Flower shops all over the country are frantically prepping for a day that could make or break their reputation.
Karen Harrington recently trusted FTD to send a sympathy basket to a friend in Georgia. For nearly $70 she expected something similar to what FTD advertised on its site.
Harrington showed us a photo of what the FTD florist delivered. The basket appeared much smaller than the one on the FTD site and the fruit was a basic mix of apples and oranges versus pineapple and pears.
FTD says on its site that in some cases substitutions are used but Larry Montesano, the owner of Carrollwood Florist, says what was delivered was in no way a substitute but a flat out down grade.
Harrington said she emailed both FTD and the florist but got nothing more than a form letter in return.
We emailed FTD's corporate offices and received the following reply:
"Thank you for bringing the issue regarding this order to our attention. We have reviewed the information provided and are very sorry that our customer’s order experience did not meet her expectations.
For more than 100 years, FTD has been committed to helping our customers express emotions through our floral and gifting products. Each year, our network of thousands of local member florists deliver millions of gifts for our customers with great care and attention.
When a situation arises where a customer feels that their delivery did not match the overall look and feel of the product featured on our website, we will work with our independent member florists and will stand by our commitment with our “Good as Gold” seven-day satisfaction guarantee.
Accordingly, we have refunded the customer in full and would be happy to provide a complimentary replacement gift at the time of our customer’s choosing."
So how do you protect yourself from a disappointing delivery? Seek out a local florist with great reviews in the city where the order will be delivered. And you can ask the florist to email you a picture.
Harrington says she is thrilled that FTD is making this right. She just wishes it did not take a television station getting involved.
