5 #MothersDayGifts that AREN'T Flowers

This year will be the 23rd Mother's Day for Simon Says Roses.

That's a long time for a florist!

In thinking of Mother's Day 2015, we've come up with a Top 5 list of gifts that our customers have sent for this special day, that AREN'T flowers!

1. All Chocolate Basket

We added this product 3 years ago, and it sure is popular. Mom can have a 6 month supply of her favourite treat (if she eats sparingly), and can share with the family as well.

2. All Fruit Basket

Mom not into chocolate? Looking for a healthy alternative? (you know what Mothers are like...at least mine was).

 3. Super Gourmet Food Baskets

Does Mom get stuck making pre-game snacks on what is supposed to be her special day? We're right in the middle of hockey & basketball play-offs, so why should Mum be stuck in the kitchen? Our gourmet food baskets can include fruit, nuts, cheeses, crackers & more!

4.  Go Whimsical with a Balloon & Teddy Bear!

No flowers, plants, or food? Mom enjoys having fun...but still loves to be recognized as well? A balloon for the day, and a plush teddy bear as a keepsake for years to come!!!

5. Teddy Bear, Chocolates, and Balloons too!

We've got this item currently set up on the website for birthday celebrations, but we could simply substitute "Happy Mother's Day" or "I Love You Balloons" to make a fun Mother's Day Gift!

Bottom line is that your Mother's Day gift doesn't have to be flowers. But whether it's Mom, Mum, Mother, Grandmother, Mother-in-Law or wife...make her day as special as possible!

Valentine's Day Flowers in Canada, or Mexico?

It must be so easy to be a florist in Mexico at Valentine's Day, compared to being a florist in Canada.



After all, here it's almost the end of January, and flowers in Mexico seem to be everywhere!

Roses outside of a manicured home...

A hedge made of flowering bougainvillea...

Even outside of a rudimentary "casa", the large azalea and tropical shrubs are well cared for...

Even walking by what appeared to be a tropical jungle, this is a picture of a Mexican nursery and garden centre. Talk about plants!

In Canada on the other hand, many regions are digging out of tons of snow. Even in areas where they've avoided the deluge, the freezing temperatures are mind-numbing.



In Canada there's certainly no flowers growing wild...no Valentine's Day roses blooming next to the house...and our nurseries won't look lush and vibrant for a few months yet.



Life in a warm year round climate...even the flowers love it!

Mom's Gourmet Food Basket in Brampton Not Delivered!?!?!?!?

I felt bad for our customer.

He's in Calgary, and ordered a gourmet food basket for delivery in Brampton. It was for his Mother's Birthday.

http://www.simonsaysroses.com/SSRGB3.htm

It wasn't a rush job. He had phoned on Thursday, for delivery in Brampton on Friday. Plenty of time to source the products, construct the basket, and get it out for delivery.

Something apparently went wrong. This is his email message this morning. Short & to the point.

"This was not delivered?"

Not good. We start to panic. Why wasn't it delivered? Was his Mom not home? Did the delivery service lose the order? I hate when this happens, so...

WHAT THE H*LL IS GOING ON???

We get on the phone within 30 seconds of receiving his email.

The answer is pretty simple.

"Mom" forgot to call & thank him.

The basket was actually delivered between 4 & 5 o'clock yesterday, according to the delivery service.

But because he wasn't acknowledged, he assumed we screwed up.

Now how to tell him nicely...it was his Mom that messed up by not saying "thank you", and not Simon Says!

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: