disappointing bouquet

sweetilemon

I buy tescos whoops flowers for myself lol - no great bargins recently though! Its easy to say you should have said at the time, its true, but I would have done the same, its hard to complain face to face when its something that is a matter of opinion. I would try sending an email or going back. It would annoy me as when I use a florist I expect a better standard that if i'd bought a bunch of tesco finest flowers, which is not always the case.

lilymay1

I send a lot of flowers and when my mother retired in February I ordered a £35 bouquet from a florist near to where she worked. I'd never used them before, but when I ordered over the phone the florist seemed quite enthusiastic and very nice so I had no concerns.

When I went to pick the flowers up I was very, very disappointed with what she gave me. Certainly not £35 worth of stems and nothing above what I could have done myself. I'm quite a 'matter of fact' person and I told her that I wasn't happy and could she change them to something more suitable. She did so, begrudgingly, although I had to ask her twice to add more flowers.

OP, I don't really see how you can go back to the florist now to be honest. You should have said at the time if you weren't happy. Complaining now just smacks of an afterthought.

sweetilemon wrote: »

I Its easy to say you should have said at the time, its true, but I would have done the same, its hard to complain face to face when its something that is a matter of opinion. .

Yes, it is very easy to say "you should have complained" but it also would have been very easy to say something there and then! We are grown adults here, not embarrassed children. If a restaurant gave you the wrong meal would you say something there and then, or wait until you'd eaten it, gone home, and then phone up to complain. I know I wouldn't!

dogstarheaven

i'm not sure what florists qualifications are these days, but the 'cheaper' looking shops aren't that attractive imo. It's as if some people think if they bung in two gerberas, a lily or maybe two if they're feeling generous and bulk it out with nasty carnations and they can call that a 'modern bunch' and sell it for a tenner. I find in these shops, they don't have a creative eye for detail and the s/m are so much better (ok, they v. homogenously 'designed' but they use better flowers). If I had the money, I'd go to the more modern looking shops with beautiful displays in the windows and then, check out what they have inside, you'll get a feel for the creativity they have.

ps. as a gardener, i don't buy flowers as i grow my own!

Dunroamin

gingin wrote: »

Although I think it's a lovely thought, £30 round here doesn't get you much of a bouquet, you might have had a fuller bouquet if the budget had been higher.

I still would have complained if the flowers had been put together in a slapdash way.

I have to agree, I don't think you can expect much for such a low price.

gingin_2

dogstarheaven wrote: »

i'm not sure what florists qualifications are these days, but the 'cheaper' looking shops aren't that attractive imo. It's as if some people think if they bung in two gerberas, a lily or maybe two if they're feeling generous and bulk it out with nasty carnations and they can call that a 'modern bunch' and sell it for a tenner. I find in these shops, they don't have a creative eye for detail and the s/m are so much better (ok, they v. homogenously 'designed' but they use better flowers). If I had the money, I'd go to the more modern looking shops with beautiful displays in the windows and then, check out what they have inside, you'll get a feel for the creativity they have.

ps. as a gardener, i don't buy flowers as i grow my own!

I completey agree about the supermarket flowers, £10 - £15 can get you a really stunning, modern bunch, they even take them out the cellophane and can wrap them for you if you ask. I do like to support local but when I saw my local florist buying up all the Poinsettias in Marks and Spencer and repackaging them to sell on I didn't feel bad about not giving them my custom any more .

I think they price it per stem and I still believe £30 won't get you a lot, especially if you want it displayed in a large flat cello. You might be better off asking for a tied posy, or have it displayed in a box in water (I'm assuming that's what the OP went for but might be wrong).

embob74

Dunroamin wrote: »

I have to agree, I don't think you can expect much for such a low price.

I think £30 is more than enough to get a decent display.
The girl did ask how much I wanted to spend and I said around £30 as I have always done if I went to a florist and I have always been very pleased with the results.
If I was told they could do an amazing display for £40 I would have paid that.....£30 was a ball-park figure.
For £30 I certainly didn't expect to have to go to a supermarket to get some flowers to make a bouquet look half decent.

embob74

gingin wrote: »

I think they price it per stem and I still believe £30 won't get you a lot, especially if you want it displayed in a large flat cello. You might be better off asking for a tied posy, or have it displayed in a box in water (I'm assuming that's what the OP went for but might be wrong).

I did ask for a box as it would be a few hours until mum got them home but they suggested a bubble of water at the bottom which sufficed.
As stated before I think £30 is quite an amount and should merit a decent display. I was happy with the size of the bouquet just disappointed with the lack of style and splendour.

looby75

Dunroamin wrote: »

I have to agree, I don't think you can expect much for such a low price.

as has already been said a good florist could turn very few flowers into something lovely. There are lots of tricks to fill out bouquets with cheaper flowers, foliage and ribbon.

For £30 you should be able to get a nice looking handtied bouquet.

embob74

lilymay1 wrote: »

Yes, it is very easy to say "you should have complained" but it also would have been very easy to say something there and then! We are grown adults here, not embarrassed children. If a restaurant gave you the wrong meal would you say something there and then, or wait until you'd eaten it, gone home, and then phone up to complain. I know I wouldn't!

If I have ever complained about a meal it is usually because I know a lot about food/catering and also that there is something tangibly wrong with the food i.e it is cold, there is something missing which the menu said should be there.
As I only specified a bouquet of £30 value, with yellow flowers and no lilies it does give a great degree of artistic licence and it seemed uncouth to question their interpretation of my vague idea.
If I just did not particularly like the flavour of the food I would not complain if it was due to my personal tastes and not that the food was particularly at fault in any way.

embob74

looby75 wrote: »

as has already been said a good florist could turn very few flowers into something lovely. There are lots of tricks to fill out bouquets with cheaper flowers, foliage and ribbon.

As it happened a couple of bunches of budding roses (2 for £5) made the bouquet look so much better. OH slotted them in around the original bouquet and it did the trick. I was just upset we had to resort to that.