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Petals Fine Florals & Gifts

New Member
Mar 4, 2012
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Whitinsville
State / Prov
MA
My name is Catherine Banas and I am an owner of Petals Fine Florals & Gifts located in Whitinsville, MA. We are opening our doors on March 31, 2012.
I am interested in joining FlowerChat to have a place to go to for answers to questions, keep in touch with those in my industry and add value as best I can.
 
Ambitious.....

Welcome to the FLowerChat Community. There is literally thousands of years of knowledge here. Our search function works very well... You'll probably have a lot of your own, but many of them have likely already been answered.

We're glad you found us... Enjoy~
 
Thanks so much!! It's been a dream since I was a child (sounds familiar for many I am sure) and has started coming to fruition over the last year. Fortunately, I have a business partner who shares the same dream and we are looking forward to this adventure.

I am so happy to have found this form, a wealth of knowledge & useful information... I have moments of feeling a bit overwhelmed, I am relieved to have found this resource!!

Right now I am losing sleep as to whether we should join a wire service or not. My gut is telling me to stay away from them and after reading some of the posts on ws, I am beginning to think I should listen to those instincts. We shall see.... Teleflora coming out on Friday morning to meet with us. I will try to stay strong and just tell them no. :)
 
Petals Fine Florals & Gifts said:
Right now I am losing sleep as to whether we should join a wire service or not. My gut is telling me to stay away from them and after reading some of the posts on ws, I am beginning to think I should listen to those instincts. We shall see.... Teleflora coming out on Friday morning to meet with us. I will try to stay strong and just tell them no. :)
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No thanks necessary. Sincerely,... welcome...

Obviously you've read some of the various wire service topics. One thing to keep in mind, a wire service is a tool. Nothing more. That said, they are best used for sending, and not receiving orders to be truly profitable. A new shop, is not going to have the sending volume to justify a wire service from that stand point.

Do not, I repeat not let them talk you into technology... it's a sure death sentence in some aspects. Do not let them give you a "free" website, membership (until xx?) or "free" anything.. there is no such thing as free with a wire service.

Check out www.floristsforchange.com look into FaceBook and get involved with the various florist groups there, get an independent POS and web site... and most of all, ask questions here....
 
Welcome. Nice to have another Massachusetts florist here. Good luck with your new business! Have you worked in the flower industry before?
 
Petals Fine Florals & Gifts said:
Right now I am losing sleep as to whether we should join a wire service or not. My gut is telling me to stay away from them and after reading some of the posts on ws, I am beginning to think I should listen to those instincts. We shall see.... Teleflora coming out on Friday morning to meet with us. I will try to stay strong and just tell them no. :)
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Welcome and, I trust, you stayed "strong" having listened very politely to TF and then said "No" this morning.
 
Sorry, it's been such a crazy week (think the next few years will be!!)

Well, we said no to TF... wasn't too hard. BUT and that's a great big but, FTD has us almost within it's grasps... right now our monthly fees (that we know of) will be around $400, but that is alot of money to commit to each and every month.

Looking at Iris POS online now.... they were also at the floral expo. Does anyone have insight to the pos system they offer?
 
You sound secure with your decision to just say "No" to TF. I wish I had been as convinced at the outset of the dangers of working with them as you appear to be. It took time but I learned (the expensive way).

If you could resist TF am a little surprised, if I may be so bold, to read about FTD passing you that poisoned chalice and you placing it up to your lips: please think long an hard before drinking from their cup. FTD is as much -and some feel more- of a parasite as TF (and 1-800/Bloomnet)
 
Petals Fine Florals & Gifts said:
Looking at Iris POS online now.... they were also at the floral expo. Does anyone have insight to the pos system they offer?
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Welcome to FlowerChat!

Regarding your question on POS systems, we recommend to all of our clients that they check out www.FloristWare.com (30 day trial) and www.MASDirect.com for POS. Those are the only two that we feel comfortable endorsing at this time.
 
Honestly, I think it's bc of their pos software... the reporting, the customer database access, the ease of transactions.... the recommendation of a few florists we know who have both tf and ftd, they said ftd is better and they are dropping tf.

I haven't drunk from their cup yet.... trying to stay strong but anxiety is beginning to weigh me down.
 
If you really feel it necessary to try a wireservice, please don't agree to ftd's monthly fees. They offer "no monthly fees" for 6 months to a year. I honestly don't know a single smaller shop that comes out money ahead with the wires. Also there are several florist groups on facebook, some are open and some private - we can get you added easily for more feedback and information on POS's, designs, wires, etc.
 
That $400.00 is just the start...I was a send only florist for 12 years...I have finally gotten to the point where FTD was just another competitor that I was funding so I dumped the wire services all together. I suggest trying the no wire service route...$400.00 is a heavy fixed cost to live with every month just for a wire service
 
That's what I am afraid of, $400 is just the tip of the iceberg.

They did offer 6 months no fees, but doesn't that just delay my 60 months financing as well? So instead of owning an obsolete hunk of machinery after 5 years, it'll be 5 1/2 years.

Have to sleep on it and try to wrap my brain around it again tomorrow.... Thank you everyone for the posts, your advice is priceless! :)
 
just starting out, i would say go wire free. get your shop up and running.. see how many people come in wanting you to transfer an order for them. Do it shop to shop on a store credit card. Its an expense you really can live with out. You don't NEED a wire service to be a flower shop.
 
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Petals Fine Florals & Gifts said:
Honestly, I think it's bc of their pos software... the reporting, the customer database access, the ease of transactions.... the recommendation of a few florists we know who have both tf and ftd, they said ftd is better and they are dropping tf.

I haven't drunk from their cup yet.... trying to stay strong but anxiety is beginning to weigh me down.
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See Ryan's comment above regarding the Strider or MAS POS. I have neither of these but of all the different systems on offer, these mentioned options tend to score the highest, beating TF & FTD. Then again, I recognizethat you are looking for something that specifically meets your requirements and FTD may appear your best option...but then again, if FTD was so versatile, reliable and effective, why doesn't it score more highly with florists?

Good luck.
 
Petals Fine Florals & Gifts said:
That's what I am afraid of, $400 is just the tip of the iceberg.

They did offer 6 months no fees, but doesn't that just delay my 60 months financing as well? So instead of owning an obsolete hunk of machinery after 5 years, it'll be 5 1/2 years.

Have to sleep on it and try to wrap my brain around it again tomorrow.... Thank you everyone for the posts, your advice is priceless! :)
Click to expand...

Honestly, I thinking signing up would be a death sentence for your shop. Been there, done that with FTD and TF. Getting out is extremely difficult and I can ASSURE YOU that you only THINK you will be paying $400/month. Once they start adding the hidden fees, service fees, fees because you don't reject an order fast enough, fees because you don't confirm an order fast enough, fees because customers order from your own website, fees to upgrade the POS you haven't paid off yet, fees to send orders, fees to receive orders.....you will be selling a kidney just to pay your FTD bill. You will be filling orders at a loss so they can line their pockets. Oh--and despite what they tell you, all the great things their system is designed to do is more for their benefit than yours! WS are parasites in my opinion. They will suck the blood out of you.

For about $400 per month you can set up a very nice website, and get a POS system that is one thousand times better than FTD. Floristware and MAS both run off computers that cost a small fraction of what FTD is trying to sell you. I am looking at website options and POS myself right now. As worried as I am about making the "right choice", and know that any WS system would be the "wrong choice"!!

I would also ask you this...Why would WS purposely set you up with a system that you are locked into for 5 years? Especially when their competitors (floristware, MAS, etc) have no contracts and you can cancel at any time free and clear? To me, the answer to your dilemma is right there.....

Also, if you want to be able to offer a service to wire flowers for your customers, check out flower shop network. They are not perfect, but IMO MUCH better than TF or FTD. They also have websites available that are very affordable. You will probably still want to explore other options long term, but at least it can get you up and running while you explore options.

Not sure if my opinions on the matter will help or not, but I like to see other florists be successful. If sharing my experiences can help....I'm all for it!
 
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An example from another thread about FTD......thought it was pretty relevant....

We made the mistake of accepting an FTD offer to start last year with a no-fee deal for 6 months. We got caught on Valentines with a 'Delayed Response Program' that we were unaware about. My statement shows up with over $800 of penalties for waiting more than two hours to reject FTD orders. I blew up then. How many others have been caught in this scam. We cancelled FTD and then had to agree to stay for another directory period to get the money refunded. What a joke - except the joke was on us.

Read more: Wesley Berry ... again.. - Page 3
Where professional florists grow FC Professional Florist Community
 
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