I have HAD it with these folks. An arrangement in their very attractive ad in Parade Magazine in mid-December caught my eye, and I had an upcoming event to celebrate, so I went to a local Teleflora shop to place my order.
The event was my Ohio son, his wife, and daughter’s upcoming trip to visit my California son, his wife, and new daughter for ten days over the Christmas holidays. Being in California was to be a first for the Ohio family, and that nine-year-old daughter’s first plane ride. There were to be 20 or more friends and family with the two brothers for Christmas dinner, and the floral arrangement—a Ruby Glass Bowl with red roses and candles—would have been a lovely centerpiece, to say nothing of it’s being a great group Christmas gift to be enjoyed during the whole visit, and the ruby glass bowl was touted in the ad as a fine keepsake for years to come.
My local florist (I’m in Texas) said she couldn’t ensure that particular bowl would be used, because it was such a hot item, and they were too expensive for individual florists to buy because they had to buy 30 at a time. She called around, though, and a few days later had found someone in the California town who had one, but wouldn’t tell me who it was, because it’s “not their policy” to divulge that information! And it would cost me a hefty price to wire the order from here. So, thrifty as I am, I decided to order it myself on the ever-so-handy Internet. At that point, I was with Coast-to-Coast Florists, a Teleflora partner. There was plenty of time, and delivery was scheduled for the 23rd or 24th, though I’d had to agree that a substitute might be used instead of the bowl I wanted and which had been shown in the ad.
By the evening of the 26th, since there were no remarks offered in their phone call, I had to ask if they’d gotten the flowers, and the pregnant pause on the other end of the line told me no one knew anything about them, because they had not been delivered! Thus began a flurry of e-mails and phone calls between the company and me. They assured me I’d only be charged half price!
Half price–for NOTHING!!! Oh no, I don’t think so! After I’d calmed down a bit and accepted that a mistake had been made, as happens sometimes, I agreed to the arrangement being sent then, even though it was too late for Christmas dinner (the Ohio family would be there for several more days), for half price. Again, after two more days, there were no flowers forthcoming to the funloving home in California. This time we learned that in being transferred from one vendor to another, the street address had been written down with one digit wrong (466 instead of 456). So do you suppose a neighbor got the original arrangement? Anyway, they were very apologetic at this point, and sent an apology arrangement, but I have no idea what that was like, though I was assured it would be “nothing like what you’d ordered.”
And just when I was beginning to let this fiasco rest, in today’s mail there was a form letter from Coast-to-Coast Flowers making me a Gold Card Member, with a $5.00 coupon toward my next order. As if I’d EVER order anything from them again. This letter felt like a knife twisting in the wound, after the total lack of service I’d gotten from them. I know mine was a small order for the florist, but it would have been a huge deal for me, if it had just worked out.
Well, I seem to be breathing a little easier now. Thanks if you’ve read this far.