Sending flowers: Debunked

With the popularity of computers and the growth of internet shopping there are many ways for consumers to order flowers it is downright confusing. One can purchase flowers online from Walmart.com, K-Mart.com, etc. Notice they aren’t florists.

Be smart when buying flowers they are a perishable product. Know the kind of flower gift you are sending. Flowers can arrive by UPS or FEDEX in a box with the flowers and vase separate and ready for the person receiving them to arrange themselves. You can also receive flowers the old-fashioned way already professionally designed in a vase and hand delivered by a Floral Delivery Driver.

Here is a text ad for flowers which arrive in a box separate from the vase and it is advertised like this;

“Rated Best Value - WSJ proflowers.com Send Roses, Tulips & other Flowers Overnight. Free Vase!”.

It is not very clear at this point in the above Text Ad that one will be getting the vase separately and in a box, but you will. Remember, UPS or FEDEX means the flowers arrive in a box with the vase separate. FTD.com and other online "order gatherers" & "order takers" use both the box delivery and florist delivery driver depending on the cost of the flower gift so be extra careful.

So what difference does it make?

One big difference is when delivering to a workplace, shipping couriers deliver the box to shipping and receiving at the workplace and a Flower Delivery Driver goes to the receptionist. Florists also leave a courtesy call to let the recipient know to look for their gift on the front porch, side door or at the receptionist desk if going to a business. The bottom line is you get personal service with a florist at every step of the order process from the design to the delivery.

Assume nothing when buying flowers and ask where the company is and if they are a local florist. Using a real florist today is easy with online directories like Yahoo Local NOT YAHOO, but the Local Yahoo business finder. You can find a professional florist as opposed to an order gatherer using Yahoo Local to find a florist in any city. If you want to send flowers to your Aunt in Reno you can find a florist in Reno or nearby. Florists do not like to fill orders for order gatherers for many reasons so be careful.

This is not the only deception, order gathering companies have joined the flower sending arena in a myriad of ways. Many have web sites and phone book ads that seem locally legitimate, but the reality is these companies are not local, knowledgeable, do not design or deliver any flowers. Most people do not realize they are calling a large non florist operation in a warehouse or office.

Understand, local florists actually deliver the flowers placed with an order gatherer (Kmart.com, Walmart.com). If you call a local florist directly for a specific product in a specific town we florists can look up that town’s florists by city or zip code then look up what items they carry and the prices they charge. Based on that we real florists will call and confirm to see if the florist has the flowers and then send the order to that florist with the right dollar amount. Order gatherers send their orders through the same system, but too often on Auto-Forward, which means if the first florist doesn’t have your product they may reject the order and often these orders can bounce around in the system all day. True florists manage the order to its destination- avoiding the Auto-forward issues. Florists know to use the system more efficiently.

Setting the record straight on fees…there is nothing wrong with “service fees” or “convenience fees” they are legitimate charges that have nothing to do with the flowers themselves. Just like buying things at a convenience store there is a price. There is usually a cost for convenience and so you must be careful to remember “service fees" do not go towards the flowers or the delivery. The service fee goes to the company that charged your credit card. They pay operators, keep up a website and it pays for the overhead. Remember, the service fee is entirely separate from flowers. Local florists charge a “delivery charge” for the delivery also separate from the flowers.

Understanding some basic terms helps. If the business asks for a "wire fee" or “sending fee” they are probably a florist that is going to contact another florist. If the company asks for a "delivery fee" then you are probably calling or using a local florist where the flowers are being delivered. On the other hand if you are paying a "service fee" then this could be a red flag that you are calling an "order gatherer” and are about to place an order with a company, not a florist. If asked to pay a "service fee" or a "convenience fee" of any kind when ordering flowers over the phone or online you need to ask questions if you are wary about wasting money on flowers arriving in a box, flowers not designed with a separate vase or worse.

A time and a place for using FTD or Teleflora are when sending flowers overseas. That is unless you can locate a local florist in the overseas location that speaks your language and is in a time zone not too far off in hours to make it easy. Forgot to send flowers or running late and don’t have time to do a local florist search then using FTD, Teleflora or 1-800Flowers might be your best bet in the interest of time. Try to remain generic and understand substitutions may be necessary to get the gift out quickly. Remember the fee is separate, but convenient.

Florists do wire out orders, and can be middlemen, but send flowers with more diligence while using the knowledge of their profession. Florists know what price to get for the city the item is going to (LA, Chicago, Miami, NY vs. Muncie, Boise, Bemidji or Fargo) and will ask for a second choice. A real florist knows what is available seasonally or economically and will set a proper expectation for you so you know what the recipient will receive is doable. An order gatherer does not deal with flowers so they do not know what is in season anymore than their web guy knows. An order gatherer sits in a cubicle, at a desk or at home answering phones for ads in phone books nation wide with predictable flower shop town names like: Main St. Floral, University Flowers, Your Town Flowers, and other local sounding names for the area. So the order gatherer is capable of taking an order, but is not an expert on flowers, designing flowers or sending flowers. Understand, "order gatherers" only send orders to real florists they do not design or deliver flowers themselves. So if you are going to pay any Fee at all when sending flowers make sure you are using a true florist for best results.

This concludes Part 1 of Sending Flowers : Debunked. Written for consumers by the partners and volunteers at Floratique Flowers, Chocolates and Gift Baskets. Floratique has been with FTD and Teleflora for 5 Years non-stop, and have also had a past affiliation with 1-800-Flowers. This article is written from experiences over the past 5 years with FTD, Teleflora and 1-800-Flowers and their member florists.