Consumerist
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1800flowers
1800Flowers Sends Order, Doesn't Notice Florist Is Closed
Chelsea wanted to do something nice for her grandparents' anniversary, since she couldn't be there to celebrate. She decided to send them some flowers through 1800Flowers.com. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing that the local florist handling orders in her grandparents' area closed on Saturdays, and chose Saturday delivery. More » -
follow-ups
Crisis At The Florist: When Cooler Heads Prevail
Flower shop proprietors Billy and Mrs. Billy, previously seen in this Ask the Consumerists post seeking a used floral cooler, have found a solution. The business survives! Billy offers a virtual bouquet of thanks to everyone who tried to help in their hour of need. How did they solve the cooler crisis? More » -
flowers
Ask The Consumerists: These Flowers Just Need To Chill
Billy's wife owns a small flower shop near Austin, Texas. The shop's floral cooler broke down recently. They can't afford a new one, and can't find a used one for sale in the area. A misunderstanding when taking out an insurance policy means that the business's insurance won't cover the cooler malfunction.
Without a place to keep the flowers fresh and cool in the summer heat, they might as well close down the shop—but who wants to do that? More »
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proflowers
Save Money On ProFlowers Roses, Re-Gift Last Week's Flowers Instead
Why pay for ProFlowers when you can get the same effect by dumpster diving for old arrangements that look just as good? Our reader Hakoken3 paid ProFlowers $92 so they'd deliver 18 roses to his girlfriend this morning on her birthday. He paid extra to ensure that the roses would be delivered by noon, and at 12:01 they showed up. Unfortunately, they were so wilted and near-death that they looked like hand-me-down flowers that some luckier person had thrown out. More » -
florists
This Florist Has A Loose Grasp Of Geometry, Flower Arranging
Erik ordered an unusual flower arrangement for his wife earlier this week. The clear vase had four sides and flared slightly, and the bottom quarter was filled with rocks, with water rising a few inches above them; 12 long-stemmed orange roses stood up straight from the rocks—the stems perpendicular to the water—and formed a flat, solid bed of rose blooms at exactly the height of the vase's mouth. If that's hard to picture, remember the florist had an image to work with. Then take a look at what Erik's wife actually received. More » -
ftd
FTD Never Mentioned That They Failed To Deliver The Flowers You Ordered In December
Ryan sent his father flowers last December through FTD.com but they never arrived. Ryan apparently forgot to give his father's apartment number to FTD, and when UPS tried calling FTD for delivery instructions, rather than ask Ryan to clarify the address, FTD instead told UPS to chuck the flowers. None of this was apparently worth mentioning to Ryan, who just recently learned that his gift was never delivered. More » -
Thieves stole all the roses—400 of them—from an Ohio florist yesterday, as well as the vases, the decorations, and the computer. [Associated Press] (Photo: tillwe)
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proflowers
Proflowers Does Not Want This Man To Send Flowers
William has given Proflowers three chances to send his flower orders to a loved one. So far, they're 0 for 3. William says they've refunded his money, so he doesn't feel cheated or anything. But as he points out, since flower deliveries are usually a time-sensitive matter, reliability is really the number one goal you're looking for in a flower company. More » -
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weddings
7 Ways To Have A Gorgeous And Inexpensive Wedding
Blowing $100,000 on a wedding is still in season, and there's no better way to show up your over-spending friends than by throwing a lavish affair without bankrupting your parents. Inside, seven tips to have a lovely and affordable wedding. More » -
bad behavior
ProFlowers Freezes Over $100 By "Verifying" Customer's Card
Anne tried to send some flowers to her stepmom last week, but changed her mind after she saw the final price, which at $64 was too much for her budget (the tulips she picked out were listed at $29.99, but all the additional fees doubled the price). ProFlowers sent her an email offering her a discount if she'd complete her order, so she went back but discovered the tulips were sold out, and she abandoned the shopping cart a second time. Now her bank account has over $100 in "pending charges" because ProFlowers pre-authorized the full amount of each transaction and they can't seem to reverse the authorizations. It's been a week and she still doesn't have her money. More » -
valentine's day
FTD.com Delivers The Bill, Forgets The Flowers
FTD.com forgot to deliver flowers to Tip's girlfriend on Valentine's Day, but that didn't stop them from delivering the bill. When calls to FTD.com didn't go through, Tip launched the fearsome Executive Email Carpet Bomb. He wrote:Perhaps $75 is not a lot to you. Perhaps the happiness of your customers does not mean a lot to you either. Perhaps, for a company that's been around for nearly 100 years, you simply forgot to mark your calendar that yesterday was Valentine's Day.
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flowers
FTD.com: Sorry, We're All Out Of Roses
Online florist FTD.com, "the world's oldest floral services organization," told reader Sean that they were out of roses. Sean had ordered a flower arrangement for his wife to celebrate their sixth anniversary. When he presciently called on the day of the anniversary to verify that his order had been received and processed, Sean was told that his flowers were not available, but not to worry, since FTD still had five minutes to deliver his arrangement. Puzzled, Sean instead tried to order a simple bouquet of roses. He writes: More » -
florists
Class Action Suit Drives Scammers Into Bankruptcy
Missouri florists have bankrupted a New Jersey telemarketer accused in a class action suit of tampering with phone book listings to siphon callers away from local businesses. The telemarketer, TTP, purchased phone book listings under the same names as local florists, but did not provide an address; the listings appeared side-by-side, but when local callers dialed the number without an address, they were directed to an out-of-state call center that tacked on a handling fee and submitted the order to a different area florist."The primary objective of both lawsuits is to get TTP out of Missouri," said Gregory Leyh of Gladstone, the attorney for both class-action lawsuits. "TTP cheats by pretending to be a local florist so it can fool consumers and steal the legitimate business of Missouri florists. At least for now, TTP is no longer in the floral business in Missouri."
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outings
Today's Tip For Adulterers: Don't Use 1-800-Flowers
A Texas man is suing 1-800-Flowers for $1 million after a thank you note from the web florist outed him as an adulterer. Leroy Greer specifically asked 1-800-Flowers not to send him a receipt for the cuddly stuffed animal and dozen long stemmed roses he ordered for his mistress. Despite his request, 1-800-Flowers sent a thank you note to his house several months later, prompting his wife to ask who the hell got flowers. She called 1-800-Flowers, which gladly faxed her a copy of Leroy's order form that included the following message meant for his mistress: "Just wanted to say I love you and you mean the world to me! -Leroy." Above The Law has the legalese: More » -
on the cheap
How To Save On Funeral Expenses
Dearly beloved, we gather here today to remember that the funeral industry is a sales-based profession with tips and tricks like any other. Consumers often lower their guard in deference to the pain and reverence that accompanies funeral planning; yet just because you are bereaved, doesn't mean you should be taken for a sap. Here are a few tips to keep funeral costs manageable: More » -
ftd
FTD.com Delivers Dead Flowers For Valentine's Day
We received several emails directing us to posts at Yahoo Shopping accusing FTD.com of making every mistake possible, such as delivering flowers before Valentine's, not delivering flowers at all, and delivering dead flowers. FTD has a "Good As Gold" guarantee that states: "We guarantee fresh, beautiful floral arrangements and plants that will last at least seven days." What could possibly go wrong? More » -
valentine's day
Flowers From Colombia Not Tested For Toxins
Unless you're trying to pull some gothic gesture, you may want to avoid giving your beloved flowers from Colombia this Valentine's Day. More » -
valentine's day
Best Flowers For Valentine's
With Valentine's approaching, Consumer Reports reviewed online florists to ask if a rose by any other company would smell as sweet. More »
flowers
New York, 8:38 AM
Wed Nov 11
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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