How do I know if I am getting what I paid for?

My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. Unfortunately on that day he was in Atlanta for a work meeting and we were unable to be together, so, he sent me flowers. These beautiful lilies came in a glass vase and were delivered to the house for $95.00

The lilies were beautiful, and I was extremely excited my husband would send me something I truly loved and there is nothing that would lessen the excitement I felt receiving those flowers from him.

However, being a florist I would be embarrassed to send this arrangement. First, there are uncleaned stems in the water which means the leaves below the water line of the vase. Debry in the water creates a breeding ground for bacteria. This is a guaranteed way to shorten the life of your flowers. There was no plant food packet attached to the arrangement.

Second, North Carolina grows a lot of lilies locally and they were in season during the time of our anniversary. The cost for these lilies were a little too high....however, it could have been priced accurately if there had been other flowers, a higher quality vase, or some type of extra embellishment.

Third, the florist called me that morning to say they had a delivery and asked if they could leave it on if I was not home. This is a MAJOR concern to me even more than the others because a good florist knows that if you set a vase of lilies out in the summer sun, even in water, they will open up and be dead extremely quickly. Lilies are finicky and like to grow in sun, but not be cut and in a vase and left in the sun.

Fourth, when the florist called, she mentioned the time they would arrive by. The florist was over an hour late. This was my first contact with them even before the flowers arrived. A big frustration when I was sitting at home waiting for them to arrive.

And last, the flowers, by the next day looked awful and were quickly deteriorating. All of them were dead in a matter of just a few days.

Rachael West Designs take great pride in making sure we include all the special little accents to your floral arrangements and here is how:

~We take care of the little details like making sure the water is clean and free of debry. We provide a packet of plant food which not only feeds the flowers, but more importantly helps keep the water clean and free of bacteria. Changing the water daily and mixing in flower food can double or even triple the life of your flowers.

~We are always happy to use local flowers or in-season flowers to help reduce costs for you.

~If you are not home, we always do our best to make other arrangements for delivery.

~Sometimes things happen. If a situation arises where we are running late, we will call.

~We offer, for anyone who would like, a photo of their arrangement. With technology literally in the palm of our hands, there should never be a time when you cant see exactly what you are getting... and paying for.

~We don't tack on a huge delivery fee at the end to make up our costs. Delivery is free for all of our weddings to one local destination and to Frye Hospital. Repeat customers also may get extra perks like free delivery.

~We would also be happy at any time to show you pictures of our work or provide references any time.

If your florist is not doing these things for you, you should definitely give us a try. We guarantee you will be pleased.

Rachael Wests Designs and Blossoms
828.326.7100