A couple of weeks ago, Pam and I were chit chatting with some married friends of ours when the husband made the comment “I think the two biggest rip offs are seafood and flowers! I would rather have a nice juicy steak than seafood any day and florists’ gouge you at Valentine’s and they are already overpriced anyway, and to beat that they are going to die so what’s the point”. As the wife shook her head embarrassingly, Pam tried to explain to him that at Valentine’s our vendors raise the prices and that for years we kept the price the same but over the last few years we raised our rose prices by $10 a dozen during Valentine. She also pointed out that for a lot of florists, the business during Valentine’s season is what keeps the doors open the rest of the year. His comments rolled around in my brain for the last few weeks and I will admit, I have heard the similar comments before.  This may take several blog entries to cover, but I want to attempt to address his issues.

Now during my high school years, I wasn’t the most handsome guy. In fact as a youth I was often referred to as the “red headed freckle faced kid” even though I didn’t think my hair was red. The one thing I learned early was that girls (and ladies) love attention. One of the ways of showing my affection was to send flowers to school (I also made sure and purchased homecoming mums and prom corsages). As I grew older, I kept this tradition. When I went on my first date with Pam, I purchased a dozen roses and brought them to her when I picked her up. That is a memory that Pam still has and mentions from time to time, in fact sometimes brags to customers.

And I guess that’s why some guys don’t get it. It’s not about the flowers’ cost or that they will expire, it’s about the feeling of giving, receiving, and the memories that will be triggered throughout a lifetime. That juicy steak after you eat is only a memory, and I have some great memories of steak also. But I have some great memories of occasions where I purchased flowers and they last a lifetime. Several years ago, we sent my mother a dozen roses for her birthday. Mother went on and on about them and then mentioned that my late father had never gave her a dozen roses. My grandmother would often say “don’t bring flowers to my grave, bring them to me when I’m alive so that I can smell them”. We know she was just using flowers as an example, she wanted us to show her love while she was alive and could enjoy it, not after she had passed. Flowers create memories, but the love that is portrayed by the thought is priceless.

I want to also touch on one other thing. In the next few weeks, you will be barraged with radio ads for Pro Flowers, FTD, 1800Flowers, with some amazing, almost to good to be true deals. Two dozen roses for 29.99, etc… Please know those flowers will be delivered in a box to your doorstep. Your spouse, loved one, family member, or friend, will then have to cut each stem, place then in a vase while attempting to arrange them. This is akin to going to the grocery store, buying steaks, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, wine, etc… bringing them home and having your spouse, loved one, family member, or friend, clean the potatoes, make the salad, cook the steak, and serve on the table, then clean the dishes afterwards.

Think about that! That’s the reason the flowers are sooo cheap. You wouldn’t and  shouldn’t treat your loved one that way. Those items purchased at the grocery store are going to cost less than going to a restaraunt and ordering the same thing, but at the restaurant you are served, satisfied, and you don’t have to clean up. Why wouldn’t you do the same thing with flowers? There is no WOW in having to get the flowers in a box,  putting them together, and then cleaning up afterwards, because there will be a mess.

Put the WOW back in Valentine’s and have your flowers professionally designed and hand delivered to your loved one. We guarantee you both will be satisfied.

Thanks for visiting.

Danny