Now, I'm just angry.

Because we live so far away from our mothers, and they both really enjoy flowers, John and I have come to rely on the services of 1-800-Flowers.com (You'll notice I'm not linking you up here. Keep reading...) several times a year. Sending flowers can be expensive, but I can usually find a coupon for them, and they have a rewards program I have found quite handy. Today however, they have hurt not only me, but someone I love. And I am irritated enough to bitch about it publicly...

Now, I have mentioned before that I am kind of lazy, so it shouldn't be too surprising to find that I ordered Mother's Day flowers for both John's mother and my mother on Saturday. The aforementioned flower service offers same-day delivery, so it really should not have been a problem. And for my mother, it was not. I ordered the flowers to arrive on Mother's Day, and they did. And from what I hear, they are beautiful. (Love you, Mom!)

For the area in which John's mother lives, Sunday service was not available, so I chose Saturday delivery. I also had to check a box requesting a Sunday delivery, should they not have time to deliver on Saturday. No problem - I'd rather have them delivered Sunday anyway. After finishing my order, I received my email confirmation, and all was happy. Until a call to John's mom last night confirmed that no flowers had been delivered... ever.

So, I called said company this morning. After nearly 20 minutes on hold (apparently they are experiencing unusually high call volume), I finally was able to speak to a customer service agent. After putting me on hold for another 10 minutes, she told me that the florist didn't have time to deliver the flowers on Saturday, so the order was cancelled. She then put me on hold for another five minutes to find out that the charges had not been credited back to my card. After yet another five minute hold, she returned to tell me that the charges should be credited back within five business days. Frustrated, I told the agent that I wanted to have flowers sent to John's mom immediately. I then asked if she could at least give me a credit for $10, because the coupon I used (in my original order) for that amount expired yesterday. Another five minute hold later, she returned and told me that she couldn't honor the coupon, but her manager would be happy to give me 15% off of my order. A quick calculation showed me that in order to equal a discount of $10, my order would have to start at nearly $70. I told the agent that would not be satisfactory, especially considering the fact that, had they informed me that my original order was cancelled on Saturday, I still would have had time to use the $10-off coupon on Sunday. Another five-minute hold for the agent to check with her supervisor produced no better results. Completely exasperated, I finally just said, "So in the past hour, I have learned that you took my money, cancelled my order without telling me, ruined my mother-in-law's gift, can't return my money in a timely manner, and now are refusing to honor a deal that your company's actions caused me to miss. Please feel free to look back through my account, consider the fact that we're still pretty young, and calculate for the powers-that-be the amount of money they will not be receiving due to the fact that I will now be searching for a new floral provider."

She said, "Okay."

The moral of the story: If you want to send flowers, don't go to 1-800-Flowers.com. Pass it on...


Follow-Up, FYI: I ordered flowers for John's mom through FTD.com (That link gives you 15% off. Irony, anyone?) this morning. Two hours later, she called to say she received them... and they're beautiful. (We love you, Mom!)