So, you decided to send some fresh flowers to someone, and of course you need to have them delivered. So, you just go online and look at some photos. You finally decide on one arrangement that you like, you use your credit card and make a purchase, voila! Right?
Wrong!
You see, before you make that online purchase, you really need to make sure that you know who you are ordering from. And no, online comments have nothing to do with it. As a matter as fact, the best comments are normally about the florists that are not so good, or don't even exist at all. How so? - will you ask.
Well, the reality is, that at this day and time, there are way too many "florists" online, that don't even have any real flower shop. All they have, is that web-site, with the photos of floral arrangements that were made by someone else, and the ADs placed in every major city and state, in an order to collect your credit card numbers. So, it's just a scam you'd say? Well, I personally think so. I would prefer this issue being investigated by US forces and services, that were made for searching and discovering scams, so I am not trying to be all about the definition here. My point is, that you very well might be ordering from someone that is not even in the city of your recipient. Not even in the same state. Not even in the same country, possible. So, you are giving your credit card number to someone who might be just on the other side of the world, to have your flowers to be delivered around the corner? It's very possible.
Okay you say, so if that would be the case, how companies like that would be still online for so long? I mean, the comments must be important. Lots of people won't be writing online comments about the companies that don't exist!. Well, I didn't say that they don't exist. I didn't even say, that they won't try and in most cases ship your flowers eventually. But have you ever ask yourself a question, who and how, really delivers your flowers? And who, is just taking advantage of you?
So, let's see how it works in reality. Say, you have placed the order with the company that doesn't have a real flower shop in the neighborhood you are sending your arrangement to. What is happening with your order than? Well, some time after your order was received by such a company, what it has to do, is to turn around and start looking for some real flower shop, that can take your order, make the arrangement, and deliver it. Of course, they have to look for some real florist, who can do all the work in the state and city you are sending your flowers to. They already did the search before, and more likely already have telephone numbers of all real flower shops, that can do all the work. And here, comes the real problem.
Picture the real flower shop owner or manager, or the order taker, getting such a phone call. First thing, that they would want to know, what is the delivery zip code, to make sure they can do the delivery. Then, they need to know the price of your arrangement. Majority of the flower shops have minimum amount of purchase before item can be delivered (order minimum). Some florists have it as low as $35.00 per arrangement, some go up to $60.00, etc. After that, they want to know what arrangement needs to look like, and either they have all the needed flowers of course, just to see either they can take your order from someone who you placed it with (the third online party). That sure sounds like a broken phone game right there, you would say. Yes, but there's more.
Say, you are the owner of a real florist. You invested years of time, money, and hard work to grow your business. Your employees don't get enough of pay, your delivery driver has been outstanding employee coming to work every single day for years, your floral designer is the best in town, and you do what you do, because your heart is into the flowers. You have management abilities, and could have some other job that pays more. But you prefer to connect loving hearts by delivering smiles instead. Your store rent gets pricier every year, your coolers that you spent a fortune on, are not getting any newer, your web-site, that you work on daily, adding new arrangements to, costs you time and money, and while 75% of businesses that are opening, do close during first 1-2 years, you managed to stay in business by selling such a perishable luxury as fresh flowers. Other word, you know what you are doing, you are professional, and you are proud of your work. With that, you receive this call from someone that doesn't have any real flower shop. Who never even worked at a flower shop before. And who often doesn't even know the names of the flowers, or substitution rules, or doesn't even speak much English, so that you could speak on professional level with them. They are claiming however to be your competitor, and they want you to deliver the flowers, order placed on their web-site, by someone who has no idea, that they are not real florist.
Not just that online web company is your competitor (because you do have your own web-site, and pay a lot for listing it, as well as for other listings in other directories of your town), they also want to take away 30% from the order. That's right. They take away 20%, plus another 7% automatically goes to the mediator, or to the same company that took that order, then there's $10.00-$15.00 delivery fee, that they charged the customer, but won't give it to you. They also charged the customer a few dollars of service fee, and tax on the top of all. Which they also won't give to you. Other words, adding all that up, you know that they want to give you only about 50% of the order. Yes! While you are the one, that has to keep real premises, use real flowers, designer work, labor, supply, gas, and then pay delivery driver, etc., etc., just to have those flowers delivered. But even that, is not all yet. They will give you the funds (listen to this), a couple of weeks after the billing statement for the current month comes out. Which could be any time from 30 to 60 days, after you basically delivered the flowers without being pre-paid. Yes, they charge the customer right away prior to delivery, but they won't give money to the real florist for another month or two. But even that is not all yet!
Here we are, back you being the customer, that just placed that order. Of course, you didn't think that it will take of someone else, who doesn't get paid enough, to do all the work, and that you were just scammed for about 50% of the money you spent. But how do you know that the real florist actually has all the flowers for your arrangement to begin with? Well, here it comes to another issue. In my shop, being in business for quite a while, we normally know what flowers we more likely will be using every new day. And if we don't have some of them? Then, we ask you about substitution. Which is not a problem at all, if we talk to you as a customer directly. But if you placed your order with someone else, we don't have your information. That's right. All we have, is the recipient's address, and the card message. Why, obviously: because the guys that scammed you, don't want you to know about it. That's for one. Second, they want you to go through them over and over again, means keep paying them their giant chunks, over and over and over again.
Well, unless you are not happy with the flowers of course. Which very well might happened, if the schemer okayed the substitution that you have no idea about. So, what happens then? Well then, you go online, and you write a bad review about REAL florist, that maid and delivered your order. Because your online "partner" will of course tell you, that it's all the real florists' fault, and that they have nothing to do with it, So then the florist, that has got your complaint, will not get paid for the order at all, and the online company will tell you, that the next time they will just make sure, that they have some BETTER florist delivering your flowers. So you keep ordering from the same schemer, and the funds that they stole from you, go to pay for online advertisements, so that their info with their web-site would pop op online every single time, when someone is looking for the local flower shop, pretending that they are the one. You also pay for their bad customer service, located somewhere in China, and their growing Marketing department (after all, someone needs to make sure that all the good reviews about their company are written, and all the emails to have you as a customer next time, sent out to you).
Sad info, isn't it? So why, would you say, real florists are even taking those orders than? Well, to be honest with you, we don't always take them. We often reject them, Have you ever heard of flowers never been delivered, or delivered wrong arrangement the next day after it supposed to be delivered? And if so, was the REAL LOCAL hard-working florist blamed again? The reason, that your flowers might not be delivered on time, is because many real florists do reject those non-direct orders, What happens then, is the online company calls to some other real florist, then the next one, and so forth. It might take hours or half a day, until they find the one, that agrees to deliver your arrangement.
I had some unhappy customers calling to my shop, and saying that they wanted the flowers to be delivered in the morning, but barely had them delivered before the end of the day. All I could tell them, is that in our shop, we have no idea, when your order was placed through some middle man. And how many other florists they called before us, in an order to have your flowers delivered. As well as either or not they had the substitutions approved by you as a customer or not. All we do, is deliver what we agreed to deliver, with the middle man. All the middle man really wants, is to have your flowers delivered, so that they can keep the profits, that's all. And if you don't like the flowers, they might offer you discount, up to 50% even. All they have to do then, is not to pay the real florist, who did all the job, and still make profits on your order. It's the real florist, that is risking to lose profits, product, reputation, etc., after all.
Okay, so still, why do you, real florists, take those orders at all, if it's so not profitable to you? - you would say. If that is such a bad business, why do you do it? Well, for a few reasons.
1. We all have competitors, and if you are a customer, who placed that online order, because you simply didn't know about us, it's the chance for us to get you or your recipient as a direct customer for the next time. We do quality control on every arrangement, and we believe, based on the information that we have, that we deliver what you order, and that you will like the flowers, that's why.
2. If we have all the flowers needed, and the delivery destination is close, we might take the order to make even a small profit, once the minimum for delivery charge is reached. We move the product, keep employees busy, letting your recipient know about us, and not letting our competitors to make that small profit instead of us.
3. We also know, that once we took the order for that area or address once, the next time we will be receiving a call for the same address again.
Wow, you'd say. Okay so, besides of ordering directly from you, from now and on, what else do I need to know about floral deliveries as a consumer?
1. Florists don't run around with just one order. Driver doesn't leave until all the arrangements for the route are maid. Driver usually has 1 or 2 rounds per day. We make maps with delivery routes, and driver can't change the route. If he does that to make preference to one delivery, there's a chance that other deliveries won't be made on time.
2. If your order was placed day prior to delivery, it will more likely be delivered the next morning. If your order was placed in the morning for the same day though, it will be delivered in the afternoon. There are exemptions to every rule, of course. And in our shop, we do charge extra for emergency delivery. So there are always some options. But in general, florists can't and won't promise you exact delivery time. It just doesn't work like that. If some "online only" "florist" charges you extra, promising you timely delivery, be aware: they don't pay any delivery charges to real florists. Their orders come as "delivery included". And the price given to real florist before taking away 30%, is usually just the price on the arrangement, that is listed on their site. Nothing else.
3. If you are a receptionist, administrative assistant, co-worker, first floor security officer, etc., please understand: driver doesn't need to have delivery slip signed by the recipient personally. We trust you, when YOU sign for the flowers instead. So please don't try to be difficult and give the driver hard time. Driver can't wait 30 minutes on every order to be signed by the recipient. If he does that, many other people might not receive their flowers that day. Be nice! And, order the flowers! If not for your friend or your loved one, then order them for yourself or for your office. Because flowers keep people happy. And, you are so worth it! :)
