Post # 1
Member
968 posts
Busy bee
I have been researching online for a florist when I came across this review followed by a reply comment from the vendor. BITTER MUCH??? Wow….I just needed to share this.
Ruth* Gave this florist 2.0 out of 5 stars:
“Overall, I was very unhappy with Xyz* Designs. Our wedding was on a Sunday and my dad was picking up the flowers at 11:30. The store however is not open on Sundays and we had a horrible time getting in contact with them just to pick them up. The boutonnieres were literally falling apart, my mother-in-law had to pin them back together and use string to fix them. My brother in-law’s could not even be fixed and they had to use a fake one from the church. The flower girl’s and my bouquets had pins poking out of the stems that I had to fix in the limo on the way to the ceremony. For paying over $900 for flowers, it DEFINITELY was not a good value and if I could do it over I would not pick them again.”
Xyz* Designs Florist responded with the following comments: I am a bit confused as to this review for several reasons. So Ruth* you get NO STARS OUT OF FIVE! For One the only problem that I heard about and find hard to believe is their boutonnieres fell apart and were magically recreated with string and pins. Who is her mother in law, MCGiver? I have been creating floral decor for over 25 years and am presently up for Floral Designer of year. I hand wire EVERY boutonniere and Corsage as I was taught the correct way to create flower arrangements as well as taught professionally at a local college for over 11 years. Apparently This bride CANNOT be pleased considering I came in on my day off to personlly create her wedding flowers so they were fresh for her pick up on Sunday which as she stated we are not open and did open on time for her Father to pick up the flowers because she was too cheap to have them delivered for 25.00 to take the stress away from her parents on the wedding day. I spoke to her parents On Saturday when they came in and said they were trying to get a hold of us earlier We returned the call to Ruth’s* Cell phone when the shop opened at its normal Time. Her parents were concerned as we were not open to the public on Sundays, however, I explined to them that we open every Sunday to deliver to four local churches. There was no reason for concern except for Drama that Obviously Ruth needed to stir up. When I told them the number we returned the message to they said oh that is her cell phone I do not know why she did not tell us. To put their minds at ease I gave them not only MY PERSONAL cell phone number The Owners TWO Personal Cell Phones and the SHops number for after hours orders. HOW MANY MORE NUMBERS DID SHE NEED. I NEVER RECEIVED ONE PHONE CALL SAYING SHE WAS HAVING A PROBLEM and We opened and gave the flowers to her father 1.5 hours earlier than originally stated to appease their Unwarrented Fears. The shop has been in business for over 28 years you do not keep your doors open for that long by being a screw up. Secondly immediately when we were alerted to the Boutonnirere problem Ruth’s* mother was refunded in full for ALL five boutonnieres even though when questioned she could not show me where on the rose it came apart and when I said everything was wired she acknowleged the fact that the stem was wired. Also She said nothing of any of the other complaints and in fact said not to worry she would be back since she had another daughter to wed and she loved the flowers. Third point is 870.00 dollars for a wedding was below our minumum to begin with but because her mother was a previous client Against my better judgement did the wedding any way which goes to prove a point of no good deed goes unpunished. I treat every wedding as if it is my own daughters and give the best value for what the client can afford. We buy flowers of highest quality and my standards far exceed any brides because MY name is on the product If I feel the flowers are inferior I will not use them and make a suitable and higher grade substitution. In Closing to all brides out there reading this, most Florists are artists and want to please every client and give them more than expected which is the normal reviews our shop gets as you can see. So Ruth* when you get married again please do find another florist!
*Names of Reviewer and Vendor were changed.
EDIT: I took away the link.
Post # 3
Member
368 posts
Helper bee
Wow, just wow. She should have proofread that, and slept on it before replying. Even if the reviewer was over exaggerating, which seems to happen a lot, she still could have been professional.
Post # 4
Member
3762 posts
Honey bee
I am kinda glad the vendor spoke up and it does go to show there are always two sides to every story. I think people just need to remember that everyone is human.
Post # 5
Member
732 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: July 2010 - The Tower Club
This is really sad. I do believe vendors have every right to speak up, but this too-personal, spiteful rebuttal is a bit much.
To this vendor I would say (1) paragraphs are your friend; (2) any response should be shorter than the bride’s initial review, free of defensive excuses, and begin with a sincere, “We’re so sorry we didn’t meet your expectations.”
Post # 6
Member
157 posts
Blushing bee
Oh my gosh. I don’t have problems with the vendors explaining their side of the story, I always look for that on reviews. However, that looks and sounds like it was written by an overly emo fourteen year old!!! That is not how you run a good business…. Bad reviews happen, regardless of the vendor. The actual review probably wouldn’t have scared me off from a good vendor… but that reply ensures that I would never use their services!
Post # 7
Member
4485 posts
Honey bee
The link at the bottom tells who the vendor is though so it’s not exactly a mystery. It would definitely seem that the vendor is unprofessional at first glance. However, no one but the parties involved will ever know the full details of what actually happened, which is why, while reviews are beneficial, you have to take them with a grain of salt and realize that every experience will be different. It’s entirely possible that the customer had extremely high expectations and would not be pleased with anything and could likely be a fluke while the vendor may have had many happy clients until that point. The reply on the vendor’s part could have been handled much more professionally since they do have a reputation to maintain if they wish to stay in business. It’s impossible to know for sure what really happened from that small amount of info.
Don’t let that stop you from browsing vendors via reviews, but go in with the knowledge that every one of them are human and you will have different expectations, needs, and experiences than someone else so you can’t automatically assume that their experience is a crystal clear indicator of what yours will be like. When you do interview them in person, go with what your own gut tells you based on your own interactions with them, not someone else’s that doesn’t apply to you.
Post # 8
Member
1518 posts
Bumble bee
Ya she could have handled the response in a much better manner. Saying “when you get married again” along with some of the other comments are completely uncalled for. This response would make me not want to use them just because of their lack of professionalism. They hurt themselves with this reply.
Post # 9
Member
1774 posts
Buzzing bee
If I were reading the review, I would probably not go to the florist, but after reading the florist response, I definitely wouldn’t use them.
Post # 10
Hostess
16195 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Unfortunately, that reply is out there now with the florist’s business name attached to it. I’m sure the bride isn’t always right, but if I saw a florist give reply like that to a paying client, I’d run far away.
Post # 11
Member
732 posts
Busy bee
- Wedding: July 2010 - The Tower Club
@summerbvt: Totally true — the review would give me pause, but if the vendor seemed okay and had other good reviews, I might still book them. But definitely not after seeing that reply!!
@OP: Maybe you could edit the link in your post so it doesn’t show the florist’s name.
Post # 12
Member
1184 posts
Bumble bee
this florist was actually on my list of people to contact before this review was posted in the past week or so. while i absoutely respect the vendor’s right to respond to a review that probably was exaggerated, this vendor acted completely unprofessional in her response. she let her emotions get the best of her when she should have sat on this for a day, gotten her emotions under control, and edited herself. i’ve crossed her off my list, even if she does great work i just find this so unprofessional that i’d prefer not to give her my business.
Post # 13
Member
968 posts
Busy bee
I completely agree with all the posters who said that the review itself wouldn’t scare them away at all, but the attitude and tone of the vendor’s reply has completely turned them off.
The vendor’s lack of professionalism in this response has definitely hurt them, I would say. This makes me not want to work with them.
Post # 14
Member
1991 posts
Buzzing bee
Ummm….yeah….if I saw that type of response from a vendor to a client, I would not be utilizing their services.
Post # 15
Member
3068 posts
Sugar bee
This vendor is psycho. She went on ranting like a child. A simple answer explaining PROFESSIONALLY what happened would have been fine but being so immature about it and then ending with “When she gets married again” as if to say she is hoping the marriage falls through, just pisses me off.
Post # 16
Member
3068 posts
Sugar bee
@Oyster Love your comments, the paragraph one made me laugh!
