David vs. Goliath: Corporate Mayhem in the Floral Industry

In the game of mom & pop flower shop there seems to be a lot of struggle. The wire services, order gatherers, originators, clearinghouses, online giants, syphilitic whores, whatever you want to call them, seem to be making almost as much money on every order as the poor local florist who buys, stores, arranges, and delivers the flower orders. All the while the local florist is also financing the whole operation for FTD, 1-800 Flowers, Teleflora, etc. Not a bad gig if your on the 'do my work, finance my work, and I'll pay you for a portion of it in another month' end of things. But, when you're a small shop with limited resources it can make business almost, and sometimes completely, impossible. The answer is obvious: ditch the wire services. The path to get there is not as easy as uttering that four word phrase.

Hopefully the criminal corporate profiteering days are numbered for these institutions. It seems as if, maybe, hopefully, the tide is turning. Many florists are getting wise to the dismal profit margins and the endless arguments, month after month, regarding incorrect statement fees, reciprocity fees, transmission fees, all of course on top of the membership fees, licensing fees, technology fees, etc. If you're not paying attention to your books and you're partnered with a wire service, it's time to take a serious look. They are, on average, getting 45% of your money. Most flower shop owners don't realize that they could ditch the wire services, do half the business they are accustomed to, and still make the same, if not more, money. All with a lot less headaches. It's a scary decision, but reward never comes without risk. How can you help? Always buy flowers from your local florist. You'll pay less and get better service. How can you argue with that?!?!?! That's all for now.