Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Five Fab Facts About Benmore Florists

hey everyone


well, i know that often my complaints don't go down all that well with some of you readers, but alas life is hardly free from complaint. in this instance, i really don't complain on my behalf; instead it's a matter of some shocking, awful "service" given to my Dad.

Benmore Florists have been given two opportunities to explain, apologize and make amends for their error - three chances if you include the initial order placed, one at a premium as they are hardly competitively priced.

as they have failed to give a satisfactory answer, here's some amazing facts about them. i trust they will help you decide where, if in this day and age you can afford such luxuries, to purchase or order flowers from.


The Customer Comes Last


The “lady” working in the store was having a wonderful conversation with a gentleman who had sprawled himself across the chairs in the store. He was making a few calls, ones that the lady employed by Benmore Florists was rather interested in – certainly more interested in than assisting a customer, since she ignored my Dad, stood at the counter, for several minutes.


The Staff Either Have No Interest In Their Job Or Are Illiterate


My father gave the “lady” a printed email with the details of the message to go with the Mother’s Day flowers. The “lady” was either unable to write, or just was not interested, as she insisted my Dad fill out their forms himself. This lady also insisted that my Dad write “16 March” as the date for Sunday, an important part to remember later.


The response from Ms Margaret Glover to the above two points is “Thank you for showing us that perhaps one of the staff in the front of the shop would need more training.”. Unless “training” means “replacing” in some languages, she appears to have a rather high tolerance threshold for incompetence in her business.


They Do Not Know That Calendars Are Global

The “lady” claimed that Sunday was on 16 March 2010. She did not bother to check this. In fairness my Dad did not double check either, but I do not see how this justifies the response from a Ms Margaret Glover of Benmore Florists : “I thought the 16th was early for the next weekend which could have been Mothering Sunday in the UK”. I see, so the date for Sunday in the United Kingdom might have been the 16th, might it? What a preposterous answer.





If They Are At Fault They Will Make It Your Fault

They claim that the whole matter is the fault of my Dad as he wrote 16 March on the form. As per the above comment, he only wrote it because the “lady” working in the store insisted that he fill out all the forms.





The Glass Is Always Half Full

I hand you over again to Ms Margaret Glover and her odd logic. Her view on the matter is, and I quote her from an email sent to me and my Dad, “I hope the Grannies enjoyed their Tuesday blooms which will now out last the Mother Day deliveries.”. That’s just brilliant, isn’t it? I wonder how many other people they have told that it is good that the flowers arrived late so that they outlasted the day they were intended for. Would you be happy if your flowers arrived late for any sort of event, such as a wedding or perhaps a funeral?


The debate over whether the “lady” working, and in the loosest sense of the word do I use the phrase “working”, is either illiterate or just not interested is in many respects answered by this further quote from Ms Margaret Glover in her email :


I am sorry our success story at delivering your flowers overseas this year, was marred by this date issue, but I hope over the many previous years we had a more successful pass rate.”.


If you can make any sense out of that statement at all, or work out how it explains anything about the horrid, shocking manner in which they served my Dad, please let me know.

sending flowers is a beautiful, if somewhat expensive, gift idea. it is rather puzzling that someone who does this for a living would do it in such a way that they rule out repeat business, but there you go.

1 comment:

Ryan Graham said...

Hi Lee
It seems typical these days in S.A. You should have seen my conversations today with Telkom. What a joke. Keep well
Ryan Graham