Some Assembly Required
With Valentine's Day approaching, you can't turn on the radio without hearing a ProFlowers commercial. As I drive to and from the gym in the morning, I hear (repeatedly) the glowing endorsement from my morning talk show host. And to the uninformed, it sounds like a great product at a great price. After all, the cost of fresh flowers has soared, and bouquets at Valentine's day fetch a hefty price from would be suitors and loving husbands. But did you ever stop to wonder why ProFlowers is so much less expensive than its competitors? It's time someone told you.When Jim and I were first dating I worked for a major company here in the St. Louis area. As our first February 14th approached, there was much public speculation as to whether he would send me a bouquet. For some reason the other women in the office were making this a go/no-go moment for my blossoming romance. In truth, I wasn't sure Jim was the flower-sending type. Don't get me wrong, he was traditional enough to do so, but he seemed far too sensible to throw away unreasonable fees for blooms. The day arrived. Deliveries of gorgeous bouquets were arriving at the front desk like inside bets on a fixed race. It was almost comical. Almost, as no flowers had arrived yet from Jim. And then it appeared: the box.
That free vase they promote in the ads? It's in the box. So are the wilted, tethered flowers with a pack of flower food to bring them back to life. Yep, it's all in the box and the recipient must assemble his or her own bouquet. While this may not sound tragic on this over-commercialized romantic holiday, imagine the implications of sending a ProFlowers delivery to your out-of-state friend who has just had a baby. Some gesture. Or to your college friend who has just broken a leg. We expect Ikea furniture to require assembly once we get it home, but not bouquets. These are intended to be easy gifts to receive. A little ray of sunshine in the recipient's day.
I never told Jim that I had to assemble that bouquet. He found out a few years later after we were married when my father sent me a ProFlowers delivery. The box arrived and the flowers were almost dead. To the credit of PF, they issued a fresh box immediately and the customer service was fantastic. Seeing this, Jim began to inquire about his own delivery on that first Valentine's Day. I debated whether to tell him, but finally shared that, yes, his bouquet had come in the same green and purple box.
While we're not saying this is a bad service to use, I feel it is my duty to write this public service announcement so that flower-givers everywhere will know what they are sending. The price may have been right, but Jim made clear he never would have used a vendor that expected the recipient to assemble the bouquet themselves. If he'd known, he would have used another company.
I still regret that I myself used ProFlowers several years back when my mom ankle her foot on vacation. She was in a Las Vegas hospital waiting to come back home and I made the grim mistake of sending her a box of flowers. I was mortified to hear that she had to have someone assemble them for her. How insensitive that must have seemed. Grateful recipients never complain, which is why these tales often go untold. There's nothing wrong with getting a great value, just be sure you know why the service in question is offering a better price.
posted by franki durbin @ 5:38 AM PERMALINK 
11 Comments:
Hey Franki!
I loved this entry for a couple of reasons. First, great storytelling--we got to learn a little tidbit about you and Jim framed around a bigger point...
Second, there's such an interesting marketing lesson here. I can't help but think that it's a bit pointless to be remarkable on price if the product itself is not only NOT remarkable, but gets a low grade on quality. If I had a million dollars and were into the flower industry, I'd try to find a way to merge the quality of the more expensive flowers with the price point of this place OR...offer a different take on the product. What if a flower company priced lower, but instead of offering a bouquet of a dozen roses, it were 6 roses in some amazing sort of packaging/presentation? Or something more innovative--6 roses bundled with a cool "I Love you" book, and the company strikes a deal with the "I love you" publisher (maybe an indy published author?) so that it's a win win situation for the flower company, the publisher/author AND the end consumer? The possibilities are endless, but unfortunately what we increasingly see in companies like this is a lack of innovation. I think modern consumers demand more than undercutting your competition, especially if your product is inferior. Maybe I'm wrong--maybe Proflowers' bottom line is booming--but wouldn't it be amazing to be both profitable AND beloved? Good on you for this public service announcement! ;)
If only they had your creativity, Reese! Very inspired ideas. I would love to see companies do more of that and be rewarded for the efforts. Terrific ideas, by the way.
On behalf of thousands of local florists, thank you! We have taken a beating from radio personalities that paint rosy pictures of the so-called 'grower fresh' flowers while drawing negative comparisons to the fresh and professionally presented products we offer.
You're right - to offer lower prices, ProFlowers has cut out a major part of the experience - the wow. The romance is lost.
The two largest national 'florist' companies, 1-800Flowers and FTD, have chosen to follow ProFlowers and drop-ship similar boxed (in search of higher margins) rather than promoting the advanteges local florists bring to the experience of the gift.
A number of professional florists have blogged about this very topic over the last few days. http://floristblogs.com/blogs/avant_gardens/archive/2007/02/01/will-the-real-pro-please-stand-up.aspx
Again, thanks. Great article.
@Reese,
Teleflora and FTD have produced items like this for years. We've had books, ceramic vases, teddy bears, and so on as part of our bouquets. For a time, these were very popular, but have since fallen out of wide favor. Today's preference is for more attractive arrangements with good vase life.
Thank you for offering a floral professional's input on the topic. And I completely agree with this statement you made:
"ProFlowers has cut out a major part of the experience - the wow. The romance is lost."
My sentiments exactly. Consumers can be lured to buy on price and price alone, not realizing that a perceived bargain can often result in disappointment.
Thanks for offering the link to the other post. It mirrors my experience exactly.
First of all, I just want to say that I appreciate your commentary and read your blog often. I appreciate where you're coming from very much, but for once I also have to say that cannot relate to what you're saying. I have always had tremedous experiences with the direct-from-the-grower services. I'm not affiliated with Proflowers or any other flower company other than being a patron.
I have sent flowers for many years and prior to finding Proflowers (yes, they are my florist of choice), I was often disappointed by inconsistency, depending on which florist delivered to the recipient, and the relatively short flower life. While it might be nice having someone hand deliver them already arranged, it's also nice that they last more than a few days.
Most recipients I send to rave about how long they last and I'd argue that the giant gift box does make for a nice impression when they arrive.
Does it take some effort that florist delivered flowers don't? You bet. Is the payoff worth it? I'd argue, absolutely! My experience with Proflowers has always been tremendous.
I have also received from both Proflowers and 1-800-flowers' direct from grower program and I think to compare the assembly of taking them out of the box, cutting the bottoms and putting them in water with IKEA furniture assembly is stretching the analogy a bit.
Like you, I've even had a reports of a couple wilted or broken deliveries and the customer service has always replaced them the next day, for free, and without question. I have nothing against local florists -- I think there's a place for both services in this world. However, the bottom line for me is that I value consistency, quality of service, and the long lasting freshness first and foremost.
It is also nice, as the sender, that they also happen to be about half the price of florist delivered flowers and if my recipients don't appreciate them because they have to stick them in water, then they probably aren't getting flowers from me to begin with.
I think it's important you point out that there is some "assembly required," but as long as realistic expectations are set, I'd say send me Proflowers any day.
Mike,
If you were just ordering flowers for your wife or girlfriend, or for someone in the office and you had someone to assemble them - I could see how the Proflowers marketing plan would work.
They do last, and they did replace them, which was nice.
But I had no idea that my wife (girlfriend) at the time had to assemble the flowers at her desk in the office. Franki's point was that when I found out, years later - I was horrified - the person who bought the flowers trying to be romantic.
It makes you look cheap to send someone something that needs to be assembled, when you're trying to impress them.
Think of gift baskets - would you send them to a client unassembled, waiting for the client to put them in the basket on top of the straw?
When you send a gift, do you wrap it, or just hand it to the person with a card and a length of ribbon?
If men knew how those flowers came, they wouldn't send them as much. That doesn't necessarily mean we should all rush out to buy giant bouqets of roses from florists - but if you want to send flowers as a romantic gesture - you should do it the right way.
And so everyone knows - I would still use ProFlowers, but only if I could assemble them myself.
I think the point of the story is to read the details. So many times as consumers we readily purchase without exploring the details and mistakenly assume that it is what we wanted, without actually checking.
I have ordered flowers from ProFlowers before and although I was not thrilled with the service, I would say it is consistent and they will make up for any mistakes that happen along the way.
I thought it was clear when I ordered and saw that it would be delivered by FedEx or UPS that the arrangement was not going to ship in water prearranged in the vase.
You bring up an excellent point. Most customers I've encountered have used the service due to the radio spots heard daily on some programs. Which means they order by phone, never seeing any information which would indicate that assembly is required.
I have to say, from a sender's perspective it was a breeze. On the receiving end it was very unglamorous and robbed the flowers of the intended message ("I care, I'm thinking of you").
Imagine my own ProFlowers delivery to my injured mom. While on bedrest, a bouquet a nurse had to assemble for her did not say "I'm considerate" very well.
Little details can mean a lot.
Hey This Article Was Very helpful to me and informative! I am a highschool senior and I am doing my Senior Project on Order gathering and the effects it has on floral design. I didnt relize how big of a deal this isssue was until I started researching!!!
Hi, just wanted to add my experience. I found Proflowers on Dealtime's website after reading Clark Howard's newsletter. I signed up for it because I'm currently living on a small island in the UK and miss alot of things back home. For Mothers Day (tomorrow) I sent a "package deal" to my Mom -- a dozen roses, plus a dozen free, plus an upgraded vase, plus a box of chocolates. Total, after a 9.99 express deliver charge, was $53.47. Dad phoned to tell me they were delivered Friday. I would like to emphasize at this point that my Mother is in her late 70's and has received her fair share of flowers throughout the years. She was, as they say over here in the UK, Over the moon! She felt compelled to tell me quite a few times during a 45 minute conversation that the roses were absolutely the most beautiful roses she had ever seen. She went on about the individual colors and how each rose was absolutely perfect and how each arrangement (she made 3 arrangements) was so gorgeous they almost did not look real.
Now, I have no doubt that the flowers probably came from a local florist (delivered to north of Atlanta, Georgia -- Lake Lanier)... but I will always remember Proflowers for helping to make what could possibly be my Mom's last mothers day truely special with a delivery of the most fantastic roses she has ever seen. (I wish I could give due credit to the local florist!!)
I sent a very favorable comment to their customer services department and received a nice reply back in under 20 minutes. If they handle non-positive CS emails as rapidly then these folks really have it going on and I do look forward to using them in the future whenever a flower delivery (or maybe the fruits, etc..) might be appropriate.
Benjamin P. Kopp
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