Consumer Alert
Flower Ordering Online
As Valentines Day, Easter, and Mothers Day approach, consumers need to be warned about the pit falls of ordering online from companies pretending to be local florists, when in fact many are not even florists at all.
In many cases, these so called florists are nothing more than "boiler rooms" of computers and telephones, with no real flower shop, and no flowers. Ordering from these sites generally results in much higher cost and poorer service to the consumer.
Consumers should always look for a physical local street address and phone number, usually on the "contact us" or "about us" pages of a site.
For all the information you need, to help sort out the pit falls of not dealing with a local Real Florist please visit http://www.floristdetective.com to learn about the deceptive practices and whats being done to help protect consumers.
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My partner, wishing to surprise me on Valentine's Day, ordered 2 dozen peach-colored roses from Wal-Mart, for $50.00. The flowers were delivered, alright, 2 dozen sickly-looking PINK roses that NEVER opened, and were withered and drooping the following day! When my partner emailed Wal-Mart, a representative told him that they were "having problems" with their distributor, to check their "disclaimer" (which states that in some flower "arrangements", some of the flowers may differ), and credited my partner's credit card a measly $15! Since this was not an "arrangement", this disclaimer really has no meaning.
This is a follow-up to my last post. I spoke with a Customer Service Rep at Wal-Mart, and was told that this fell under the guidelines of Wal-Mart's "Substitution Policy", meaning that they can substitute different-colored flowers (even if it's not what you want), and that is "perfectly acceptable". Talk about bad business practice! Then why bother offering different varieties of roses online, when you can't deliver the goods? Wal-Mart can take their flowers and stick 'em where the sun don't shine!
Mr. Wilk, "We" as Real Florists agree with your comments. We too are not always able to stock every color, or may sell out on any given day, however we would have taken the time to contact the sender to both advise and offer either another color or other remedy to the problem.
You have seen first hand what can happen when a consumer orders form other than a Real Florist, from some internet site that has absolutely no connection to a real flower retailer.
Believe me when I say we are working hard to remove the deception prevelant in the area of online flower sales. One list that may help you in the future is a listing of guaranteed local Real Florists here on the blog, there are lists for both the US and Canada and they are added to often http://www.reallocalflorists.com
Please visit http://www.floristdetective.com for more information on this type of problem. One thing to keep in mind, most all of the "sponsored links" on most search engines go to what we in the industry term "order gatherers" or businesses that do not handle the actual product.
Thank you for your candid comments.
Administrator
Thank you. You reiterated my partner's and mine feelings that he should have at least been contacted by Wal-Mart about the unavailability of certain flowers and a possible alternative or remedy to the situation. Wal-Mart's "Substitution Policy" is, in my opinion, from the "Cover your Ass" school of irresponsibility and a total lack of regard for the customer. I may also add that the flowers advertised on the WalMart site are supposed to come with Baby's Breath (there was none), and, in cases of "substitution", are supposed to be of "equal" or "superior" quality to the original ones ordered. The "superior quality" blooms that were delivered were anything but fresh, withered and droopy. I spoke with another Customer Service representative, and got them to reimburse my partner for approximately half of what he paid ($53.00) for these inferior flowers. Yes, there is nothing like ordering flowers from a "Real" florist.