Clarity in Flower Sales: Words that Can Confuse a Customer

Episode 111: Clear communication is essential in customer satisfaction in any sale, but flower sales can be even more challenging. Simple words or phrases that are used and understood daily in a flower shop might have a total different meaning to a flower buyer.  Vonda and Lori share a few of these and offer suggestions on how to clarify your message.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

When somebody asks me about how many stems and if it's not on the website, I say, it this is like asking a caterer how many slices of cucumber will be on a veggie tray. The answer is enough to make it look good.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Welcome to the business and pleasure of flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

And Lori Wilson. And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Lori, we're getting very close to Valentine's Day now. I mean, you can't get much closer without being on the date. I know.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

And it's so strange because I again I lose such track of time and space. Oh yeah. The last two years. Like, I don't know what month we're in someday. Last week, I sent out all these emails. No, Wednesday. See, I don't even know. Wednesday, I sent out all these emails. I was trying to reschedule some things. Anyway, the entire day until about four o'clock, I thought it was Thursday. And it wasn't until a flower clicker emailed me back and was like, because I said something about, well, if you can't do that, we'll just move it over to Monday. You know, and she's like, Well, what happened to Friday? Why can't we do Friday? And I'm like, oh my gosh, what is today? It was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

It's just so bizarre. But yeah. So, yes, it's right around the corner. It is. I mean, this is the the last podcast we have before after Valentine's Day, which is crazy. Yeah, yeah. Gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Anyway, so what are we going to be talking about though today?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Well, what we thought would be really important is to talk about words that could confuse a customer and set you up for maybe a bad review or unhappy customer.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Yeah. And so when you again, I don't know what day it was, but when you have told me about this topic, yeah, that's a great idea. And then within a few days, one of our clickers posted in our members' Facebook page a question that really falls right under this category.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

What do you do? You know, so anyway, we thought, well, we'll just wing it, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Well, it is an important subject. I mean, even the basic things like I want to send a dozen long-stemmed red roses. Well, long-stem red roses now could be, you know, we say 60 or 70 centimeter. A customer doesn't know what that is. And in their mind, is a long-stem rose, you know, 18 inches tall? Is it 12 inches tall? What is long to them? I have no idea. What is long to you, the designer? So, and you're gonna say, it's in a big vase. Well, big vase to me is probably different than it is to you, and especially different than our customer. So we have to be careful of the words we select and pass on to a customer to make sure that we have clarity and set ourselves up for success in those discussions.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

So I think we should do something here, just because I am more customer-based. I'm the buyer of the flowers and you are the designer of the flowers, right? You have some words that you're gonna want to talk about. Maybe use one in a sentence if you can, and then I'm going to interpret to you what I'm visualizing, and we'll just see if this happens.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

So I'm gonna do one, but okay, I'm not gonna tell you.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Okay, don't tell me, don't tell me. Okay, ready?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Go. So, as a designer, I like to describe things a little bit more in depth.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Yes, you do.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Honestly, I know it's not the right thing to do, Miss Lori.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Well, but it's your here. Okay, listen, here's the thing: here's why it is right. You are the designer, it's kind of expected of you. If if I'm the customer and I'm talking to the designer in the store, I it's it's expected.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Except for a lot of shops have somebody who's the designer and the salesperson. So most designers aren't on the phone. But if I were to answer the phone, I would say to you, this design is in a cube vase and it has roses, all stramaria, hybrid lilies, wax flower, veronica, and some assorted foliage. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

In my mind, a cube, okay. I know that's a box, right? Like a little square, which is fine, but you listed so many things in my mind. I'm like, that's too much in a little cube because I can't visualize what you're saying. So I would prefer you share with me like the couple of stars of the show, the roses and something.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

I know that because I figured you heard roses. I heard roses, blah, blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Right. I know you said ultrameria, but I heard roses and I heard ultrameria. So I didn't hear anything else.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Yeah, and that's what your customer's hearing. So that's why I know I have to dumb it down, so to speak, and say I can do a beautiful variety of flowers, including roses in a short glass square vase that would be beautiful on an end table or the bedside table. Because that, as we've talked about, you have to give them what size is that vase? You know, what size is the cube? Is it a big cube? Is it a little cube?

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Right, right. And even, you know, if you're ordering flowers, if it's customers ordering flowers for Valentine's Day that they're having sent to someone that works in a cubicle, right? Which is a big deal. Like to me, doing that visual presentation in their mind is incredibly helpful for them to go, yeah, that would look good. Or then they could go, now, you know what? I kind of want something as tall as their computer. Like, what could we do there? And so we're gonna have to start speaking that language, right? As far as comparisons, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:23

Right. So, what is it that one of our members posted on our Facebook group because that was so telling.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

The timing was perfect, yeah. So she says, How do y'all? She's from Texas, so she says, y'all. So, how do y'all handle the question of how tall and wide will that be? How many inches, how many stems does that include, and so on and so forth and so forth. And she puts some laughing emojis. So I thought about that, and I was thinking of our personalities that we talk about, the who's calling, you know, sales prep school that you go through that. We've done podcasts on it, people can go back and find it. Um, and I thought of those director styles, like you know, that are asking every single thing. To me, what was so interesting is all of the comments from our other clickers saying how they handle that. The majority of them are like, I would never answer those. I try to be as vague as possible because you're setting yourself up to fail.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Right. But you could still, as the owner and manager and designer, can have an idea. You know, when you're doing tall vases of flowers, get out a measuring stick and say, Yeah, I mean, on average, they're you know 18 to 24 inches. Okay, so at least you know, and maybe you post that on the wall during Valentine's Day when you have these customers that frustrate the heck out of you because they're slowing you down when they ask other questions. So maybe you say, you know what, our tall bases of flowers are 18 to 24 inches, and they're really, I can't tell you how many stems they're just to value of the arrangement you decide. Right. And it's a beautiful selection, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:14

And and you know, miss many of them are saying, well, if it's something on my website, that's fairly easy because I have a flower click recipe, right? I have a recipe, and you also have the dimensions for the minority of those. But I think it's important so you don't set yourself up, is to say, on average, like you said, it should be 18 to 20 inches tall, depending on the flowers. You know, every flower is unique, so we want to keep it in its uniqueness, you know, and and more natural.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

So and if they are looking at your website, then it's a no-brainer. You can say, let's look at that. That one says on the description, it's approximately this width by this height.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Yeah, yeah, I agree. Um, somebody else posted, of course, you know how all of these questions they take on a life of their own and they start going down different rabbit holes. But again, they're all really good because every shop owner deals with this. Because the bottom line for those people that are asking, well, how many stems are they're wanting to know what am I getting for my money? You know, I want the best for my money. These are also the people, again, reading through these comments that are open to complaining. Well, your prices are high, you know, and so somebody shared a story about that. The responses are, you are welcome to call another flower shop. I'm sorry, we're doing the best we can and be nice, you don't attack them or anything, but just say, you know, costs are going up everywhere, and and then they have the choice. But one of them says sometimes they just want to verbalize it, yeah. Just let it go.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Well, and I think coming back saying, you know, gosh, prices are up everywhere. Uh I was at the grocery store, and you, you know, yeah, you've been to the grocery store lately, and you understand everything is up. Yeah, but sometimes the guys, if they're ordering, they maybe haven't been to the grocery store. Right. They haven't been well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

That exactly, you're exactly true. So and one of our clickers commented on this. She said, I just played dumb and asked them, have you read the description that we spent time putting on our website?

SPEAKER_01 10:31

That's the book that all floral designers or shop owners want to write is what I wish I could say.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Yes, yes, you that needs to go into our say this, not that program in our in our prep school. Maybe we have a whole new section of things that you wish you could say, but you know, don't say them. Somebody else commented and said, I give a rough description. That's the consensus. Um, we have recipes if someone's ordering bright and colorful. I can say it's gonna be about 18 inches tall, it'll be a clear glass face, just the you know, exactly. Yeah, right. And she said, if if it's a recipe, I can just go down the recipe saying those are three daisies, four carnations, two Gerber, greenery, you know, it's what it is. But she said she hardly ever does that. She rarely gets asked how many stems.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Yeah, I I would agree. I think most of the time. And what's interesting on the flip side of that, Lori, I find is as a shop owner or the manager at the shop, customers are calling you and saying, Hey, Vonda, just fix something really nice for my wife, your usual. They don't ask size, they don't ask color, right? They don't ask price, because that trust has been established. And you know, you're taking these at Valentine's Day, just like as a manager owner. And one thing that I'm gonna suggest that as a person in that seat of responsibility, you say, Oh, thank you, Lori. I will pass this order over to Susie, and Susie's gonna create this for you because she's done it before and she does a really great job. Yeah, because now then that person who's trusting you will hear the name Susie repeatedly and go, This girl must be good because Vonda trusts her to do what she's doing. So it sets you up for succession for somebody else to be able to do right what you normally do for them.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Yeah, that's true. One last comment on this one, then we'll move on to your words. So said when somebody asks me about how many stems, and if it's not on the website, I say it. This is like asking a caterer how many slices of cucumber will be on a veggie tray. The answer is enough to make it look good.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

That is super cute.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

I like that. I do too. I think, but again, they have to trust you. If you're doing a designer's choice, if you're purchasing, if I'm purchasing a designer's choice, I'm gonna have to trust the designer, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:16

And a lot of shops are putting almost exclusively designer's choice on their websites for the Valentine's Day week.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

I'm talking as a customer, so don't shoot the messenger. I completely understand shops that have to do designer's choice only because I know the whole shipping and whole, I just know all of the behind the scenes. Right. However, as a customer, when I get on your website and I just see those cute little banners, I need some visuals, I need a little more information. I need to know I can either have A, B, or C. Something like I want A, but you can have it in pink, white, yellow, or purple. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Mm-hmm. No, totally. I totally understand that. If I'm going to look and only see designer's choice, I think I'm gonna pick up the phone and call the shop and say, what is a designer's choice? What is in that?

SPEAKER_00 14:19

I mean, yeah, yeah. You gotta, if you're only gonna do designer's choice for especially for holidays, you gotta give them a little more information.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

That would be my thing. It because you said you would pick up the phone and call. You have a whole lot more knowledge than I do about what you really want in a designer's choice. I'm still like, I don't even know what to ask for besides roses. So I would probably get off that website and go, hmm, I'm gonna Google, are there any other shops around that area?

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Yeah. So and I think that's what happens. And I understand, especially on Valentine's Day, you know, might need to take everything down and go designer's choice only, because at that point, it honestly, you probably don't care if you don't get that order.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Yeah, that's true. That's true. You're at the day too, right? Yeah, that would make sense. But I still, even if you do designer's choice of the day of, I say, you know, designer's choice, it can be in pink, red, or white. You choose, but that's all you get to choose.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

No, agreed. I think that's great. Anyway, Lori, I think we should just go back to big vase. I talked about that at the very beginning. Yeah. When I talk about a big vase, I would think they would want a big vase that would be like on an entry table or you know, something grand when I think of big vase. Now, when some people think of a big vase, they maybe just think of an eight or ten inch vase instead of a 14-inch vase.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Well, I again, when I think of a vase, I've got this big tall thing by my fireplace vase that has like I don't know what's in it. Like a pampas grass or yes, yeah. I mean, that's a big vase. Right. See, big means different to a lot of people. Again, why when you're saying that we can do it in a tall, even a tall glass vase. Well, what's a tall glass? How tall? Again, visualizing where it's gonna be, I think is just so important, like on the buffet table or a tall one, I don't know, a couple, a foot and a half tall, I don't know, whatever it is. You've got to give them a little more information.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

And I think you could start with if you're looking for something to impress her, we have a tall glass vase. The vase is 12 inches tall and is lush and overflowing with a beautiful selection of flowers, including roses, and it really will impress her. And it's gonna be around $249. How about that to start with?

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Um, that's sparked a question in my head. I'm thinking the Valentine's Day, the day of. Okay. Most shops, are those people calling into order? Are these men or women running by trying to grab something?

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Both. I mean, I don't think there's a lot of people who do call last minute. Monday morning, the phone will be ringing off early and want it to be delivered that day.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

So I think if I was answering those phones, and I mean, again, working for my manager who believed the same thing I did, if they were those days, I would let them know, hey, you know what? The good news is we can we can do something for you today. I don't I wouldn't say bad news, but here's what we can do. Would your person like something you know that's going to be taught? I would I would give them three choices, basically.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

I would look like all of those things should already be done in your cooler. Right. Everything to know that. Right, right, right, right. But the you're right, the your person on the phone should say, good news is I got three things.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Good news is you called, it got you in by the skin of your teeth. Here's what I can do. We've got three beautiful choices. I I wouldn't even ask them, what do you what would you like? Because at this point, they're gonna need to like one of these things.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

And would you suggest, as our sales training specialist, yeah, to say we have something that would be more compact that would go on her cubicle at on her desk. Yeah, I would want something that's taller, more the size the height of her computer, or do you want something that's gonna take over her whole desk?

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Absolutely. I would even have a little script with these three choices to use Saturday, Sunday, Monday of Valentine's Day. I honestly would I would keep it that simple. So your designers and unless if someone's calling Friday or and they want a $400, well, heck yeah, we can do that too. So it's heck yeah, yeah, heck yeah. But it's like they're either gonna get this, right? It's think of it as I can remember when we were shopping for minivans way back in the day, and like we looked at uh the Toyota Sienna, so it was like you have choice A, B, C package. There was no customization, the Odyssey you could sort of customize a little more. So think of this as Toyota days. I'm not giving a shout-out to Toyota, but it's true, like during these kind of holidays, you can have A, B, or C. If you want to customize it, then you're gonna have to spend enough money to make it worth my designer's time.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

But they don't know that you're not customizing it, they don't know that because description is general enough that they understand.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

They don't have to know you're cranking these things out, right? You know? So anyway, that's my little two cents from the customer.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

And I think that's what it's all about is we've got to think of things from the customer's perspective and how when they're calling in, what they're hearing, not what we're saying, but how it's perceived.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Yeah, you know, I'm gonna say something, and it it does have to do with Valentine's Day, but it also has to do with after Valentine's Day. I get amused when I hear um some of our members, because we do their websites, and some of them say, Ugh, remove that from our I am so tired of making that. I hate that one. You know, and this is few and far between. But the other day I had someone commenting something similar to this, and I remember thinking, this is the story that popped up in my head. So I love salt and vinegar chips, you know. Yes, I love them, love them. So my whole family does. But one rainy day, I had a bag of them in here in my office working, and all of a sudden, the entire bag was gone. Full, full bag, not like it's next time, it's a full bag, and the roof of my mouth was so raw, I could not get enough water in my system. I felt nauseous, sick, like I never want to see one again for a very long time. But here's the deal the rest of my family still loves them because they didn't abuse them the way I did. So I have to continue to buy them. It's kind of the same thing. Oh, yeah. Interesting. Like, yeah, is it weird that I connected those?

SPEAKER_01 21:49

That was a little weird, I will have to say. Potato chips and flowers.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

But you know, it's but it's the same concept. Like my first thought is I am not buying those again. Well I hate them. I don't even want to see them.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

The one that the florists do over and over again, and I'm going to just do a shout-out, is Beautiful and Blue in Telasura. It's a love-hate relationship. Yes. But most of the designers I talk to say, give it to me. I can crank that out in my sleep. And you know, as long as you price it correctly, that when you have that perceived value because of the beautiful and blue, but it has the right price point and you're making money on it. Heck, why not do it every day? You know?

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Hey, I will tell you from a customer standpoint, I have sent Beautiful and Blue. Yeah. I have probably sent it a half a dozen times, not to a funeral home, but to the home of somebody that lost um a loved one. I like it, but I don't have to make it 22.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

It's an easy one to make, and I know all of our clickers out here are probably going, yep.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

That's true. It's very true. But you're right. You you gotta look at the customer's perspective. And I understand getting sick of it, getting sick of the chips, right? Yep. Yep, but you still have to buy them because I have to think of the others.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Think of the others. That and you always do, Lori. You're that's you're the I try. I try. Well, we're gonna keep this short since everybody needs to get focused on Valentine's Day, but I really do think these tips will really help refocus you and really choose your words wisely for Valentine's Day.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

It's your third COVID Valentine's Day, right? So you you know how to do this. So anyway, okay, Vonda, what's inspiring you right now?

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Okay, Lori, this is a really weird one, and especially coming from me. Okay. This morning I painted my toenails bright pink, and that's what's inspiring me.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Oh yay!

SPEAKER_01 23:55

I have not been to a salon since COVID, and I'm like, you know what? I just kind of like feel like some bright little toes. So I got out my bright pink polish and did a little pink polish on my toes this morning. So that's kind of inspiring to me. It's kind of like right.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

I might have to do that too. My toes are pretty self-care.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

We got to do a little self-care.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Self-care, exactly, exactly. So and what about you, Lori? So, what is inspiring me? My daughter left yesterday and she flew to Florida for a girls' weekend with her friends. She's 26 with her friends from high school. Oh, and they're all in Florida at one of her friends' parents' summer home. Anyway, they were she was sending me pictures, and all the girls were posting last night. I'm just sobbing. I've known these girls since they were in first grade. Oh, these girls were all in my small group girls' Bible study. They grew up in my basement. I mean, I'm getting, and I have 16 messages. I'm looking at my phone right now from one of my best friends, Colleen, who's the mama of the house, and she has she gets to be there to play hosted. And so she keeps sending me and the other moms pictures. And I'm just I'm just so inspired because all of them are such good, smart, independent women. And I'm just so happy and I'm just so jealous because I want to be sitting with all of them. When my daughter Zoom calls these girls, when they do like if they'll do a Zoom, a virtual thing, and I go and say hi to them, I just start crying because I just see the little six-year-olds, yeah, and then the little teenagers in their little uniforms playing basketball, and it just makes my heart so happy.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

And it's a blink of the eye.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

It's yeah, yeah. In that sprint, it's the it makes you so happy, yet there's kind of it's a it's not sad, it's just nostalgic, maybe. Maybe that's it. Yeah, I think so. Very smart. I love it. All right, you guys got this. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the business and pleasure of flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.