Comments on The View from White Pine Lane: Bye-bye 1800Flowers.com

Teleflora.com is very much like 800-flowers, They ...

2010-05-17T20:16:57.274-05:00

Teleflora.com is very much like 800-flowers, They do not drop ship anything. My website is run by teleflora and I choose to use a lot of thier images, but have some of my actual work on there also, so you the consumer get to see that i actually do design flowers and what my actual work and quality looks like. When you order from my site for my local area, which is clearly defined my actual shop will make the arrangement and deliver it. I do send through teleflora for my out of area orders, but have a tighter kniw selection of florists and do a whole lot of research before just duping an order with just any florist in the database...I get a 12.99 service charge just like the online companies, but for that service charge, I check the florist out and pick award winning florists, florists that have been family owned for generations, florists that I like their web pictures, florists that sound intelligent when I call them, florists that I personally know etc. I have been known to call 4-5 florists before finally placing an order just because I didn't like their methods on the phone. i can assure you that 800-flowers rarely ever talks to anyone before placing their orders, it all goes by algorithms sp?. The cs rep takes your order and with the press of a button sends it onto another florist, all that for 12.99...Hardly seems like work, they would rather get your money now and then deal with the complaint later, where as a real florist wants to take your money now and get the order right and delivered on time no matter what market it is going to, local or wire out, we care about every order and the people that are behind them sending and recieving...

Hi Lori-- Thanks for chiming in too. It's interes...

2009-11-30T19:31:52.869-06:00

Hi Lori--
Thanks for chiming in too. It's interesting to hear from actual florists on this subject. I noticed that your website is affiliated with Teleflora. Is Teleflora the same kind of operation as 1800Flowers.com, or do you have more of a relationship with them?

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you will come back again!
Kim

Hello and i will mirror Sandy's apologies for your...

2009-11-30T12:22:45.718-06:00

Hello and i will mirror Sandy's apologies for your bad experience...I too am a florist and there are no excuses for what your recieved and as Sandy said because 800-flowers is essentially a middleman it is very difficult to really tell who is to blame, the florist could have very well notified 800 of the sub and 800 neglected to tell you...

As far as it being more convenient to shop with 800-flowers, once you get to know a florist in your area and build a repore, you will be able to order from their website, because most neighborhood florists do have one now. Try several out, google them to see if the have a website, buy from them in person, when in there ask about their sub policy on their website...some website do not directly reflect the true image of the local florist so it is important that you make a visit the first few times and see how their operation works, see if you like the flowers and how the shop is kept...Once you know you like the florist, it will be very easy to trust what they send from the website...

I myself have a website and do need to make subs on occasion, but I try my best to contact the sender to let them know and give some options to find out how important the actual picture is to them, it is one of the most important thing that ionline shopping removes from our jobs, the personal conversation with the customer on a very emotional gift, we can assume all we want why a certain picture was chosen, but without actually speaking to the client it is impossible for us to know the true reason a person ordered something, it can run the gamut from price, to favorite flowers, to color to style.....what caught your eye may or not be affected by the sub and there is no way for us to know that by assumptions...

I do hope you build a relationship with a local florist, I am 100% sure you will be very happy with one and get your full moneys worth on everything you send in the future, Flowers are a great gift when ordered from a reputable company in control of their own orders...Good luck in finding the florist of your dreams...

Hi Sandy-- I appreciate the awesome explanation of...

2009-11-29T14:48:15.951-06:00

Hi Sandy--
I appreciate the awesome explanation of how the whole online-retailer thing works with florists. You basically said the same thing that so many of my friends have said to me over on Facebook - go with someone local. I do think that seems to be the best answer. Even if it's not nearly as convenient, the results will be much more satisfactory, and the local florist gets the revenue, so it's win-win.

I'll definitely order flowers again - flowers are an important part of life! From now on, however, I'll just do it at a local level.

Thanks so much for stopping by White Pine Lane, Sandy! I do hope you'll come back!
Kim

First of all....as a florist I apologize for your ...

2009-11-29T14:29:50.190-06:00

First of all....as a florist I apologize for your bad experience. Secondly, as a florist, I thank you for being a regular flower buyer.

Lastly, I would like you to continue to buy flowers AND be happy and satisfied with your purchases.

While I know that it's convenient to order from the big online retailers like 1800flowers, FTD.com, etc., you ARE paying for that convenience. These online order gatherers do just that: GATHER ORDERS and then send them on to local florists to be filled. However, first they take their cut off the top....so the local florist is given a lesser amount for the order AND the delivery charge. I'm not making excuses for the local florists who filled these orders, however you should know that they probably recieved about $42 out the $60 you paid to fill that order.

The online order gatherers also put lots of lovely pictures on their sites that may or may not be able to be filled by a local florist at any given time. When dealing with a perishable and seasonal product, what flowers are available may vary from day to day. While some substitions that don't compromise the overall look and feel of the arrangment are generally considered acceptable, if the florist couldn't fill the order close to the picture, then they should have refused the order from 1800flowers. Since I don't know what conversation happened between 1800 and the local florist, it's hard to say who's to blame.

May I suggest that the next time you would like to order flowers (and I do hope there is a next time!) you call or stop in to your local florist shop and see firsthand what they have in stock. ALL of the money you spend will be used to make the arrangement and deliver it. If you are sending flowers out of town, there are many local florists who have online sites-so it should be no difficulty to google a florist in the town you want to send to. You will get more for your money and have a much better idea of what will be sent.

I hope this experience won't keep you from buying flowers in the future...and I hope my explanation will help you to be a more satisfied flower buyer.