A friend wanted to have some flowers delivered for her boyfriend’s birthday, thinking that would be a nice twist on an old custom. But, she’d waited just a little too long to call the local flower shop. See, his birthday is May 10th and this year that was the day after Mother’s Day – THE busiest day of the year in the floral biz for 2010. (Even busier than Valentine’s Day.)
All the local florists were so busy filling orders, making arrangements and delivering flowers for Mother’s Day, that she couldn’t find even one to take her order. Some didn’t even answer the phone!
Gazing At the Online Garden
My friend doesn’t have a lot of money and isn’t very technologically savvy, so after trying for 42 minutes to turn on her computer and get on the Internet, she was totally frustrated. She phoned me in tears from her land line at home: “Help me! I think I need to use an online florist and I think you’ll know how! I also need to find the one with the cheapest flower delivery service… what do I do?”
I told her to come over and I would research it while I waited for her to arrive. I could show her how, but I am lucky if she looks at her email once a month. She only has that because her children had Internet installed. So, my plan was to find sites and then teach her to use them.
Weeding the Garden
As you can imagine, I found a gazillion online florists, so I decided to weed it down to a few that also had the cheapest flower delivery. (By “cheap”, please understand that I mean inexpensive, not poor quality.)
I found one I thought might have the cheapest flowers, free delivery, and lots of little extras. For instance, if you ordered flowers for a child’s party with a promotion code, you could qualify for free delivery and those little party bags toys.
I found another site with a large network of online florists. You visit the site, look at the florists listed, compare prices and discounts, and place your order. They have a list of top flower shops on their home page and also provide links to find online florists who will do same day delivery.
A third option was a site with a constant “50% off” sale. It has a “lowest price guarantee” as well. If you buy from them and find another online florist with a better price for the same order, they refund the difference to you. (Since I am in cahoots with her children to interest her in learning to use the Internet, this may be a way to accomplish that. She loves a good bargain!)
Making an Arrangement
When my friend arrived, we sat at my computer and reviewed all three sites. If you’re curious, they are 1-800-Flowers.com, FlowerShopDeals.com, and Cheapflowers.com.
She was thrilled as I helped her choose and place her order. She did choose the site with the cheapest flowers delivery after being enticed to look at them all for the lowest price. She also liked that Cheapflowers.com guarantees the recipient will never see the word: “Cheapflowers.”
I must also point out that without the ulterior motive of luring my friend to start using the Internet, I might have just suggested the cheapest way to do it offline. She could get flowers from a street vendor or grocery store, add wise quotes about love like Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s: “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever,” and then drive the flowers to him herself!