Special Occasion Flowers Blog

Holiday Gift Giving

2006-11-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

As the holiday's quickly approach our schedules become more and more hectic. Fighting the hussle and bussle of the busy malls and the crowded stores looking for that perfect gift for family, friends and loved ones.

Gift giving during the holiday's can become very expensive. Wrapping paper, bows, boxes, and if you need to mail it, the cost of postage can be staggering, not to mention the cost of the gift itself.

Why not send flowers or a gift basket? They are easy and convenient and can be a very affordable and memorable holiday gift. No packaging or mailing necessary and all the work is done for you and personally delivered for that extra special touch. Gift baskets make a perfect gift for an entire family or nice long lasting centerpiece for the table is always appreciated.

So whether it is a well planned gift or a last minute gift, always keep in mind your local florist can create a magical, memorable gift that is very personalized just for your recipient and hand-deliver it for that extra special touch.

Promoting Halloween Safety Awareness

2006-10-20T16:46:00.000-04:00

In an effort to encourage safety durning this Halloween, orange carnations will be handed out along with a list of Halloween safety tips to customers of Special Occasion Flowers on Monday, October 30th, 2006.

The owner of Special Occasion Flowers, Pam Riley states "each year during trick or treating hours she witnesses pedestrians and drivers alike failing to practice safety percautions." Having 2 children of her own she says she cringes each time she opens her front door to hand out candy and sees droves of small children running across the street without stopping to look for approaching traffic or a vehicle speeding through the streets without any regard for the trick or treaters or their families making their way from house to house. "Many times the parents are right there, but often pay no attention to the traffic themselves, she states."

Pam says her goal is very simple to remind parents of how to have a safe and happy Halloween while out with their children. She states "if what we are doing helps to save one life this Halloween, then I feel it is well worth the effort."

She wants parents to keep this thought in mind: This year can be particulary dangerous because Halloween falls two days after clocks are turned back from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. "Young children out trick-or-treating are particularly at risk because they are usually out near dusk or later when visibility is lowest. Sunset will be occurring an hour earlier than we are accustomed to. The increased danger of death and injury is not limited to pedestrians on Halloween. The number of all traffic deaths and injuries, including vehicle passengers and bicyclists, increased 44 percent for children under age 13 on Oct. 31. That increase represents 134 additional children killed or injured than would be expected. Those aged 13 and older had an increased death and injury rate of 24 percent.

Holiday Decorating

2006-10-09T09:25:00.000-04:00

Fresh Flowers added to your decor' anytime of the year helps to create a finished look of elegance and freshness in any room. Floral designs can add a punch of color, introduce an additional element of texture, and provide a overall feel to a space. Decorating your home is always important, and as we grow nearer to the holiday's and prepare to spend time with friends and family make sure fresh florals are on your to do list. Create instant ambiance and warmth with centerpieces that include candles. Add style with strategically placed floral arrangements that include fruits and elements of the season. String fresh long lasting garlands purchased from your local florist, that are decorated with shatter-proof ornaments over mantels and in window sills to infuse the scents of the holiday throughout the room. Place a fresh wreath with a variety of pines, pinecones, and berries on your front door to welcome your guest, and add potted holiday plants such as Christmas Cactus and Poinsettias for an easy punch of color to any room. Decorate your tree by placing springs of fresh babies breath intertwined with the branches to create the look of fresh fallen snow. From the latest trends to the hottest colors, your local florist can provide you with a host of holiday decorating ideas. They can create florals to fit any design style, from traditional to modern contemporary elegance and are happy to answer any questions you may have and offer thier advice about decorating with fresh florals to insure your home is the talk of the holidays.

Florist Uproar Re: MechantCircle.com

2006-09-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

Seems a lot of florist have been receiving pre-recorded telephone calls over the past few weeks with a message that tells them their business received a negative review on the MerchantCircle.com website. The message encourages you to go to the site and enter your business phone number to review the comment left.

Upon visiting the site I discovered the phone call is actually a very clever marketing ploy to steer business owner's to the MerchantCircle.com website. After all, what business owner is not going to be concerned enough about a poor review of their company that they don't at the least want to see what was said.

Once there you are compelled to enter your telephone number just to see what all of this is about. And of course, you guessed it... They encourage you to claim your business. Which basically means signing up on thier search engine.

Is this a SCAM?

Honestly, I don't really know, but what I can say is all of the buzz surrounding the marketing tactic is sure to get the word out about the site. Which is exactly, in my opinion, what the company wants.

Here are some of the comments other florist had regarding the site:

"It's a marketing ploy for a web 2.0 start-up funded to the tune of $550M by a number of companies including the Chandler family (Times-Mirror) and Disney. I took a look at the site - supposedly the 'new Yellow Pages' and googled the name. "

"I too received an automated call saying I received negative feedback,immediately checked the site and realized it was a scam. I was sure after I "claimed" my listing and they asked for money. I guess this is a new scare tactic to look forward to as the internet becomes more widely accepted into our lives. Thanks CHR for posting the blog with other victims comments! I've been at flowerchat for several months and always enjoy your views & comments."

"They want it to be viral so that members recruit others from their community - and Merchant Circle can sell everybody pay-per-click campaigns. Did you read the extensive post about how anyone can claim your business name and information? The scary part is that the site is getting decent search results rankings."

Want to read more regarding MerchantCircle.com? Click Here

Why Do Your Roses Last So Long?

2006-09-22T13:35:00.000-04:00

Recently we delivered an arrangement of one dozen, long stemmed red roses to a recipient that receives roses regularly from her beau. Although we fill many rose orders daily, this was her first time receiving them from our shop. She lived in the next city over, but says she made a special trip over just to stop in and let us know her roses lasted almost 2 weeks and bloomed completely. Then she asked "why"? She stated that most roses she'd received in the past lasted a maximum of 3-4 days and most times never bloomed before having limp necks and dying, and they were so much more expensive than ours. I didn't bother to ask where she'd received them from, I just smiled and told her we are very particular of where we order our flowers from and the brands and breeds we select. In addition, there are several steps from the time we receive our flowers until the time they leave our shop that we are very careful to insure are taken to make sure each bloom is beautiful and last it's maximum life span. While browsing the coolers in the shop the whole time, with that she turned, happily smiled at me and said, normally I would wait for him to send them to me, but I really enjoyed the way yours looked and they lasted so long, I will take a dozen arranged please. Her last comments on her way out of the door with her arrangement in hand was "I'll be back and I'll definitely make sure my boyfriend knows I only want flowers from here".
Although customers do not usually make that kind of effort to let us know when we have done well, when they do it so wonderful and that is what makes being in this business so worth it.

Sweetest Day

2006-09-20T09:51:00.000-04:00

When: Third Saturday in October

Now here is a day dedicated just for your sweetie. It exists as an opportunity for you to recognize that sweet and special someone. It doesn’t matter who that person is, or what their relation to you. They just have to be "sweet" in order to get a little recognition.

Herbert Birch Kingston, a Cleveland, Ohio philanthropist and candy company employee started Sweetest Day. He wanted to bring happiness to orphans, shut-ins and under-privileged. His intent was to show these people that they were not forgotten. In 1922, he started this holiday by giving candy and small gifts. He often used movie stars to distribute the gifts.

The popularity of this holiday quickly spread. Today, is celebrated with loved ones and friends. However, we encourage you to follow the intent of the original holiday, and find ways to give flowers and small gifts to those in need.

When words are not enough of a recognition, perhaps you can send that special "sweetie" some flowers. Shop online for Flowers now!

Flowers to My Boss?

2006-09-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

Bosses' Day is coming up in October. Many of us refrain from giving our boss gifts unless it's an all out effort by the entire office staff. We don't want to seem like the brown-nosier in the bunch. Despite how much we may respect, appreciate and really like our boss, if everyone's not in on it you lack the motivation or the guts to do it on your own. It never seems a savvy thing to do with so many prying, noisy eyes and gossiping busy bodies in the office. Well, shame on you. Imagine if your boss made decisions regarding you based on what others felt and not on your true performance of your job skills. I believe it is important to look into the history of what Bosses' Day is about and then make an honest decision as to whether your boss deserves the recognition in your eyes. If so, then you should go for it! Being a supervisor, manager, or the person in charge isn't an easy job. Having to answer to someone not only for you own mistakes, but also mistakes made by others you are in charge of is an extremely difficult situation. In most cases it's not the glamour job we all think it is and it definitely deserves a day of recognition.

National Boss Day began in 1958 when Patricia Bays Haroski, then an employee at State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Ill., registered the holiday with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Haroski wanted to designate a day to show her appreciation for her boss and others in that role. She also hoped to improve the relationship between employees and supervisors. She believed young employees often do not realize the challenges managers face. Ms. Haroski chose Oct. 16, her father's birthday, as the date for National Boss Day because she felt he was an exemplary boss. National Boss Day has become an international celebration in recent years and now is observed in countries such as England, Australia and South Africa.

Friend or Foe

2006-09-14T14:04:00.000-04:00

Used to be wire networks like Teleflora, FTD and others were allies of local florist. Now it seems that most of these companies have resorted to being more competition than anything. Florist pay a host of monthly fees directly to these networks. In addition, the networks collect a whopping 27% off each order placed by customers and to top it off, the so called $10.99 delivery fee, is actually a service charge that they keep entirely to themselves. More and more local florist are turning away from wire networks and finding creative new ways to network directly with local florist in other cities and states to be able to continue to service their customers, and bypass the exorbitant membership fees wire services charge. Wise flower consumers are doing more research and becoming better educated on flower purchasing. Hopefully in the future the wire services will be forced to re-think their rolle in the flower business.

The Florist Advantage

2006-09-14T09:02:00.000-04:00

Now a days the consumer's options for purchasing flowers are vast. However; the old adage of you get what you pay for definitely comes in to play when purchasing flowers. Most florist are highly skilled artist who have been professionally trained in the art of floral design and the proper care of flowers. "Flowers are what they do." their interest is not solely determined by how much product they can move for the biggest profit. What does that mean to the average flower consumer? When you go to a florist to purchase flowers you are getting a very different type of product then you would from say a supercenter, wholesale warehouse or grocery store. The experience is not unlike buying a pair of designer jeans vs an unfamiliar brand. You may pay a little more for a particular brand because you like the way they look, or fit and most times quality is a big factor. Flowers purchased from a florist generally look better, are fresher and will last longer. In most cases the florist will also offer a guarantee to insure replacement if the arrangement should die in an unacceptable time frame. You receive a customized piece of art designed specifically for you by a highly skilled professional that specializes in flowers. In general most florist can answer any questions you have regarding types, styles, color meanings and more and give you valuable suggestions to help assist you in purchasing the correct product specific to your needs. Most important, florist can offer a very personalized and customized flower buying experience and will stand behind thier work because flowers are the mainstay of our business.