Florist News

I'm learning to say no!

It's a bit late in the day but i'm learning to say no when i don't really want to do something. Had a request to quote for a 'cockerel' or the 'courage brewery' emblem. The guy had drawn a picure with all the detail and colours specified. As you know, it's easier to do these things larger than smaller when there's a lot of detail involved. You just can't mess about with tiny flower heads. I spent a while looking at it and decided at least a 2x2 design sheet. There were 8 colours specified for the various areas. Red, gold, green, silver, brown, black, yellow, blue. Now, even at that size, you can't just bung in a load of white double and spray it all, it just won't look right. So you think in terms of white stallion...try pushing those stems in..and takes forever..Thought about ruscus leaves, pinned and layered for the feathers, maybe gyp for the 'downy' bits. A yellow beak? An eye from a teddy frame. Then there is the surrounding area. Could just fill this, but would then need to raise the bird above it. And we'll need a stand for it. Not a small oasis tribute stand, have to make one up. Spray paint? i have just about every colour on the go, you get to that stage over a few years, but sods law i'll have to break open a few new colours which i don't really want to do when trying to clear stock. I know what i'm like with peices like this and will often do them for the fun of it and to add to the image library. I tend to overdo the time thing just to get them near perfect and don't really cover the cost.
i told the customer that i'd started pricing it but would probably be over hundred quid and explained that something like that just had to nbe detailed correctly or it would look like a joke. He said he didn't want to pay more than eighty and that his mum used to be a florist so he knew how much the frames cost and you could buy ribbon for a pound and you could get like a big 20" wreath done for around £45.00.

So £80? ..take off the vat and card charges..leaves about £65.
Take of the design sheet and flowers and sundries.

Not going to get much for time here am i. And he'll probably tell me his mum would have done it better.

So on this occassion, i think i'll bow out gracefully.

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good for you Fly, it's bound to be not as good as his mum's

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learning to say no as a wholesaler is also important

far better to say sorry i cant do that than let someone down

Unless you're a woman of course, in which case saying no is just a natural reaction.

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Depends on what the question is women normally give in gracefully when you lot are whinning at us

u must be different from all the women i know rach lol

women always get there way by wearing us poor men down over time

i dont know many men that really wear the trousers in their own house lol

Of course Rach...that was just something i'd read in a book. My own experience is that women always give in gracefully

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^^^^^creap^^^^^^^

You know him so well and today I am saying a lot of no's ended up with 2 weddings yesterday 1 today 1 funeral yesterday 2 funerals today and another tomorrow got extra delivery yesterday and slowly running out Other florist thought she didn't feel well enough to work so went home so I'm on my todd like a bear

If his mum was any sort of florist she would of told him how hard this would be to make.If she could do it for £80 then let her do it.We used to get rediculas requests like a dart board but the customer only wanted a tribute for £20, Yer like thats gonna happen! They think our time is free and they are your only customers.God im ranting now.lol.