Local florist mix-up highlights FTD's customer service problems
Written: May 17 '06
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No company is perfect. Mistakes happen. I know and understand this, being remarkably human myself. But when a mistake is made, it shouldn't take three days, seven e-mails, and fifty two minutes of "on-hold" phone time to fix.
(I've written this out four times and have decided that the PowerPoint Bullet format conveys the most information in the least space.)
Thu. May 11, 2006
* Ordered sunflowers ("ten-stem sunflower arrangement") for my mom for mother's day.
Mon. May 15, 2006 - delivery date
* Bouquet that arrived had zero sunflowers. Was all carnations and daisies ... and sort of wilted and browning.
* Contacted customer support by phone.
* Wasted 37 minutes on hold without human contact. E-mailed through website inquiring about what happened to the correct order.
Tue. May 16, 2006 - delivery date +1
* Customer service replied via e-mail, asking if I wanted a replacement or a refund.
* Replied to e-mail asking for a replacement. E-mail bounced. Went to website, filled out form again, asking for replacement bouquet.
* Replacement bouquet arrives; has THREE SUNFLOWERS (out of ten); poor quality, small bouquet with fewer than expected sunflowers. Delivery person (from local florist, employed by FTD) behaves as if they're doing my mom a favor by bringing her flowers at all, flowers that *I* paid good money for. Mom promptly refuses the "replacement" and returns original bouquet as well.
* Called customer service 800 number. Spent another fifteen minutes on hold. Hung up in frustration.
* Sent another e-mail to customer service demanding a refund. No human response.
* Waited until 10pm local time, called 800 number again, spoke to a human ... who couldn't resolve my issue because the computers were down. Was told someone would be in touch with me by phone in the morning.
Wed. May 17, 2006 - delivery date +2
* No one from FTD calls ME in the morning. They call my mother instead, miss her, leave message.
* She calls 800 number, spends who knows how long on hold before a human reaches her, then finally speaks to a customer service rep.
* Order is cancelled, full refund is being processed. Up to 7 business days for it to clear.
If I had JUST been able to speak with a human being the first time I called customer service, this would have been over and done with in minutes. Ridiculous hold times - and lame e-mail server policies - dragged this problem out for two additional days.
My biggest complaints about FTD are customer service related. The original screw up - the bouquet with no sunflowers - was completely the fault of the local florist. (She admitted as much.) The attitude of the delivery person, the screw up at the shop, the poor quality of flowers, these are all characteristics of the local florist.
HOWEVER, because FTD employs local florists they do bear some responsibility for working with a business that doesn't think quality and attitude are important to their success.
And when it came to fixing the problem, FTD was all but unreachable. E-mails bounced by their mail server make contact a one-way street (*THEY* contact *YOU* at *THEIR* convenience). Extraordinary wait times may be holiday related, but this was extreme (thirty seven minutes and no human contact?!?).
While the bulk of my disappointment is with the mix-up and the product from the local florist, I found FTD's customer service to be lacking. They're hard to contact and have a weird half-duplex communication method that's impractical and unwieldy.
When I compare my ordering experience at FTD.com with my ordering experience for other flower services, FTD's is slow, cumbersome, and not nearly as transparent. Order notification e-mails are not instantaneous; no notice of shipping and/or receipt via e-mail.
I will absolutely think twice (or even three or four times) before ordering from FTD again and I would certainly not recommend FTD to someone else.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Ten-stem sunflower bouquet
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Epinions.com ID:
dmentia777
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Member: Jessica
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
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