Hello and thank you for visiting our new Manorville Florists Blog here at WordPress.
In our first post we’d like to talk a bit about our current recession/depression and the overall effect on our small piece of the floral and gift industry.
Manorville Florist took over a failing small local flower shop 8 long years ago as an add on to our very popular Farm Stand and Greenhouse operations. We never really planned on taking the flowers shop to another level but as time went by the Manorville Florist name became a recognizeable footprint throughout the local Long Island & New York regions.
What transpired to take us to such a level quite honestly were two key factors, and we have never changed either as we’ve grown to a national and now internationally respected level. Consistent quality & longevity in flowers and gifts backed by caring customer service have been the keys to consumer satisfaction, referrals and new clients.
Several years back, while forecasting a downturn in retail sales and growing consumer dissatisfaction due to the enormous number of internet brokers and warehouse florists, we at Manorville Florist chose to do something different that the brokers and order gatheres could not do.
We simply decided to give back, while maintaining the same standards as the day we began. Surcharges and transfer fees were eliminated completely for all outgoing National and International orders, and the initial response was staggering. We never expected such immediate and drastic changes to consumer purchasing habits but realized that saving money was a priority on all fronts.
Here we are 4 years later and every day we send orders to destinations throughout the world and still enjoy hearing the stories from our customers about the difference dealing directly with a professional brick and mortar florist is making in their lives.
To expand on this a bit further, it should be noted that integrity in these trying economic times is not always easy, however we believe it to be essential to survival and the only way we will conduct business.
Many callers ask how and why we do it, and relationships are born during those calls, which is a win-win for both the sender and recipient, along with us on the service side of the coin.
Important Information :
Callers routinely ask us about large floral companies with hefty advertising budgets, super sales and astronomical values. We always listen to their questions and respond in the best way possible and always with complete honesty.
One of the most asked questions has been :
How much does it cost a florist to be a member of ( ______________ ) ? , which we will leave blank as there are many choices.
Answer: Florists join these major companies hoping to expand their businesses and attract more consumers to their hometown real florist shops. Percentages of every order are retained by such companies, and can total upwards of 30%. ( $100.00 order———Florist may get $70.00 ). In addition the florist pays per order fees, messaging fees, publication and technology fees, reciprocity fees along with numerous other FEES. By the time all is said and done the florist is lucky if they are getting 56 % of the amount that you just spent on the order. Now when you get to checkout you’ll notice surcharge/s, which can range from $10.00 to $17.99, and could be part of still other charges like delivery. It varies !
The above surcharges are not passed on to the florist ever !
Part Two of the question always plays out the same way as consumers generally have no clue that the professional, real brick and mortar, tax paying florist receives so little from these big companies. Most if not all ask how we can even cover the expenses on such a little payout and why we stay involved with them.
The bottom line is that we at Manorville Florist, like so many other professional flower shops, are trying to make the break, for our good and the good of all consumers. When you call us or place the order through our website you are assured that 100% of your hard earned dollars are reflected in the order and there are no gimmicks, surcharges, middlemen, drop shippers or brokers taking pieces.
We all work too hard at survival to continue enabling these types of operations that esentially are destroying the heartbeat of the floral industry, the Mom and Pop Real Florists.
If we at Manorville Florist can be of service to you for your floral and gift giving needs to any location please feel free to visit our Manorvilleflorists.com web site or call us directly at 631-878-3600.
We specialize in Weddings and Funerals, Gift and Gourmet Baskets, Balloons, Plush, Teddy Bears, Harry London Chocolates, Premium Roses and Imported cut flowers and the delivery of value and smiles, everyday, everywhere.
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