The success of the BloomNation Marketplace and health of our florist community depends on both the BloomNation staff and each Partner meeting and exceeding customer service standards. Managing and exceeding customer expectations is all about service availability, proactive communication, and product reliability.
Maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction is key to using the BloomNation platform most effectively. By selling on BloomNation, you are agreeing to give your customers the best impression of your business from start to finish, using the guidelines below:
Update Your Availability
Customers can only find and order from you if you let them know when you’re open, where you are, and how to reach you. That means that it’s crucial to:
- Fill out your Profile completely, accurately and honestly, especially your shop location, tax rate, delivery zones, and billing information.
- Update your hours and closures for holidays and special events.
- Edit your shop settings or tell BloomNation if:
- You plan on being closed for any length of time.
- Your store address changes.
- Your representative or contact information changes.
Communicate*
Treat all of your customers as if they are from someone that has just walked into your shop, and each order as an opportunity to earn a customer for life. Specifically, that means you should:
- Respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner, at least within 24 hours.
- In the unlikely event that a transaction does not go as planned, resolve the disagreements or disputes with your customer directly. If you can’t reach a resolution, send an email to the Bloom Expert team (floristsupport@bloomnation.com). Don’t forget to keep track of all customer interactions so that we can help you more effectively should a dispute arise.
- Go the extra mile to solve their problem or address their pain point. That may mean redelivering an arrangement or by offering a refund or future discount, but it will be worth it to have a happy (repeat) customer and positive review.
As a friendly reminder, the sender is your customer. If an issue arrises, it’s always best to contact the sender to keep them up-to-date on the order/delivery statuses. While the recipient may be pleased with the finished arrangement and the thoughtfulness of the delivery, the sender may have selected specific components of the arrangement/experience to really “WOW” their recipient. Doing your best to meet these expectations should ensure a returning customer who promotes your shop to their friends and family!
Process Orders
Let your customers know what’s going on with their order and avoid constant calls by processing orders right away and proactively contacting them about changes. Impress your customers when you:
- Only cancel orders as a last resort.
- If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify your customer (try to reach alternate solutions with them first), and change your order status as soon as possible so the Bloom Expert team can transfer your customer’s order to another florist in the area.
- Follow our Substitution Policy. Notify the customer about any substitutions (this is simplified via the Substitution Notification System) when:
- Any part of the pictured arrangement needs to be substituted including dominant flowers, filler materials, or the vessel. Example: Roses are often a dominant flower in arrangements, but customers may order a rose arrangement for the blue iris accents.
- Substituting the accents may be more upsetting than if they had substituted the roses!
- The overall color theme is being changed.
- The vase is not similar to the vase shown in the product picture.
- Send BloomSnaps (and peace of mind).
- Keep your customer posted about their delivery by confirming it right away and notify them if you:
- Are running late (past 5:00 p.m. local time).
- Attempted delivery but were unsuccessful.
- Can’t make the specific time in the special instructions.
Be Reliable
While no design can be replicated exactly, remember that customers react to, and order arrangements based on, product imagery and descriptions on your online storefront, Premium Site, or Shopping Cart. Thus, it is crucial to:
- Disable products that are no longer available. Whether you’ve run out or those flowers are no longer in season, leaving arrangements live on your site that you can’t make sets everyone up for disappointment.
- Take clear, accurate photos. Use the BloomNation Floral Product Photography Guidelines to attract more customers AND show what the final deliverable will look like.
- Write robust product descriptions. Use specific details to help them understand what they’re ordering such as:
- What exactly your Deluxe or Premium upgrade options include. For example, will you create a larger arrangement or use more premium flowers?
- In every product description be sure to include:
- Seasonal Availability
- Types of Flowers
- Possible Substitutions
- Dimensions
Complaint Resolution Suggestions
To properly manage customer expectations, the following guidelines are helpful for providing excellent customer service. Please note, our goal is to create a memorable experience with top-notch customer care. Florists who follow these guidelines are promoted heavily on BloomNation.com as they provide consistent and reliable service, drive repeat business and create a positive perception of the floral industry.
Delivery
Missed Delivery: Full refund
Delivered Late (after 7:00pm): Refund delivery fee
Recipient Not Home/Unable to Receive: Notify sender immediately. Contact information is provided on the receipt
Incomplete Delivery (Missing Add-on): Refund of add-on
Arrangement
Substitutions (Not communicated): Full refund
Substitutions (Communicated): Contact BloomNation. We will work with the customer to help resolve this
Not as Pictured: Redelivery; Possible refund depending on customer’s dissatisfaction
Flower Quality (within 3 days with evidence): Redelivery
Wrong Card Message: Refund delivery fee
Marketplace Orders
Flower Quality (beyond 3 days with evidence): BloomNation will work with the customer without involving the florist
Flower Quality (within 3 days without evidence): BloomNation will call the florist to determine the best resolution
Flower Quality (beyond 3 days without evidence): BloomNation will work with the customer without involving the florist
Substitutions (Communicated): Contact BloomNation. We will work with the customer to help resolve this
How Does This Affect Me?
In an effort to provide quality experiences with great customer care, BloomNation promotes floral partners who meet the highest levels of service standards. These florists tend to rank highest in their areas.
Successful BloomNation florists:
- Follow the Delivery Policy
- Do not miss deliveries or deliver late
- Keep average reviews above 3 stars
- Do not make a habit of canceling orders
- Are easy to reach via phone and/or email
- Provide world class customer service where resolutions to complaints are resolved to the customer’s satisfaction (see chart above for suggested resolutions)
If you ever have any questions our Bloom Expert team is happy to help and can be reached at 210-405-5050, via email at FloristSupport@bloomnation.com
*Customer contact information is included on every order page.
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