Complaints

The past couple of weeks have been awful; not in a quiet way - I've been busier than ever - but very much in a flowery way.

I have received Four, that's 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥, complaints about flowers not lasting. How many people have not been happy and not bothered to complain? 

Two of those complaints were perfectly justified; as a result I have raked my wholesaler over the coals for it. I put my trust in them to provide quality flowers, just as they put their trust in the growers, and my customers put their trust in me, where the buck eventually stops.

Thankfully, those customers completely understood how the flower chain worked - one of them (the very first complaint) even sent me a beautiful Thank you card this week for how I dealt with the issue for her. I've received hundreds of Thank you cards in my career, but that one completely unique and now sits above the desk where I can see it daily. What an incredibly gracious and kind-hearted lady she is.

The other two though were nothing to do with me at all. They were purely because the recipients had not bothered to read the care card I include with every single order. I'm not sure what else I can do to get people to pay attention to them. I have big, bold lettering on the front of them saying 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗. I also often share on social media about the importance of looking after your flowers at this time of year.

One complainant had placed their flowers on a window sill in a south facing window! Five days after receiving them they had begun to wilt. I'll be honest, with the heat and temperatures we've had I'm amazed they lasted that long. I have a north facing room and the temperature on my window sill (I have a thermometer) hasn't dropped below 32'c during the daytime - and nighttime as well on a few occasions. Imagine how hot that south facing window sill was!

The other was a very similar situation, although this time they were placed on a table in the centre of a full glass - all walls, and ceiling - conservatory. The customer admitted some days it got up to 50'c in that room, yet they thought it was the perfect place to leave their flowers! They also had an aqua bouquet, hadn't bothered to top up the water, and never took it out of the box it was delivered in. They complained six days after receiving them.

I asked both of them why they hadn't followed the directions on the care card and they both responded telling me they didn't need to, they knew how to look after flowers! One actually said "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳".

This weather is causing issues throughout the chain. Growers are struggling to get their flowers to the correct length they need to be to ensure they hold up a lot better. They're being cut earlier than they need to be. During transportation these temperatures have to be having some kind of effect. Then how they are treated at the markets and by the wholesalers will all make a difference. Everyone is struggling. I'm not looking to make excuses. I pay a lot of money for the stock I purchase and I expect to get top quality for those costs, but occasionally things beyond my control happen. I will always go out of my way to correct those issues. I've built my business on the knowledge that I am providing the best quality to my customers. To find there have been two occasions when that hasn't happened is devastating to me. However, when the complaint is the result of someone thinking they know better and don't need to follow any care instructions, or aren't willing to look after their flowers, it really irks me.

IF at any time, you believe your flowers should last longer than they have, please reach out. If I don't know there is a problem, I can't figure out why it's happened, or put it right. One complaint is one too many.