The Miracle of Same Day Flower Delivery in Canada

It seems easy enough, but it's actually a miracle.

FedEx can't do it. UPS can't do it. Not even Canada Post can do it.

Same day delivery across the country.

Let's say you are in Montreal, and you want to send a gift across the country.


You Google "flowers in Vancouver", hoping for same day flower delivery in Canada as you've ordered before noon Vancouver time.

Up pops a number of websites to choose from so you click on Simon Says Roses with a whole range of flower images.

You select a flower arrangement with red roses and stargazer lilies, knowing she will love the colour and scent of the display.

And that's where the miracle begins!

The arrangements are not simply sitting on a shelf.

Somebody has to take the order.

Somebody has to construct the arrangement.

Somebody has to deliver the flowers.

All within about a four hour window.

Here's what has to happen:

1. The staff member takes your order, including product order code, greeting card message, recipient's information, your information, and the payment method.
2. The order is printed, and an Order Confirmation Invoice is sent to you by email with full details (except credit card information) for your order.
3. A copy of this Invoice is given to the flower designer.
4. The recipient is called, to ensure someone will be at the residence to accept your gift. 
5. The designer then chooses the flowers, the vase, and then must construct the arrangement, coming as close as possible to the picture. As no two flowers are identical, no two arrangements are identical, but a close replication of your choice will be made.
6. Most delivery services have a morning and afternoon pick-up, usually at 10:00 and 2:00. Orders placed the previous day or before hit the morning run while orders received that day make the afternoon run. Each driver usually loads from 10 to15 orders on each run.
7. The delivery driver must plot his delivery run to ensure the most efficient route is taken in terms of time and mileage.
8. Voila! The delivery is made. When the drivers return, they provide their delivery logs. Your order is marked delivered, and you are emailed a Delivery Confirmation.

A custom manufactured product, ordered and delivered across the country on the same day.

Now that's a miracle!

Why Free Delivery is Never Really "Free"

As Canadian florists, we always seem to be chasing the "big boys" when it comes to retailing.

Sorry Mom & Pop shop, but we're never going to compete with Amazon.ca!

It's one thing for mega stores to offer the enticement of free delivery, but local florists don't operate with the same profit margins or method of doing business.

Mega stores utilize FedEx, UPS, or Canada Post to make their deliveries. If somebody is not home, the door either gets tagged and the recipient has to pick up the product at their depot, or the product is left on the doorstep. They tried...not home...too bad so sad.

Flower shops like Simon Says Roses hand deliver their product. We offer personalized service, whether your flower delivery is across the street or nationally for Canada flower delivery. Can you imagine leaving a Xmas centrepiece on the porch, when its minus 20 outside?.

Ever seen a "flowersicle"?

Local flower shops hire local people, who either provide their own vehicles or drive a company delivery van. There is the cost of gas, oil, insurance, and depreciation to be considered. Wages, Worker's Comp, EI, & CPP all take a cut. We're not talking "chicken feed" here...the costs add up.

To minimize these costs as much as possible, delivery drivers usually try to schedule two delivery runs a day, to deliver the maximum flower orders on each delivery run.

Rural deliveries and timed deliveries create their own sets of problems. Imagine sending out a driver on an hour long round trip...for only ONE order! It's not like you can divide the cost among 10 other orders.

Or how about the delivery that has to be there EXACTLY at 12:00 noon? The driver likely has to make a special trip for that one order, to make certain they are on time.

And volume...what volume? The big boys deliver hundreds if not thousands of orders each day. Your local florist may deliver 10-20 on a normal day...80-100 when things get busy around Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

But still, some florists feel they have to compete with the free delivery "hook". But free delivery is never really free.

Here's a screen shot of a page title that I recently found:

Really? FREE DELIVERY? Sounds fantastic, until you actually go to the site...only to find that each & every product is priced at $10.00 over other florists in the area. Free delivery...or just padded prices? I can only guess...

But there is one thing that a local florist can do that a mega store CAN'T.

Because we're networked across Canada and the U.S., we offer same day delivery if the order is in before noon. Imagine a custom, hand-crafted flower arrangement, hand-delivered on the same day that it is ordered. For delivery to the other side of Canada.

Try that, Amazon!