Corsage Complaint

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Julz

Julz

Active Member
Jul 7, 2006
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New Hampshire
www.cracklinrose.com
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New Hampshire
Prom was Saturday, had a message on my machine Weds. afternoon from a mom who said the corsarge her son ordered for his girlfriend fell apart as she was putting it on. "All the flowers fell out, you need to use more glue" she said. #1 why did she wait till Weds. to call me? #2 my top designer did this corsarge, we had two $47.00 corsarges and she did both of them. She waited till the end to do both so that her technique would be in good form and she uses alot of glue, she went through a tube and 1/2 that day, the other designer only went through 1/2 tube, they also shake the corsarge after designing. I plan on rectifying this somehow, but I feel the mother or son should of brought the corsarge in on Monday so I could of looked at it to determine if it was a glue issue or some other issue. How do you handle corsarge complaints? I am thinking of sending her a letter explaining she should of brought it back to me so we could look at it and enclosing a gift certificate for a fresh flower bouquet to be delivered to the girl. What do you think?

Thanks, Julz
 
You know, sometimes these complaints really make us wonder, don't they? I would ask to see the remains (if that is possible able after she waited so long to call you, and then left a message on your answering machine at that) so that you can understand what happened. You received no other complaints, so it seems likely to me that perhaps a flower, maybe some accent flowers, fell out or some petals fell off or some such. We always shake the corsage and boutonierre in front of the customer so that he/she can "see how sturdily made this is."

Perhaps a call to her would give you more information. I'm still a bit leary of the situation since she waited so long to call, and then simply left a message on your answering machine. Did she call after hours?

Your idea of a gift certificate mailed to the girl, the customer's son's date, seems to be a very wise choice. Then you can speak directly to the recipient to learn what kind of problem there was. Somehow, I would shy away from, in this case, sending the girl's gift certificate to the mom.

If you obtained the son's cell phone #, perhaps you can call him to learn the recipient's name and address. That call could also perhaps give you some insight into the situation.

My .02, more or less, worth.
 
My advise would be to NOT tell the mom what she should've done. She may look at this as you admonishing her. Perhaps wednesday was the first opportunity she had to address the situation. Yes it would've been nice to see the damaged corsage. But was a 17 year old boy really going to tell his date he wanted the damaged corsage back to take to the florist and get a refund? No. You have to look at it from their point of view, The girlfriend did not have flowers and was upset on her prom night. They didn't get what they paid for. They may in the future not see flowers as an importance. The latter is something we definatley do not want.
These kids are our future customers we have to treat them well.
I have followed some of these "kids" through their lives: prom, wedding, babies etc..
Sometimes a customer with a complaint can turn into a customer for life. It's all in how you handle it.
I had a complaint on a corsage yesterday too. I apologized profusely and I am giving the son flowers to take to the girlfriend on saturday. I try to look at how I would want to be treated as a customer.

Who knows what really happened with the corsage, was it my fault , was it theirs? I'll never know. It was one complaint. But she will definately be back because of the way it was handled.

Jennifer
 
Jennifer, I think your advice is better than mine. In my above post, I did not mean to be confrontational with the mother, but your advice is better still.
 
Refund the mother the money.

This happens from time to time and there isn't anything you can do but control PR damage.

thank the customer for letting you know of the problem.

I tell my customers that "I would rather not have a problem with flowers occur, but if a problem happens I want to know. That way I can fix the problem."

Whether she showed up Monday or Wednesday is irrelevant. The prom was the previous Saturday. If the flowers fell out before the prom, then the girl's prom experience was tarnished.

Joe
 
REFUND WAS THE BEST THING TO DO!.....DON'T beat yourself over the corsage, it may not be you, we had one a few years ago, fell apart AFTER the prom? hmmmmm! wonder what they were doing? This was before glue, hand done!
 
I would talk to the mother first.
Even if a refund is asked for, the shop has to establish the claim that it is not a refund because it cost too much and they want their moeny back but still used the corsage.
You know, like buying a nice dress, using it for the night and returning it on monday and say it wasnt suitable, yadda yadda yadda.
If she offers to send a replacement bouquet to the lady in question and they hesitate to give her name and phone number so she can call herself and make apologies, that would be proof enough for me that she is being played.
I would go that route first, than go the other after.
Luc
 
It happens to us all, try not to overthink it. I'd offer the Mom a refund or offer to send the girl some flowers at school, you'll find out where the Moms heart really is that way. Don't ask her to bring in the 'remains', that just makes people nuts. I'm sure you made lots and lots of corsages, don't let the one get you down.
 
Luc said:
I would talk to the mother first.
If she offers to send a replacement bouquet to the lady in question and they hesitate to give her name and phone number so she can call herself and make apologies, that would be proof enough for me that she is being played.
I would go that route first, than go the other after.
Luc
Click to expand...

hi luc,

i would agree with the replacement of bouquet in your example except this was event flowers. If it were for a thank you, sympathy, even a birthday or annivesary, then yes I would suggest a replacement bouquet

However.....

the customer and/or recipient have no need for a corsage the next day or week.

The event is over.

Oh in addition to thanking the customer for bringing this to your attention, Julz, I forgot to mention a sincere appology is also needed.

Right or wrong, whether the customer is attempting to get something for nothing, it is your call. I ussually error on the side of the customer's honesty and integrity being good.

Joe
 
Give her a refund and try to make her happy. Corsage purchasers turn into flower purchasers if you keep making them happy. You can't let ego or suspicion get in the way here. Realistically, the return rate on corsages is so low you really should assume she is telling the truth.
 
Re: Sorry but, NO CASH or CREDIT CARD REFUNDS!

Regardless of who was right or who was wrong, we never issue a REFUND other than a VERIFIED NONDELIVERY.

Instead, we guarantee 100% TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION and if for any reason whatsoever our product fails within the first 48 hours and we are notified in 48 hours, we are happy to replace the product, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

That also requires we get back the product which failed or because they simply didn't like the selection or the color or the variety or the filler or the design style.

We have even waived that 48 hour notification on some occasions due to extenuating circumstances.

In your case, I would've apologized to that Mother, explained your 48 hour guarantee and replacement policy, which under those circumstances, wasn't a viable option (replacement).

Then, I would offer her a FUTURE STORE CREDIT for the total amount of your sale under the circumstances that, she didn't bring the failed corsage back.

The rationale is to guarantee FUTURE BUSINESS from the Mom and without you loosing 100% of that sale.

Also, I have found out that, SOME FOLKS are chronic complainers while others have come to realize that, if they complain (regardless of a real problem), they can GET THEIR CAKE and EAT IT TOO! That precedent was set by the OGs, DOGs, WSs, and NON-LOCAL PHONIES.

For them, issuing a FULL REFUND (If for any reason whatsoever) (the sky was cloudy today), is not a problem since, the money DOESN'T COME OUT OF THEIR POCKETS but the POCKETS of their FILLER FOOLS!

What's to say that, her Prom Date wasn't squeezing her so hard that, his groping hand flattened the thing. Or, maybe her hand had become SO BUSY in fending off his gropes that, the flowers were doomed to fall out. Or maybe, she just had to SMACK HIM a few times after his hands went where they weren't supposed to be.

These are questions to which, we'll never have the answers too. Then again, maybe we just don't wanna know? "]
 
We as florists have a very hard position on the whole return thing. As long as I have been in this profession, almost all the shops gave a replacement. And this is good business, to a point. Again, this is one of the areas that we as a group flounder. Most do not have a real sturdy policy after the call me withing 48 hours if unhappy and we will replace it.

How many times have you gone to said house and the people said we threw the flowers away even though you clearly said we will pick them up. What do you do then!!

What do you do if a bride says her bouquet fell apart??

What do you do when the customer calls after 5 days and says we weren't happy the day we got them??

I know what a grocery store would say, product and reciept please within a day or two. That's it, but everybody has to buy food at the 1 or 2 supermarkets in the area. Not everybody has to buy flowers and there are usually several that you can play this game with to last you a very long time.....

We are truely @@@@ed if we do and @@@@ed if we don't.


I would have apologized and then issued a store credit. I do not give a refund unless something did not get delivered for some strange reason.
 
TOTO said:
Regardless of who was right or who was wrong, we never issue a REFUND other than a VERIFIED NONDELIVERY.

Instead, we guarantee 100% TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION and if for any reason whatsoever our product fails within the first 48 hours and we are notified in 48 hours, we are happy to replace the product, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

That also requires we get back the product which failed or because they simply didn't like the selection or the color or the variety or the filler or the design style.
"]
Click to expand...

Toto, this may work in New York, but to me it's old school thinking. Making sure the customer doesn't screw you shouldn't be your first priority. Bringing back a corsage that fell apart is unreasonable 99% of the time. How many times does someone actually bring back a corsage the next day? We do ask that arrangements be returned IF REASONABLE when we replace them, but that's more to see what went wrong.
 
Re: Same Return Policy Everywhere!

Bigted said:
Toto, this may work in New York, but to me it's old school thinking. Making sure the customer doesn't screw you shouldn't be your first priority. Bringing back a corsage that fell apart is unreasonable 99% of the time. How many times does someone actually bring back a corsage the next day? We do ask that arrangements be returned IF REASONABLE when we replace them, but that's more to see what went wrong.
Click to expand...

Our RETURN policy is no different from any other retail business Ted.

Bring back the product ya didn't want or like and either pick something else out or get a store credit.

Since we are handling perishables, time is of the essence which is why the first 48 hours is reasonable.

In the past, I've used this analogy.

So, we went out to a restaurant and ordered up a big juicy Porterhouse Steak and I ate it all. The next day, and as I thought about it, I decided the steak was tough. Then I called the restaurant, asked for the manager, made the complaint, and requested a full refund. He told me to BRING BACK THE STEAK!

The point is simple! Why should we take a customer at their word that, our product failed and without them having to return it for VERIFICATION in order to obtain a CREDIT?

No one else in the retail world is subject to that standard.
 
I just went over this problem of yours with my staff. Their first reaction was why did the Mom wait until Wednesday to call??? To all of us here, that was a bit late. Second, flowers falling apart/out of the corsage...it CAN happen especially if not glued in properly. But, if the designer does them all the time, this shouldn't be a problem. Lastly, how was the corsage TREATED during the time it was given to the customer and the time it was given to the girl?

At any rate, here's what I would do: return the call, do NOT leave a message - talk DIRECTLY with the person who called. Offer apologies for the problem, and offer a store credit. ALSO...I would ask the person WHY they waited so long to call. I am sorry, and I know some of you will not agree with me, but AS A BUSINESS OWNER, you need to STAND UP for your policies. Common sense rules here...afterall, you can't ask for your money back 4 days after you go out to dinner! You can't ask for your money back at the grocery store for a piece of frut that's 5 days old...

I just think asking why they waited so long to call is a fair question...

- H.
 
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We would have apologized and refunded the money. I have to look at it from the kids perspective. If their really was a problem and it fell apart on his dates wrist that is pretty embarassing and a new corsage on monday doesn't do any good for the prom that was friday or saturday night. Either way MOM is going to be telling eveyone that junior had a problem with your corsage. You have to decide how you want it to spin. " Wed. was as soon as I got a chance to let them know. You know they wouldn't even give me my money back" Or "The corsage little johnny bought from XYZ florist came a part but I can't understand it they always do such beautiful work and when I told the manager he gave me a refund no questions asked. They sure treat you right they probably just got a bad flower or something".

I would take my chances with the second scenario.

just an opinion.

Bob
 
[B said:
What's to say that, her Prom Date wasn't squeezing her so hard that, his groping hand flattened the thing. Or, maybe her hand had become SO BUSY in fending off his gropes that, the flowers were doomed to fall out. Or maybe, she just had to SMACK HIM a few times after his hands went where they weren't supposed to be.[/B]

These are questions to which, we'll never have the answers too. Then again, maybe we just don't wanna know? "]
Click to expand...

Toto,
I love reading your posts! they always make me laugh..

And let me tell ya..... I chaperoned Prom this year and Holy Moly..... I can absolutely see this scenario playing out!!! LOL
 
Update On Corsarge

I called the mother who called me, apologized and told her that we would be refunding her son and sending a bouquet over to the girlfriends house. Now i find out that she didn't see the corsarge and the son didn't want her to call us. So needless to say we will never really know what happen to it, all and all I find it very hard to believe that the corsarge fell apart, but what are you going to do. From now on I have instructed everyone to do a shake in front of the customer before they take their corsarge out of the shop and make sure they shake it like hell! I have done a few more since that day and when I shake them, they don't move, well gotta go and change my granddaughter's messy diaper. Just thought I would let you know how we decided to handle it.

Julz
 
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