Flower Sale or Fail? BY TIM HUCKABEE


TECH THAT SELLS >Using technology to take orders is not a luxury. It is not something only large shops need. And it is not something you can put off because “we are just a small shop” or “we know our customers” or “we have always done it this way.” That may have been charming in 1998, but today it hurts profitability, accuracy and customer confidence at the counter — while creat- ing unnecessary stress for staff.


The Big Picture Today’s customers expect businesses to know them. They expect you to have access to their purchase history. They expect you to know where you have delivered flowers. They expect you to email a receipt. They expect accurate delivery information and confirmation. They expect the experience to feel smooth, modern and organized. Those expectations aren’t customers


being unreasonably demanding. They are standard in today’s world.


Tech Is Your Helper There are many excellent POS systems available for even the smallest flower shops. Many of them are advertised in these very magazine pages (check out the Key Technology Vendor guide on p. 42 to explore vendors).


So when I hear a shop say, “We are


too small for technology,” my response is simple: You are too small to dig through paper files, guess at addresses, handwrite credit card information, miss customer history or lose track of import- ant details. Technology makes the order-taking


process easier. It should make the cus- tomer feel remembered. It should make the staff sound sharper. It should reduce errors before they become refunds, redeliveries or angry phone calls. But only if the team actually uses it.


Shining Moments With a POS system, when a customer calls, the clerk can immediately see their past orders, how much the cus- tomer usually spends, and whether they send flowers every Valentine’s Day, every Mother’s Day or every year for a birthday. Staff can also confirm past recipients’ addresses. That information is powerful. It gives


the salesperson context. It gives them confidence. It gives them a starting point. For instance, if a customer with a usual average order of $100 calls and says, “I want to send something special today,” the staff should not start at $100. Why? Because $100 is not “special”


for that customer. That is their everyday send. A stronger response would be: “I


see you usually send around $100. Since you want this one to feel extra special, I would recommend we do something closer to $175 or $200.” That is not pushy. That is


professional.


Blunders I see far too many shops missing the opportunity to collect emails during the sale. With an email address, the shop


can send the customer a copy of the order so they can catch a typo, wrong address, incorrect date or card message mistake before the order ever leaves the shop. It also allows you to send delivery confirmation, which prevents customers calling to ask, “Did the flowers get deliv- ered?” and wasting staff time.


14 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | July/August 2026 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


The payoff isn’t just operational. The


big prize is marketing to those customers to remind them about holidays, promote specials, and invite them back to the store for special events.


Tim’s Fix My fix is simple. As the shop owner or manager, get to know your POS system, and all that it can do for your business. Many POS providers include resources to help you learn all its features. Then, hold a staff tech meeting this summer to review the parts of your POS system that directly involve order taking and customer experience. Start with customer history. Show


staff how to look at past orders, average order value, delivery addresses and buying patterns. Teach them how to use that information to make better recommendations. Then review the email collection.


Make it a rule that every delivery order should include an email address. Give the staff the words to ask for it confi- dently: “May I have your email so we can send you a copy of the order and delivery confirmation?” Next, review delivery confirmations,


which can be automated on most POS systems. Make sure your team under- stands how they work, when they are sent and why they matter.


The Takeaway Technology is no longer optional in retail floristry. Customers already expect it, and your competitors are already using it. The shops that thrive over the next decade will not necessarily be the big- gest shops or the fanciest shops. They will be the shops that combine warm customer service with organized, effi- cient systems that make buying flowers easy and enjoyable.


Tim Huckabee, founder of The Profitable Florist, has trained more than 100,000 florists worldwide through remote and on-site education focused on everyday business practices. He can be reached at hello@ theprofitableflorist.com, or learn more at www.theprofitableflorist.com.


SHUTTERSTOCK/DRAZEN ZIGIC


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