Hi Guys and Gals,
Amanda here with House of Flowers! Another Valentine's Day is upon us (Tuesday February 14th) and every year we are reminded of a couple of things: 1) Not everyone knows exactly what they're doing when ordering flowers & 2) There are tons of horror stories out there of crooked florists pulling some funny business with their clients.We thought today would be a great opportunity to address both of these and give you 5 tips to make your Valentine's Day ordering experience the best EVER!
1. Be picky about the Florist you choose.
*Research the florist on the internet, how are their reviews on YELP & Google? Legit??
*Visit their website, do the photos of arrangements look like over used wire service stock photos, or like they were taken in the actual florist's shop?
*Do they have a local physical address? *BEWARE OF WIRE SERVICES* (ie TeleFlora, 1-800-Flowers, FTD, Pro Flowers) These wire services have created a middle man for local participating florists everywhere, which means a lot of mistakes can and will be made. The number one complaint we hear over and over again is "I ordered something from (Insert wire service name here) and when it showed up, it looked nothing like the picture!!" How does this happen??? In the chain of that industry, the wire service (Order Gatherers/Brokers) decides what designs, price points and cuts of the profit the local florist(The Order Filler) gets. And this is where you have a whole lot of inconsistencies and down right funny business. Different markets mean different pricing, different product availability, different skill set of designers who make the arrangements, and all it takes is one dishonest business to put a bad taste in your mouth. A lot of this means, you're most likely never going to get what it is you ordered. Wire service makes it nearly impossible for the consumers to actually know what they're ordering!, and when you have a problem, you're going through multiple avenues to resolve it, wouldn't you rather talk straight to business owner who created the arrangement and made the mistake?!
2. Get ahead of the game.
*Place your order as early as possible! It's not weird, we wont forget your order, It means you're getting the best quality possible(Think early bird gets the worm!) The closer you get to last minute, the less options you'll most likely have, and the more you compromise getting exactly what you want! Don't be that person in line at Vons with some generic bouquet.
3. Consider the person you're buying for.
*Whether its a Galentine, friend, lover or family member, it helps your florist to know a little about the person you're buying for, this can help us suggest a certain style or arrangement to fit their personality. When coming up with our original designs, we always have a person/personality in mind that we feel it represents and communicates. Each arrangement takes on a personality of its own, and we love uniting them with their corresponding recipients.
4. Be Bold.
*Don't be afraid to get out of that traditional box! A lot of people still love the classics (Ahem dozen roses), but sometimes its fun to be a little trendy and make the recipient feel like they're hip to the current happenings in the flower world. Don't have a pulse on current flower trends? That's what your florist is for! We eat, drink, sleep and repeat the world of flowers, let us hold your hand!
5. Let the artist be the artist.
*Floral design is a serious art. It takes designers 20/30 years to consider themselves a master, and even then, the industry is constantly changing with innovations and techniques, because of this, florists are crazy passionate about their craft. I'm going to give you probably the biggest and best tip right here......We freaking love to hear, "You're the pro, I trust whatever you decide to create!" This is music to our creative driven ears. These are the clients we tend to go above and beyond for because they get it, they're not micro managing each stem and sucking all the art out of it, they've researched our reviews & shop, they know we do great work, they respect the fact that it is an art, they sit back and let us do our thing! Give us a budget, and let us fly!
I hope these tips go a long way in helping you have the best flower ordering experience yet!
-Amanda
