Flower Power

I bet you all thought I'd dropped off the face of the Florist World. Not so. We were gone during the holidays visiting my family in Vancouver, Washington and didn't return until January. Besides that, the circumstances of the economy right now haven't been the best and business has been slow... for everyone unfortunately. I hadn't worked since December 16th! Luckily Valentines Day came around and I got called in to work the whole week. It was organized choas to say the least, it's hard to remember the old days when we had that much business every week!

It was refreshing to work last week and witness that people aren't entirely scared out of their minds to spend a little money. In fact, I was amazed by how much money some men were willing to spend for their Valentines. I arranged several 2 Dozen Rose Bouquets which rang up a total somewhere around $150 after tax and delivery! I wish the picture would do this bouquet justice, but somehow the picture seems pale in comparison to the real thing. All in all, we wanted to make sure that these customers were satisfied that they got their money's worth. Afterall, it's not every day that a gentleman forks out $100+ dollars for a bouquet of roses! I thought they should look as grand as possible.

Unfortunately we had a little problem with some of our flowers. Wouldn't you know it... there was some snow to blame. Some of our flowers which were being shipped from Salt Lake City got stuck down there. Instead of arriving on Thursday as scheduled, we didn't receive them until Friday! Luckily, it only caused a problem for two orders we had. We called up the senders to inform them of the trouble. I had the pleasure of calling one gentlemen who ordered a dozen red roses with 3 additional white roses. I had to inform him we didn't have 3 white roses....... to say that he wasn't happy would be putting it politely.

Something I don't enjoy as a florist is working on the phone with angry customers. Afterall, the problem we encountred was due to weather-----SNOW might I add.....it's not like we called up the truck in Salt Lake and said, "Could you delay those flowrs please?". It was less than pleasent listening to him complain and yell at me because we didn't have 3 white roses. Generally speaking customers are pretty understanding, but this particulr gentlemen was not. When he was done yelling I finally managed to get a word in to tell him that I might suggest subsituting 3 white orchids for 3 white roses. Really he got a free upgrade since the orchids cost more than roses. This seemed to make him agreeable and he replied in a flat tone "Thanks" and hung up rudely.

I tried my best to make the arrangement beautiful..... The picture below is what came of it. Unfortunately my camera doesn't agree with the natural lighting of the greenhouse, that and the arrangement was so big it was hard to get a good angle of it.

And would you like to know what happened after? Of course you would, you're curious aren't you. That same gentlemen called up after we had made 2 attempts at delivering the arrangement to his wife (She was in meetings and so we couldn't get it to her the first try). Yes, he called up not to say, "Thanks for the upgrade" or "The flowers looked great. My wife loved them." NO, he called to say he was angry they didn't get to her in the morning. ----- Oh, sorry your wife was in a meeting when we delivered them in the morning!!!---------- That time around I didn't have to deal with him, my manager talked to him. The only thing which would make him happy, the jerk that he is, was giving him the bouquet FREE of charge. Good thing I'm not the manager because I would have told him to just shove that offer where the sun don't shine. It's just saddening to see customers who are willing to take advantage of businesses who are stuggling to stay alive. I hate it when people take advantage of that saying "The Customers ALWAYS right." I wish our policy was, "We have the right to refuse service to angry rude customers who's mission in life is to get everything for free." Too bad it's not.

All in all, he's happy................and we know exactly the type of 'gentlemen' he is for next year.....

On a happier note: I thought I would change the mood by including this cute picture of the local greenhouse kitty, Loki, who was sleeping in front of the heater. All the warm air blowing on his fur must have felt good.


Okay, now that we're all settled down... I'll give you some tips for this season and update you on the latest trends for flowers this year.

Trend #1: Neon bright colors are in. Greens, Yellows, Pinks, and Oranges.

Trend #2: Carnations are back! Yes, we all know that carnations used to be Granny's favorite flower, but this year they are being used all over the world in compact modern arrangements.

Tip #1: Carnations are one of the least expensives flowers to buy. If you're looking to buy flowers, but are low on cash, carnations are a great option. You will get the most bang for your buck by ordering a ton of carnations verses a dozen roses. Carnations also come in a variety of colors, if you like something more traditional/ old world go for the peaches and soft greens. If you want something fresh and trendy opt for the bright oranges, electric yellows, and hot pinks.

Carnations are for every generation this year..... not just for sweet ole' granny.

Tip #2: It's that time of the year... Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths and other bulbs are in bloom. Take advantage of them being in season, because you'll pay an arm and a leg buying them when they're in the off season.

******A side note for the above arangement: This bouquet was for a funeral service for a husband and wife that died within just two days of eachother. I thought it was kind of sad, but sweet at the same time. At least the wife didn't have to be without him for too long...I know I'd hate it to be without my husband.

Trend #3: Small Nosegay Arrangements, or 'Tuzzie Muzzies' are popular right now. It's very chic to have a few small arrangements like the one below verses one large one.

Tip #3: Here's a great tip for buyers.... you don't have to 'go big or go home'. Ask your florist to make something orginal using some unique material you might up spending only $20, but have some beautiful and unique to bring home.

I did this arrangement for a young man who wanted to take something to his girlfriend. He didn't have alot of money, but knew that she liked Tulips. She absolutely loved it. That very next day I arranged a small bouquet for another young man with Star Gazer Lilies and Hocus Pocus Roses (you'll have to look them up, they look super cool.) In total, it cost him all about $30, but the result was beautiful. ***I wish I had taken a picture!

Tip #4: Tell your florist you don't want a lot of money put into the vase. The florist which I work for doesn't do this, however there are florists who will spend more money on the vase itself verses what goes into the vase.

And lastly I thought I'd end with a funny little Valentines Story:

A young man called our shop to order some flowers for his highschool girlfriend. His dad told him he had $40 dollars to spend. When he told us what he wanted to order he gave us a total of $60..... to which his dad yelled in the background, "NO! I told you $40." We ended up doing a $60 bouquet.... but the last tip I have to give is":

Tip #5: Know your budget. If you only have $30 to spend, let you florist know. Some might not work with you, but there are those who WILL work with you. Any customer who is willing to spend money is STILL an important customer whether they're spending $30 or $100!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day and just think..............soon you'll be hearing some more crazy stories from me again.