XP Should I look for another florist??

rel1988

I posted this on the flowers board, but I know this one gets a lot more traffic.

I live in a really small town and there is 1 florist, grandmother of one of our groomsman owns it actually. We got engaged Jan 1st and I went in to their shop end of February to talk with them about doing the wedding. They told me it was too early to think about flowers and to make an appointment for a couple months later. This bothered me first of all because I know flowers can add up and I wanted a pretty good estimate for putting together my budget. I came back for an appointment on April 2nd. Everything went well and it was really easy because I had photos I brought with what I wanted. The designer told me it was standard for them to type up pricing and mail it out and that I could be expecting it by the end of that week. 3 weeks later I still haven't gotten anything....I called twice to check in and make sure it didn't get lost in the mail and both times her response was "I have it on my list to type up tomorrow". I also got the feeling they assumed they already had my business and that everyone that makes an appointment with them ends up booking them. I love their work but it's aggravating me that it's taking this long to get pricing and I want to make sure it fits in my budget!! Is this typical of a florist? Am I asking too much or should I look around for another one a little further away?

QueerFemme

I would probably go with someone else.

audrewuh

I would go somewhere else. I met with four florists and left each meeting with an expected price in my hand. 

s-aries8990

Go somewhere else. If they really wanted your business, they would have had the estimate in your hand within 1-2 days of when they told you to expect it.

MuppetFan

Definitely. It's not a bad idea to get multiple quotes. I don't like how they treated you at the beginning. They should have wanted to secure your business as soon as possible.

This is wedding season, they might be really busy, but there's no excuse for any of what you're telling me. These meetings and interactions should be seen as a reflection of how they do business. You do not want to deal with any vendor like this.

QuintonsMummah

<div>In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_xp-should-i-look-for-another-florist?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:94c92d77-4cb4-40a2-85ff-a7585e113cf6Post:bcb2fd89-2add-40f9-ad3a-a2c88aeb77a4">Re: XP Should I look for another florist??</a>:
[QUOTE]I would go somewhere else. I met with four florists and left each meeting with an expected price in my hand. 
Posted by audrewuh[/QUOTE]

<div>This.</div></div><div>
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Maggie0829

I would 100% go with a different florist.  The florist I went with was able to give me an estimated cost before I even left.

My feeling is if a vendor says they will have a quote to you by X day and they don't and are unresponsive or uncaring when you call then they aren't worth using.

rel1988

Thanks for the input guys! I am looking around for other places to make appointments at. I just didn't want to look unreasonable and was wondering if that was the norm.

BostonGIrl4732

I'd start looking around.  I didn't get my quote when I expected it in the mail either.  I emailed and she told me she'd sent it the week before.  We just moved and I think we gave her the wrong spelling of our new street (totally irresponsible of us).  She sent us a new one right away, one that I got within a few days.  Find someone who wants your business.

QueerFemme

if you want to give them another chance, maybe call them and say "it's been 3 weeks since you said you were going to give me the estimate.  I still haven't received it and I'm getting nervous that maybe you are too busy to handle my wedding.  Can you let me know what's going on?"

erinlin25

Go IN PERSON if you can.  Either you get the estimate or you find someone else.  While my florist had me wait to meet with her until 2 months prior to sit down and actually talk everything out, I was given an estimate the same day I originally inquired so I knew she was in my budget.

glitterunicorn13

My fam was in the wedding biz for as long as I can remember (which explains my non-standard approach with a lot of my wedding choices).... THIS is not at all cool.  Go with another vendor.  That was dismissive at best and unresponsive at the least.  

I wish you the super best!

wittykitty14

FI and I met with a florist about 6 months out.  She was really sweet, and we were on the same wavelength in terms of my vision.  She emailed us the estimate within a couple days, and it was just too high for us to spend on something that was just going to die soon anyway-and was much higher than we told her we'd like to spend.  I wrote her back, and we had a couple exchanges of ways to possibly reduce the price.  I was already compromising a bit, but willing to go more if it would help.  She suggested I come into the shop so she could show me what she had in mind.  I gave her some days/times that would be good for me.  She never wrote back.  I left it there and didn't bother to get back in touch with them.  We ended up going with a local company that uses soft-touch roses.  They're able to give us exactly what we want (and more of it), at a price lower than the real ones would have cost.  It's been a great experience.

I also suggest finding someone else.  If a vendor is "too busy" to respond to a potential customer or keep with their promised timeline, then they don't seem to care enough about your business to keep you.  If they're acting like this now, it will probably continue throughout your planning.  Given your small-town situation, this may be hard to do, but I feel like you're better off looking elsewhere.  Good luck!