Centerpiece Rejected

Who wouldn't love a beautiful stylish centerpiece of pale pink variagated snapdragons (almost the color of an antique rose) and fragrant stock? I learned yesterday that evidently one of my longtime customers did not feel love upon receiving it. I THOUGHT THE ARRANGEMENT WAS PERFECT... I used a short white pottery container with a black dotted swiss design, filled it with the gardeny flowers with a clump that spiked up in the center, to seem like it was growing naturally. Seated on the side was a muted porcelain lamb with kind of an artsy style to it. Then I took this beautiful handmade silk ribbon, twisted it with a sheer ribbon and cascaded the ribbon from the tip of the snapdragon down to the edge of the pot. WELL...needless to say, it did not have the one flower she requested (nor did any other supplier in the area). BUT you would know she was quick to tell me that my competitor florist DID have it (hm, what a loyal customer). I am a little on the sensitive side, so I would have gotten the flower from them and killed myself trying to fix it, but they were closed...Now I look like the bad guy, she had no centerpiece because she wouldn't keep the one I made, and I'll lose a nice customer to another florist next time (even thought they were closed).

KFA Convention

Well, after attending one day of our yearly convention, I am enlightened with some new ideas for floral shop management. Didn't see much by the way of new designs, but the keynote speaker was fabulous. All of us creative types may lose something on the business side, but with a little structure and determination, my shop will survive the tough economy & a drastic downsize... Hope all of my customers realize that I'm still here and going strong!