andaATTF Intro

[andaATTF]

Response to Mark

Hi Mark,

In my response to RWK on this similiar topic, Teleflora really does try to help local florists and the industry. Other competitors drop-ships (bypassing the florists completely) and also even markets non-floral goods to consumers. At Teleflora, we stand by 100% hand-arranged, hand-delivered by local florists. We only partner with other companies from time to time because they need our large network to fulfill orders that can only be done by our local florists. We take these orders and route them to our florits, taking back these customers. Teleflora never sends orders to competitors. So rest assured, we do everything we can to support local florists.

Anda

Ok... so....

Riddle me this... Why does Teleflora think, that by partnering with ProFlowers that they are doing a good thing for their florist (paying) members?

This move makes them no different than, and perhaps worse than their two other competitors.

 

[lori042499]

Hi Mark,

In my response to RWK on this similiar topic, Teleflora really does try to help local florists and the industry. Other competitors drop-ships (bypassing the florists completely) and also even markets non-floral goods to consumers. At Teleflora, we stand by 100% hand-arranged, hand-delivered by local florists. We only partner with other companies from time to time because they need our large network to fulfill orders that can only be done by our local florists. We take these orders and route them to our florits, taking back these customers. Teleflora never sends orders to competitors. So rest assured, we do everything we can to support local florists.

Anda

The biggest problem I have with this statement is the fact that you are bypassing the fact that proflowers is a drop ship company....The only market they were unable to compete with the local florist was that of same day delivery, now TF is providing them with that avenue and revenue source....by partnering with proflowers you are helping them keep a large portion of opt outs due to not being able to send out same day flowers, a source of revenue that was our 100% customer, now we will be filling those orders for them at a huge discount, making them look better and losing yet another portion of our full dollars and giving it to TF...

My question is if this continues and the local florist cannot continue what is TF going to do without them....What will TF do when their database of willing florists shrivels because we no longer have enough 100% revenue to fill the discounted orders...what do they do then..Without enough balance many of us will go by the wayside and go out of business or just smarten up and leave the least profitable part of our businesses(the wireservice) behind...I do hope that TF has all of this in mind for the future, if they do not they need to be thinking long tern rather than short...This could be one of the final straws that the small local florist can take, one more hand in the pie is not what we all needed, it seems that TF takes one step forward and 3 steps back in terns of "helping" the local florist....I am interested in how you respond to these questions...and I do hope that you don't tell me that TF did this for us to supply us with much needed orders, because that is a whole bunch of horse crap, the only orders we will be getting fromnthis is our own lost orders at a great discount, lotta good that does us....

 

[elmo]

All this sounds like the same horse.... just a different color .:itchy:

 

[RWK]

I assume you are allowing Pro-flowers to be a SENDING only member..........thereby allowing them to take advantage of the sending rebates and other advantages of SENDING.

The wire service industry.......including yourselves......are geared in such a way as to favor the SENDERS and not the FILLERS.

So, How does my filling a Proflowers order benefit me? Where are my perks, Where are my bonuses for filling?

Sorry, you still have not covered how you are HELPING ME.....THE FILLING FLORIST.....by taking Proflowers.com orders.

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

this is just another soap opera drama folks.
Teleflora has partnered with one of the biggest direct shippers there is...PERIOD.
Rest assured, that YOU, the "filling florists" will get LESS...NOT more!!
By the way, Anda.....there's a few rhino skinned REAL FLORISTS, that'll be NEVER "tamed" by a wire service again...actually, MORE than a few!

 

[andaATTF]

Lori, Elmo, RWK, and Mikey,

Oh boy. A lot of comments. I will try to address all of them. I hope I capture all of your questions and thoughts below. If not, let me know.

Teleflora does not partner with drop-ships. We only from time to time, take orders in. Based on the points you all have raised, I do understand your viewpoints. My general response is this:
If the floral industry was the same as what it use to be in the days of AFS or FTD when it was a co-op of florists, then I would say this is absolutely horse sh** (not even in a different color, just straight horse sh**). However, since the Internet boom and the ability to purchase online, the floral industry as you may all know, has changed. Consumers can know go online to purchase flowers and do not really need to “wire” a floral order to their mom or friend in a far away city. Consumers can now go to national companies’ websites or local florist websites (more on local florist website topic later) to purchase flowers directly. These national companies (Teleflora included) spend millions of dollars to try to get these consumers. Teleflora is the ONLY remaining company that delivers 100% of these internet orders to florists. It is definitely a battle of marketing to see which company can win over the consumer online and get the most number of consumers. Every consumer and every order has a “lifetime value” to it. If other companies offer us orders, we from time to time may accept because of this value attached to the customer. We hand them over to the florists and I know it doesn’t seem like remarketing is a huge opportunity to all florists, but every order and every customer builds value.
If the order was not taken, there can be several possibilities if this customer is only knowledgeable about national branded companies: 1) the customer is upset with the drop-shipper and leaves giving floral gifts forever (very possible) or 2) they move on to another drop-ship company next time since every other company in some shape or form drop-ships. With these cases, we honestly believe it serves local florists better for this customer to remain in our network. There is NO other network that doesn’t drop-ship or sell only floral goods.
Also, I do want to add that Teleflora is much more than a wire-service. With the shift in how consumers send orders, Teleflora’s strategy is to fiercely compete online with both Telelfora.com (national brand) and eFlorist (local florists websites). The eFlorist business is not a wire-service at all. Rather, it builds local websites for local florists where 100% of all orders and 100% of the order value go to the florists. Consumers are now shifting to search in Google for local florists and we are seeing that growth at eFlorist. We continue to invest in eFlorist to improve on SEO for florists, conversion on customers, and real time training for florists.
We know that the “wire-service” business for florist is not a large part of the shops’ business. For Teleflora, our business is also not only about “wire-service” but about member shops. We are about providing cutting edge technology (e.g. eFlorists, POS) or buying power for lower rates/prices (e.g. credit card rates) to name a few of our focuses.
Thanks for your comments and I look forward to more.
Anda
P.S. We are looking into a program to reward shops that fill orders!

 

[BOSS]

Hi Mark,
Teleflora really does try to help local florists and the industry. Other competitors drop-ships (bypassing the florists completely) and also even markets non-floral goods to consumers. At Teleflora, we stand by 100% hand-arranged, hand-delivered by local florists. We only partner with other companies from time to time because they need our large network to fulfill orders that can only be done by our local florists. We take these orders and route them to our florits, taking back these customers. Teleflora never sends orders to competitors. So rest assured, we do everything we can to support local florists.

Anda

I would concur with "did" not the word "does" as you used. I would say you neglected to answer my question as well. Oh you did give me the "spin" but not the answer.

Mark Freeman from TF called me yesterday, I'll be speaking to him this afternoon, I'll bet he'll try to spin the game the same way.

What you and Teleflora fail to understand, is that while you *think/claim* that you are doing this for local florists, you are in reality doing nothing more than pimping them and their *same day delivery feature* out to the highest bidder. This has nothing to do with providing the consumer a better deal, nothing to do with Teleflora doing something good for their members, but everything to do with Teleflora getting another cut of the pie.

You folks believe your own BS, you have morphed the argument of "marketing to recipients will get you more customers" (we know this is a lie) into "we're taking back from ProFlowers" (again a lie) while in reality you are doing nothing more than helping ProFlowers gain same day delivery thus making their potential market share even bigger than it already is. There is NO VIABLE reason to do this, other than the potential profit to Teleflora directly, because we already know these orders are devoid of true profit at the street level.

Teleflora was, IMO perhaps the "best choice" for florists, one I was looking to to move my orders and business to, but this move makes you the same, if not a worse partner than FTD. And God knows, I never thought that could even happen with their stable of dOG's... your partnership with just this one is enough to make me uke:

 

[lori042499]

I have to agree with Mark here....

This is nothing more than another revenue stream for TF and a lovely way for proflowers to also gain profit...It is an excellent partnership for those two companies, period....This is not and I repeat not good for florists or the flower industry...I really think that we all need to get on the horn with TF and let them know of our dissatisfaction with this situation and drive it home how bad this is for our industry...

I will agree that TF markets fiercely, they market fiercely against their members, much more effort is put into your own seo and marketing than the florists e sites...TF sells these hoping that most florists just let them be and pay their money, our upkeep on websites is funding tf to compete against us with their own website and the few that do their reasearch and change their websites may be helping themsleves, but most don't, that is a win for TF...I have seen first hand TF learning tricks and tips in seo from the very people here doing their own homework and bringing it to their own websites, so much so that some people do not want to help florists with there TF template sites because it just helps TF learn more to market against us all...

This is becoming a big gigantic conflict of interests...you cannot have it both ways...800-flowers may drop ship, but at least they do not hide the fact that they come first and you either play their game or you don't...they do not even pretend to be in this for all of us...at least you know right where you stand on their totem pole...not so with TF...

 

[andaATTF]

Reply to Mark

Hi Mark,

Let me ask you this, what do you think would happen to this customer if Teleflora did not take the customer?

I would concur with "did" not the word "does" as you used. I would say you neglected to answer my question as well. Oh you did give me the "spin" but not the answer.

Mark Freeman from TF called me yesterday, I'll be speaking to him this afternoon, I'll bet he'll try to spin the game the same way.

What you and Teleflora fail to understand, is that while you *think/claim* that you are doing this for local florists, you are in reality doing nothing more than pimping them and their *same day delivery feature* out to the highest bidder. This has nothing to do with providing the consumer a better deal, nothing to do with Teleflora doing something good for their members, but everything to do with Teleflora getting another cut of the pie.

You folks believe your own BS, you have morphed the argument of "marketing to recipients will get you more customers" (we know this is a lie) into "we're taking back from ProFlowers" (again a lie) while in reality you are doing nothing more than helping ProFlowers gain same day delivery thus making their potential market share even bigger than it already is. There is NO VIABLE reason to do this, other than the potential profit to Teleflora directly, because we already know these orders are devoid of true profit at the street level.

Teleflora was, IMO perhaps the "best choice" for florists, one I was looking to to move my orders and business to, but this move makes you the same, if not a worse partner than FTD. And God knows, I never thought that could even happen with their stable of dOG's... your partnership with just this one is enough to make me uke:

 

[RWK]

Then at least do this..( yes, I know this is laughable and counter-productive to profits for Teleflora). Eliminate the SENDING only option ENTIRELY. In order to send, you must be able to fill. PERIOD.

 

[CHR]

Sorry for the interruption...

AndaATTF, no tweets from @Teleflora for almost week and no posts here from Nicole. Hope she's OK.

Added: The reason I ask is that I'm planning to discuss Nicole's fine work on behalf of Teleflora during my Social Media presentation at SAF.

 

[RWK]

As to the silence..........Perhaps it is because they realize we are not FWOAC ?

 

[andaATTF]

Reponse to Lori

Hi Lori,

Yes, TF does compete fiercely. Yes, TF.com does in some ways compete with eFlorist sites and with florist shops. It is to get consumers who shop at different venues. We are quite open about that. We don't leverage key learnings on eFlorist and apply to TF.com. It is actually the reverse. SEO on eFlorist has helped our mid-tier shops grow faster than even large shops online...even without shops updating their websites. We actually strongly encourage shops to update their websites, and you are right, most don't. If you do speak with them, please ask them to. We see eFlorist as a bright spot in the industry and put much more effort into it. We have proactively went to Google to make sure that our sites are in the pack 10 when customer search. More than 50% of the time, an eFlorist site is up there next to the map in Google. No other provider can say this or will do this because they don't want florists to get orders. We also offer one-on-one sessions for florists who want more help. If you feel that florists are not active and not taking advantage of this service, please let me know on how we can engage them. We want more people to work with their eFlorist site because it does help the industry.

Finally, I really don't understand how florists can say we are worse than FTD or 1800. We haven't tried to hide anything and I am here because we want to help all local florists. You partnership means a lot to us whereas at FTD, CEO Mark Goldston has even said that in these general words that "we give consumers a choice of drop-ship or using florists, however, we encourage then to NOT use florists." If florists don't feel disgusted by that, but rather by Teleflora with our ads talking only about the 100% hand-arranged, hand-delivered by local florists, I'm not sure how to respond. Yes, we may take orders here and there and yes we may make some $$ (but definitely not the mainstay of our business), but so do florists (and it shouldn't be the mainstay of your business). It's a discounted order, but nonetheless an order for a local florists. As "wire" orders are declining for everyone, we should all focus on helping one another develop the local shop websites. As I mentioned above, TELL ME HOW TO GET FLORISTS ACTIVE ON THEIR WEBSITES. I really do think it's the future for the industry as more consuemrs would shop local, not in stores, but online.

Anda

I have to agree with Mark here....

This is nothing more than another revenue stream for TF and a lovely way for proflowers to also gain profit...It is an excellent partnership for those two companies, period....This is not and I repeat not good for florists or the flower industry...I really think that we all need to get on the horn with TF and let them know of our dissatisfaction with this situation and drive it home how bad this is for our industry...

I will agree that TF markets fiercely, they market fiercely against their members, much more effort is put into your own seo and marketing than the florists e sites...TF sells these hoping that most florists just let them be and pay their money, our upkeep on websites is funding tf to compete against us with their own website and the few that do their reasearch and change their websites may be helping themsleves, but most don't, that is a win for TF...I have seen first hand TF learning tricks and tips in seo from the very people here doing their own homework and bringing it to their own websites, so much so that some people do not want to help florists with there TF template sites because it just helps TF learn more to market against us all...

This is becoming a big gigantic conflict of interests...you cannot have it both ways...800-flowers may drop ship, but at least they do not hide the fact that they come first and you either play their game or you don't...they do not even pretend to be in this for all of us...at least you know right where you stand on their totem pole...not so with TF...

 

[lori042499]

Well seeing as you asked, I do have some major suggestions for TF...

I believe that the WS industry as we know it is coming to a close...that being said I think that in order to help the florists, like myself, there needs to be a major overhaul in the way business is being done and charged for...as far as wire serviceI really don't need any of it, but have it because I do like your technology...I am a dove pos shop and I do have a TF website and for the most part am happy with both items...That being said, I think TF in the coming months or years is going to have to separate the tech biz from the wire biz, I say this because I am at a crossroads, I really don't need the discounted biz because there isn't enough volume to make it worthwhile, I don't really need a ws to send either, but I have a whole lot of money tied up in TF tech department...If I leave TF I lose my support and website and have to go elsewhere, after paying for and putting in all kinds of time. I will also lose the credit crad portion of my POS and have to double enter those sales, very inefficient....

many of us see this as a way for TF to lock a good many into memebrship for the useless part of the service....I pay many many dollars every month for membership that isn't paying for itself but have little of no choice because of my tech choice...because of the low incoming and pretty low sending, the roi on the TF membership is nil and becoming a cost rather than a necessary service...but I have already chosen your technology and feel that I would like to get my money's worth out of that and spent time on the website and feel I would lose all of that with going elsewhere...If TF were to separate the two and give the florists a choice it may well be a way to "help" the florists...or have a tiered membership so that we all aren't paying the same price for the differing amounts of orders...

This would be a start...I am not 100% against TF, heck I am on the board in my area, i love the fact that TF is still into education...and I do believe that TF does understand the need for florists in their business model...but as I have said before there are problems with the way things are and too many conflicts of interst for things to continue as they are for all involved...

 

[andaATTF]

Response to RWK

Hi RWK,

I don't think it is laughable - on some levels it makes sense. We have been thinking and rethinking our position on this and each time we weigh the pros/cons, it always makes more sense for BOTH our florists and Teleflora to take the orders. I know you don't believe me right now, but I do want to keep this dialogue open because I want the chance to convince you that we are about florists. Our owners, Stewart and Lynda Resnick have owned Teleflora for 35 years. FTD has been sold 5 times in the past 5 years. In all meetings with Lynda, she reiterates over and over about how we need to think about our florists. It is definitely our mission here and the reason why Nicole and I are on these forums.

Anda

Then at least do this..( yes, I know this is laughable and counter-productive to profits for Teleflora). Eliminate the SENDING only option ENTIRELY. In order to send, you must be able to fill. PERIOD.

 

[BOSS]

Hi Mark,

Let me ask you this, what do you think would happen to this customer if Teleflora did not take the customer?

I'll post a rhetorical question to answer yours...

Is Teleflora getting the consumer data from ProFlowers? (answer is no, I assume)

Teleflora is NOT **taking** anything... they are enabling ProFlowers to take a bigger chunk, they are NOT doing their members any favors, and in fact IMO doing more damage to an already fragile industry.

Anda, I'd be curious to know if Jack has any input here.

 

[BOSS]

Our owners, Stewart and Lynda Resnick have owned Teleflora for 35 years. FTD has been sold 5 times in the past 5 years.

Irrelevant...

In all meetings with Lynda, she reiterates over and over about how we need to think about our florists.

Anda

If this were true, then they would choose to disengage from every order gatherer out there and build a true "florist" network, use their podium to fight deception in the YP's and online and help to regain that which has been given away... that is NOT the case.

 

[Dorothy]

Then at least do this..( yes, I know this is laughable and counter-productive to profits for Teleflora). Eliminate the SENDING only option ENTIRELY. In order to send, you must be able to fill. PERIOD.

I have to concur with Ricky on this. TF can't be 100% florist-to-florist, for the florist, and, most importantly, FOR the consumer, without adopting this major policy. No florist will 100% trust any WS that enables online OGs, no matter which way the WS tries to sugar-coat it.

And that's just the biggest issue...there are many, many more issues that florists are becoming more vocal about. Eventually, real florists will keep dropping all the wire services, and it will take time but the WS - all of them - will be redundant and stuck with just themselves and their OGs, in the long run.

 

[RWK]

Hi RWK,

I don't think it is laughable - on some levels it makes sense. We have been thinking and rethinking our position on this and each time we weigh the pros/cons, it always makes more sense for BOTH our florists and Teleflora to take the orders. I know you don't believe me right now, but I do want to keep this dialogue open because I want the chance to convince you that we are about florists. Our owners, Stewart and Lynda Resnick have owned Teleflora for 35 years. FTD has been sold 5 times in the past 5 years. In all meetings with Lynda, she reiterates over and over about how we need to think about our florists. It is definitely our mission here and the reason why Nicole and I are on these forums.

Anda

Then the Resnicks and everybody at TF needs to pay closer attention to your fellow wire services. At the last state convention I attended, I was told by the 800-flower rep that THEY ARE THE ONLY WIRE SERVICE THAT OFFERS A SENDING ONLY OPTION ANYMORE.

Think about it from the filling florist POV.

Who is using flowers,foliages, accessories to create what the order specifies? Is the sender using product or is the filler?

Who uses a delivery vehicle powered by gas to deliver that order? Is the gas bill paid by the sender or the filler?

Who pays more in fees to Teleflora? The sending florist or the filling florist?

Who get more rebates/incentives/advantages ? The sending florist or the filling florist.

---------------------------------------------------------
I can practically guarantee that every ORDER GATHERER like Pro-flowers would not survive for very long IF THEY WERE REQUIRED TO FILL !!!!!

If the Resnicks were really SERIOUS about being for the florists.......then why aren't they...and you.....willing to take the neccesary steps.....EVEN IF IT MEANS SLASHING YOUR PROFITS SHORT TERM.