The grocery store, flower shop battle rages on… In one corner you have the big box corporate store and in the other you have the local small business flower shop. They come out punching and with the first blow the local flower shop is down for the count, gasping for air and struggling with every ounce of their being to rise again. Staggering and battered, the small shop stands to its feet ready to take on the Goliath once more, knowing the small shop will get punched over and over again. But what makes the small shop like the Phoenix rising from the ashes? They have a secret weapon that the big box store can never deliver, for you see the small guy has the advantage of knowledge, customer service, educating the client, providing a personal touch, delivery and QUALITY product, above all else. To the big box grocery store, the flower department is like a speck of dust under the register, that to them really doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect the bottom dollar of revenue that comes into the store. The flower department is placed generally at the front of the store to look pretty and make the customers happy when they walk into the store. Because remember happy customers, purchase more grocery products, hence the more the customer spends in money making departments the more revenue for the big box chain, and you thought the flower shop was an after thought.
Grocery store flower shops can’t deliver on the exceptional customer service provided by the “little” guy. Most often the employees managing the flower shop do not have formal training to provide the customer with the knowledge they need to make the right purchase or create the most up to date, stylish, modern trends in floral design. Moreover, the grocery store flower shop can not deliver the quality, that a local flower shop can provide to their customers. Grocery store flowers are purchased in mass quantity with no regard to the quality of product they are receiving, because to them throwing away a spent rose means nothing if it does not have longevity. This is where the local flower shop rises above the rest, because the small flower shop purchases the highest quality products directly from the growers. Customers are guaranteed they are receiving the freshest product with knowledge and education on how to care for their floral creations.
As a small flower shop who is fighting the battle everyday to stay in the arena of the giant big box stores, remember the local hometown florist is your friend, neighbor, someone who contributes to the local economy and knows their customers with a personal touch, something the big box store can not give. So the next time, you decide to pick up that “cheap” flower bouquet at the big box store, remember there is a little flower shop who can give you a much better quality flower with a smile and call you by name.
