Someone’s Mother Should Be Disappointed In Them

As Mother’s Day was coming up, I decided to order my mom flowers from a certain online florist site. I spent $87 on this cute bouquet that had a centerpiece of flowers shaped into a small white dog with roses around it, set into a watering can, with a “Happy Mother’s Day” balloon and a personalized card. I gave the company a “flexible” delivery schedule of Thursday, May fifth through Sunday, May eighth, as Mother’s Day was Sunday, to avoid the extra $15 charge for guaranteed delivery on Sunday.

Thursday came around, and at about 8:00 pm, I received a delivery confirmation email and called my mom to make sure she’d gotten the flowers. However, nothing had arrived at the house.

And so began the migraine-inducing encounter with their “live chat” helpline.

After going through the motions with the robot and telling it my order number and other details, I was connected to a live agent.

Agent #1: “Hello, [My Name]! Thank you for contacting [Florist]. My name is [Agent #1] and I will be happy to assist you. Please give me a moment to review your chat with the virtual assistant.”

I waited.

Agent #1: “Thank you for your patience. I see that you are reaching out because your order was not delivered. I sincerely apologize that your gift did not arrive as scheduled. We value your business and understand how important it is for your gift to arrive on time. Please allow me to resolve this.”

This agent then disconnected the chat with no further messages, so I opened a new chat and got [Agent #2] who sent the same first two messages, but introduced himself as [Agent #2]. He could not see the all information I’d given the previous agent, so I had to give him all the confirming details again.

Me: “Thank you. Just please do not disconnect the chat like the last agent did after sending that same message with no other explanation.”

Agent #2: “Thank you for patiently waiting, [My Name]. Please accept my apologies for what happened to your order, and I hope you will give me a chance to make this right. I’m more than willing to process redelivery at the earliest time possible at no additional cost. Since I also want to make up for the inconvenience, I will also be sending, via email, a $20 Savings Pass good for your next purchase with us.”

Agent #2: “I’m sorry, [My Name], for what happened with the last agent.”

Me: “That would be amazing, thank you.”

Agent #2: “[My Name], is it okay to deliver your gift on May 10?”

Me: “Yes, that’s fine.”

Agent #2: “I’m sorry, [My Name], there is no available delivery date.”

Where the h*** did you get May 10, then?

Me: “How can there be no available delivery date?”

Agent #2: “Your local florists are not available.”

I gave up at this point.

Me: “Fine. Can I just get a refund, then?”

After a few more minutes, they sent me the confirmation of the refund and said it would take seven to ten days for it to show on my account. Since this was a major brand that used local florists to make and deliver orders, I couldn’t even complain directly to a proper shop, just the online chat. They wouldn’t give me the name of the shop that messed up due to “confidentiality,” but really what florist is open — let alone making deliveries — at 8:00 pm? And deliveries that don’t show up nonetheless!

Now, I have two days to find flowers for my mom from a local florist/grocery store since I don’t trust that online shop not to mess it up again.