So I saw this on Yahoo today and I was like...OH I work at a florist, let's see if they are on the money or if I have no idea what they are talking about, faulty information.
1. If you want more flowers for your money, find a florist in your recipient's town and call him directly. But it's harder than you think: some florists in the yellow pages and at the top of your Google search are national businesses masquerading as local ones. They even buy local phone numbers. So make sure you look for a physical address in town.
This is true. It's better to call the florist it's going to. If you call me and you want the flowers to go somewhere that isn't our delivery zone, we have to wire the flowers out to someone else. There is a minimum you must meet, plus delivery and really we only get the tax (or the delivery-I don't remember the exact details). We have to pay that florist at a later date. They might make you a smaller arrangement because they aren't getting the full amount you pay us since we are being a middleman for you. But, if you are getting a fairly large arrangement anyhow, it isn't going to make that much difference and if you trust your local florist, and want to be loyal, they will appreciate that.
And they are right about being careful, it's not so bad with the national businesses, if they own a local florist in the area. But there are companies that aren't really florists masquerading as such. They are middle men and you pay them and they take a cut and then send the order to a florist. WE HATE GETTING ORDERS FROM THEM. (Not 1-800 flowers, or FTD, or Teleflora, because those are large well reputed companies and they pay us well.) But some of these other middle men companies take forever to pay the local florist and we have to bug them and bug them for our money.
2. Our smartest customers ask for a bunch of those packets. Most of us will gladly give you extras.
They are totally free. We don't care how many you take if you are buying flowers from us. Most people don't take any.
3. Put away those scissors, which can crush the stem. Instead, use a sharp, non-serrated knife to cut a quarter of an inch off the bottom of stems, at an angle. While you're at it, cut off those leaves below the water line. They breed bacteria.
At my florist if you are buying cut flowers, we will cut the stems for you and unless the flowers are out of water for a long time, you won't need to recut them. But yes, a knife works better than scissors, but if you have gardening shears those are even better. 45 degree angle. If you are getting a vase full of treated water from us, there is less worry about the bacteria, but if you are just bringing home flowers, you should make sure the leaves aren't under the water.
4. Looking for a way to jazz up your red roses? Try pairing them with purple statice or heather. Or ask us: "What can you put in that will really make her roses stand out?"
If you don't want the baby's breath, please do not ask me to pick some other filler unless you know which one you want or you are going to trust my judgement and aren't going to waver about it. At my store, baby's breath is the only one that we are supposed to wrap with. If it's requested we can wrap with something else but we don't offer because those are more expensive then the baby's breath and the filler comes free with your flowers. But if you are going to put something other than baby's breath I think waxflower looks really pretty.
5. Believe it or not, weddings are not that profitable for most of us, mainly because of labor costs. But we're banking on your future business. Once we do a wedding for you and do it right, you're a customer for life.
It rather depends on what you want and how big a discount we are giving you for ordering a lot of flowers. But we do hope you'll come back.
6. Thanks for continuing to buy flowers, even in this economy. We really do understand why you're choosing floating bowls instead of $50 centerpieces for your wedding. And why you're sending your wife a mixed bouquet every week instead of the $50 roses. But that's part of the reason our business is down by 8 or 9 percent.
We do appreciate the business. But because we are a business we can't upgrade anything unless you pay, especially when our business is down because of the economy. Please don't ask the shopgirl, I plan on keeping my job. My job is worth more than adding a couple roses to your arrangement for free.
7. What's trendy? Tropical flowers in a geometric vase without a lot of greenery, mounded arrangements of just one type of flower, and woody branches with fruit or berries.
Tropical arrangements without greenery look stupid. Mixed bouquets look better and if I wanted a tree branch I'd go to the forest. Stick to what the person likes, don't go with the trends.
8. Speaking of Valentine's Day, how about thinking outside the box? Lots of women would love a vase filled with red tulips still in the bulb.
We don't do tulips in the bulb. That would be a special order so you can't get those unless you pre order them a few days in advance. But outside the box of 1 dozen red roses would be awesome. Not all women are enamored with red roses (I'm not.) Plus you look more thoughtful and creative when you don't get what EVERY OTHER PERSON is getting, and for Valentines day, that's red roses.
9. A box of dead flowers for your friend's 40th birthday – ha! – that's funny. But you'll have to look somewhere else. Come on, my name goes on that.
Don't even ask us questions like that.
10. Do you like cold baths? Neither do flowers.
I have no idea what the hell they are talking about. We don't give flowers baths. And flowers are fine in coolers in cold water (we do keep out arrangements in a COOLER after all.) However, if you want your flowers to open up, warm water will help speed the process along. You won't get to enjoy the arrangement as long then. That's why you sometimes get arrangements and the flowers look weird. We prefer to not give you the most open flowers. Your arrangement will last longer if we give you the ones that or half or less bloomed.
11. Do us a favor and choose your bridesmaids' dresses before you come to us about your wedding. But after spending an hour with you picking flowers, it's a bit of a drag to do it again six months later because you ended up picking different color dresses.
We don't like it when you change your mind. Period. Especially if it is near the time of the wedding. For that matter, don't leave your flowers until the last minute. You won't have as many options.
12. Don't buy your wedding flowers at Costco then ask me to design them for you. Would you buy your steaks there, then bring them to the caterer to prepare?
Yes, the flowers at Albertson's and Costco are cheaper. There is a reason for that. If you aren't buying the flowers from us we aren't going to design them for you. This goes for everyday things as well as weddings. Also, don't try to get the designer's number so you can deal with him and not go through the store. We are unimpressed.
13. Call to complain because your flowers died after just three days, and we know you probably didn't even add water to the vase.
My florist guarantees everything out of our cooler for at least 5 days. If it died sooner than that, I'm betting it's the water. Or you didn't give it the free flower food we offer. And I've gotten a call from a person who never put water in a vase. Those flowers died fast. Needless to say, they received no refund.
Sure, you can order flowers at 3 a.m. from 1-800-Flowers, FTD, or Teleflora. But they'll charge you $15 and then just call us.
Yes. They do. In the morning our computer is filled with orders people placed online from those three places. But they don't really charge you more. At least not at my florist. They take part of the cut, but the arrangement wouldn't have been cheaper usually if you ordered straight from us. Most of us salespeople take the pricing right off those websites, since we are affiliated. Also the flower prices on our website is the prices that those places give. At least for the ones that say "delivered by a local florist." We don't ship things in gift boxes. If you are getting 2 dozen roses for a ridiculously cheap price because it's being shipped in a gift box, we don't match those prices. Actually, we don't have any price matching.
Most flower shops restock on Monday mornings, so that's the time to place an order. Fridays and Saturdays are good days to ask what's on special.
I hated this one. We restock when we need flowers, there is no hard and fast rule. Today, Saturday, we got a bunch of flowers in, because we needed them. We don't do specials on Fridays or Saturdays. The only special we have is half off cut flowers on Sundays, but the choice is limited. Normally we don't get flowers in on Sat or Sunday so there will be less in the store. But throughout the week, we normally get flowers every day. Sometimes though we'll hve lots of flowers to chose from on Sunday afternoons because of delivery orders that required certain flowers. If you order a few days in advance we want you to get what you ordered and we will get the right flowers in from our distributer. Unlike when you order same day and you are stuck with what is in the store. Sometimes this means we'll have lots of extra flowers in the cut flower section because we only needed a few for the design but we get them in bulk.
Out of preservative? Try this: one fourth 7Up, three fourths water, and two or three drops of bleach.
True! I've never used 7UP though. I use a bit of bleach when I don't have treated water though. It's especially useful for carnations because it keeps away the bacteria that tends to grow on them. I knew this before I worked at a florist. My dad does it for the flowers from our backyard.
Ask for a discount. We give one to senior citizens, professional groups, and customers we like.
We don't do discounts for senior citizens of professional groups unless you set up a specific kind of account with us. However, if we like you, the salesgirl might find a way to shave some dollars off your order. Don't ASK. If we like you, we'll do it for you. We'll help you out in the limited ways that we can. Asking usually makes it look like you are looking for handouts. After all, I'm not authorized to give a discount. The owner is, and the manager is. But I'm not. And I won't risk my job for it. If I think that handing you a coupon to use right now is going to make you a loyal customer, then I will do it. Especially if you have a big order. I can justify that with my boss later should they ask. I won't bother if you are asking for something I can't give. Don't ask for anything major. I'm not going to add half a dozen roses to your bouquet free of charge. EVER.
The trick to making flowers last: Cut the stems at an angle and change the water at least every other day. And use the floral preservative we give you, not copper pennies.
I talked a bit about this. Cut the stems at an angle for sure, although we will do it for you. If you are getting something that already has treated water you won't need to change it for a few days. And yes, the flower food we give you is better than copper pennies. Who started that rumor?
Don't forget to wash the vase with soap when you change the water. Otherwise, the bacteria clinging to the sides will contaminate your new water.
If you are changing the water every other day and using a bit of bleach in it, you'll probably be alright. You don't want to have to redesign your flowers every couple of days anyhow. What would be the point in that.
How fresh is your rose? Look closely at the bottom of the blossom and see how many outside petals have been removed. The more ripped petals you see, the older it is.
We do rip petals off your roses. We have to clean them. They get bruised and ripped in transport. And while I think the little petals on the outside give the flower a cool antique look, most people don't like uncleaned flowers. They look dirtier and older. But they are still fresh. Sometimes we'll have to rip more petals off. But usually we do it so you can't tell we've been ripping petals off. Most people then need us to explain and not everyone understands. The best way to tell if your rose is good is to touch it near the base. If it's firm, it's going to last. If it's not firm, your florist shouldn't have it out still. It should be used for petals.
That cheap glass vase that came with your bouquet? Most of us will gladly recycle it if you return it.
We've never had anyone return a vase. But I'm sure we would. It would save us a few pennies, and the owner of my shop believes in saving pennies.
Fruit is the enemy. It emits ethylene gas, so even in a separate bowl a few inches away, it's a surefire flower killer.
Fruit and flower baskets? Why? Just Why? This is true. It's a pain because we have to wrap up all the fruit we buy for fruit and flower baskets in extra secure manner in order to not effect the flowers. Don't feel flowers in your kitchen near your fruit bowl.
Yes, your flowers look beautiful in the window, but the heat from direct sunlight will kill them in a day or two.
The flowers are really bred to stand in direct sunlight. They aren't exactly like the flowers we grow outside in nature. When they stop being growing plants, it changes their approach to sunlight.
You can buy the cheaper Valentine's Day roses at the gas station. But they may droop or lose petals the next day. They were probably cut weeks ago and put in cold storage.
So true. Florists get better quality of roses. We get the long stemmed types, which actually has nothing to do with the length of the stem. Gas stations and most grocery stores don't get this type of rose because they are more expensive. They last longer though. Long stemmed roses is a term for the best quality. So even if their stems aren't super duper long, if they are of good quality they are along stemmed. We do not carry short stemmed roses. It's a quality thing.
It's not your nose. Many flowers today don't have much scent, because growers are breeding for long stems and a lengthy vase life instead.
Sad, isn't it. We do still get fragrant flowers in. Most of our roses have some sort of scent after they've been out of the cooler for a few hours. Stock is fragrant. So are stargazers and casablanca lilies. Even some carnations are. Most likely though, your arrangement won't be all that scented.
We didn't choose February. If it were up to us, Valentine's Day would be in the summer, when roses are actually in season.
There is a reason roses are expensive this time of year. High demand and they aren't in season. We get them all year round. It would be a lot easier if it was in season, I can only assume we are getting them in from where they are in season. Probably Chile, like where our fruit comes from this time of year.
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