> OUTSMART DECEPTIVE ORDER GATHERERS The result is a double lack of trans-


parency: Customers face hidden service fees or don’t receive the product they believe they purchased, while local florists who fill the orders can be left struggling to meet expectations and still earn a reasonable profit.


The Stakes Deceptive practices can erode brand equity for local florists because custom- ers often don’t realize they purchased through a third party rather than directly from the shop they intended to support. “We all need to understand how


detrimental this is to the consumer and to repeat business,” says Kreg Krueger of Vogt’s Flowers in Flint, Michigan. “The only winner is the deceptive advertiser stealing floral orders,” he says. Kevin McCarthy, president of Family


Flowers, which has more than 45 loca- tions in 11 states, estimates that his operations lose up to 30% of their order volume to deceptive order gatherers — and that’s a conservative estimate. The practice drives up pay-per-click costs, making standard online customer acquisition increasingly expensive. Compounding the issue, these


operators rely on carefully constructed scripts to avoid detection. Sam Bowles of Allen’s Flowers in San Diego says phone operators mask their identity by walking a fine line. “I don’t think they’re trained to lie,”


he says. “I think they’re trained to say, ‘Do you deliver to zip code 12307? Okay, I have an order I’d like to place.’” The companies also manipulate the


payment loop, causing immediate con- fusion. LaToya Ferguson of Sweet Psalms Florist in Conyers, Georgia, experienced a practice in which a deceptive order gatherer used the customer’s name and credit card number to pay. The customer believed the order was placed with one business, but the credit card showed the local florist’s name, which made the cus- tomer suspect fraud. “Then the customer is calling saying,


‘But I placed the order with such and such. So why is this coming up [from your shop]?’,” Ferguson says. Some wire services say they face


many of the same challenges as florists when deceptive operators enter the marketplace. Teleflora executives say


STUCK IN THE MIDDLE LaToya Ferguson (right) of Sweet Psalms Florist in Conyers, Georgia, has seen how deceptive order gatherers can create confusion for customers and florists alike, leaving local businesses to resolve problems they didn’t create.


complaints about misleading advertising, geographic misrepresentation and other questionable practices regularly surface through member reports and customer feedback. “It’s super frustrating to hear those


types of stories,” says Michael Martin, executive vice president and general manager of sales and membership ser- vices at Teleflora. Because many deceptive operators


function outside established indus- try networks, Teleflora says its ability to intervene is sometimes limited. However, the company says it inves- tigates concerns involving businesses within its network and has terminated relationships with organizations engaged in deceptive practices, which Teleflora’s code of conduct prohibits. “We’ve kicked out a number of orga-


nizations over the years for deceptive practices, and we’ll continue to do that,” Martin says. FTD says it also investigates com- plaints involving businesses in its


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


network. According to Tom Moeller, president of florist partnerships and operations, FTD uses its member standards to govern participation and researches reports of deceptive behav- ior. Members found to be in violation may be notified of the issue and placed on probation. Those that fail to comply can be suspended or, in some cases, ter- minated, Moeller says.


Digital Defense Strategies To protect florists from these practices, brand and marketing experts suggest focusing on digital, operational and industry strategies.


Leverage Google Deceptive order gatherers rely heavily on predatory search engine marketing to intercept consumers, making online search platforms the primary battle- ground for local shops. Consumers frequently default to online searches to find local businesses — and nearly 9 out of 10 queries are performed through


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