Helpful Floral Facts

How to Have Flowers Delivered Last Minute or After Hours

     Let’s face it. Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where having flowers delivered as soon as possible might make the difference between sleeping in your comfy bed that night, or tossing and turning on the couch for several nights! The most important thing to remember is that it never hurts to ask! Here are some pointers when you find yourself in a jam…

1. Call every flower shop in the area, and ask if they can help you. One of them might just say, “sure, no problem!” Some florists are highly committed to offering superior customer service, and offering rush or 24-hour delivery might simply be a part of their commitment.
2. Even if you reach an after-hours answering service, there might still be hope! Answering services often have an emergency contact phone number for the owner or manager of a flowershop. If you’re convincing enough, you may just get lucky! In this case, though, definitely keep numbers 3 and 4 in mind…
3. Don’t push it! If you find a florist that is able to help you, do not take advantage of their generosity by placing demands on them. Many times with last minute and especially after-hours requests, an employee that is not a driver, or even the owner will end up going out of their way to deliver your flowers. Do not request anything specific (give them a price range, and let them do the rest), and never, ever request something that isn’t absolutely necessary i.e., “Can you deliver them at 8:00?” when you know the recipient will be there until 10:00). In other words, don’t make the mistake of quickly forgetting how desperate you were a few minutes prior to this phone call.
4. Nearly everyone has a price! Let’s say it’s 5:30pm, you’ve called 4 shops and all of them were closed, and you finally reach shop number 5. Just because they’re open does not mean they’re still able to make a same-day delivery. Chances are likely that all of their drivers are back, on their way back, or gone for the day. If you’ve been told that they cannot take any more deliveries, ask them, “How much would you need in order to make this delivery for me tonight?” Only ask this question if you’ve been told it can’t be done. You might just receive a favorable response, and sometimes it does not end up being as expensive as you might think.

      Remember, if you’re ever in a pinch and need to utilize some of these tips, be sure to contact florists that are local to the recipient you are sending to. Use a service like www.LocalFlowerShop.com to find one. Calling a flower shop in your own city will not do you much good in that scenario, and calling a national florist is highly discouraged. They will either take your order then call you back after it’s too late, and tell you that it can’t be done (and in some cases, charge you a cancellation fee!), or they will tell you it can’t be done, period, and not take the order at all.

     You never know when you might get lucky and find a florist that can help you in a pinch. Just remember, it never hurts to ask, and it certainly never hurts to be creative when you find yourself in a sensitive or urgent situation!

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