Save big $$$$$$$

[BOSS]

Save yourself and business some BIG $$$$

With the approach of summer and lagging wire order sales, simply drop your wire service membership effective June 1st (after Mothers Day) and re-sign effective December 1st for a "free" membership...

You know, like the Yellow Pages do, once your out of a book, they give you the world to get you back in for the first year. We could use this effort to not only save ourselves some serious cash, but show who *should* be in charge, and get new deals.....

Oh never mind.... that"ll never work...

 

[strippinrose]

Save yourself and business some BIG $$$$

With the approach of summer and lagging wire order sales, simply drop your wire service membership effective June 1st (after Mothers Day) and re-sign effective December 1st for a "free" membership...

You know, like the Yellow Pages do, once your out of a book, they give you the world to get you back in for the first year. We could use this effort to not only save ourselves some serious cash, but show who *should* be in charge, and get new deals.....

Oh never mind.... that"ll never work...

I totally agree, but prey tell how do you get out...the all but refuse to let you out!!!! I know certified letter etc, but they pull this bull of you cant get out till next book 3 months,,,grrrrrrrrrr

 

[rhodap186]

We are looking to get out soon. Any suggetions from anyone? We are planning on sending the certified letter. Any help would be apprecaited! Thanks

 

[jamese]

Go to the front of the directory and follow the guidelines they have, and document it all, and only use certifed letters. They will not let you opt out, until after the next directory to be published.
As I understand it, this is the most effiecent way to end you relationship.
Make sure all your blanaces are in full, before you start aslo.

 

[oaf]

I totally agree, but prey tell how do you get out...the all but refuse to let you out!!!! I know certified letter etc, but they pull this bull of you cant get out till next book 3 months,,,grrrrrrrrrr

Wow are you still book based????UK stopped the book thing 2002ish..i'm stunned that the UK is ahead on something we usually lag a million miles behind you guys!!!!,Everything is computer listings now,i'm assuming it also saved a packet on the printing costs.'As for Boss'es idea it's a corker top of the class for that one:bouquet2:,currently in UK they are on a recruitment push for members..picking up 50 ish new lambs to the...... every quarter.Not sure of drop out rate but there are certainly quite a few that throw in the towel.

 

[FloralFantasies]

TF Resignation due March 1st

We are looking to get out soon. Any suggetions from anyone? We are planning on sending the certified letter. Any help would be apprecaited! Thanks

For Teleflora the deadline to resign is March 1st to be effective May 1st. I mailed my resignation letter today - Certified and Return Receipt.

Note that this is earlier than the codification deadline of March 20th!!

I found this out in December when I called TF to find out where I should send my resignation letter. Do this tomorrow or you'll have to wait another 3 months!

 

[Dior]

If you are serious about getting out, definitely send a certified letter, and followup with a phone call to make sure it got into someone's hands other than the mailroom who signed for it. Stay on top of it, be a "squeaky wheel." Otherwise this may drag on for months and months will they keep collecting dues and fees from you.

You will get a phone call with some enticement to stay, free dues for 3 months, 6 months, whatever the rep trying to "save" your account feels like offering you that day. Be adament and don't accept the freebies they offer, things will not get any better in 3 months if you are unhappy now. Especially if they offer you a free directory ad!!!! Then they hope like mad that you will forget to cancel the ad when the free period is expired, and they still have you as a member, clever, clever...

 

[Eric S]

I have to ask.

What is your reason to get away from the Wire Service?

If its about the incoming orders? To little to much not enough value?

I would think that the first thing wire service members could do to change the way WS works it to start by raising your Minimums.

If orders can't be filled because of these increases wouldn't it force them to raise their prices? Isn't that what we all want?

I feel that raising the minimums and removing the codified products could help us start changing the way the WS operates.

If your a Teleflora member its easy to do. Just go to myteleflora.com and update your information. Include your delivery price with the increase in minimum amounts for everything. Balloons candy flower arrangements roses and funeral flowers.

Let’s use our memberships to change the way they work. It could benefit us all in the long run.

 

[Dior]

I have to ask.

What is your reason to get away from the Wire Service?

If its about the incoming orders? To little to much not enough value?

I would think that the first thing wire service members could do to change the way WS works it to start by raising your Minimums.

If orders can't be filled because of these increases wouldn't it force them to raise their prices? Isn't that what we all want?

I feel that raising the minimums and removing the codified products could help us start changing the way the WS operates.

If your a Teleflora member its easy to do. Just go to myteleflora.com and update your information. Include your delivery price with the increase in minimum amounts for everything. Balloons candy flower arrangements roses and funeral flowers.

Let’s use our memberships to change the way they work. It could benefit us all in the long run.

In theory, it sounds like a good idea to raise your minimum prices. It would be great if there was solidarity and everyone would do it. That would send a powerful message. Also, if you are the only shop in the area, it could work. But in areas with many members, there is always the member who will accept the low end orders, and the w/s will end up bypassing you and sending all of those orders to them to fill. Also, the w/s are now using the same practice as Proflowers now when they can't find a filling florist or one who asks for price increases to fill the order ... they drop ship the order themselves!

The other thing that has ALWAYS been a problem, people don't even read the minimums, and you will get the orders anyway, and then have to reject them.

 

[Joe Mioux]

if you are going to get out, make sure you do the math first.

Find out your break even point, don't rely on a few money losing incoming orders to base your decision.

add up last year's fixed costs of association membership.

take your unit selling cost and your variable expenses and do the math.

BEP = FC/unit selling price - vc

you will have to look at your total dollar incoming, rebates, and the number of orders received in order to determine your Unit Selling Price.

joe

 

[spentflowers]

I ditto what Dior says here, but add to this your added costs incurred for each rejected order. W/S still wins, you don't. Why play their game any longer when you are making any money? It's one thing to be busy fulfilling the incoming orders, but it's yet another to actually make money.

Accepting their 3 mo. free offer ( and they will offer it) only prolongs the pain, because it's not free. There are associated costs they'll hit you up with plus your costs for filling those orders which don't give you enough money or worse yet, paying the fees to reject something you never intended to fill in the first place.

Everyone has the ability to go online, look up the florist in the town and make the phone call to determine if their a quality shop. Think about why the wire services were started in the first place and realize the internet has changed all of that.

Unless you want to file "non-profit" send your certified letter and stick to your decision. Nothing is for free!

 

[CRICKETS FLOWERS]

Wonderful idea, now if many did this and we did not then we would pick up the business. Frank at Crickets

 

[Joe Mioux]

Everyone has the ability to go online, look up the florist in the town and make the phone call to determine if their a quality shop. Think about why the wire services were started in the first place and realize the internet has changed all of that.

What are the pit falls associated with going online and finding a florist to fill your F2F orders?

Also, why not just tell your customer to go online and find their own out-of-town florist.

joe

 

[Dior]

What are the pit falls associated with going online and finding a florist to fill your F2F orders?

Also, why not just tell your customer to go online and find their own out-of-town florist.

joe

The pitfalls are not much different from picking a florist from a wire service directory, since the w/s have relaxed their standards of accepting new members. Their claims that they sign up only the finest quality florists, is simply not true. It's just a numbers game now, signing up anyone, quality florist or not, to add more revenue to the bottom line.

One pitfall is that the online listings are sometimes not up to date, and you may find out of business shops still listed.

As far as directing your customers to call an out of town shop directly, don't you want to receive any commission by taking the order yourself and relaying it for your customer? Don't you want to help your customer yourself, instead of what appears to be brushing them off? You may scare them away forever, if they think you do not care.

 

[Joe Mioux]

As far as directing your customers to call an out of town shop directly, don't you want to receive any commission by taking the order yourself and relaying it for your customer? Don't you want to help your customer yourself, instead of what appears to be brushing them off? You may scare them away forever, if they think you do not care.

how does this make a sending florist any different from an order gatherer?

how do you know that a shop you find online is reputable?

how do you handle a problem with the receiving shop if the receiving shop refuses to issue any credit or fix a problem?

do you provide the receiving shop with your sales tax id? if not why not? I see this a huge potential problem as more and more flower shops drop WS membership in favor of direct F2F ordering.

joe

 

[BOSS]

The pitfalls are not much different from picking a florist from a wire service directory, since the w/s have relaxed their standards of accepting new members. Their claims that they sign up only the finest quality florists, is simply not true. It's just a numbers game now, signing up anyone, quality florist or not, to add more revenue to the bottom line.

One pitfall is that the online listings are sometimes not up to date, and you may find out of business shops still listed.

As far as directing your customers to call an out of town shop directly, don't you want to receive any commission by taking the order yourself and relaying it for your customer? Don't you want to help your customer yourself, instead of what appears to be brushing them off? You may scare them away forever, if they think you do not care.

Couple thoughts from my perspective...

I am not of the belief that I will scare them off, and in reality I AM giving MY customers the best possible service when I direct them to the local filling florist directly.

In my world, the commission and rebate earned is not enough to off set the ethical dilemma our industry is currently in. I would rather direct MY customer to a REAL filling florist, and at the same time educate them as to how the game really works, and who to stay away from, like 800TFTD.coN...

Dior, tell me, do you have any first hand knowledge of the service's keeping a web presence for shops that have gone out of business?

 

[spentflowers]

Joe,

It's quite simple, locate the florist in the town you are sending the order to, give them a call, look at their website ( you can instantly see if it's a W/S promoted site or a true customized website --hello Ryan ???) and determine if they are a quality florist.

Even with the directory, many florists STILL want to pick up the phone and make that call to determine the quality on the other end of the line. OG don't hire flower savvy people so right away you'll figure it out.

As far fixing a problem, a lot of times the W/D leaves the complaining florist out to dry. Problems are fixed by starting out with the right filling florist and making that phone call. Otherwise, go to FSN and let them handle the order. The 20/80 split with no monthly fees is better then the high ridiculous fees being charged by the W/S these days. How's that Reciprocity Fee feel these days ?????

Years ago the W/S made sense, but with the internet, and their relaxed rules for signing up new members ( Basement Betty) it's all changed. And florists need to return to "owning" how their business is handled.

 

[Dior]

Couple thoughts from my perspective...

I am not of the belief that I will scare them off, and in reality I AM giving MY customers the best possible service when I direct them to the local filling florist directly.

In my world, the commission and rebate earned is not enough to off set the ethical dilemma our industry is currently in. I would rather direct MY customer to a REAL filling florist, and at the same time educate them as to how the game really works, and who to stay away from, like 800TFTD.coN...

Dior, tell me, do you have any first hand knowledge of the service's keeping a web presence for shops that have gone out of business?

BOSS, I don't know if wire services keep websites for shops out of business, however, the w/s does purchase the domain for the shop, so if they go out of business, who knows if the w/s has a way of redirecting any hits to themselves since they own the domain until it's expired.
What I was referring to in my last message is that I have gone online and googled a city and state where I get a list of florists, and some I recognize as having been out of business for a while.

 

[Dior]

Joe, A sending florist is not an order gatherer if they are sending as a courtesy to their customer. All w/s members use the phrase, "we can wire your order around the corner or around the world," ...or some such verbage. That is part of your agreement to belong to a w/s. Order gatherers actively pursue obtaining orders from outside their immediate area, only to turn around and send them out.

 

[Joe Mioux]

In my world, the commission and rebate earned is not enough to off set the ethical dilemma our industry is currently in. I would rather direct MY customer to a REAL filling florist, and at the same time educate them as to how the game really works, and who to stay away from, like 800TFTD.coN...

are you calling all order gatherers unethical? even the og's who are members of this forum?

btw: I really prefer the way Mark is approaching outgoing orders vs retail shops just dropping WS membership and doing the F2F thing.

it seems your way is more ethical and honest and value packed for the customer.

joe