With Valentine’s Day one week away, NBC Connecticut wanted to put three major flower retailers—ProFlowers, FTD, and 1-800-Flowers—to the test.
NBC Connecticut partnered up with NBC Los Angeles this Valentine’s Day and sent each other the same “One in a Million” bouquet from ProFlowers.
On ProFlowers’ website, the bouquet was listed at $49.99. But with the $8 vase, $16 in delivery fees, $3 for handling and $5 in taxes, the total came out to be more than $83.
Both bouquets arrived on time, on Jan. 25, out of the box and they both looked similar to the picture online.
However, each set had a broken stem and although the bouquets lasted past the 7-day guarantee, they never bloomed to look quite as they did when advertised online.
Also, NBC Connecticut sent NBC Los Angeles a note to go with its flowers, but consumer reporter, Randy Mac, never found it.
NBC Connecticut found the note Mac wrote one week after delivery, as it was tucked under a flap in the box.
Local
Flower deliveries from the four other NBC Owned Stations yielded different results, depending on the company involved.
NBC Dallas said their flowers, ordered through FTD, died within four days.
Both NBC San Diego and NBC Miami stations were overall happy with their results, but said the bouquets also didn’t look quite as advertised.
In response to this collaboration, each company sent the following statements, respectively:
ProFlowers
"If any ProFlowers customer is unsatisfied with their ProFlowers order for any reason, we will replace it or refund. That is our policy 365 days/year and what our business and world-class quality reputation is built on. All ProFlowers bouquets are backed by a 7-Day Freshness 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
ProFlowers takes tremendous pride in providing the best service to our valued customers. We are recognized time and time again as having the highest customer satisfaction rates among flower companies. Truly, our mission is to delight our customers – and we do whatever it takes to accomplish that.
With flowers, as with any perishable product, there are occasional issues. We have dedicated customer service representatives in place to resolve any of these issues to our customers’ satisfaction in line with our guarantees. We would be happy to replace or refund for your bouquet.
ProFlowers has delivered more than 60 million bouquets since our inception on Valentine’s Day in 1998, and we will never compromise on your flower's freshness or longevity. Customer service for ProFlowers can be reached at (800) 580-2913."
FTD
"We are pleased that the FTD Precious Heart bouquet was delivered on time and that it was an overall great match to the photo. Flowers come in many varied shapes, colors, sizes, forms and textures and are a perishable product. While all floral products have natural variations, FTD florists take the time and care to handcraft and deliver quality floral products.
Since flowers are a perishable product, our policy is to ensure quality and freshness through our FTD “Good As Gold” 7 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. That guarantee means that our floral arrangements will last at least seven days or customers can get their money back or receive a replacement bouquet. When we hear from our customers with a concern, FTD’s customer service specialists will work to resolve those issues to our customers’ satisfaction. If our customers are not satisfied with the quality of their flowers, we encourage them to contact us at 1-800-SEND-FTD within that our guarantee period for a replacement or refund.
FTD takes pride in making people feel like exceptional gift givers through our artisan-designed, handcrafted flowers."
1-800-Flowers
"At 1-800-Flowers.com, we are very focused on our #1 product, our customer experience. Our caring team is obsessed with world class service and we are committed to delivering smiles for our customers."
