How would you like to pay for that?

Technology may be changing the world, but some things remain the same.

The number of orders Canadian florists receive by phone or online is huge, in comparison to walk in trade.

Yet the Point of Sales systems of many retailers simply haven't keep up with technological changes over the years.

So here is an answer to the daily question of "how would you like to pay for that"?

There are two credit cards that ALL retailers will accept over the phone or online (at least those operating in this century):

Then there is the one credit card that is hit & miss, primarily because they charge Canadian retailers a higher processing fee:

 

And finally there are two other credit cards that we at Simon Says Roses will accept, but not many other Canadian florists have this ability:

The following methods of payment haven't made it into our Point of Sale world as of yet, due to either programming or privacy issues:

1. Pre-paid Canadian Visa Debit cards - Canadian cards won't work, but Visa Debit cards from the U.S. and other international destinations seem to work just fine.
2. PayPal
3. Western Union
4. E-transfers
5. Interac, even though customers have tried to give us their PIN numbers over the phone!
6. Cheques
7. Cash (hard to do over the phone)

So there it is. When in doubt, use credit cards like Visa or Mastercard. Almost everything else is a work in process!

Roses in Mexico Lead to Better Quality of Life

We would like to thank Cynthia Andrade of the Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit Tribune for the following article posted earlier today. We can only hope that these roses will find their way into the Canadian flower market in the near future.

Yes, roses in Mexico can drive the economy, not just tourism & oil!

Puebla farmers recently signed a contract with Plantas Continental to sell their roses in the United States.
The initiative, headed by Puebla Gov. Rafael Moreno Valle, will introduce two rose species exclusive of the state — the “Puebla” rose and the “5 de Mayo” rose — as well as 129,520 other varieties of roses to be sold in the international market.

Because the Puebla and 5 de Mayo species only exist in the state, rose producers will be able to easily gain access to the market and increase their earnings, said Moreno Valle.
He added that without this exclusive patent, trade would be limited to only the national market and the producers’ earnings would be less. Moreno Valle said that agricultural contracts are important because they put producers in direct contact with businesses and cut out the middlemen who earn money without really working.
“We want a more efficient market, one that assures more benefits and a better quality of life in the country,” said Moreno Valle. The governor added that his administration will push for economic restructuring and look for products that do well in each region of the state, especially those with high market demand.
Moreno Valle asked that the producers be vocal in this strategy, saying that it could be a viable path to revive rural areas and address poverty and inequality.
The governor also announced that 5.5 million pesos ($423,000) will be invested to support rural producers in the municipalities of San Felipe Teotlalcingo, Chiautzingo, San Salvador el Verde and Tlaltenango.
THE NEWS

A & W #CustomerServiceFail

So I got my coupon package in the newspaper the other day. We're not big on coupons at Simon Says Roses, as we've had little success.

But this coupon had a set of offerings from A & W, the big international restaurant chain.

Between the coupons & the tv ads for "hens fed from a vegetarian diet", I though I would check it out this morning to try their bacon & eggs breakfast.

It sounded like a heck of a deal...2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 pieces of toast...all for only $2.99! And from hens that don't eat meat!?

What a deal!

Oops.

Big mistake.

I was third in line to place my order.

The first customer was told they had no eggs(!), so they were not serving breakfast.

The second customer wanted a burger & fries (at 10:30 in the morning!), but was told they had no fries & would he like hash browns instead?

As I was waiting to place my order, a Manager was returning with a bag from the local grocery store (the restaurant & the grocer are in the same mall).

I had my fingers crossed.

Could it possibly be that she went & bought some eggs?

Maybe some frozen french fries?

No such luck.

She opened the bag and pulled out two litres of half & half cream (I guess they ran out of the little individual cups of coffee cream as well).

What would it take to buy & some eggs &/or frozen fries...WHEN YOU WERE ALREADY AT THE GROCERY STORE???

I don't get it.

This is somebody's idea of customer service?

CustomerServiceFail is more like it.

They've incurred the cost of printing & distributing the coupon...have lured me into the restaurant...and now I feel used & abused.

I settled for a small coffee instead of a proper breakfast, and stewed over this blog post before deciding what needed to be said.

Thanks for wasting my time...but first impressions last forever...

Harper Lays Floral Wreath at Canada War Memorial

Yesterday we entered the new world of terrorism on our Canadian federal politicians' own turf.

It didn't happen half a world away, it actually happened in our own back yard.

We usually associate flowers in Canada with times of happiness when birthdays, anniversaries, and big celebrations occur.

But today it was a time when flowers were provided in a time of profound sadness, as our Prime Minister went to lay a floral wreath at the National War Memorial.

His efforts at a floral tribute, surrounded by MP's from all parties singing O Canada, was suddenly interrupted as seen in this CBC video:

One Calgary florist that gives a da**!

Just when you think businesses don't give a da**, we have a preferred florist in Calgary that certainly does!

We sent an order for flowers to be delivered to the Foothills Hospital, for a lady just out of surgery.

No room number.

As you can see, Foothills is quite a complex medical facility. Lots of different departments and rooms. Wouldn't be hard to get lost, and not be able to find the patient.

Easy to just deliver something to the front desk, and let the hospital worry about getting it there.

But not our favourite flower delivery shop in Calgary.

That's because they're good.

They go the extra mile, when they tell us that "the patient is currently in Unit 94 and is unable to have flowers. We will check daily and let you know when she can. Thanking you in advance for your patience, and Happy Thanksgiving".

Love it.

They'll deliver as soon as they can, and then provide a Delivery Confirmation once it's done.

Yes!

Do you think Canada Post, or UPS, or FedEx drivers would call every day? Not bloody likely!

As a customer, would you want to take the chance & phone your order to some random shop from the yellow pages or when you search on Google? Didn't think so.


That's why I love that Simon Says Roses is a founding member of the Canada Florists Network. Our member florists understand personal service...'cause it works!

What's with #ThanksgivingGifts?

We Canadians don't get together with family & friends at Thanksgiving like the Americans.

For our southern neighbours, their Thanksgiving is the biggest travel time of the year.

For us, it's just immediate family & friends.

We gather for a meal, maybe watch some football, and celebrate the start of the NHL season and Hockey Night in Canada.

Yup, Thanksgiving is turning into a real turkey of a holiday!

 In our house, we celebrate a little differently.

When Dale & I were first married, we used to have Thanksgiving dinner at her Mom & Dad's in Edmonton. She's from a family of six kids, so when you add the babies & grandparents, there was almost 30 people in the house.

Now that's a celebration!

I "almost" miss the gathering, but then again it's been 23 years since we were in Edmonton for the holiday.

Everybody has drifted apart, and of the older relatives only her Dad is left. He's in his 80's now, and we still want him to know we're thinking about him, so we send him a small fruit & chocolate basket for Thanksgiving.

It's not the same as being home for Thanksgiving...but when we're that far away...we still like to give thanks to someone we miss every holiday.

Have a good one, Dad!

No #WestKelownaFruitBaskets, Balloons, or Gourmet Food Baskets?

West Kelowna isn't a small little town.

Even though it's not called Westbank any more, it has almost 31,000 people.

But only one West Kelowna florist.

And that makes for ALMOST a monopoly. This Westbank flower shop can do what they want. They can carry whatever product lines they feel like.

So they have decided not to carry balloons, gourmet food baskets, or fruit baskets in West Kelowna.

And this is not good, because we had an order for a young girl this morning, that wasn't feeling well.

It was for a get well soon balloon bouquet with a large plush teddy bear, and the florist in West Kelowna doesn't carry balloons or plush.

Good thing they don't have a total monopoly! There is an exception to this shop's monopoly, if you know the Kelowna flower market like we do.

Because there is a grocery store in Kelowna that carries balloons, plush bears, and of course fruit & gourmet baskets.

They charge more for delivery to travel out to West Kelowna, but most importantly...they could get 'er done!

So we don't make us much on this order. Big deal.

We keep a customer happy...and most importantly...we helped put a smile on a sad little girl's face!

#FlowersLastLong when kept Cold & Wet

If you keep your flowers cold & wet, they could last forever!

Bringing back this video from the time capsule, for good information (and a laugh at my expense)!

http://youtu.be/vDQFkU17XH4

Flowers cold & wet!

Pumpkin arrangement with #LaSalleFlowers?

Customer called wanting custom flowers in LaSalle, and she's calling from Banff.

Now it's sometimes hard to take a customer's vision and construct a floral arrangement without pictures as a guide, but we did the best we could.

She wanted an arrangement designed in a pumpkin, with roses, alstromeria, lilies & sunflowers in a fall colour theme.

We envisioned something like this:

Rather than describe the sender's response, we'll simply cut & paste her email:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michelle B"
To: simonsaysroses@shaw.ca
Sent: Thursday, 2 October, 2014 7:22:26 AM
Subject: Re: Feedback on your order is truly appreciated

Hello All!!

My experience with you guys was great!

I wanted my mother in law to enjoy her arrangement, and that she did!

I had a special request to have pumpkins added to the arrangement to give it a more thanksgiving feeling, and your company really did a great job! She was so happy with it, she shared a photo, and I as well, really thought it was beautiful.

Dale, in Vancouver, was very easy to speak to and she made my day with being able to give me what I wanted!

I will definitely use you guys every time I purchase flowers!

Thanks!

Michelle

Note: Pumpkins are available only around Halloween, so the decision was made not to include any images on our Thanksgiving flowers page. This is a perfect example of a custom order that is not offered on our website, yet is available for a short period of time if you call us at 1-800-705-(ROSE)7673.

#VernonFlowers with no vase means no Vernon flower delivery!

I had to say "no" to a customer today.

It's rare.

I like to say "yes" all the time.

But delivering cut flowers with no container to a patient in the Vernon Hospital?

Just say NO!

 

I "get" not wanting to pay for a vase or a basket to hold the flowers.

It just adds to the price, and takes away from the number of flowers to be delivered.

But can we really expect this Vernon Hospital to carry vases...of all shapes & sizes? Not going to happen!

So what else is available to hold water in a hospital?

Nope. It doesn't make sense. Practicality over-rues frugality in this case.

We either do it an a vase, or we say "no"...we can't do this order.

Thankfully the customer agreed and paid for a vase. Because that bed pan won't do justice to our flowers...and it is our reputation after all!