I want to start out by saying that I LOVED this place. I used to bring all of my friends by when they visited from out of town (Pre-COVID of course) and have purchased many gifts for friends, family members and co-workers from here! I also used to frequently send them business because I AVIDLY support local businesses and LOVE plants. I always had a great time in the store and loved getting to work with one of the employees to be able to make an amazing custom succulent arrangement!
I was traveling last week and made an order through them for a co-worker of mine to surprise her for her birthday and was super excited to share the succulent love! She has been getting into plants lately and we all decided to make her a proud plant mom! I placed the order hoping for it to be delivered on Monday and came to realize when checking on the status that they are not open. While traveling, I made a call in the early afternoon to cancel the order hoping it would be received in time. While I was not able to get a hold of them, I left a voicemail and thought that should be adequate.
Unfortunately, as mentioned by the woman on the phone, she sent out the arrangement without listening to my voicemail in the morning. I asked politely what my options were and if there was anything I could do and she said no because the delivery went out and it was all said and done. I then asked her if there were any additional steps I could take since I had already placed a same day delivery order (Monday) with King florist (I cannot sing their praises enough! They had excellent customer service and were very friendly over the phone!) and it had already been delivered. She said there were no other options.
I then asked if there was someone else I could speak with that may be able to help me find some sort of compromise. I was transferred over to the owner who quite un genuinely greeted me. I explained the situation and she promptly began probing me with questions and put the entire situation completely on me. It was my fault I did not look into their hours and did not call them when they were open and I put her in a really bad situation as a small business owner. I tried to speak with her and voice my frustration and what a bit of a sticky situation I was in, and she did not care at all. I told her I understand what it is like to be a small business owner (my mom is one herself) and apologized for the inconvenience. I also then told her it sounds like I will now be out $200 for both of the arrangements purchased because this has been such an unpleasant process and I quite frankly do not have the time to deal with it. She then told me she "did not want to get a bad rep for something circumstantial that could have been avoided" and I told her I understand it must be difficult right now and I do not want to do anything to risk anyone's livelihood, but I was not fond of the way she was speaking to me and just wanted some sort of compromise.
After her letting me know it was my fault and that I should have called them on my day of travel instead of yesterday she asked me if I could have the other arrangement (the one delivered same day (yesterday) via King Florist) returned. I then explained to her I did not want to do so because they were very kind, understanding, answered my phone call promptly and had excellent customer service. She then asked me if they had days off to which I said I am not sure but they were able to help me no questions asked. After this I asked her what she thought I should do because this was a work gift and now we had paid double for what we had budget for, to which she asked me where I worked so she could reach out to the appropriate people to have it remedied! I told her where I worked and let her know I would not be referring anymore business to her because I was very upset and how this situation had been handled.
I told her I was happy to pay for the labor and delivery, but do not need the arrangement. To which she promptly snapped " can she (meaning my friend who had the arrangement delivered for her birthday) bring it to me today?" I told her I would ask and she said ok, told me to "have a great day" in a very rude and fake tone of voice and I said I wished the same to her.
To say the least, I was very upset about this interaction. I have not written a yelp review before but I felt the need to do so because of how targeted and hurt I felt after this interaction. I completely understand now is a very stressful time for everyone (especially small business owners) and we have to be there for one another. I go out of my way to support local and have since a very young age.
I sincerely hope this was a fluke and does not happen to anyone else or that the business can learn and grow from this. Maybe I will try again in the future, but for now it is not looking great. read more