On Thursday January 8 or Friday January 9, we got home at 3pm and found a message on our answering machine from Collins St Flowers wanting to deliver flowers for Sue-Anne's birthday. Now her birthday was Sunday the 11th so I called them back immediately but got an answer machine, so I left a message.
I didn't hear back from them until Monday the 12th. Apparently they didn't get my message. They wanted to know if they could bring the flowers tomorrow (Tuesday) but as we were going off to Japan for a week, I didn't think that was a good idea. We agreed that I would call them when we got back to Australia and arrange delivery then.
We discovered the flowers were arranged over the internet by Craig Mitchell from South Africa, and he had hoped it would be a big surprise for Sue-Anne. As you can imagine, he was very disappointed and emailed the florists saying as much.
When we got back, we were hardly at home for the first few days, so I called the florist on Tuesday, January 27. The lady who answered the phone had no idea about the order and said she'd call me back. When she did, she said I'd have to speak to the manager and, as he was out delivering flowers, he'd call me Wednesday morning.
This is where it got weird.
He called and asked if I'd received his letter. What letter? Apparently he'd sent a letter by registered post refuting the complaint Sue-Anne had made.
First, Sue-Anne didn't make a complaint. Craig may have, and may have quoted Sue-Anne, but as the flowers weren't delivered on time I'm not sure why he chose to argue with the recipient of the flowers instead of apologising. If he'd responded promptly to his answering machine message, Sue-Anne would have had the flowers on her birthday.
Second, his registered letter still hasn't shown up. But given the trouble he had with the flowers... I'm not surprised.
He asked when I wanted the flowers delivered and I told him to forget about it. His approach certainly didn't gel with the motto emblazoned on their website:
At Collins Street Flower Shop You Come First.
We are committed to ensuring that every interaction with our customers and affiliates is an enjoyable, rewarding experience. Our highest priority is making sure that you are completely satisfied every time you do business with our company. We believe customer service is the most important aspect of any business and our organization is dedicated to achieving a superior standard of quality in this area.
A great vision statement, but I'm not sure if he'd read it.
Craig cancelled his order and sent them through Panache Flowers in Hawthorn who got them to us immediately.
But if you think that's a good example of poor customer service... wait until you hear about the company (apparently) repairing our plasma TV!
