances you described it sounds like she did ok with limited flowers and years of being out of it!

 

[concord]

Cathy's husband Phil has a quote......There is more than I can remember, but the essence of it is this..........." GOOD ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BETTER, AND BETTER IS NEVER ENOUGH IF I CAN DO IT BEST"

If there is one thing in a flower shop that I despise, if I owned a shop, this would be a firing offense to me........to hear this phrase : " That's good enough for them "

That reminds me of a designer I had several years ago that was making simple alstroe topiaries for a MD spec. Easy to do even for a beginner so I left her to it. When I checked back they were all crooked. When I told her they couldn't go out that way she said, " They're not that bad." I told her I wasn't looking for people to say, " Concord Flower Shop, they're not that bad." She quit a few days later much to my relief.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

That reminds me of a designer I had several years ago that was making simple alstroe topiaries for a MD spec. Easy to do even for a beginner so I left her to it. When I checked back they were all crooked. When I told her they couldn't go out that way she said, " They're not that bad." I told her I wasn't looking for people to say, " Concord Flower Shop, they're not that bad." She quit a few days later much to my relief.

And I think that NONE of us should strive for "less than" the best, but, again, remember, the coolers were essentially bare.......

 

[ssp]

As a shop owner, part time designer, I think "best" is what we should always strive to attain. However, "best" is a relative term. I certainly would be asking myself
"How would this design have looked if she had been selecting flowers based on a more ideal situation?" I am also reading into this situation that it was a get it done "NOW" and had this tension not been there would the design looked differently? The design must have had some appeal to it or you would not have a great new customer. In my area designers, much less good designers, are scarce as hens teeth. With that said a designer that for any reason does not fit into my particular shop is not a good hire.

 

[sandytf]

It appears that MOST of you who would not want to hire this designer are those with smaller shops-or even shops in which you are the ONLY designer. I think you probably have higher standards than those of us who have a revolving door of hiring.

I have come to the conclusion that finding good designers is practically impossible. We have a few that I thank my lucky stars for EVERYDAY. We even have a hard time finding good salespeople, or people who want to WORK at all. Some of the best designers I know have quit the biz (for a variety of reasons: but the biggest is that they can go work in an office or a bank and have better hours and make better pay)....and I believe our company pays better than average for our area.

I have also come to the conclusion that I would rather hire a "personality" and train them that get someone in with experience in most cases. We have a number a floral associates with quite a bit of experience who simply DO NOT have the right personality for customers. Unfortunately, we now have close to zero training hours alotted to us (we keep strict labor budgets based on weekly sales). This puts us in quite a predicament. It's getting harder and harder to give the kind of service that we want and be profitable. The saddest thing is, that while customers still demand service, most just do not want to pay for it.

Ok, I know I've gone off topic somewhat..sorry! My point is this: doing our "best" is becoming harder and harder. This is something for the very small shops to think about: you have a distinct advantage in that you "touch" every aspect of the customer experience: taking the order, overseeing the quality of the product, design, follow-up, etc. It's very, very hard to find employees who care as much as you do, and, in turn, will give the customer the kind of attention you do. It's something I would try to parlay into my marketing if I was in that situation.

P.S. I have to laugh whenever I click on "quick reply" cuz my posts are almost never "quick" to write!

 

[Johan]

If you have enough time to do in-house training to get her to the relevant standard for your business and I would probably put her on a 3 month trial and if she hasn't improved sufficently then you can give her the push. I have seen much worse from 'high style designers' as they like to call themselves. If she ticks the other boxes, customer relations, sales etc then she may just turn out ok. The last person I hired as I said before. She was rusty as hell but she has turned into a fairly competent florist. Yes I do have to give her tips still but she ticks all the rest of the boxes.

I'm assuming you need a new designer. Give her some set designs to copy and see how she goes.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

It appears that MOST of you who would not want to hire this designer are those with smaller shops-or even shops in which you are the ONLY designer. I think you probably have higher standards than those of us who have a revolving door of hiring.

I have come to the conclusion that finding good designers is practically impossible. We have a few that I thank my lucky stars for EVERYDAY. We even have a hard time finding good salespeople, or people who want to WORK at all. Some of the best designers I know have quit the biz (for a variety of reasons: but the biggest is that they can go work in an office or a bank and have better hours and make better pay)....and I believe our company pays better than average for our area.

I have also come to the conclusion that I would rather hire a "personality" and train them that get someone in with experience in most cases. We have a number a floral associates with quite a bit of experience who simply DO NOT have the right personality for customers. Unfortunately, we now have close to zero training hours alotted to us (we keep strict labor budgets based on weekly sales). This puts us in quite a predicament. It's getting harder and harder to give the kind of service that we want and be profitable. The saddest thing is, that while customers still demand service, most just do not want to pay for it.

Ok, I know I've gone off topic somewhat..sorry! My point is this: doing our "best" is becoming harder and harder. This is something for the very small shops to think about: you have a distinct advantage in that you "touch" every aspect of the customer experience: taking the order, overseeing the quality of the product, design, follow-up, etc. It's very, very hard to find employees who care as much as you do, and, in turn, will give the customer the kind of attention you do. It's something I would try to parlay into my marketing if I was in that situation.

P.S. I have to laugh whenever I click on "quick reply" cuz my posts are almost never "quick" to write!

Very good "short" post.....we ALL have to remember, that burning bridges between ANYONE related in this industry has severe consequences.
Here's the "scoop"....this rusty, AND talented "personality" first came to us in 1988, she and her family had emigrated to Canada, from India, speaks Hindi,English, French, and Spanish fluently, has the sweetest disposition, and was "massacred", by our insular and unforgiving clientele at the time, continually demanding to speak to "someone" who spoke "English"...... and "knew" Canadian ways.....
We were in total shock, the ignorant attitude of the folks that demeaned her, chastised her, and made rude remarks about her absolutely stunning saris and her "natural" garbs......this young lady was the real deal, in a "phantom" position.
After a few weeks of ridicule, and embarrassment, she came to us and said that she "felt" that she was doing our business harm, and her continued employment, could jeopardize her "dreams"......we parted on good terms, her work was evolving, her comfort zone dashed somewhat!
Lost track of her, the little family moved out west, leaving her parents in our area, who lived with a son.
Oddly enough, Alberta was very good to their little family, they worked hard, built a thriving little business, in the NE Calgary, one son is an Orthopedic surgeon, and one went into family law....their home was paid for, the kids' educations were paid for, and the brother, who lived here, decided to move back to India...said there just was NO real opportunities here for him (nuclear physics) and the parents didn't want to go back, so, this "designer" uprooted her family. sold the business, and moved back, to care for her aging parents.
She dropped by, to say hi, and we "threw" a design at her, and she didn't even flinch, picked up a knife, went through our barren coolers, and put this piece together...we were SO VERY PROUD of her, that we "chose" NOT to touch or "tweak" the arrangement, and sent it out, to her delight, and the rest is history....
Now, judging by many of your responses, I shouldn't hire her back, and we may just not, but, her "dream" was to work in a well run florist shop, until she felt comfortable enough to OWN one herself (didn't know that).
So...anything else to "consider"??.....

 

[sandytf]

I have a manager who's from Lithuania. She speaks excellent English, but has a very pronounced accent. She too, has had issues with customers....some have called her "rude" in the past. She's not one bit rude....they just don't always understand exactly what she's saying-so to them, that's rude!! Luckily, she one tough cookie.

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

My thought Mikey is you are thinking with your heart.
Bottom line- You have to do what you think is best for your shop.

The times I have thought with my heart it bit me in the ass. She was no where near this lady. She was a daughter of a woman that I worked with since I was a kid at the first flower shop I ever worked for. She had just got out of prison and was "reformed"
She ended up stealing so much she went back to prison.

Your Indian lady sounds like a nice enough woman and I hope it all works out whatever you choose to do.

 

[emilymoonflower]

Mikey,
If you did not have the connection with her and she walked into your shop as an unknown potential employee would you hire her after seeing that piece? As an owner you must make the decisions that make the most financial sense for your business; can you afford to help her realize her dream? Tough call either way.
Emily

 

[Sprout]

I wouldn't hire anyone based on just one arrangement...

 

[FANCIES]

Mickey, I'm with Shannon on the part, "thinking with your heart". I am touched by what you had to say. Much to learn from your last post and much to rethink. So 20 years ago she worked for you as a florist and hasn't designed since than, I am assuming. Sounds like it to me she must be a very hard worker and a caring person. Very good qualities to have in an employee. Even though I did not care for the arrangement and the choice of colors, after reading your last post & rethinking the situation, I would give her a chance. First, though, I would want to know, is she looking for work? Second, is it still in her plans to own a flower shop? In the past I have tried to hire back florists who were talented but did not need the extra work. It just never seems to work. The best employees are the ones that NEED to work. Most of the time they are more open to constructive critizisim and have a wanting to do better attitude. (well kinda lol!!!) I think, if she is looking for work & wants to work for you, I would have a nice talk with her and explain to her that you would like to work with her to show her what your shop is doing now for design work, and what things have changed since she was last there, since it was 20 years ago. I have a question, how much did you sell that arrangement for? Just curious. Let us know what you decide. I hope it turns out well, which ever way it goes, for both of you.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

I wouldn't hire anyone based on just one arrangement...

do you "see" any "improvement"....she just finished another.......

 

[FANCIES]

ok my very first thought is: HOW MUCH ARE YOU CHARGING FOR THIS ARRANGEMENT? That would be my very first concern at this point, is she staying in the right price range? She definitely likes to mix up the colors. If your customers like this look, than fine. If you are happy with it, than fine. Looks like she is having fun with the flowers!