Unacceptable flower delivery service (online company)

[Dragonfree]

Caveated with the standard “I don’t think I am, but….”

So, it was my birthday last week and my brothers very kindly sent me a bunch of flowers. I was very touched by their thoughtfulness (and impressed they remembered!). When I opened the box, I was a bit disappointed with the flowers, as one of the roses had been snapped off (and it was evident from the photo that it has been like that for a while) and one of the lily buds was crumbled. I muttered under my breath, but decided that life was too short. Queue 5 days later…. The roses are pretty much dead, the fusias leave a lot to be desired and the lily’s haven’t opened.

So I was a bit grumpy. Especially when I compare it to the bunch of (very similar flowers, but from another flower delivery company) which still look absolutely gorgeous, roses are lovely and lilys are in full bloom.

So I emailed the company, just to let them know I wasn’t impressed…. (Including photos which were taken within 3 days – the timeline is important.)

They replied telling me that there was nothing that they could do as it was now outside of 3 days of the delivery date. And that they don’t make exceptions to this. (There was nothing on the delivery paperwork that stated you had to be in touch within 3 days by the way!)

AIBU to think that this is totally unacceptable? Surely it breaks the Consumer Sale of Goods Act as the product is of insufficient quality? I’m so angry that my brothers have spent money with this company on a really thoughtful gesture and it’s (essentially) money wasted.

What's even more annoying is that I don't really want replacement flowers or anything anyway, a simple apology would have sufficed!!! although I wouldn't have turned down a £10 off voucher

I’ve attached photos of the state of the flowers when they arrived. I’m so cross

Oh, for reference so that others don't waste their money, the company is Serenata Flowers.

And here are a couple of pictures of how some of the flowers look now, only 7 days later....

I’ve had a similar problem with that company. I broached it on Twitter with them and got a full refund. Maybe try that?

I’ve been ripped off by pretty much every florist I have ever used, the worst example being a bunch of carnations literally tied with a ribbon for my uncle’s funeral in Croydon - again the florist refused to take any responsibility because they said I left it too long to complain (I didn’t but they said they never received the first two emails I sent). I paid £35 to look like a total tightarse in front of my entire family who assumed I got them from a petrol station.

I used serenata a few years ago to send my mum some daffodils (her favourite flower) they sent tulips. Contacted them and after a fuss they sent more tulips, contacted them again and they sent dead daffodils, contacted again and they sent half dead daffodils. I gave up wasn’t worth the aggro from them. They’re awful.

I used Serenta before too, and was disappointed. Highly recommend Bloom and Wild for online flower ordering instead, they last ages and ages!

I'm still waiting for my Mother's Day flowers from 2010 from Serenta - they are rubbish!

I use Bloom and Wild now - particularly useful as they do letterbox flowers. I've only once had to complain, and they refunded half the cost.

I was sent a flower gift from Bloom and Wild and one of the three flowers was slightly crushed when I opened the package. I let them know and they sent an entirely new bouquet.

Wow. Serenata really not doing well on the customer front then!

It's so frustrating as the actual customer (the person who pays) doesn't get to see the quality (or lack thereof) of the product. And I would imagine that most people who receive the flowers wouldn't like to mention anything to the person who bought them!

I have a friend who always recommends Serenta, she lives abroad and uses them to send flowers to her mother quite often.

On the strength of that recommendation I've used them once for my mother in law who was apparently thrilled with the flowers, but as I didn't see them (she lives 200 miles away) I've always wondered if she was just being polite as I've read plenty of bad reviews since.

I’ve been using Bunches for years and have not had one bad delivery. As we live away from family I use them quite a bit.

www.bunches.co.uk/?utm_expid=.b_TJCdUPQN6-wGEBXNwEzg.0&utm_referrer=

I like interflora because you can choose what florist they use for your order

Another vote for Bloom & Wild here, gorgeous flowers.

Oh no I use them quite often. I sent a bunch of flowers to a friend last week and they were beautiful and she sent pictures a couple of days after when the lilies had opened to show how lovely they were.

@sunshine - well at least one person has been happy with them.

It's just such a shame that they've managed the situation so poorly. If they'd sent me an apology and a % off your next order, I would have been a future customer, rather than a disgruntled keyboard warrior....

Thats really bad customer service.
I also really rate bloom and wild. I got a bouquet for my mum from there and whoever delivered them had clearly ignored the handling instructions as they were completely crushed. I emailed bloom and wild and they replied within the hour offering a refund or a replacement bouquet. The new flowers were perfect.

Thanks all for your replies. I do need to send some flowers to my grandmother - so it's good to get a recommendation!

Just to cement their poor customer service, here is my last correspondence with them:

From me:

Good afternoon,

I thought I would drop you one final email to let you know that I remain dissatisfied with your company, your company policy, your customer service and your product and I am taking this further.

I have already let my immediate family know that your product is suboptimal and you should be avoided – entertainingly my grandmother has just moved house, so my brothers were going to use your company again. Not now.

You are failing in your duties regarding the Customer Rights Act 2015 whereby your product should be of “satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.”. Given the roses are already dead, the product is not of satisfactory quality and given the condition the flowers arrived in, the product is not as described.

Furthermore the attitude to this issue is laughable. I was a mildly disgruntled recipient of your product. Had you send a simple apology, words to the effect of “I’m so sorry this issue has happened we will review our processes. Please have a £10 off voucher / 20% off your next order with us”, I would be singing your praises and would now be a customer. As it is, you have annoyed me and made me want to escalate this issue.

I recommend you review your customer service as this problem could have easily been rectified…..

So far, I have emailed Which? For advice regarding Consumer Rights Act 2015, started a mumsnet thread (which interestingly has a number of people stating they have had similar problems with your company) and emailed my family. This evening I will be going onto Twitter, Facebook and every review company I can find.

Their response:

Thank you for your email.
I am very sorry for any upset this has caused however, I will be unable to raise this further for you due to the 3 day policy in place.
Please do accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused and please do feel free to contact us if we can be of any further or future assistance.
To respond to this message, please click here.
Please do not respond to this email as the mailbox is unattended.

Absolutely ridiculous. I feel like they have a monkey with a clipboard providing a "standard" response...

Ohhhhh- I used to work for them! I can confirm they did make us work with all kinds of tat. Really old stuff, poor quality, used to just tell us to substitute the most ridiculous things when stuff was out of stock etc! Would never use!

This was tbf back in 2006 though! Doesn’t sound like they improved much though!

Bloom & Wild or eFlorist - both brilliant

Avoid M&S - dreadful

Another recommendation for Bloom & Wild... I love them 👌

I've never had a problem with Serenata - though they are pretty cheap compared to other florists, so perhaps I've tempered my expectations.

Bloom and Wild on the other hand - I bought my mother a year of deliveries for Christmas, and four out of the seven she's had so far have been seriously substandard: along the lines of broken stems/roses snapped off at the head, withered blooms etc out of the box. I was previously happy to pay their premium, but not any more.

Another vote for Bloom and Wild here. Fantastic service and company. You can now order right up to 10pm for next day delivery!

Also if you enter the code MEADOW you should get 16% off at the mo.

Not sure how long that will last though.

My mum is a florist. Her pet hate is roses that aren't delivered either in a bubble or without a pod on the end. They aren't meant to kept dry unless chilled. If it wasn't delivered in water, it never stood a chance. And in this heat, no flowers are lasting well in fairness.

But that level of customer service is appalling. Next time, use a local florist. You get far better value for your money and better service if there is an issue.

as soon as i saw the title of the thread i knew it would be serenta.
i ordered some that were just dumped on the doorstep of a main road and when opened were pretty much dead and nothing like the pic id chosen. got basically a big fat tough shit from them in response

Use a local florist. Then it’s same day delivery, you get what you specify. Never been disappointed with mine.