Just say no to the order gatherers

[theRKF]

Hold on...

So you have "WE R FTD" license plates, but Tim sold out for possibly training some call centre staff? Do you see how that is a tricky position to maintain?

Can you blame the customer down the street for thinking he was ordering from you when your own plates declare that you ARE FTD?

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Hold on...

So you have "WE R FTD" license plates, but Tim sold out for possibly training some call centre staff? Do you see how that is a tricky position to maintain?

Can you blame the customer down the street for thinking he was ordering from you when your own plates declare that you ARE FTD?

I see you haven't read thru this thread.....1/2 point, to Mikey!
The "tricky" position is when you come in part way through a thread, and a couple of us DID SAY "if"....

 

[BOSS]

I was told this recently, within the last few months....

Ryan, since you may have more current information than I might, I apologize to Tim in advance for my ignorance. I thought perhaps he may stop by to set the record straight...but alas...

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

WHY would Tim be "under contract" to Teleflora, might be a better "inquiry"....

 

[jamie]

Who cares if Tim Huckabee trained call center salespeople. His entire business is sales training. Why would we expect him to turn down a paying client?

I read an article where he did a "Shop CSI" (or whatever) to one of the OGs. He was very blunt about the fact that that salesperson was better trained than most of the independent florists he had tested. That was an eye opener for me, and it should be one for every other shop owner.

 

[KABERS]

I think Tim could make a lot more money starting his own florist version of Bar rescue or Used Car Lot rescue. He could pick any of our shops, come in and do a lot of yelling. Magically make the shop and staff amazing in 36 hours and waa laa all is perfect and we're basking in floral profits. He would be very good at it. I felt like a felon or naughty child in his class at the Michigan show. Kept expecting him to say "get out" or "no soup for you!"

 

[David]

Who cares if Tim Huckabee trained call center salespeople. His entire business is sales training. Why would we expect him to turn down a paying client?
.

I agree. I guess if you don't then don't hire him. The industry is much better with him. I hired him and it was worth the money. My daughter has become the best phone person in my shop. I took her out of school to hear him at the time.

 

[theRKF]

I see you haven't read thru this thread.....1/2 point, to Mikey!
The "tricky" position is when you come in part way through a thread, and a couple of us DID SAY "if"....

I did read the thread, and it's the IF statement that I'm objecting to. We'll have to agree to disagree. I think it's going to far to write off someone because (your IF clause) they have performed a hired service for someone you don't like. That gets even harder to support when you're paying a monthly membership fee to that same disliked company. Either way, the guy is free to work for whoever wants to hire him for training.

I was told this recently, within the last few months....

You receiving a piece of news doesn't necessarily correspond with the timing of that news. Just because you heard it recently doesn't mean it happened last month

WHY would Tim be "under contract" to Teleflora, might be a better "inquiry"....

So far no one has expanded that statement at all ... Under contract implies an ongoing relationship with financial incentive that may lead to skewed opinions. That's a bold implication. Honestly, and anyone that knows Tim will back this up, no one is going to tell him what to write, what to say or how to slant it.


Tim's training is one of the bright spots in the industry. Let's not be so quick to tear down our own instead of building up what is useful.

 

[anytimeflowers]

I'm just going to butt in here with an interesting slant ~ a different way of thinking about this.

You may have seen this in Florist's Review in Hot Topic. There were various opinions that were submitted by florists on what they would do if faced with the same "dilemma" that four separate Rhode Island florists faced. All got slapped with a lawsuit for refusing to fill an order for a group called "Freedom From Religion Foundation". The flowers were going to a 16 yr old girl who successfully sued her school to have a banner removed that supported school prayer. I assume it was a congratulatory bouquet for her temerity and victory, the card message was probably what fanned the flames to get these florists to turn the order down. I have no idea if the case against them has been decided.

There was a mixed bag of answers, but one caught me "right" where it hurts and caused me to rethink my answer. One florist answered that she would only turn the order down if the individual was a "creep". I surmise that she would not have a problem with it just because of the affiliation. But....then she went on to add that she "would not want to deliver to the NRA, Tea Party, KKK or any seriously right-wing organization.....".

Hmmm, thought I. Those four florists just might have made a mistake. For not one second have I ever hesitated to refuse an order from an order gatherer OR someone who has been a problem customer. I don't want the headaches involved. But that was based on my own individual experience and not driven by my beliefs. I'm not very fond of the folks who come knocking on my door in pairs and try to shake my religious beliefs but I did a wedding for a couple who are members of that door-knocking "tribe".

My only thought about it is that they may have all been afraid of the affiliation, and repercussions from other customers banning them for doing it. That is a valid fear, even if it isn't really fair. Should or would all of my Christian customers boycott me because I did a wedding for some Jehovah's Witnesses?

Which leads me to my point. Is it right to be going after Tim for doing business? I'm completely against order gatherers in their deceptive practices ~ there ought to be a law....there already is in a hand full of states. But I fully admit that they are way better than I am at many things ~ without using deceit. Those include seeing the big picture about the internet long before I'd ever learned how to email. Hiring Tim was just another savvy move on their part, and Tim was smart enough to take the work where he could find it without letting his personal beliefs get involved.

As for Mikey's incident ~ I can see where the customer is confused. I'm not certain I remember the original story; now that I'm typing I realize I should have gone back and read it again first. When I first read it, I shook my head and fully agreed with Mikey. After reflection on it, I started to wonder. They may never have understood that there was a middle-man involved and I'm not sure that is stupidity. It sounds more like a frazzled customer dealing with an equally frazzled florist and communication may have been the culprit for both sides. Trying to explain the middle-man thing is really slippery and is hard for any sane person to understand. (We florists of course understand it perfectly...)

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

We're just talking Linda.....it's not a headhunt/witch-hunt.......Tim's a pretty marvellous guy, his results are NOT ALWAYS what everyone attests to, because his "trainees" must be capable of "change" and therein lays the problem in our industry....."responsibility" IS a two way street, and I DID SAY that if his marketplace has dried up, he ISN'T going to sit on his hands, AND, in MY silly situation, the guy down the street that ordered his V-Day flowers THE MORNING OF V-Day, figuring that we're 4 doors down AND would somehow miraculously "automatically" get the order AND just whizz it down WAS TOTALLY INCAPABLE of understanding that "fill shops" are on a "rotating" sequence, and UNLESS specifically requested, HIS ORDER could come from anywhere!
Don't know how TIM got involved in this fracas,BUT, we DID 'solve" the guys problems as far as the delivery, BUT, HE STUPIDLY INSISTED THAT WE REFUND HIS MONEY, because he could NOT get an answer from DOT CONNED,and therein lays my dilemna.
He's been in to buy 2 or 3 times since, and SWEARS he WILL NEVER BUY from FTD.CONNED again, but, there's MILLIONS like him!.....
And then we got on my truck plates reading "WE RFTD" ...NOT "WE R FTD", and how folks NO LONGER "associate" FTD with actual flowers, they're just an online store like thousands of others, BUT, I should be held to "ransom" because "I REPRESENT FTD" because I have "WE RFTD" plates...I DID apply for "WE RETRD", and the gal at the license bureau was laughing...mentioned I should rethink that....(we are retarded)
I think we give many customers FAR TOO MUCH CREDIT...and some others, far too little......it's STUPID to me!

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Tim's training is one of the bright spots in the industry. Let's not be so quick to tear down our own instead of building up what is useful.

Does Tim offer "sensitivity" training??....for "skewed" florists?....