An Expanding Market for Florists
During the l970’s, grocery stores decided to get in on the flower market. It was sad but amusing to see check out clerks in a grocery store run back to the floral department to try and arrange a floral bouquet. A florist could run a register, but a checkout girl does not a florist make!! Grocers decided that in order to have a quality arrangement the designers had to have at least 2 years experience.
Online Florists
Now enter the “Online order takers”. A third party such as 800 Flowers can take your order online. They will charge a fee for transferring your order. They will get a 20% commission fee and then get a rebate from the wire service. The number one complaint with these companies is late deliver and the second is not receiving the order at all. Some of these companies guarantee same day delivery. It would seem difficult to guarantee this unless the order is going to a fairly large city where a wholesale house is just around the corner. In smaller communities, floral shops may only receive flowers from their wholesalers two to three times a week.
As stated before, a florist pays a monthly fee in order to belong to the wire service. Those costs pass to the consumer for the service being rendered. Some shops will charge more than necessary and gouge the consumer. There are florists who would do that. There are florists who would not. It is difficult when ordering online if you have never had contact with the florist before in order to know if they are people of integrity. It is definitely easy to order online but you may pay more than necessary. Many florists have “dropped” the wire services because the fees exacted do not justify the means. Many florists’ deal directly with other florists’ and use credit cards to pay for the flowers they order for their customers. The percentage charged on a credit card can be more affordable than the wire service fees. It could be called ‘old fashioned’ for your florist to want to talk directly with another florist. But there are a few advantages. A florist can get a ‘feel’ talking directly with another florist as to whether they are knowledgeable about their flowers, whether they really care about your order and the message your bouquet is meant to convey, whether they are proud of their work etc. You cannot get that impression by just sending an order online.
Computers have impacted the floral business world as in every other business. Another avenue florists have taken is that of setting up their own web pages. It is cost effective, reaches a larger audience in advertising and is easy to use. Once again, you are sending flowers without actually talking to your florist. But you do have the option to do just that with all the pertinent information on the web such as phone, address etc. Flowers convey feelings. Sympathy, love, kind thoughts, expressions of hope for a speedy recovery, joy over a newborn or a wedding, congratulations on a new venture and of course, the apology.
