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On the internet, you’ll find thousands of florists who will, of course, present their products in the best light possible. You should know that many of these online florists are not also an online flower delivery service. This is especially true of small florist shops that are merely attempting to advertise their presence in their own town or city. Many
florists do not have an online flower delivery service, but also have no delivery service at all! You would think they all would. At minimum, they could hire a kid with a bicycle with a basket to carry the product, but for whatever reason, some florists don’t deliver. These same florists might have pictures of their products, some of which might be quite
attractive, and provide only a local telephone number, not even an 800 number, for you to call. Others of the same type might also have pictures, dozens of them, and a shopping cart in which you place your selections. At check-out time, they’ll allow you to enter your name, address, and take your credit card information and number. They’ll process it, and conclude by displaying a receipt, a date and a time you can pick up your purchases, and hopefully, directions to their shop. If they let you know up front, before your start shopping and purchasing, that you’ll have to pick up your purchases, then all is fine and well, but if you don’t learn that they have no delivery service until you’ve given your credit card number, well, you’re going to be furious if you expected delivery. Don’t let the attractive pictures drive you to give up your credit card number and click the ‘buy’ button until you know for certain that they deliver. Always read policies carefully, especially those policies regarding refunds.
Other online florists will claim on their landing page that they have online flower delivery service, but mean, by ‘online delivery service’ a box that you check to indicate the flowers will be delivered by the florist, with one caveat: they don’t accept online payments and when you come in to pay, then you can tell them where to deliver the flowers. They deliver alright, and that’s all they really mean to say. Unless you can pay online for the product, you’re not going to be able to pay for delivery. More than likely such web sites aren’t trying to deliberately mislead you; they simply haven’t grasped the idea of ecommerce yet, of online payments and purchases.
Online flower delivery service means that you can enter the recipient’s name, address, and perhaps preferred delivery date and time on a form page that is part of the online ordering process. It doesn’t mean you can make your purchase online, but have to come into their shop to tell them where the flowers should be sent. It doesn’t mean that you have to
purchase package pick-up and delivery from UPS. It means that the florist, using the recipient’s name and address information, will deliver the flowers using their own delivery system. Some florists declare ‘online flower delivery service’ when they mean they’ll order a pick-up and delivery from UPS or another package delivery service. There’s nothing wrong in that, as long as they’re not adding an administrative fee on top of what the delivery service is charging. An honest florist will tell you if they’re using their own delivery service or another, and if their online flower delivery service is to be done by a delivery
service that is not their own, they’ll charge you only what that delivery service charges. Otherwise, you’re paying more than you need to: you can order a pick-up and delivery from these services on your own!
Make sure you get a tracking number and a number to call, or an internet page to query on the status of the delivery. Be sure you check the cost of the delivery before you click on the pay button. If you think the cost is excessive, get the weight and check with other delivery companies for their price. If you can save some money by having a delivery service
handle the delivery rather than the florist, communicate with the florist and ask if you can have your own delivery service do it instead. Online flower delivery service is certainly a convenience, but don’t let it turn your gift of flowers into a major investment.
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