Allow me to pontificate for a moment, please. I worked in a flower shop while getting my Masters degree.
The process: You call FTD, and say you want such and such arrangement. They take your order, add their fees and end the call. They then wire the order to the flower shop. Most shops have it set up so that the order automatically prints out and they just check that printer throughout the day.
When we would grab your order off the printer we'd automatically start taking money off. Here is why: FTD doesn't take into account that we may or may not have just sold the last vase, doesn't take into account what the delivery fees really are, and doesn't take into account what the shop has available as far as flowers. For the shop I worked at we would take the total you paid, subtract the delivery fee, and then make an arrangement with what was left. The designers would try to get as close as possible to the picture but it didn't always happen.
Several times I actually saw the client get a much nicer vase because we were out of the one in the picture but refused to send a standard vase.
However, here is my disclaimer: The two WORST weeks of a florists life are the weeks of Valentine's and Mother's Day. Nearly everyone sends flowers throughout the week.
My advice, which is worth exactly what you paid for it but is the same advice I give everyone: Call and order direct from the florist and call early.
If you call early and order your flowers your order usually gets tagged with a "fill me first" mark. You also get to talk directly with someone in the shop who can walk to the cooler and say if they don't have something.
I'm sorry you didn't get what you paid for. In truth, it is a combination of the florist and FTD that is responsible. But the florist is (usually) trying to do the best that they can with the money given to them by FTD.
Further FYI: This holds true for nearly every flower service out there. The shop will practically bend over backwards for you if you call them direct.
The process: You call FTD, and say you want such and such arrangement. They take your order, add their fees and end the call. They then wire the order to the flower shop. Most shops have it set up so that the order automatically prints out and they just check that printer throughout the day.
When we would grab your order off the printer we'd automatically start taking money off. Here is why: FTD doesn't take into account that we may or may not have just sold the last vase, doesn't take into account what the delivery fees really are, and doesn't take into account what the shop has available as far as flowers. For the shop I worked at we would take the total you paid, subtract the delivery fee, and then make an arrangement with what was left. The designers would try to get as close as possible to the picture but it didn't always happen.
Several times I actually saw the client get a much nicer vase because we were out of the one in the picture but refused to send a standard vase.
However, here is my disclaimer: The two WORST weeks of a florists life are the weeks of Valentine's and Mother's Day. Nearly everyone sends flowers throughout the week.
My advice, which is worth exactly what you paid for it but is the same advice I give everyone: Call and order direct from the florist and call early.
If you call early and order your flowers your order usually gets tagged with a "fill me first" mark. You also get to talk directly with someone in the shop who can walk to the cooler and say if they don't have something.
I'm sorry you didn't get what you paid for. In truth, it is a combination of the florist and FTD that is responsible. But the florist is (usually) trying to do the best that they can with the money given to them by FTD.
Further FYI: This holds true for nearly every flower service out there. The shop will practically bend over backwards for you if you call them direct.
