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:

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!

How do you know the best florist in Vancouver?

One of my softball umpire buddies asked me this the other day.

"So who's the best flower shop in all of Vancouver?"

Wow...great question. If I was a consumer, I know the choices when I Google "Vancouver flower delivery" would be intimidating.

I appreciated his asking me however, as we have developed some credibility in knowing "who's who" in the Canadian florist world.

Sure we have a preferred list of flower shops throughout the Vancouver area that we've relied on to deliver our orders over the past 22 years.

But can we get a little more specific?

First of all, are we talking Vancouver proper or Greater Vancouver?

Greater Vancouver covers over 2,200 square miles, and that would be a HUGE flower delivery area for any florist! Metro Van is a major Canadian city. For example, Vancouver has about 604,000 people, while Greater Van has about 2.5 million. That's more people than Manitoba and Saskatchewan combined. Big difference!


So to better answer his question, I emailed him our listing covering all Vancouver florists in each city comprising Metro Vancouver:

• Burnaby
• Coquitlam
• Delta
• Langley
• Maple Ridge
• New Westminster
• North Vancouver
• Pitt Meadows
• Port Coquitlam
• Port Moody
• Richmond
• Surrey
• West Vancouver
• White Rock

Hopefully this narrows his choices...and of course he can always call us at Simon Says if he wants that professional touch!

#SympathyFlowers in Oakville, in the nick of time.

Your service is truly remarkable Frank. Thank you so much.

Nice. An unsolicited flower testimonial...my favourite kind.

The comments were from an Executive Assistant for a former CEO of a large Canadian coffee franchise (no, I'm not going to name drop)!

It wasn't the first time the customer had ordered, and the orders had always been for a sizable amount.

But this one was going to be tough.

The order came in at 4:50pm on Friday afternoon. 10 minutes to closing for most flower shops.

It didn't come in by phone, it came through online instead. For a funeral service for the following item:

Simon Says Roses SSR5-3808

Sympathy flowers are different than flowers for a birthday or anniversary. They have to be there before a set time, or forget it. Deliver when the service has already begun, and you might as well take the flowers back to the store.

 We needed flower delivery in Oakville before 11:00am on Saturday morning.

And of course this wasn't a few flowers that could be arranged in a vase. It was a sympathy floral spray on an easel, and that's a bit more complicated. 

We had to make the sure that enough red & white carnations, asters, & pom poms were available, enough Oasis foam saturated with water & flower food, the easel spray was in stock, the designer had free time to construct the arrangement on short notice, and the delivery service willing to do a rush delivery first thing in the morning.

...and past experience has taught us that there are only two florists in Oakville that we could trust with this flower delivery. 

So there was no way that I was going to send this order without talking to the flower store owner, but I knew the shops would be closing soon. What's a guy to do, but...

Drop everything, and get on the phone!

1. The first shop had no red & white flowers left of any type going into the weekend, but
2. The second shop could do it!

That's not the end of the story, though. According to the delivery service, they delivered this arrangement to the church but a family member told them to take it to the funeral home where it will be transported to the church.

Did they get it there on time? Yes, at 10:47am (13 minutes to spare).

Sometimes so many things have to come together that it seems like a miracle.

Or as the customer said...remarkable.

#Randy Bachman "Taking Care of Business"

Happy 71st Birthday today, Randy Bachman.

I grew up with BTO (that's Bachman Turner Overdrive for you youngun's).  They were the headliners at my first live concert in 1975 back in my hometown of Saskatoon.

Wow...39 years ago!

They had some some great songs, but one of my all time favourites is "Takin' Care of Business".

The lyrics became my inspiration to take my degree in Commerce. To use my knowledge and start my own business. Eventually it led to my owning my first flower shop.

You get up every morning
From your 'larm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty
And if your train's on time
You can get to work by nine
And start your slaving job to get your pay
If you ever get annoyed
Look at me I'm self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
And I'll be

 Taking care of business (every day)
Taking care of business (every way)
I've been taking care of business (it's all mine)
Taking care of business and working overtime.

http://youtu.be/ybtl9qVFAjc 

What's this about taking a train at 8:15? Get to work by 9:00? Must be talking about a government worker!

By 9:00 this self-employed business owner has already been at work for two hours!

Taking care of business and working overtime. It's like the 35 hour work week...it's just a dream.

Try the life of the self-employed, at 60 hours plus!

Ah the life of a Canadian florist...we love to work at nothing all day?!

Thanks Randy! I guess I missed that part...

#AnniversaryFlowers from Morticum?

My wife is great on the phone. Calm, friendly, concerned with detail, she's everything you want when it comes to customer service.

But she does have a hearing problem.

This morning, it lead to funny consequences when taking a phone order for flowers and balloons in Red Deer.

First, the card message was to read "thank you for 27 wonderful years...Morticum".

Given the unusual name of the sender, Dale asks how to spell Morticum.

The sender is confused, but spells it out anyway.

More to come.

Now that's funny. Dale was laughing so hard, I had to come from down the hall to check out what was happening.

But it gets even better.

The sender orders a dozen roses in a gift box, plus our anniversary balloon package of 6 latex balloons with 2 mylars.

Dale wanted to know the sentiment on the two mylars.

"Would you like Happy Anniversary...and I Love You"?

Now this customer was quick.

His response?

I love you too, but these are for my wife.

Finally, it gets to the end of the order, and Dale asks for the method of payment.

"I already put my wallet away. Since you love me, I thought you would pay for it."

If only every flower order had its LOL moments like this one!

#JimHenson, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy & Romance with Flowers

Jim Henson would be 75 years old today.

I grew up with Jim's Muppets.

As an only child, I thought of many characters as quasi-siblings (weird but wonderful). Sesame Street was my baby sitter...the characters my friends.

Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, The Swedish Chef, Guy Smiley, Ernie, the list goes on & on.

But after all these years, the two most iconic continue to be Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

These two characters taught me a lot over the years, but especially about tolerance.

About colour ("it ain't easy being green").

About size (small statured male versus large statured female).

About demeanor (extroverted Miss Piggy versus introverted Kermit).

These characters also taught me about love...romance...and the value of flowers in a relationship (no matter how long it took to come to fruition).

Like fairy tales of old, Kermit knew what it would take to win Piggy's heart...and it often involved the gift of flowers. Piggy might be demanding, but flowers could always melt her heart. It took years, but finally Kermit realized how important Piggy was in his life.

In the end, the two incurable romantics came together...and of course the Diva Miss Piggy had a fabulous wedding bouquet to commemorate the event!

 Thanks Jim...you're impact on my life especially as a florist will never be forgotten.

Tramps Like Us...

...baby we were born to run!

Happy 65th Birthday today, Bruce Springsteen.

And speaking of babies born running...and important birthdays...it's like that for most flower deliveries to maternity wards in Canada these days.

It's seems that there is hardly any recovery time any more, before Mom & baby are sent running back home.

So the problem for florists is that by the time Mom gives birth & Dad gets around to letting family & friends know, Mother and baby have often been discharged.

The flower shop calls to verify that Mom is still a patient, and the delivery driver arrives to find Mom & baby already gone!

Now we have to track down a home address, and the delivery service charges us for two deliveries.

We've now started asking for a home address when we first take the order, "just in case".

No sense running up delivery charges when trying to catch up with those babies on the run!

Amazing Race Canada in #Floral Emblems

Watched the finale of the Amazing Race Canada last night (congrats Mickey & Pete).

I loved watching this show, as it allows me to see parts of our great country that I will probably never experience. I learn something new on every show.


But the segment on our founding fathers in Charlottetown really bothered me. Other than Sir John A Macdonald, I hadn't even heard of most of the others. Sad.

So...being in the flower industry....how well would I do in naming the floral emblems of Canada?

Remember, this was a test on last year's final episode!

I got three right.

It's the three provinces that I've lived in...Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C. Pretty bad, I must admit.

So how did anyone else do?

Please reply & let us know!