Since Valentine’s Day is fast approaching I thought I’d throw out a little warning your way if your thinking of sending your sweetie some flowers from flowers.com.
Wanting to send my wife some roses last year to her place of work (office building, cubicles) I went and purchased some from flowers.com.
Bad idea.
Like most local florists do, I expected someone to deliver a nice arrangement that she could receive and immediately place on her desk as is very commonplace.
What does flowers.com deliver?
A sealed carboard box with the fresh flowers in it, a vase thrown in the box.
The quality of the roses were nice I guess, but I don’t think my wife or any woman for that matter wants an “assemble yourself” box of roses. She had nowhere to cut the roses to size, she had nothing to cut them with, she’s not a flower arranger by trade, etc. Roses have thorns, and are somewhat wet and messy if your working with them. Not great to do in an office setting.
So while all the ladies in her office had nice arrangements to display all day and carry out with them at the end of the day, my wife got a nice cardboard box sitting on her desk that she got to carry home with her at night.
This year I go with the local guys who I know can do it right, and probably for cheaper.
I got flowers from flowers.com once. Valentine’s day gift from my best friend.
He probably had no idea that they’d send the 2 dozen long stem roses in a box with no vase.
I had to go to the flower shop on V-Day and purchase a vase. They had none in the display of the size I needed, so I had to ask the girl at the counter.
She asked how many roses. I said ‘Uh… 2 dozen?’
The guy in there getting flowers looked shell shocked.
I wish everyine had the same friend as I, an old schoolchum that does floral work on the side. Instead of the $80 for a dozen in a vase delivered, this person does 'em at cost for me . . . $15. Plus, instead of the regular vase they come in a very nice one.
When I get home on Valentine’s my wife and daughter will have received 4 dozen beautiful roses and I’ll be covered with appreciative kisses. I like Valentine’s Day.
Ha. Marry a funeral director. You can have all the roses you want-free, too, if you don’t mind that they were “funeral flowers”. And of course then my father knows all the local florists. So every Valentine’s Day, birthday and anniversary, my mom gets her yellow roses.
My flowers may come in a box, but they last about two-three weeks.
You can do what I do…take the roses out and shove them in the vase, keeping the little green stem protectors on the ends. That way she can display the flowers until she can get home and trim them.
One mother’s day, my SO used flowers.com to send a nice bouquet to her mom. We didn’t hear any complaints. It’s possible that they’ve changed in the past couple of years, though.
You know, I’ve got a great husband, wouldn’t trade him for the world, but I’ve never received flowers at work, either. There’s a teensy, tiny little part of me that’s jealous of all the other girlies that have. We’re not doing VD this year, but I think I may require a small bouquet.
Oh shit! I used 1-800 flowers to surprise my girlfriend with an arragement sent to her home next weekend, but if they are just showing up in a cardboard box… soooo not romantic IMO
My husband (then-boyfriend) sent me flowers from flower.com for our three-month dating anniversary. Came in a box with a vase, just like described. I figured it was because we were long distance and he didn’t know any local florists. Still, I thought that if you ordered from flowers.com, they dispatched it to a local florist, who brought you a nice arrangement in a vase.
On our one-year dating anniversary (we were engaged at the time, though), he did the same thing. Again, flowers in a box. We were still long distance, though.
I ordered a ‘manly’ bouquet to go to him once. Long distance. He got the arrangement from a regular florist. Flowers.com again.
I think he’s about to send flowers for our six-month wedding aniversary. I need to ‘encourage’ him to send from a local florist. It’s hard as hell to get those roses out of the freakin’ box.
When I send flowers, I try to avoid using 1-800-FLOWERS, flowers.com or FTD. Instead, I try to contact a florist local to the recipient. My theory is that by doing so, all of the money I’m paying goes to the florist and I’m getting more of my money’s worth. I can’t prove this of course, but I figure, why give 20% (or whatever amount) to FTD or 1-800-FLOWERS?
As for how to find a local florist (particularly when the recipient is distant from you), what I did a couple of times was to locate the website of the local free weekly newspaper. Typically they do an annual “Best of” reader survey issue, and then I’ll order from whatever florist was the top-rated one. I did this for Mother’s Daty a few years ago and my mom was quite impressed with the arrangement, although she did chastise me for “wasting money” on the flowers, but then again she is relatively practical.
If it makes you feel any better, some of us husbands who have sent flowers at work to our SOs have gotten mildly tongue-lashed for it as well – “Why did you make a big scene and embarass me in front of the other gals?”
IME, Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays where the guy just can’t win…
I second the idea of calling a local florist directly! I did that for my mom a few times and was always stunned at what she would get. I would call and tell them to do something for $________ . She got some really neat arrangements. Then I forgot the florist’s name and called the wrong one. Bad Mistake! She got a really cheesy plant-like thing.
My great-grandmother lived in Fort Worth for a hundred years (not exaggerating!) and when occasions for flowers came up, everybody would call this good local florist. Easy as pie.
I’m voting for local florist as well. They came up with nice flowers.
Actually, I just realized why - some come ‘fresh from the grower’, while others come from the florist - that would explain it. He must’ve ordered all of the ones ‘fresh from the grower’, and the ones I ordered must’ve been florist delivered.
Well, that would explain it. That’s why the ‘fresh from the grower’ ones came in a flowers.com box with the vase snugly secured inside and the flowers in a lovely plastic bag.
