FTD Flowers

Full review
It’s not that I lack a romantic gene in my body, but I don’t get all that excited about Valentine’s Day. The rebel in me would prefer to celebrate a day out of the blue rather than on a commercially manufactured date. But Valentine’s Day is important to my significant other, so for her I do make an effort to make that day special.

One of the traditional necessities of Valentine's Day gift giving is, of course, flowers. In the past I have shopped at local flower stores only to be disappointed with their meager selection, so this year I decided to try FTD.com. I had used the online service before to purchase flowers for delivery to my girlfriend's place of work, but it had been on her birthday or random days (that out of the blue thing), never on such a busy day as February 14. To make matters a bit more complicated for the delivery person, in the past my girlfriend worked at a desk in an office but now she works in a busy department store, so tracking her down may have been an adventure. Nevertheless, there I was three days before Valentine's Day, perusing the FTD.com website and making my purchase.

With a few clicks of the mouse, it is easy to access the selection of flowers and other gifts available on FTD.com. You can shop by price or by occasion. Each selection allows you to view several pages of flower arrangements, which you can sort either by price or by popularity. Then once you decide on an item, you click the link underneath the picture, and fill out the requisite zip code of the delivery address and the date of delivery.

Sometimes you are offered the opportunity to upgrade, or super-size the order. For example, clicking the link to the dozen long-stemmed roses in a vase takes you to an order page where you have the option of ordering 18, 24, or 36 roses.

For some arrangements, same day delivery is an option. Most of the time, however, 24 hour notice is needed to ensure delivery. There is even an international delivery service available. And though FTD contracts with local florists within the area of the delivery address, the website states that deliveries can be made via FedEx, DHL, or UPS services.

As part of the service, you can enclose a short, 230 character message with your flowers. Simply type an original note or, if words fail you, select from a set of pithy quotes on love, friendship, farewell, or other various topics that the website provides. Additionally, you can purchase a card that will be included with the delivery, or enhance your flower bouquet with balloons, a teddy bear, or a box of chocolates. A complimentary glass vase and a guaranteed 7-day freshness round out each order which you can choose to pay for directly on-line or via Pay Pal.

What I don't like about the service, and this can admittedly be a major thumbs-down for some, is that the flower arrangement you see pictured on the website, and on what you base your order, isn't always the arrangement that arrives. It's all there in the little "availability of products subject to change" note tucked into their delivery policies. I learned this the hard way when I bought my girlfriend a birthday bouquet last year. She called to thank me and asked if I had picked out the flowers myself. Going along with the deception, I described the flower arrangement as it was pictured on the ftd.com website, with bright orange Gerbera daisies and cool green button poms...only to hear that the flowers that were delivered to her had less of the daisies and more of a substituted flower. My girlfriend was happy with the flowers she received, but I felt like she didn't get exactly what I ordered.

Which brings us to Valentine's Day. I had been downplaying the day all week, to the point that my girlfriend figured that I had blown off the day. As of 3PM I had not heard from her regarding the flowers. Since she was working from noon until closing time I wasn't too concerned if they arrived late in the day. I just wanted to make sure that they arrived that day or else I would be toast. So I sent an inquiry to their on-line customer service. I included the order number that I received by e-mail when I purchased the flowers. I was informed that due to the high volume of orders that day, they were not able to offer live assistance (which led me to believe on most days they can) but that they would inform me of the status of the delivery in an e-mail. Today is February 20, six days after Valentine's Day, and I am still waiting for that e-mail.

However, around 6PM, I did get a call from my sweetie, overcome with emotion, thanking me for remembering Valentine's Day. It was a close call, but FTD came through for me.