This is the Eldest Unnamed One's first love and his first Valentine's Day with a true love...So he knew what he wanted to do- He wanted to send her roses. He said buying roses and taking them to her was cheesy and I agreed with him. He knew having roses delivered would make her Valentine's day. So he asked me for help.
After a great deal of hunting around online to find something wonderful and yet not totally outrageous in price, we found 1-800-Flowers. This is what they promised to send, with guaranteed delivery on the 14th, to the Beloved's home:
But on Valentine's Day, nothing arrived. Nada! Zip, zilch, zero! Nothing!
So, I emailed them and as we'd payed with Paypal, I began the complaint process.
Day after Valentine's Day- Not a word from them.
Then today two brief emails arrive showing that delivery has JUST been made TO OUR HOUSE! Our house- not across town to the Beloved's house where the flowers belonged. And since they'd sent a confirmation email stating they had the order right the day after we ordered them, I began to smell a rat.
They sent a link to UPS tracking to show the package had been held up in Philadelphia due to weather and explaining this was their unpreventable reason for the late arrival...Okay, but why send the roses to my house then? Furthermore, isn't that why you pay 15 extra dollars for the delivery guarantee, so you can get a refund if it doesn't arrive? You don't pay guaranteed arrival so you can get wilted flowers delivered two days AFTER the special day to the wrong address!
Apparently 1-800-Flowers disagreed because this afternoon, right after the two emails arrive in my In-box, I find a purple, 1-800 Flowers box on the front porch.
This is what was inside:
Wilted, brown-edged, bent and wrinkle-petaled roses. I don't think they look like they were pictured on their site, do you?
So, I wrote back and said "Don't try to pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. We want a refund."
But don't feel bad, 1-800-Flowers, it's not just you...
FTD.Com's roses arrived a day early and in about the same, if not worse, shape...also guaranteed to arrive ON the 14th, not before and not after. Also satisfaction guaranteed.
This is what I ordered from them:
And this is what we got:
I called them. Know what their customer service line said? "I'm sorry, we're too busy to take your call today. Email us."
So, I did. And guess what?
They haven't even written back!
But that's okay. I watched Oprah today and learned that every event we perceive in a negative light is really a positive lesson and we should be thankful the learning event occured because we have been given a gift of knowledge and an opportunity to grow.
Okay, here's what I got out of the opportunity-
Maybe buying roses at Fresh Market and carrying them to your loved one is better than buying them at the cheesy grocery stores. It certainly beats the $80 bucks I would've paid a local florist to deliver said roses and when you're personally in charge and acting as the delivery agent, you know those damned flowers will be there they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there! But no matter how you choose to give your beloved flowers, anything, absolutely anything, beats buying roses online from 1-800-Flowers or FTD.com!
But there was an even better gift in this experience- The Eldest Unnamed One has seen first hand what we all hope for in a true love- that roses are no substitute for what really counts, and when the chips are down, a real Valentine understands. She appreciates the time and effort put into the day and loves you just because you're you.
They're a class act, those two!
10 comments:
Sorry you had a bad experience, but don't dog on a local florist price at the holiday, your paying that much for quality and a guarantee of the best product. Ordering flowers from a company that ships UPS, Fed Ex or DHL is always a bad idea. Flowers that last need to be kept in the cold chain, shipped through refrigerated trucks, and kept at the correct temperature. You can also get flowers that are wrapped, like Fresh Market, at your florist, you just have to ask. Either way, your point is true, a true Valentine knows that it is about love, not flowers.
Anon- you bring up a good point and I know I wasn't clear about this- I totally believe in local florists, just not on Valentine's Day when the price of roses triples everywhere. In fact, I usually don't send roses on Valentine's Day for just that reason but as you know, this one was special.
Anyway, when I want to send flowers locally, I have a couple of florists in town who I know will do a special job and go out of their way to do it right.
When I send flowers to loved ones out of town, I usually have a hook up with a local florist in the town where my friends and family live, too. If I don't, I'll google the local guys and take a chance.
Like bookstores, local florists and local businesses in general beat out the big chains and it's a shame to see the Walmarts roll over these guys and put them out of business. So, in my long-winded way, I'm saying- absolutely, you're right- local florists are usually the best way to go...unless you're just a kid in a crunch on his first Valentine's Day...
It's like my handiman-type guy is always telling me, "You get what you pay for and if you're trying to take the cheap route, you're gonna wind up paying more in the long run anyway." But he wasn't talking about Valentine's Day either!
So thanks, A., that point needed to be clarified!
Glad you use a Real Local florist when you need quality...we are actually a Real Florist ourselves and raised our prices by $6 dollars to cover part of the increase in cost passed on to us. We managed to get all of our deliveries done, had one complaint about tulips, left nothing at the door and Love what we do!And over 50 of our local deliveries were for local high school kids that shop with us on a regular basis because we understand their budgets and their trendy tastes! Best wishes to your The Eldest Unnamed One .They are a cute couple!
As another Real Florist, our roses were $5.00 more than our everyday price, mainly because of the extra cost of fuel surcharges we had to pay to our wholesaler's trucks who serviced us three days in a row instead of twice per week. A professional real florist surely could have made the delivery on time given the appropriate notice. Best wishes to your beautiful daughter and her special one.
Sigh.
I always wonder who my readers are. Now I know- Real Florists!
Guys, really, I do love Real Florists! I don't love FTD.com or 1-800-Flowers. You guys have them beat any day of the year, no doubt...but the kid only had a tiny budget and wanted roses, so...I made a leap of shopping faith and fell flat on my face. Still, I have to stick to my guns on Valentine's Day- I still say it doesn't pay to send roses then unless it's a true emergency and if you guys could've delivered a dozen for under $50 I would've gone with a local REAL FLORIST. As it was, I probably should've done what Anony. #1 said, stopped by and bought carry-out roses.
I will know better next time. And I will also call on you guys the next time the Beloved needs a wristlet for the dance...mine suck! (But I do like to fool around with them, so if you're local to Greensboro, drop me a business name!)
Forget the roses. What a beautiful couple!
If I was them, I'd be soooooooooooo embarrassed about sending such crappy flowers! And their customer service sucks!!!!
They are such a cute couple!
Oh, God! Thank you, Teena! You got me completely! And thanks, I'm right partial to them too!
I live overseas and can't get to a local florist to send/deliver flowers to family back Stateside. I've found Proflowers.com a good choice and reasonably priced should you ever go the internet route again.
Just browsing via Blogs Gone Wild designs and had to comment. Love your blog title!
Thanks, Moose! Glad you stopped by! I've heard good things about proflowers, too...not that I'll ever use one of those services again!!!!
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