Well, at least he got a more expensive arrangement. [www.michellesfloral.com]

Looks like they are trying to emulate Sears by selling things that they don't have (they're going to "call around and find a square vase", and let me know if they can find one)

If I was married, I think my wife would rather have a crisp, new $100 bill instead of "expensive" flowers, but that may just be me projecting what I would want my future wife to do.

A refund is in order. The requested item was unique, modern, and more artistic. That is why the price was higher.

The item received looks like someone at the supermarket floral department threw it together. It would retail for about half the price.

That being said, very sweet of the OP to order fancy flowers for the wifey, and trying to pick out something unique.

Ask around town to find a good local florist. Once you have a good one that you trust, you will never have to order online again. You can call them in a pinch for anniversaries, funerals, get well gifts - it's really handy to have one that both you and your wife can trust for all your family and friends.

Also, orange roses signify an enthusiastic desire whereas peach/coral signify platonic gratitude. (In case Erik's lady reads into these things.)

@Alicia P: Without notice and customer approval that's hardly acceptable. I'd still want a refund, inf only because businesses shouldn't think they're allowed to decide what's 'good enough'.

Of course I think we all need to try ordering flowers online at least once to learn what a terrible idea it is... /blame the victim.

Marc

@Alicia P: The prices on that site are in Canadian dollars. I haven't checked the conversion rate. Are they still more expensive? Nevertheless, they (the OP's vendor & Michelle's) both look like nice arrangements. But as the OP didn't get what he ordered and paid for, he's entitled to a refund. If they want to go the extra mile, they'll refund his money and re-do the arrangement as ordered. However, as noted in other similar types of mixups, you might not want to deal with them at all.

Doing a quick google search, it seems like that same arrangement is sold by many florists, with the same boilerplate description. Definitely get your money back. You did not get what you paid for.

On a related note, I have had nothing but positive experiences with proflowers.com. They're usually a little bit cheaper than brick & mortar florists, although shipping charges put them over the local stores. However, their customer service is second to none. I've been using them for about 3 years now.

Only once was my order not correct. On Valentine's Day, I had an arrangement of 2 doz. roses sent to my boyfriend. The box came on Friday the 13th, but it only had one dozen roses in it. I called them up and talked to a representative who was very apologetic, and she reshipped the order (so he ended up with 3 dozen roses) at no charge, next day air, so he had them on Valentine's Day. I will never use another online florist again because of their wonderful treatment.

@Liam Kinkaid: Back when my boyfriend gave half a shit, he used Proflowers quite a bit and he also has nothing but good things to say about them. Once they ran out of the arrangement he ordered for me and let him choose a more expensive one for the same price. Not a lot of huge businesses do that sort of thing.

I blacked out their contact info because I don't want to shame them at this point, but what would you all do?

ask for a refund. if they oblige, great. if not, go ahead and shame them.

Definitely not "extraordinary" as the description alleges. The description for the one your wife received should say, "ordinary except we add river rock."

@Alicia P:
$119 in Canadian is about $97 American. And the arrangement he got doesn't look like that one either.

@Liam Kinkaid: Yeah, definitely see a lot of sites with that same copy and image. It makes me wonder how the floral business works. Seems that there's some company that comes up with the copy and images, then apparently licenses this out to other florists? Anyone know?

@hairylunch: Further inspect seems to suggest there's some company out there that offers a hosting service to florists, complete with shopping cart, and probably transaction processing.

@Liam Kinkaid: Strange. Proflowers has almost always gotten my orders wrong. Sometimes a few flowers missing. Other times, different colors. I order red, i get assorted. I order regular, they give me petite.

They're cheaper but their shipping rates are high which is understandable with the box they mail it out in. They've outsourced the shipping financing to a 3rd party which requires you to pay an annual subscription fee if you want to get the "free shipping" deal.

Local florists here in Minneapolis are very competitive in terms of pricing, quality of products, and service. But if you just want to get flowers with little disregard, Proflowers is a good bet.

The fiance of a lady I work with received flowers last year around St. Valentines Day. Well, she knew the arrangement she was supposed to receive(Vera Wang, I believe). The one that came was NOT it. It was missing a box of chocolates, was short 6 roses, etc... etc... Sadly, she refused to tell him they sent the wrong thing, and instead pretended she got the one he paid to send. This is why I have bought sunflowers freshly cut from the farmer down the road and left said flowers on the front seat of my SO's car(I always try to get a copy of someones key just so I can pull such stupid stunts), rather than letting a less than competent florist mess it up(I have several great florist in my immediate area, one of whom has been voted top in county by the areas newspaper and voters)

I think what happens is a bunch of local florists sign up for a service (in this case, it's offered by teleflora) wherein the customer gets to look at a bunch of pretty pictures on a website and choose what they want, and the florist is supposed to deliver something that looks similar.

In a lot of cases, the customer purchasing probably never actually sees their purchase, so the florist gets away with sending whatever.

In this case, there's no argument that the florist messed up big time. "Calling around" to try to find the vase they accepted an order for in the first place is a piss-poor substitute.

A refund would be the absolute minimum I'd accept. Better would be a refund AND sending the correct arrangement; that would send the message that the store cares about its customer and wants him to come back next time.

@Alicia P:

The arrangement is hardly similar. Clearly in this case they substituted a much smaller and cheaper vase.

Not to mention the roses are the wrong color, and also look like cheaper, more common roses than those that were pictured.

I'd demand a refund. It was a sweet gesture, and someone kind of ruined it for you.

Having dealt with numerous subcontractors on the construction of my house in recent years, I must say, it particularly irritates me that a company will contract with you for a very specific item at a very specific price, and then think they can deliver any old thing and still collect the fee that is specified in the contract.

Who knows why Erik wanted the square vase, or the flower buds to be contained within the lip of the vase, or for the stems to be bright green as shown, or any other attribute that the advertisement displays that was not delivered? Unless the contract states that the florist can change the item without Erik's approval, they need to deliver what was promised. Even if the substitution is priced higher than what Erik was charged, the florist needs to fulfill the contract as agreed to, or get Erik's approval before sending something different.

I have been a florist for 28 years and all I can say is Shame on that shop for first not telling you they could not fulfill your order as requested before even accepting it and second they didn't even use the right flowers!

We have some of those "stock" photos on our site as well. Why because they are popular and people order them. When I don't have a particular item, I ALWAYS tell the customer so SHE or HE can decide if they will accept a substitute. It doesn't help my reputation to accept and not deliver what is requested. I ran out of a particular container today and instead of accepting an online order from a customer I told her and let her decide to try to find it elsewhere.

One hour later she called back and placed an order for something else because she could not find the item she was looking for and she appreciated my shop's honesty.

At the very least the shop should have replaced with the order you requested or offered a refund.

Sorry you had a bad experience. There are a lot of great florists out there and a few give the rest of us a bad name.

Wishing you all the best.... and then some.

Heidi Richards Mooney - Eden Florist Voted a Best of the BEST Florist in South Florida by Channel 7 and Miami Herald.

Charge back if you're unsatisfied! That's unacceptable. They should be bending over backwards for customers right now.

Take out the ones with a gray title and here's ~15 (didn't count) that it could be :-) [www.google.com]

@Liam Kinkaid: my wife and I used proflowers to put together our own wedding bouquets, and they were outstanding. I've since used them several times, and i've never been anything but happy.

Here! I found it. It's kinda everywhere..

That website is from http://www.searsflowers.com/product.asp?id=34548&rcid=92819&point=1.

There is also from http://www.lloydsflorist.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=49

I think Sears stole the image from Lloyds because their pic seems cropped.

I'll do it better for half the price.

This is why you should go into your local florist and order. If you must order over the phone, make sure it is a local florist and not a call center that will sell the order to someone. Second, ask specifics if you are ordering something other than a standard arrangment

Chargeback, and if you ordered this through a service or an affiliated florist (like FTD, Teleflora), complain to that organization as well.

@Alicia P: Alicia, he definately needs a refund. If you bought your boyfriend/husband a gift, say a pair of skis, and you sprang for the $1000 top of the line model, but you end up with a pair of kids skis, you'd be pretty pissed. Your SO would appreciate the thought, but if thats not the gift you originally wanted to give, you deserve a refund.

@Geblah187: I've also had nothing but positive experiences with Proflowers. We've used them for several years. Granted, if you are wanting to be really specific, a local shop is likely your best bet, but they'll do some pretty decent deals if you don't mind that they pick colors. I avoid their extras, though - they are pricey.

It'd be nice if they'd recycle the vases. I'm sure Goodwill is sick of getting them!

I got hosed by the exact same thing almost 4 years ago. This very same design! You're quite correct that a bunch of local florists sign up for the service -- in most cases, the person you'll be dealing with has no idea what the website picture looks like. Lesson learned, won't happen again.

Is this all it takes to make nearly $100? If so, then I'm in the wrong line of work (computer technology).

@nybiker: One has a great deal more style than the other.

@Marc Higbie: The issue is simpler than that. They may not provide something different without the customer's consent.

The florist's opinions on beauty and what's 'good enough' are irrelevant.

@Blueskylaw: I will consider that a proposal.

I used ProFlowers for the first time a few weeks ago and wasn't entirely happy. I ordered an arrangement of purple flowers for my aunt's funeral (lavender and purple were her favorite colors). Not only was the arrangement much sparser and less full than the pic on the website, but someone saw fit to add a screaming bright yellow liner as an accent, which wasn't pictured on the website either. It looked very jarring at the front of the church at the funeral. I emailed them to explain that, while the flowers got there on time etc., they weren't quite what I'd ordered and the changes made were inappropriate to the occasion. Haven't received any response to that email and at this point don't expect to. Also don't expect to be using ProFlowers again.

CHARGEBACK!

I once worked for a website similar to this, and here's how it works:

Florists are often members of the FTD or Teleflora network, which allows people from anywhere to order flowers for a loved one and have them sent to a local florist for creation of the arrangement and delivery. This benefits the florist in that they get more business. It benefits consumers in that they can call one number and send flowers anywhere.

It sounds great in theory, but in practice, it's more akin to the following: FTD comes up with the designs, the floral content, and the price of the arrangement. The local florist may or may not have the materials to do the design, including the flowers, vases, or decorations in the photo. They also may not be able to do it for the price FTD lists the flowers for, as floral prices fluctuate pretty heavily.

Your order is submitted and is transmitted to the filling florist. The florist's agreement with FTD states that they must fill the order "To the best of their ability", ensuring that if they don't have the materials, the customer does get their money's worth. This means that under FTD rules, the florist is allowed to substitute whatever they feel they need to. Also, FTD takes a pretty good cut of the order money, leaving the florist less to work with. If you pay 40 dollars for an arrangement, the florist is going to get about 30 of that, leaving you with less value in your flowers. FTD also doesn't take delivery fees into account, so sometimes you may receive a request from the filling florist for a few more dollars.

Some florists will contact the orderer to talk about substitutions, delivery fees, etc, and be up front about the process. Others will fill the order with very different flowers or accessories because their agreement with FTD states that they can do that. The vast majority of florists go with the latter... not because they're unscrupulous, but because that's what FTD tells them to do.

@Liam Kinkaid: That was my first guess. The arrangement and photo was provided by one of those industry services that either provide website services or something akin to FTD where they take orders and forward them to local florists.

If your going to use one of those services you should make sure you have the materials and skill to do the items being sold under that arrangement.

What they received looked like someone's kid tossed some flowers into a vase.

'GUD ENUFF' Option FTW!

@Blueskylaw: If I was married, I think my wife would rather have a crisp, new $100 bill instead of "expensive" flowers, but that may just be me projecting what I would want my future wife to do.

Proof that you're not married. Your future wife will want both the expensive flowers AND the $100 bill. :-)

Having worked in the floral industry (yes, they call it an industry, no I don't know why) for a few years, @pezstar has it right about the online wire services. The worst seems to be 1-800-FLOWERS.

Technically a flower shop should have any special items that are included in a wire service promo, like specially advertised vases for Valentine's Day, or the 'Martha Stewart Signature' stuff I think Teleflora is hawking. But a twelve inch tall square glass vase is pretty standard as standard goes. That's an item that we have cases and cases of where I work (a floral wholesaler).

That 7 inch vase is also a pretty standard item. It's also a lot cheaper than the 12 inch square vase.

I'm going to guess they paid about 1.25 on the roses per stem. Maybe. Since they've been cut so short, they probably used shorter roses. Roses cost more or less based on length, variety, and where they are grown. South American are cheaper, shorter is cheaper. The varieties are endless and all named like strippers.

Even counting what a wire service pockets, whoever filled this order made out good and screwed over Erik. As other commenters have mentioned, this is why you should always call a local shop. Look for things well established shops that have been around a few years.

A good designer is well worth the money you'll spend. I hate flowers (familiarity breeds contempt, you know), and at a good flower shop they would have contacted you if they *really* had to substitute something, and they would have made sure that whatever they did instead was still breathtaking. I assure you, that is NOT a $100 floral arrangement. I'd say $40-$50 at most.

(Looking at the picture closely, it looks like they tried giving you more roses to make up for the lack of the proper vase, wrong color, and general crappiness.)

@ninjatoddler: I just want to second the comment about the competitiveness in Minneapolis. When I worked for a wholesale house there we dealt with everyone from the sketchy looking people who come into the bars at midnight in St. Paul selling roses, to drunks to the lady up in North Branch whose shop always smelled like cigarettes, to the picky SOB at Hirsch Floral in... St. Louis Park? It's been a while.

The reason people have such wildly varying experiences with the wire services (FTD, ProFlowers, Teleflora) is because they have no way of knowing who will do the flowers. FTD seems to do the best job of vetting who is in their system (you have to have been in business for a few years, for example), and 1-800-Flowers/ProFlowers seems to be the worst. A lot of people set up in a cheap space, order some flowers from South America online for cheap, and stay in business long enough to make some money until there are enough complaints against them that they get booted off the system. I don't know if they just set up shop again somewhere else, but it wouldn't surprise me. Flower people can be a lot sketchier than you think.

There are also the people who have decided that they are 'artistic' and go into business with no clue about pricing or arranging, and end up going out of business in a year due to a combination of customer dissatisfaction with their services and undercutting their competition so badly that they've cut their own throats.

Always go with the most established looking flower shop in your area. You might think the prices are a little high, but for a one time purchase, spend the extra twenty bucks. You'll be giving your money to someone who knows what they're doing, and not helping out sketchy wire services that are ruining business for good florists.

@Alicia P: I'm the OP, those definitely aren't Canadian dollars.

@ClockOnTheStove: She does :)

Oh, come on now... I saw that arrangement how to in a recent issue of some women's magazine.

@christoj879: All the wire services have their own web template, and a flower shop might even have multiple websites if they use more than one wire service. I worked for a shop that at one point had three different websites. Which was GREAT when someone called and said, "Yeah, I saw this thing on your website, could I get that?" and they couldn't remember what it was called or which service's website they had looked at. Not that it was their fault. How are they supposed to know?

@christoj879: Wow, it's interesting that most of those places don't take their own photos of the arrangements, and they all use the same photo....

I'm pretty sure it was this company because they're the only one I could find that listed "As Shown" as an option at the price $94.95

It benefits consumers in that they can call one number...

@pezstar: But he ordered online at the local florist's web site, not over the phone or at FTD's site.

Does FTD build web sites for local florists as well?

@Rectilinear Propagation:

Yes. They do.