FTD? Not!

Where does the time go? I don't feel all that busy, but when I log in to blog, it shows that it has been way too long since I've talked to you. It's that whole time speeding up as we age thing, isn't it!


So, in keeping with my long tradition of celebrating my birthday for most of the month of July, after calling Eric and Stacey to see if they sent the lilies, they sort of let it slip that they did send SOMETHING but it would be arriving on Saturday, my actual birthday. On Sunday I called them to let them know that nope, it didn't arrive! On Monday I let them know that nope, it still hadn't arrived.

Now Stacey is ticked. She had me go to the FTD web site so I could see what I wasn't getting .. a really cute bonzai tree kit. Not only is she ticked because I didn't get it, but she had paid EXTRA to have it delivered on Saturday! Between them, she and Eric had made 4 or 5 calls to customer service and got different answers each time. They offered to knock $20 off the delivery price. Yeah, I don't think so. Totally fed up by now, she told them to cancel the order and she wanted a refund. They said they'd send a confirmation ... no confirmation. They hadn't responded to her emails. She was venting on Instant Messenger and I said what she needed to do is write to the president of the company! I found his name on the 'net and she found the email address. So we BOTH wrote to him.

Here's what I wrote: "Dear Mr. Soenen:
You don't know me, but I am ... or was ... a potential customer. Along with the 20 or 30 friends, and friends of friends, who will be hearing negative comments about your company.

My son and daughter-in-law ordered a plant from your web site to celebrate my birthday. This was especially important because I've recently moved 500 miles away, leaving all my family behind. Stacey tells me she paid extra money to have the gift delivered on Saturday, July 19, because that's the date of my actual birthday. An especially loving touch, don't you think?

Unfortunately, I have not received the gift. It was not delivered on Saturday. Today is Monday, and I've still not received the plant that was ordered from FTD. Now, seriously, Mr. Soenen, if you had ordered a plant or flowers to be delivered to your mother or another family member by a certain date, and you had paid extra to have that happen, wouldn't you be upset if the delivery was delayed?

Mr. Soenen, I happen to work in a customer service industry and I know how important it is to provide stellar customer service. I would have to say from personal experience that your company falls far short of that goal. It so happens that I did receive a beautiful set of lilies on Friday from ProFlowers. They arrived in bud form and I've enjoyed watching them bloom day by day. I can assure you that my friends will hear from me that if they want to get timely delivery of beautiful flowers or plants, they should go to ProFlowers.com.

As if this situation weren't bad enough, I understand Stacey has been getting the runaround from your customer service representatives. No one seems to actually care that there is a problem and they do not appear to be stepping up to the plate to take care of it. I did read on the internet that FTD.com flourished under your leadership. Well, if the customer service stays at this level, it will begin wilting before too long!

Not only was I disappointed that their surprise was ruined by your company but I'm disappointed that a company as well known as FTD is so lacking in courtesy and service. There are other companies competing for my dollars, and rigt now ... they're winning!"

Stacey got a call right away from their customer service manager (at least that's what she said her title is) with an apology and assurances of a refund. She also called me and apologized on behalf of all the employees at FTD for spoiling my birthday. Uh huh. Too little, too late. No real effort was made to do the right thing until we wrote our letters. They should have offered a refund to Stacey right off the bat, or at least offered to resend the plant with no extra charge for the Saturday delivery that never happened! Personally, I doubt that I'll be using their services anytime soon.

I should write them again, but this time with a thank you! Because of their screwup, Eric and Stacey sent me a different gift ... I just got it today and I LOVE it!!! I got a digital frame. Never saw a use for them until I saw someone at work with one ... it scrolls through dozens of pictures while taking up the space of one. COOL! And the best part of all, Stacey had it preloaded with pictures! I have it set up in the kitchen right now, but I can hardly wait to take it in to work.

We just got home from dinner with Heather and Tami. I'd told them that the Farmhouse is apparently known for it's prime rib. I knew that they both like prime rib. SO, Tami said Friday night is prime rib at the Farmhouse...did Carol and I want to go?? Heck, yeah. Okay ... here's the fun part. I hadn't actually tried the prime rib, because I don't particularly care for it! Carol, Heather and Tami had prime rib and I had Yankee pot roast (it was really good!)

Tami's going to kill me for this, but I like living on the edge. The 3 of them were having adult beverages and after drinking 3/4 of her Mai Tai, Tami noticed she had a bug in her drink!! Not one, not two, but THREE! She said she saw them fall into the glass when the bartender was making the drink but figured it was something from the garnish and she didn't want to be troublesome. Nope. Turns out they were fruit flies and there were 4 more in the bottle (the bottle was mostly empty) I know this shouldn't seem funny, but it was hilarious. We got more jokes out of this one incident than any 4 people have a right to.

Well, it's time for bed and I have much to do before this head will hit the pillow. I must close for now, but I still have to talk about my trip home last weekend for Stacey's birthday. Why is it I feel like I have nothing to say and once I start typing I can't seem to stop? Alright ... I heard all of those snide comments out there!

Stay tuned ...