ftd wilted flowers review

Sending Flowers? Here’s Why Top Florists Get Such BAD Reviews

“Send me dead flowers by the mail,
Send me dead flowers to my wedding,
And I won’t forget to put roses on your grave” – Dead Flowers, The Rolling Stones

Online florists get terrible reviews:

I recently did a little research into online florists, as I was looking to send a bouquet to my Mom on Mother’s Day.

So, the first online florist that came to mind was FTD, so I grabbed a coupon for 20% off , researched their shipping rates, and then googled, FTD reviews to see what people were saying about them online.

WOW! Suddenly the Google search results page was filled with sites showing 1-star reviews. And, not just single “one-star” reviews; these are cumulative ratings based on hundreds of reviews.

FTD’s ratings on large review sites: 

  • Consumer Affairs rating: 1/5 (157 votes)
  • Yelp: 1/5 (312 reviews)
  • Reseller Ratings: 1/10 (375 reviews)

Yikes! So, FTD must be the worst florist in the world, right? I immediately moved on to the next florist. I found a free shipping promo for ProFlowers, (saves $12!) then hit Google to read some “ProFlowers reviews.”

Same thing! Nothing but hundreds of angry reviews!

1800flowers? You guessed it. Turns out that “Norm of the North” (awful kids’ movie) is viewed more favorably in reviews than most of the florists online.

ftd reviews bad

What was ordered vs. what was actually delivered!

Sample excerpts from bad online reviews:

  • “FTD is the worst company. Is there a NO STARS option?” – Raven B. of Altadena, CA
  • “Very shady business. DO NOT ORDER FROM PROFLOWERS!” – Nicolle of Thornton, CO
  • “This is in Florida! The flowers wilted and died in the heat! Horrible, horrible company!” Rita of Miami, FL.
  • “The (FTD) flowers depicted on the site were nothing like what was delivered” – Jennifer Q. of Somerville, MA
  • “…looked nothing like the pictures – small and ugly (Proflowers) – Candace, St. Petersburg FL.
  • I laughed when I saw the flowers delivered… If I could give FTD less than one star, I would” – Sabryna L. of Miami, Fl
  • “I will never use this crappy company (1800flowers) again!…They will refund me 50%. What about the pain and suffering I’m going through!” (Wow!) Donna of Roscoe, IL

Why are reviews for online florists so bad?

woman surprisedFlowers so bad that you deserve compensation for pain and suffering?! Wow…

Well, I read through scores of these reviews, and here’s what I came up with. Reviews are so bad because flowers are a highly-perishible item that blooms for a short period of time. It’s a logistical nightmare to get such a product to any address in the country while it’s fresh and in its prime.

Add to that the fact that online florists usually depend on a huge network of local florists to fulfill orders. Florists are expected to arrange and deliver bouquets, and there isn’t much quality control.

Fictional Customer: “Um, If you could just deliver a bouquet of exotic roses to rural Florida in July, that would be great. If my Mother-In-Law isn’t home, just leave them by the door.”  Hey, what could possibly go wrong?!

wilted tulips delivered

Top Complaints about flower delivery services

  1. Flowers look wilted: I noticed a lot of bad reviews coming out of states like Florida, so apparently the heat is another enemy of successful flower delivery. If you are sending flowers to the South in July, hope that the recipient is home when they arrive!
  2. Flowers don’t look like photo: The second biggest complaint is that flowers just don’t look like the photo on the website. Once again, I assume weary local florists are send a photo along with each order of what they are expected to produce from their limited existing inventory of flowers.
  3. Flowers not delivered on correct date: There are a lot of bad reviews from people whose flowers were delivered on the wrong date. One review complained that the flowers arrived a week early; well before the recipient’s birthday.

I also noticed that most complaints were about flowers ordered for big holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Florists are expected to fulfill millions of orders in the days leading up to these dates, and that can really create havoc!

Fictional Customer #2: “Um, I’d like to send an exquisite live orchid to my girlfriend in Fargo, with delivery on the day before Valentine’s Day.” South Dakota in February? No problem-o!


In conclusion…

“You can’t always get what you want, 
But if you try sometimes well you might find, 
You get what you need.” – You Can’t Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

People spend billions of dollars every year sending flowers from popular florists, so apparently delivering flowers works out well most of the time.

However, now that I think about it, Amazon.com has not yet decided to enter and dominate the “flower delivery” space, so there must be something wrong. Hmmm…

In conclusion, I’d say that flower delivery is a really tough business to be in. It also seems like angry customers disappointed with their flower order are about 50 times more likely to hit the internet and rant about their anger than someone who got what they expected.

Sometimes buying flowers from the local florist or grocery store isn’t an option, so you are stuck playing Russian Roulette with online florists. (Especially just before big holidays or during extreme weather) 

Remember though, most of the time, “it’s the thought that counts.” Your loved one will probably appreciate your thoughtfulness, even if the actual flowers fall short of “amazing.”

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