(A sad fact of the floral industry is that you often deal in people’s sorrows. Families often come in to purchase casket sprays and other pieces for their deceased loved ones. Sometimes getting the whole group to agree takes a certain degree of diplomacy. A group of about fifteen people come in and purchase several thousand dollars worth of funeral work for their matriarch. No one disagreed, no one voiced concerns about pricing, it was all too perfect, until several family members came back two days later and asked to speak with my dad.)
Dad: “What can I help you all with today?”
Customer #1: “Yeah, uh… we want to return the flowers we bought here the other day.”
Dad: “You want to return one of the pieces you bought on Monday afternoon?”
Customer #1: “No.”
Dad: “You don’t?”
Customer #2: “No, we want to return them all.”
Dad: “Was there a problem? Were they not to your liking?”
Customer #3: “Well, some of them are wilty now.”
Dad: “Well, that’s to be expected. Cut flowers don’t live too long out of water. But was there a problem with them at the time of delivery?”
(All three customers stare at each other, while dad pulls the order slip.)
Dad: Okay, all the pieces were ordered on Monday afternoon for a funeral Tuesday morning. They were delivered early Monday evening…”
Customer #1: “Yeah!”
Dad: “Yeah, what?”
Customer #1: “The funeral was Tuesday morning, that’s what we’re talking about.”
Dad: “I don’t follow.”
Customer #2: “The funeral was Tuesday.”
Dad: “Yes, and the flowers went out early Monday evening. I delivered them myself.”
Customer #1: “Yeah, but we don’t need them anymore.”
Dad: “What do you mean?”
Customer #1: “We only needed them for the funeral. The funeral’s over. We don’t need them anymore.”
Dad: “You’re wanting to return these because the funeral has passed?”
Customer #3: “Well, you don’t expect us to keep them, do you?”
Dad: “I don’t care what you do with them, but I’m not taking them back.”
Customer #1: “So you’re just going to keep our money?”
Dad: “Ma’am, this isn’t a flower rental service. Your family bought perishable goods. You wouldn’t return half eaten food to the grocery store, would you?”
Customer #1: “This is ridiculous! You won’t take ’em back?”
Dad: “No, I won’t.”
Customer #3: “Then what’d we bring ’em back here for?”
Dad: “I don’t know. Nobody told you to.”
Customer #1: “We see how this is. Y’all are just a bunch of crooks!”
(Not only did this continue for fifteen more minutes, in the end they left several of the pieces behind on our parking lot for us to throw away. In the end, we were able to salvage a couple of the wire easels which would have netted them about $8.00.)
