Jamie
Waterford,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, March 02, 2003
I have been a professional florist for 7 years and work for a well known and respected member of Teleflora and FTD, we are in the top 1000 in the nation amongst these organizations. My suggestions are: develop a good rapport with your local florist. They can guide you, assist you and advocate for you in situations like what has happened here. We act as mediators with other florists, not only to create success, but to resolve conflicts when things go awry. Your florist can help you find reputable florists in other cities and countries to do business with, and we stand by our reputation, and will do everything possible to insure a successful experience. Try to avoid making blind online purchases, unless it is through Teleflora or FTD. Some companies, like USA Flowers, Flowers USA and 800 Flowers.com don't even have one live flower in their "store" They're just phone operators, who charge a lot of money for their service, and just call a florist in town to give an order sometimes valued at 75% of what the customer spent! Teleflora and FTD are professional organizations whose members are required to uphold a high standard of service. We, through membership, can also take your issues to the organizations, and, should a company perform badly, we can avoid using them. I keep all information on "good and bad" florists, so I can best serve my customers. I am so sorry for your bad experiences, Get to know your local florists, we love our customers, and they are the reason we are successful, doing business with our regulars is a priviledge, and we really appreciate their confidence and their repeat business.