Cheap Flowers, Labour Not So Much...

It might seem strange, but steaks are a lot like flowers.

A local flyer had steak at around $6.88/lb, or $3.44 for 8 oz.

But when I go to a restaurant, that same steak (with a potato & a few veggies) is suddenly $28.99.

Why the difference? It's the time to marinate, age, cook, and present the steak.

It's all about labour.

Flowers are the same as a steak. If a florist in Canada doesn't have to pay for a lot of design time, there are more flowers in the arrangement.

Let me walk you through some examples.

This is what we call a "cut & plop". Flowers are not arranged, but rather simply cut down to fit the vase. Next to no labour, so more flowers. This item sells for $37.99 on the Simon Says Roses website.

Next, there is the "presentation style" bouquet. There is some labour time in structuring the bouquet, to make the flowers look presentable. This item sells for $49.99 on our website.

Taking another step up is the formal vase arrangement. Each & ever flower is strategically placed one at a time to give the best look to the flowers. That takes time. One of most popular flower vase arrangements sells for $69.99 to $89.99 at Simon Says Roses.

But the REALLY time consuming floral arrangements are often found when constructing sympathy designs. This sympathy casket floral arrangement is packed with exquisite high value flowers like Calla lilies, dendrobium orchids, ginger, & more. Each stem must be inserted into floral foam, ensuring that not one bit of foam can be seen when the design is completed. Time consuming to say the least!
This item sells for $799.99.

The dedication, time & skill of a trained floral designer is not much different than your favourite chef. It takes time to get it right!

Making Lemonade Out of Plants?

Sometimes we have to fix mistakes.

Things that are out of our control.

Things that aren't our fault...but we make it right.

Things like a plant basket that left the greenhouse in great shape, but something happened in the home of the recipient.

We received the following email from a dissatisfied customer:

From: "Bev B"
Cc: simonsaysroses@shaw.ca
Sent: Thursday, 23 May, 2013 10:58:07 AM
Subject: Mother's Day Delivery

The weekend of May 4/5 I had a 4 plant basket delivered to my Mother.
As I live in Calgary, I did not actually see what was delivered. I recently learned that the basket was infested with small flies and that the plants were sub-par.
Unfortunately I will not be using your companies for any future business.
Thank you.
Bev. B

 Aphids spreading from other plants in the home, nesting on our arrangement!

WOW! Not good! We're not even given the chance to fix the problem (*sigh*).

This is the first we heard of any problem. We know that if there was a "bug problem", it would have infested the entire greenhouse, and that wasn't the case. It sure looked like the bugs came from within the home.

It would be so easy to "write this one off" and lose the customer forever, based on the tone of the email.

But good florists in Canada don't do that, however. It's not in our nature.

We fight to retain every customer, no matter how hard it might be. My reply:

From: FRANK SIMON [mailto:simonsaysroses@shaw.ca]
Sent: May-24-13 9:30 AM
To: Bev B
Subject: Re: Mother's Day Delivery

Thank you for comments, Bev.
We have spoken with the delivering shop and the owner knows Margaret personally. She will be speaking with your Mother to determine the problem with the order.
Thank you for letting us know.

Frank Simon
Simon Says Roses Florists & Gifts
Local, national, & worldwide flower & gift delivery Winner of 2012 award for Community Business Integrity at http://twitter.yfrog.com/h6kvfjqj
FTD Top 10 Canadian florists since 2003
1-800-705-ROSE(7673).
Website: http://www.simonsaysroses.com

And the customer's response?

"Thank you for looking into this matter.  I appreciate it. Bev."

That's all it takes sometimes. An acknowledgement of the problem. A promise that we will follow up. And sometimes replacements are sent out (with some education to check for bugs on other plants before the problem happens again).

Such is the life of a florist!

This Balloon Order Almost Blew-up in My Face!

It happened at my first retail flower shop in Canada, about 20 years ago, but I've never forgotten it.

A young Navy fellow had come in to buy a small bouquet of flowers and a Happy Birthday ballloon for his sweetheart.

The problem happened a couple of days later.

The fellow comes back to the shop, looking somewhat like the guy above.

"I'd like my money for the balloon back...her birthday's over now!"

So what are you supposed to do?

Tell him to forget about it?

I had to think quick on this one.

There was no way that I was going to make any money on this sale. It's not like I could re-sell the balloon, as it had already started to deflate.

But the issue was important enough that he came back to the shop. The money was obviously very important to him.

All over a $4.99 balloon.

But if I sent him away, he'd never be back.

He'd probably go back to the Navy Base and tell all his friends what a jerk I was.

I had to remember that it's the long-term relationship with customers that counts. That's what Simon Says Roses depends on to build our customer base.

So yes, I refunded his money...and yes he came back for Valentine's Day (I know he did, as I'll never forget him!)

Short term pain...long term gain...such is the life of a florist in Canada.

These Flowers are a Mess!

Geez I hate when this happens.

Sending an order to another flower shop in Canada, and it turns out to be a total mess.

This is what it was supposed to look like...

We included a description of the item just to make it crystal clear...white wicker basket arrangement with handle to include pink roses, white alstromeria, pink snapdragons, pink carnations, filler flowers, and greenery.

This is what was delivered to the recipient...

No roses, carnations, alstromeria or snapdragons...and not in a white basket.

The flower arrangement didn't even have a pink colour theme...it looks more purple to me.

When confronted with this discrepancy, the shop agreed on the differences, but still claimed that the value was there. Apparently there was a snow storm, and the wholesale truck didn't arrive.

But that's not the point. They could have contacted us before the arrangement was sent. Let us know about flower availability, and we can correspond with the sender.

But instead of calling us, the shop sent out an inferior product.

AND THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

The flowers bore no resemblance to the item on our website. It certainly wasn't what the customer ordered.

So guess what? Our affiliate was instructed to deliver another arrangement the following day...AT THEIR COST.

And yes, we apologized profusely to the sender. We can only hope that we've kept the customer, but only time will tell.

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes we have to clean up the mess...

You Florists are Morons!

This customer was pi**ed off!

We had sent him a Delivery Confirmation email, and he KNEW the flowers weren't delivered.

It started with an email, then a voice mail, and finally a private message on facebook.

He claimed that the flowers were never delivered, and they better not be sitting in a truck overnight!

So we tried confirming with the delivery service...no response. Didn't expect one, as it was 9:00 at night.

At 7:30 the following morning, the service confirmed the flowers were delivered the previous day, and SIGNED for by the recipient.

So what's going on here??

The sender phoned me later that morning...

You see he hadn't signed the greeting card.

He assumed that she would know the flowers were from him...but she thought they were from somebody else.

So when he called her, she didn't acknowledge the flowers as she thought they were from an OLD BOYFRIEND!

And when she phoned the "ex" to thank him, he didn't correct her. He let her think the flowers came from him!

Thankfully the sender & I had a good laugh...and hopefully proved to him we weren't total morons!

5 Great Reasons to Deliver Valentine's Flowers Early

1.       I'm a guy. 

      Procrastination is my middle name. 

Canada roses & alstromeria vase

      Come Valentine's Day, I probably wait until the last minute, and get really disappointed...even ANGRY when a florist can't "get 'er done".

      Here's 5 great reasons to order your Valenitne's Day gift for delivery A DAY EARLY (for Wednesday, February 13th):

1. Your "Valentine" will be the centre of attention at home or in the workplace, while others are still waiting...and hoping...all Valentine's Day.
2. Your Valentine will know you thought of them early, and it was not a "last minute" effort on Valentine's Day.
3. Deliveries can happen at any time throughout the day on the 14th at NO specific time, while your Valentine will feel loved all Valentine's Day.
4. Remember: The unexpected gets more "brownie points".
5. We sell out of roses & most flowers every year. Ordering & delivering early avoids any chance at disappointment!

This year, don't be the typical guy. Try ordering your Valentine's roses for delivery a day early.

A Happy Valentine's Day often means a Happy Valentine's night!!

Roses - Are You Sending the Wrong Message?

Red, white, yellow, pink, mixed colours...so many choices!

But are you sending the right message when you send roses, especially with Valentine's Day on February 14th?

Here's a list of the meaning of roses, to make sure you're sending the right message!

• Red - love, respect, courage, beauty, prosperity
• White - humility, innocence, purity
• Pink - grace, gratitude, admiration
• Hot Pink - desire
• Yellow - joy, freedom, slighted love, friendship
• Red & White together - unity
• Red & Yellow together - happiness.

And it's not just roses.

Over the years we've also compiled a long list of flower meanings of all types, at www.simonsaysroses.com/flowermeaning.htm