Not that we don't honor her all year long, but Mom's special day is this Sunday. And since the vast majority of you will - as a thank you for birthing you, feeding you, teaching you how to behave, loving you unconditionally... and a lifetime of kissing boo-boos and generally covering your ass - be sending Mom some flowers.
Fair compensation? The thought behind them is. And since there's a myriad of ways to screw up when ordering flowers, I turned to Aron Benon, CEO of
HonestFlorist.com, to get the inside info, and make sure your Mom's day isn't ruined by your local florist. (I figured he had to be telling me striaght... he's got "Honest" right in his name.)
Here are his Top 10 things you need to look out for when you order Mom those flowers:
1 - EXTRA CHARGES FOR ORDERS PLACED VIA PHONE:
Many online florists charge more – as much as $7.00 more - for orders received over the phone. At Honest Florist, we recommend orders be placed online to save money. Often, online florists don't tell you about this extra charge until after your order is placed.
2 - ORDER EARLY OR RISK SLEEPING IN THE DOG HOUSE:
Many online florists will accept your order late in the day on Mother’s Day, but don't tell you the risk that your flowers will not be delivered that day due to the sheer volume of orders placed and processing. When you call or write to complain, they will offer you an alternative delivery date, but not before you have spent the night in the cold.
3 - BEWARE OF TACKY SUBSTITUTIONS:
Almost all online florists and flower shops will substitute your order if they cannot fill it as promised. Usually florists will call you, but in the rush of Mother’s Day, sometimes they will substitute and you will find out about it after seeing the flowers or hearing about them.
4 - ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD:
You can always
dispute the charges if the flowers are poor quality and the shop is not willing to satisfy you.
5 - AUTOMATIC UPGRADES:
Be wary of any website that shows you an image at one price but when you click on it, it's $10.00 more on the detail page. The onus is on you to switch it back to the original price that attracted you in the first place.
6 - DELIVERY SPOT:
Since Mother’s Day falls on a Sunday, there's a good chance your mom is out and about enjoying her day. When you arrange for the flowers to be delivered, specify for the florist where to leave the flowers if no one is home (under the shady tree in the front, on the side of the house, etc). I can't tell you how many times I have seen flowers left out in direct sunlight or freezing weather.
7 - POOR QUALITY:
If you receive poor quality flowers from an online florist or a flower shop, try to contact them and explain your dilemma. Many times online florists and flower shops will try to convince you to take $10 off your next purchase or a partial refund. If the flowers are not up to the quality you thought you should receive, then tell the florist this:
"My flowers look terrible. I would like you to pick these up and redeliver fresh ones in their place."
If they don't want to do it, say the following: "If you are not willing to stand behind the quality of your product, I am going to take a picture of it and dispute my credit card charge." Then tell them you may take a few minutes out of your day to post your purchasing experience on some consumer advocate sites. I bet you will have your redelivery by the end of the day.
8 - FULL VALUE GUARANTEE:
You expect the amount you are spending on merchandise is the amount that is put into the flower arrangement, but this is not always the case. Honest Florist is the only online flower seller to offer a guarantee that you are getting the full value of what you order.
The site you are ordering from should be able to tell you (after delivery has been made) the name and phone number of the shop that filled your order to confirm that the amount you spent on merchandise on the site is the amount given to the florist. Honest Florist does this upon request.
9 - FLORIST DELIVERED:
Most online flower sites sell flowers that are arranged and hand delivered by a florist. If you see flowers that are priced well below all the others, be sure to realize that many times these are delivered in a box to the recipient by Fed Ex or UPS. Although the flowers can still be fresh, the blossoms might not be open-- and what is Mother’s Day with a bunch of closed flowers? Plus, they often require more maintenance before the recipient can enjoy them. They'll need to have: heavy duty scissors, a vase, water, and a place to cut the bottoms of the stems, because flowers always need a fresh cut before hitting the water.
10 - DOES SIZE MATTER?:
Florists usually carry 40 cm to 80 cm roses. If you want to go all out, ask for 80 cm, large headed roses. You will pay top dollar, but it's worth it. If you receive anything shorter with a smaller head, demand a partial refund. When you are shopping online and see shorter length roses, those are usually 40 cm. Many 40 cm roses have big, beautiful heads on them as well. But the longer you want them, the more you have to pay.
To order you Mom's flowers, head over to www.honestflorist.com