Zero Customer Service, Don't get what you order

Posted by awheaton on 10/30/2007

This is my first time having to write a negative report on a business. I feel it is necessary to inform potential customers of not only bad service but also the absence of customer service at Hudson's Flower & Gift. I have worked in the floral industry in Knoxville, TN and know the importance of good customer service, the freshness of the flowers, and that the order should be fulfilled correctly and in a timely manner. On October 24, 2007 my sister was having a baby boy at the hospital just across the street from Hudson's. My brother-in-law asked me to run over and get her "a grand arrangement". When I walked in I asked for just that, yellow roses in a "grand/big arrangement". The woman told me they only had white or red roses. I said WHITE. We went on to discuss the filler, etc. I asked for white and yellow daisies, and perhaps a couple Gerber daisies. The woman said that would be a $10 up-charge and I agreed that would be fine. She then asked if I wanted autumn filler and I said yes. Therefore the arrangement in which I ordered would be in whites and yellows. I was told we would receive them 2 hours later but actually did not receive them until 4hours later. Once again the shop is just across the street. The arrangement arrived and was all red roses and orange Gerber dasies, no white anywhere. My brother-in-law and sister were definitely not pleased. We went over the the shop and told them about the roses being the wrong color and they said to bring them back and they would give us our money back, that they no longer had white roses. My brother-in-law said that he did not want to take the flowers out of my sister's hospital room and leave her with nothing from him at all, moreover that they should not have said they had white roses if they did not. He told them that he was only asking for the arrangement of white roses that we had ordered. After much discussion in the shop the owner said that she would refund the money without taking the flowers back. She did not. Nor could she fix a replacement arrangement with the correct flowers because they no longer had white roses. I called to check the status on the refund. I was told that we were not getting one. Then the woman told me I was a liar and laughed when I asked about the importance of customer service. During speaking with the owner/manager of the shop about not receiving reimbursement she hung up on me. Mostly I am writing on behalf of my sister and brother-in-law whom should be having a wonderful time enjoying their newborn and their gifts of flowers, not have to be dealing with incorrect deliveries as well as being disrespected and receiving unfulfilled promises form a florist.