Exotic Flowers in Boston

Last season, we adopted Trey Flowers as our favorite Patriot. Flowers not only excelled throughout the season, but made a crucial sack in the Super Bowl. Flowers appreciated our support and this autograph photo can be seen in our flower shop in Roslindale.  

Our staff memebrs could be seen all fall and winter wearing Trey Flowers Patriots hoodies.  This season the the Patriots garden has grown. The Pats acquired special teams player Marquis Flowers last week. We now have another player to show our support to. Hopefully Marquis will bloom in New England like Trey. 

The following article appeared in the SAF Sales Wake Up ! on Saturday, October 29th 2016.

By Mary Westbrook
In Boston, Rick Canale has found a new way to solve the ongoing challenge of helping staff members connect quickly with customers in an authentic way: sweatshirts.

Earlier this week Canale handed out hooded sweatshirts to his employees at Exotic Flowers. On the back, each shirt has the word "Flowers" and the number "98"— both a reference to New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers, whose name is too perfect for Canale to resist.

At Exotic Flowers in Boston, employees don a sweatshirt featuring the name of a favorite New England Patriots player — who's last name happens to be flowers — as a way to create connection with customers.

"This visual statement sends a message to customers," Canale said. "It not only opens a dialogue with clients to show common interests, but it shows that we are not just the 'florist behind the counter.' We have similar likes and dislikes."

That personalization is no small thing. According to the research firm Gartner, 64 percent of people say customer experience is more important to their purchasing decisions than price.

In addition to keeping staff warm, the sweatshirts have injected an immediate dose of personality into customer interactions. (Imagine a big smile and shared "Go Pats!" compared to the far less memorable and often ineffective sales approach "can I help you?") 

"It is just another piece that personalizes our relationship with customers," said Canale.

Canale has also taken the flowers/flowers love beyond the physical store, interacting with the football player on social media.

"He has re-tweeted our support to his fan base, which is an added bonus," Canale said.

And Canale says that florists in other metro areas who want to copy the easy conversation-starter have options, too.

"There are many pro and college athletes with the last name Flowers," he said. "Tyler Flowers is a catcher for the Atlanta Braves. Brandon Flowers is on the San Diego Chargers and Marquis Flowers plays for the Cincinnati Bengals." 

Read more about why "can I help you" is ineffective and get 25 ideas for alternative phrasing. 

New England Clam Chowder Recipe

For all of you football fans getting ready for Sunday’s big game, here’s a sure fire hit to add to your menu of tailgating foods!  Authentic to the New England region and delicious to boot, this recipe is both easy and quick to cook up for the big game day.   Try this New England Clam Chowder soup for your friends and family and get ready to cheer on the Patriots!

Ingredients

4 Red Potatoes                                                          3 Tbsp Flour

½ Gallon of Half and Half Cream                            4 Tbsp of Butter

2 Bottles of Clam Juice                                              1 Tbsp of Dried Rosemary

4 lbs of Clams                                                                        1 Cup of Chopped Parsley

2 Celery Chopped Stalks                                          Salt

1 Yellow Chopped Onion                                          White Pepper

Directions

Melt the 4 Tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and celery to the pot and sauté until softened.   Slowly add flour creating a roué, which will start to thicken the mix of vegetables and butter.  Once the flour has been soaked up, slowly add in the cream taking rests to stir the chowder. 

 Take a knife and pierce the red potatoes, then place them in a microwave for 4 minutes.  Slice the lightly softened potatoes into rough cubes and add them into the pot. 

 In a separate pan, boil the 2 bottles of clam juice.  Place the clams in the heated liquid and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, afterwards straining the excess juice and adding the cooked clams to the chowder. 

 Add the 1 Tbsp of rosemary and cup of chopped parsley to the pot then season with salt and pepper to taste.  The chowder will thicken and the temperature should be dropped from medium to low for approximately 40 minutes.  Serve piping hot!