Everything’s not coming up roses for 1-800-Flowers.
The Long Island-based flower delivery company is being blasted by dozens of customers whose sweethearts were left bouquet-less this Valentine’s Day.
“Thanks for ruining my Valentine’s Day surprise from my husband. My flowers never were delivered!” one of the hundreds of related Facebook posts reads.
Disgruntled customers flooded 1-800-Flowers’ social media pages with complaints and horror stories about delayed gifts, disappointed Valentines and hours of waiting on hold for a customer service representative.
A Long Island resident named Darin told The News that he paid more than $200 on flowers for his wife, who had just started a new job.
“I wanted to make a big splash at work for her,” Darin, who recently moved to East Quogue, N.Y. from Savannah, said.
He placed his order on Feb. 4, and kicked in the extra money to have the arrangement delivered on Valentine’s Day. He said the guaranteed delivery time was 7 p.m. Friday, but he was told they would get to his wife’s office before it closed that day.
But the flowers never showed up.
“My wife texted me she was coming home, and I asked how she enjoyed her flowers,” Darin said. “She texted back she didn’t get them.”
Darin said he called 1-800-Flowers right away, but it was no use.
“No matter what option you choose on their telephone tree, it basically said they were ‘busy delivering smiles’ and could not answer the phone,” he said.
He did receive an automated message Friday night that said his flowers were delivered at 6:55 p.m. However, when his wife went back to check the office Saturday morning, there were no flowers in site.
On Saturday morning, he was put on hold with the company’s customer service team for almost 3 hours. Darin also tweeted his complaint, and he eventually received a response and was told to send the company his order number via direct message (DM).
Some of the people who did have their orders delivered said their flowers were basically pushing daisies.
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Hollie Crumpton of Gadsden, Ala., said five of the roses in her Valentine’s Day floral gift were dead and the others were wilted.
“I wouldn’t have spent $5 on it at a convenience store,” she told The News.
Crumpton said she recently started dating a new gentleman, and she tried to hide the withered flowers so he wouldn’t be disappointed in the final product when he came to pick her up that night.
After all, a bunch of dead roses isn’t what you want to see at the beginning of a relationship, she said.
Crumpton tried calling 1-800-Flowers on Saturday, but gave up after spending 2 hours and 32 minutes on hold.
The company has been responding to customers on Facebook and Twitter, telling them to send in their order number and customer and recipient information.
It also posted the following statement on its Facebook page:
“To our Valued Customers: At 1800Flowers, we are fully committed to our 100% Smile Guarantee. Our customer service center is open 24×7 and our caring team is working hard to resolve every concern, and won’t stop until we do. We appreciate your patience and your trust in us to deliver your smile. Due to the weather issues we experienced, wait times are longer than we would like. If you contact us to check on your order or have a question, we promise to respond as soon as possible.”
Its website does have a disclaimer that the company cannot guarantee delivery on major floral holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Multiple calls and emails to 1-800-Flowers Saturday afternoon were not returned.