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Exotic Flowers in Boston

What to Do on Valentine’s Day in Case of Blizzard

Posted by Suzie Canale on Wed, Feb 08, 2017

If you’re a florist, you’re probably laughing already since you are well aware that Valentine’s Day blizzards are a probable occurrence if you’ve set up business in New England. Some of us believe that there is a long-standing curse against the flower industry where at some point we must have ticked off the “flower Gods” in some way or another to deserve this heinous punishment.  It is after all our Super Sunday so to speak-I mean seriously, why can’t the weather turn incremental on a holiday like Saint Patrick’s Day or Halloween?  

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photo credit via Boston Globe

Valentine’s Day means that we have one day to deliver the goods, a forty eight hour time frame to get the job done so a mess of powdery white stuff can really slow things up!  It’s not like we’re going to take the day off and go home or anything.  We’ll still be up at four in the morning, tackling last minute orders and sending out drivers onto the icy streets while they curse us under their breath.  It’s just the nature of the beast and because Valentine’s Day is the #1 flower holiday on the calendar, we must carry on and bite the brute of the New England winter.  


If you’re new to the industry, you might be wondering if there is anything you can do besides biting your nails while watching the weather channel the week before the big day.  Well, there is!  Take it from some of the old dogs that have been through many snow challenging Valentine’s Days who have learned a trick or two on how to keep your cool in the event of a nor’easter.  You can’t just lock up and try again next year-no way!  By using a little forecasting in your planning, you’ll be able to have a strategy that works for your business in the case of a snowed-out February 14th.  Here are some tips that industry old timers swear by and keep them from having a disappointing Valentine’s Day.

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Pre-Delivery

If you start seeing that scary swirl on the meteorologists map than you should always be prepared to deliver early.  Offer customers an incentive such as a rebate or coupon to purchase flowers for the preceding days instead of on February 14th.  By doing so, you’ll get a head start for delivery workers as well as excite patrons with a slight reduction in cost.  Don’t think for a second you’ll lose too much money because of the deflated holiday profit margins -it’s way better than being stuck with thousands of roses with no place to go!


Don’t Be Overly Zealous

For some of you who are just learning about the flower biz, you might get a little too eager when buying for your first Valentine’s Day.  If the weather has been choppy and there is a high likelihood of storming than play it safe and cut back your purchases from wholesalers.  You won’t get stuck with dead flowers and your suppliers won’t be knocking down your door holding expensive bills you can’t pay back in March.


If You Get Stuck

It happens to everyone at some point of their floral career where they blow a holiday and are left with a lot more product than anticipated.  Go easy on yourself.  This is an industry where learning and experience are everything so take notes on February 15th and record what went right and what went wrong.  Next year is bound to be more successful.

Tags: Flower Deliveries in Snow, winter, Valentines Day, Blizzard, Snowmageddon, Florist

Top Five Reasons Why Florists Hate Valentine's Day

Posted by Rick Canale on Fri, Feb 10, 2012

VALENTINES FLOWERS IN BOSTON resized 600
  1. It all happens in one day. Everyone wants delivery on the day and everyone wants it early. 
  2. Weather - we are at the will of Mother Nature. If it snows, we are screwed.
  3. Prices - on Valentine's day a florist's rose prices double, of course we cannot double our prices so we work on a much slimmer margin.
  4. Media types cutting down flowers. Scientific research from Rutgers University proves flowers make people happy.
  5. Proflowers - their $19.99 street peddler type roses create the wrong image of the importance of receiving beautiful hand delivered arranged flowers.
I would love for my colleagues to share their dislikes too. Please share your comments below.
BOSTON FLORIST VALENTINES DAY resized 600

Tags: Flower Deliveries, Rick Canale, Flower Deliveries in Snow, Valentine's Day, Roses

Exotic Flowers Braves the Storm to keep on Delivering in Boston

Posted by Rick Canale on Wed, Dec 29, 2010

describe the imageWith the recent run of bad weather and snow, Exotic Flowers dispatch would like to remind our customers that we are like the US Postal. Neither sleet, nor snow, nor blizzard... using our front wheel drive mini vans and the Exotic Flowers H2 Hummer, Exotic Flowers was making floral deliveries during both days of the blizzard of 2010. 

That’s thanks to our our dedicated staff – we don’t have the difficulties many other delivery companies, such as couriers, might have.

When you place your order with Exotic Flowers, it’s a local florist, close to the chosen recipient, who will create your bouquet  and hand-deliver it to your loved one.

And our staff always goes above and beyond while battling the elements. We spoke to driver Bobby Plunkett of Hyde Park who told us a fantastic story of a delivery he made in the snow.

Bob had a delivery to make on December 26th and given the snow in the area he had to go to he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it. He rang the customer who understood and said that whenever Bob could make the delivery could he help clear the stairs as she was elderly.

Blizzard 2010 Flower Delivery

Bob was able to get a lift in the H2. On the way to make the delivery he stopped to help dig out a car that was stranded but eventually Bob got to the house with the bouquet of flowers and a shovel to help remove the snow.

As you can see, there’s not much that will stop our determined flower deliverers from getting our flowers out to you, whatever the weather.

So, don’t worry – our staff sets us apart and allow us to get those flowers to you our most loyal customers.

 

Tags: Blizzard 2010, Flower Deliveries in Snow, Snow

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