Here’s Why Florists’ Websites And Reality Will Never Match Up

No one would choose “Crap.”

A common consumer complaint about flower deliveries is that the arrangements that show up on our loved ones’ doorsteps isn’t as tall or full as the pictures we saw of the arrangement online. A former florist wrote to Consumerist to explain why this is. The photos from FTD, Teleflora, and other Big Flower companies are staged to look nice for the camera, but real-life is three-dimensional.

A former florist wrote to us to explain how this perspective shift works. “Something you said in your story earlier [this week] really hit the nail on the head, though maybe not in the way you think,” reader S. explains. In our post on Wednesday, reader Jason wrote to us to complain that the flowers he had sent to his mother didn’t measure up, even though he had paid extra for a large arrangement. Here are they are side by side:

S. explains that Jason wasn’t ripped off, at least not in the way that he thought he was. “This arrangement does measure up…if you somehow pointed all 15 blooms at the camera,” she explains. Real life is three-dimensional, and so are real flower arrangements.

S. continues:

That point is exactly why no one should order from Teleflora, FTD, etc – all of those pretty pictures you see on their websites are arranged in a 2-dimensional layout, with all blooms tilted toward the camera.

It’s deceptive – the photo arrangements are done in a way that implies a “round” arrangement (like a ball sitting on top of a vase) – it’s implied that there are additional flowers that you can’t see.

Once your mom’s local florist sits down to make the arrangement out of the book for, say, Teleflora, he or she isn’t going to make the exact same thing that you saw in the website photo. It will have the same amount of the same type of flowers, but they’ll be arranged in a three-dimensional shape. The photos that florists use to guide them in making the arrangements are not the same ones that the customer sees.

“In every case, that menu states an identical number of stems as are visible in the picture, nothing more (and the cost allotted to the florist reflects this),” S. explains. “Florists know that no one in their right mind wants a 2-dimensional arrangement, so they’ll generally create a smaller 3-dimensional arrangement and hope that the recipient didn’t see the Teleflora picture, so they won’t be disappointed.”

Before digital photography and especially before camera phones, the sender would probably never see what flower arrangement a faraway loved one really received. That’s good for keeping florists accountable, but when consumers start with deceptively-arranged photos, we’re holding them accountable to the wrong image.

“When I was working as a florist, we ended up taking a loss on most Teleflora arrangements – we often included more product than Teleflora reimbursed for, just to make things look presentable,” S. explains.

The solution? The ironic thing is that most florists’ sites are based on a template and designs from the big wire services. If you order directly from their site (and not from a fake local florist), the florist gets a bigger share of your money.

Better yet, look for a “Designer’s choice” or “deal of the day” option on the Web ordering form, or call them on the phone. Give them color parameters and the flower types that the recipient likes or doesn’t like, and let the shop work their floral magic.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist