Customers Still Furious Over 1-800-Flowers' Valentine's Day Flop Besieged by a blizzard, New York-based 1-800-Flowers failed to deliver arrangements -- or delivered dead bouquets -- to hundreds of infuriated customers.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This Valentine's Day, 1-800-Flowers wasn't feeling the love.
Hundreds of infuriated customers flooded the company's customer service lines and social-media channels when their floral arrangements either never arrived, or were delivered in dispiritingly wilted states on Valentine's Day.
One Michigan father tweeted a side-by-side comparison of the buoyant tulip arrangement showcased on the site and the sagging vase he received. "My wife sure had a sweet Valentine's surprise today," he wrote.
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@1800flowers spot the subtle differences. pic.twitter.com/lWhgUOUUQ8
— Adam Schaller (@GRadamWK) February 14, 2014While the Long Island, New York-based company said it was besieged by a blizzard that pummeled the East Coast late last week, many customers were still grumbling on Monday about difficult-to-reach service representatives, half-hearted solution attempts and still-unresolved issues.
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"We are fully committed to our 100 percent smile guarantee," the company wrote on its Facebook page. "Due to the weather issues we experienced, wait times are longer than we would like."
Amidst hundreds of apologies on Twitter, the company attempted to save face by retweeting messages from several customers who were apparently happy with their deliveries. "I for one had a great experience," wrote one user.
In our expansively social age, beleaguered businesses are finding it harder to hide in the face of controversy. While a simple apology at the outset can go a long way, leaders are almost certain to earn consumer ire by sweeping its issues under the rug.
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