BOSTON — Flowers are on a lot of people’s list this Valentine’s Day, and that means florists have their hands full.
“Every day leading up gets crazier and crazier, more flowers coming in more people,” florist Rachel Martin said.
If you need advice on the perfect bouquet, your local florist can help.
“Any real florist that's a brick and mortar store is going to have their physical address on their website,” she explained. “If something should come up unforeseen they're right here in your community.”
But lots of lovers order online, so FOX25 tested FTD and 1-800-flowers.com on a cross country delivery.
We sent two arrangements to our sister station in Seattle and they sent the same to us.
Martin said the online picture only tells part of the story.
“They enhance the bouquet to make it appeal when it is on the flat screen but that's not really realistic of how you'd want to deliver a bouquet,” she said.
She said you want some of the flowers not to be wide open like in the photos.
“You want it to come tight,” she explained. “Once it's like this it's only going to have a couple more days of life to it.”
Our first arrangement was Precious Heart from FTD. We noticed the service charge of $17.99, bringing the total flowers cost $64.99 from to $82.98.
From 1-800-flowers.com, we order the Straight from the Heart Bouquet. It’s $99.99 with a $17.99 service charge, though we found a coupon for 15.00.
Martin said some local florists have a cheaper delivery fee.
The next day, our producer gets two deliveries. The FTD arrangement is similar to the picture except gerbera daisies replaced the asters. We noticed FTD’s website stated it could substitute flowers so the arrangement is delivered in a timely manner.
In a statement the company said "Due to our excellent standards and the perishable nature of flowers or local market conditions, a substitution may be necessary to ensure a customer's arrangement is high quality, fresh and delivered within the requested timeframe." Read the full statement below.
As for the 1-800-flowers.com arrangement, our producer was surprised at the massive size, thinking it was bigger than what was online. The bouquet was full of roses and lilies, both open and in tight bud. But she also noted there were a few broken stems and flowers that appeared to be wilted.
When our sister station in Seattle received their flowers, they took the arrangements to Martin to get her opinion. She said the flowers from 1-800-flowers.com were very good.
“I think this is a successful variation on what was picked,” she stated.
The issue was it was well short of its advertised width of 18 inches.
“If you are someone who is interested into size and you looked at the size that would be the only mark against them,” Martin said.
In a statement, 1-800-flowers.com said its online description indicates that "the arrangements will arrive in bud form… as we want the recipient to enjoy the arrangement as it blooms over time," and that the width "is probably representing the arrangement not arriving in full bloom." Read the full statement below.
The arrangement from FTD was in good quality except the recipient in Seattle thought it looked small compared to the online picture.
“If being in a hurry you are looking at a website, you're coming at it in one direction and maybe not paying attention to the minutia of how big is it exactly,” said Martin.
FTD was delighted the arrangements were of the highest quality.
The advice—before you order online, pay attention to the picture, the copy and the details.
Full statement from 1-800-Flowers.com:
"We have 3 different sizes on our site, and with clear transparency, when the customer is shopping with us, we indicate from a copy standpoint as well as the picture shown the size of the bouquet, which is shown in full bloom. Along those lines, we clearly state with copy and representing visuals, that the arrangements will arrive in bud form (in this case the lilies as well as roses that are slightly tightened), as we want the recipient to enjoy the arrangement as it blooms over time. In addition, we deliver the blooms in the freshest state; therefore, they arrive slightly tightened and in bud form. The comment of "width" is probably representing the arrangement arriving not in full bloom, which is indicated on our site. Please note, for the "Straight from Your Heart" Bouquet, it is hand-crafted, designed and delivered by a professional local florist.
At 1-800-Flowers.com, we are very focused on our #1 product, our customer experience. Our caring team is obsessed with service and we are committed to delivering smiles for our customers. We believe in having a transparent website experience, so that we have the opportunity to provide as much information as possible for our customers to choose the very best truly original floral gift to help them deliver a smile this Valentine's. As always, we have a "Smile Guarantee"; therefore, if a customer is not completely satisfied with their order, we will refund, redeliver or offer a comparable exchange."
Full statement from: FTD
"We are delighted the recipients of the FTD Precious Heart bouquets were pleased. FTD has been committed to helping our customers celebrate holidays such as Valentine's Day through flowers for more than 105 years. That means ensuring that, in all possible circumstances, flowers are delivered with the highest possible standard of quality, as it was in this instance.
We are happy to hear that the substitution and high quality of the gerbera daisies for the asters was also well received. Due to our excellent standards and the perishable nature of flowers or local market conditions, a substitution may be necessary to ensure a customer's arrangement is high quality, fresh and delivered within the requested timeframe. Care and attention is given to each order to ensure that it is as similar as possible to the requested item. If a floral substitution is required, our policy is to only substitute flowers of equal or greater value.
Flowers come in many varied shapes, colors, sizes, forms and textures and are perishable. While all floral products have natural variations, FTD florists take the time and care to handcraft and deliver quality floral products. “
Cox Media Group
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