Mother's Day Flowers in the News

Since flowers are the #1 gift for Mother's Day, television stations across the US have been running news segments featuring shopping comparisons, buying tips and consumer information. Here's a summary of some of the major stories.

From NBC10 Philadelphia - Investigators Look Into Florist Complaints. Reporter Lu Ann Cahn exposed the noticeable difference between flowers bouquets ordered through phony local florists and real brick and mortar stores. The station includes a page of tips on how to avoid being fooled by out-of-state call centers.

From abc11 Raleigh-Durham - Online Flowers May Not Be Best Deal. The report compares ordering flowers direct from a local florist versus going through a national wire service.

The bottom line is Troubleshooter got more bang for its buck -- $10 more by going directly to the local florist and skipping the third party and its fees.

From KSL Salt Lake City - Investigation: Customers Not Getting what they Pay for in Flower Orders Reporter Debbie Dujanovic exposed out-of-state companies posing as local flower shops and revealed how consumers are paying more and getting less.

We spent hundreds of dollars ordering bouquet after bouquet, from companies listed online and in the phone book as local florists. But we discovered, after looking at billing records, the minute we dialed, our call was unknowingly forwarded out of town, not to florists but to telemarketers.

SmartMoney.com asked Can Grower-Direct Flowers Beat Your Florist's? The verdict:

It would be an understatement to say we were disappointed. With the exception of the order from Organic Bouquet — which was gorgeous — we'd be embarrassed to send Mom any of these arrangements. Dying and crushed blooms, and unopened buds abounded.

TampaBays 10 News reporter Tammie Fields asked - When you order flowers - Do you get what you pay for? and compared three local florists and ProFlowers. The opinion of ProFlowers' bouquet by flower expert Ian Prosser:

"This is pitiful. It's an embarrassment to the floral industry. There's absolutely no design. Mums which should last a long time are broken. They're soft."

Macon, GA's 13 WMAZ advised consumers that Flowers Don't Grow Online and discussed the difference between ordering from brokers and calling florists direct.

Over the past three years, about 550 consumers complained to the national Better Business Bureau after ordering from 1-800-flowers.com. Hundreds more complained about other flower websites, including ftd.com, proflowers.com, justflowers.com, and teleflora.com.

Cassandra Ford thought she was ordering from a florist. But many websites, including 1-800-flowers, are not florists. They're essentially call centers that take your order and ask a local florist to deliver the flowers.

Some florists say they've stopped taking orders from some of those websites because the websites create expectations among consumers that the florists can't deliver on.

Real Florists say 'thanks' to these local TV stations for offering good advice to consumers about saving money and getting the best flower values this Mother's Day.