Please Boycot 1-800Flowers.com

On February 19th I ordered a bouquet of flowers for someone.  Here is what they looked like:

They were supposed to be delivered on Monday the 20th.  I check the online tracking on the 20th and it simply said “Being Processed.”  Ok, that probably isn’t the easiest bouquet to do so I decide to be patient.  On Tuesday the 21st I check again.  My order still says “being processed” so I send in an email asking when my flowers would be delivered and recieved this response (Italics added by me):

Hello David,

Thank you for shopping with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

In response to your e-mail, we wish to inform you that we have sent a
message to our shop to confirm the delivery details of your order. 
Please be assured that we will get back to you with the requisite
information, as soon as we hear from our shop.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact us at the address listed below.  Or you can contact us at our
customer satisfaction number, 1-800-468-1141.

Sincerely,

Rashmi Baweja
Customer Service Specialist
Custservice@1800flowers.com

Now flowers under most any circumstance I can think of are a time sensitive delivery.  Flowers arriving a day after your anniversary or a day after the funeral can cost far more in pain and embarrassment than the price of teh actual bouquet.  I have used proflowers.com, FTD.com, and Hallmark flowers without problems.  This time I used 1-800Flowers.com specifically because they offered next day delivery of this particular bouquet of tropical flowers.  I knew that the recipient liked hawaiian flowers so they got the job.

Wednesday, February 22nd arrived and the online tracking still said my order was “being processed”, but my credit card had been charged.  Since they hadn’t followed up with me as they said they would in the form letter, I called the 1-800 customer service number and was told that they recieved word on Monday the 20th (the day they were supposed to be delivered) that the florist didn’t have the flowers in stock and cancelled the order.  If I was told this then I could have made other arrangements through them or another company.  Instead I was never contacted.  When I contacted them on Tuesday, they send me the form letter above stating that they had contacted the florist and were awaiting a response.  Funny thing is the florist had already cancelled the order the day before.  So the order was cancelled, my card was charged, and no flowers were being sent or “being processed.”

In all fairness the customer service rep handled this situation very well.  She first offered to refund my money and send me a gift certificate.  I told her “I cannot picture a time in the future when I will ever be sending flowers no caring when or even if they arrive.”  She then consulted with her supervisor and came back offering to send another bouquet and personally call and apologize to the recipient.  This seemed like the best she could do and since she personally did not screw up my order, I felt no need to yell at her.  Instead I sent the folowing email to thier customer service email address:

I placed an order (W000253503398) with your company on Sunday
Evening February 19th. This was for a tropical bouquet to be delivered
the
next day. It was my girlfriends first day back at work after a hospital
stay and burying her grandmother. I had also been a bit of a jerk and
needed to apologize. I checked the evening of the 20th to confirm the
flowers had been delivered through your online tracking service. The
system said “being processed.” On the afternoon of the 21st (one day
late)
I sent an email into the automated customer service system. I was shot
back the following form letter:

Hello David,

Thank you for shopping with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

In response to your e-mail, we wish to inform you that we have sent a
message to our shop to confirm the delivery details of your order.
Please be assured that we will get back to you with the requisite
information, as soon as we hear from our shop.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact us at the address listed below. Or you can contact us at our
customer satisfaction number, 1-800-468-1141.

Sincerely,

Rashmi Baweja
Customer Service Specialist
Custservice@1800flowers.com

Original Message Follows:
————————
2/21/2006 4:50:16 PM

Confirmation Number: W000253503398
Order Telephone Number:
Your Order Name:
Home Phone: 816-
Your Name: Dorian Grey
Order Date: 02/19/06
E-Mail Address: guyfromkc64118@yahoo.com
Category: Status Check
comments: I ordered these flowers based on a delivery dated of 2/20.
Today my order still says being processed. Can I get an updated
estimated
delivery date?



After work on the 22nd (two days late and an eternity in looking like a
jerk who didn’t even send flowers) I checked online, it still said
“being
processed” and had recieved no new email from your customer service. I
called your 800 customer service line and spoke to a very nice lady.
She
informed me that the florist had sent a message to the company on the
20th
stating they did not have the product in stock. This was One day before
I
got the form letter stating you had contacted the florist and were
waiting
to hear back and Two days before I had to call you and sit on hold to
be
told you couldn’t fulfil the order. You do understand that you aren’t
delivering furniture. Flowers are almost exclusively a time sensitive
purchase. They are also extremely emotional purchases worth more than
their actual price in many situations. I absolutely would not have
chosen
your company amongst your many competitors if I knew this was how my
order
could be processed. I don’t think many other people would either.

When I was made aware of this gross mishandling I was understandably
upset. Your customer service rep was very apologetic and seemed
legitimately concerned. I knew it was not her fault personally and felt
no
need to get upset with her. Her first line to try and fix this was to
offer me a refund (no flowers were being sent) and a gift certificate
to
try your service again. I am not sure there is ever an occassion when I
will send flowers and rather save a few bucks than pay and know they
will
arrive on time. She placed me on hold to speak with a supervisor and
offered to send another bouquet and call to apologize. There really
isn’t
any point in sending the flowers now. The damage has pretty much been
done. It’s not about a monetary loss.

It seems there are only two ways I can make a positive of this
situation.
The first is that someone higher up that a front line customer service
rep
whose supervisor didn’t even get on the phone to address this
themselves.
Someone needs to own up to what seems to be a fundamental flaw in the
way
you do business that allowed the ball to be dropped this bad in my
situation. I would like to know that you are now aware of this
situation
and specific changes have been implemented to fix these flaws. This is
the
option I would greatly prefer.

The second option to turn this into a possitive is to make sure that no
one else makes the mistake I made. I have alot of free time on my hands
being single and will do everything in my power to turn this very
letter
into a cultural phenomenon. I will do what is within my power make sure
that this letter finds it’s way onto every message board and inbox I
can
find. People should be aware that this is an acceptable business
practice
in your mind to make informed decisions on whether to shop with or
invest
in your company.

The damage is done in my situation. Hopefully this situation will get
the
attention of someone who could prevent it from happening in the future.
My
only goal is to see some possitive change come from this situation from
no
one ever having to be handled this way again. I hope it can be
addressed
from your end to prevent me from needing to address it.

Sincerely,

Dorian Grey
Guyfromkc64118@yahoo.com

PS Please remove my name immediately from your electronic membership
program under the address listed above.

I feel this was a very fair letter to send.  The damage was done in my situation and I wanted to make sure no one else ever had the same problem I did.  Either that was through them fixing the problems or me making sure no one I could contact would ever use them again.

I recieved the following reply:

Hello David,

Thank you for shopping with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

We apologize that your last experience with us was not a good one and
that it had caused embarrassment to you.  We understand the value of a
gift as and how the unsatisfactory delivery of your order would have
caused disappointment to you and to the recipient. 

We feel that your recent experience with us didn’t measure up to the
standards of service that we like to provide.  We can understand your
disappointment as the order was for a sentimental purpose. 

You are a valued customer and we hope you will give us the privilege of
serving all of your future giving gifts.  We value you as our customer
and appreciate your patience and cooperation in this matter.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact us at the address listed below.  Or you can contact us at our
customer satisfaction number, 1-800-468-1141.

Sincerely,

Nitin Sharma
Customer Service Specialist
Custservice@1800flowers.com

I bet most of you could guess that this sent me through the roof.  All they thought my comments were worth was a short form letter.  I decided to give them another chance and did some research.  I found an email address for the corporate director of communications.  I sent me letter to her and using the same format for email address sent it on to several more corporate employees.

The next day I recieved a call from Julie Kaufman the Director of Customer Service.  We spent 25 minutes on the phone discussing the failures of her system and what they could have done better.  At the end of the call I was assured that my money had been refunded and that a new bouquet was being sent.  Then I got to see the bouquet:

Now I never claimed to be an expert, but that bouquet looks cheap and tacky.  It is the kind of thing you send for the retirement of a 70 year old woman.  The others were sleak and exotic, those look like you picked them from your neighbors flower box.  If I was making up for a screw up I would probably try to send something of the same style or at least something that cost as much money as the ones I screwed up.  But I digress

Ms Kaufman did send me this letter:

Dear David,

Once again, I want to extend my personal apologies for your experience
with us at 1-800-Flowers. However, I want to thank you so much for your
time and clarification on the phone today.

To reiterate from our conversation today, please be assured that all
issues brought to us from customers are looked at very seriously and we
determine how we can meet and exceed our customer expectations in the
future. Your frustration points – non-delivery; web site tracking;
appropriate/accurate information; and e-mail responses and appropriate
escalation of e-mailed issues – are all in an internal review. As we
discussed, the issues and coaching in which we can take swift and
immediate steps will be addressed as such. Those which are larger
projects will continue to be investigated to see how we can resolve or
provide a much better experience without impacting your out-of-pocket
in
pricing. Thank you again for your personal experience perception as
this
is such key information for us.

Per your conversation with Marsha (the associate which you expressed
did
an “pro” job when you spoke with her), a delivery was sent today to Ms
XXXX, as well as a refund on your account. In addition, I have put
in
process a $30 Savings Pass, good for one year, which can be used toward
a future order either online or telephonically. You will be receiving
this in the mail.

We absolutely realize that our growth depends on our ability to meet
and
exceed your expectations. I am so sorry that we failed you at the most
fundamental points in your first experience with us. I know that
trusting us at this moment may not be first on your mind, however we
would appreciate the opportunity to earn your trust again in the
future.
I hope you will take advantage of the Savings Pass and allow us that
chance to be your florist of choice.

Kindest Regards,

Julie Kaufman
Director, Customer Service
1800Flowers.com

So this pretty much ends it right?  Flowers were delivered, they addressed my concerns, and the gift certificate (what the hell can you get for $30 even if I did ever use them again).  So I just move on and get past it right?  Actually there was one more thing, the most basic thing, they could screw up.

It has been 9 days since i ordered, 8 days since my order was canceled, 6 days since I found out they weren’t sending them and they charged my card.  Yet they still haven’t deciding that giving my @#$&$%@#%^&$%$^ money back was a priority.

This is not over this is pretty far from over.  As Ving Rhames said to Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction when he got free after being ass raped, “Naw I’m pretty fuckin far from ok”