The Cons of ProFlowers December 15, 2016
Posted by nrhatch in Less IS More, Mindfulness, Word Play.trackback
I started to order a table top Christmas tree (live) from ProFlowers . . . but they wanted credit card info to pay for the order BEFORE they would reveal the shipping and handling charges.
That bothered me.
I opened a new page to see what I could find out about shipping and handling and the info was very vague . . . between $8 and $25 per shipping address.
Plus a $2.99 handling fee.
Plus a possible shipping and handling surcharge.
I expect many people feel “invested” in the purchase at that point and agree to pay whatever shipping charge appears.
Not me.
I wanted to see the total before I plunked down my credit card info . . . especially since the site was so vague about what the charge might be.
So I backed out of the site without buying anything.
A few days later, I decided to check whether my caution had been warranted.
WOW!
I am glad I didn’t complete the purchase at ProFlowers ~ as I read through the reviews I ConCluded that a ProFusion of customers were ConCerned with the ProHibitive add-on charges revealed only after they had ProVided ProFlowers with a ConVenient credit card number.
In some cases, the ConCealed charges, once revealed, DOUBLED the cost of the order! Other customers complained about the shoddy ConDition of delivered items, mentioning missing vases, bent stems, etc..
I’m ConVinced I’ve never seen so many negative 1* reviews ConGregating together in cyberspace before.
Perhaps ProFlowers has more Cons than Pros.
Aah . . . that’s better!
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Your good instincts paid off! I’ve never seen a site that asks for payment information before you know all the details of your order. Not cool. This site is clearly not a place anyone should buy anything!
I could see why they needed the delivery address first (since S&H is often dependent on destination), but there is NO reason to ask for Credit Card info before tallying up the total . . .
As I backed out of the site, I deleted the delivery address. 😀
When I change my mind on an online shopping site, I do the same thing 🙂
Yes . . . back out slowly erasing your digital footprints as you go!
I’m with you, Nancy! I want to know the bottom line before I click “pay now.”
At each step of the order, the small print whispered at the bottom of the page, “Don’t Worry . . . we’ll reveal the S&H charges before your ConVenient Credit Card is charged.”
I whispered back, “I’m not going to reveal my CC number unless I decide to ConClude the purchase . . . once I see ALL the charges.”
Stalemate!
Next time go with amazon.com. I’ve never had any of these problems with them. They’ve only charged what was printed in their adds. No hidden fees.
My favorite sites are those with FREE shipping. Not sure that Amazon sells live tabletop Christmas trees or miniature Bonsai Trees ~ those were the items I want to send this time.
I love the convenience of ordering online but it can be frightful… 🙂 My radar is always up!
Same here, Pix. If something seems “off” . . . I take my business elsewhere.
Good call on backing out. I wouldn’t want them to have my credit card info before I actually ordered. Reminds me of many years ago haggling over the purchase price of a car. After the third trip to his manager in nearly two hours he asked for a credit card to prove I was serious about the car. I told him that dealing with him for the last 2 hours should be proof enough. I left.
Good for you! Next time, ask him for HIS credit card to prove that he is serious about selling the car!
Smooth move, avoiding a ripoff. Good luck finding your Christmas tree. I’m sure there are plenty of better deals out there.
The tree wasn’t for me ~> I wanted to send something to ONE who has everything.
Sending a live plant (that ONE could ConVeniently kill if ONE didn’t like it) seemed liked just the thing . . . until the site started to play Hide and Go Seek with the S&H charges.
Wouldn’t ONE who has everything be someONE who is ONE with everything? It seems there is no need to send something to this ONE, because this ONE already has it All.
Dear ONE ~
I had planned to buy you something for Christmas but Tippy Gnu talked me out of it . . . by pointing out the futility (and/or imbecility) of buying something for ONE who already has ONE of everything.
Merry Christmas!
Wait! I’ll write them a poem!
I thought about sending a cute tabletop tree
When those plans got scuttled, I turned to “Plan B”
Hoping to find a little something
For someone who has everything
Then Tippy Gnu pointed out the futility
(And corresponding imbecility)
Of buying a little something
For someone who has everything
So I crossed that “To Do” off my list. 😀
HO ~ HO ~ HO!
I let it go . . . let it go . . . let it go!
Wow. What a ripoff! I hope someone contacted the BBB.
That’s the problem with on-line sites vs. brick and mortar businesses ~> to which BBB would a disgruntled customer report the rip-off? Where they live? Where the site is based? Where the floral delivery was made?
In short, I agree with Luanne’s comment about the increased scamminess of online companies.
Horrible. I think the scamminess of online companies is increasing. For instance, my parents had bought a computer help service and it was bought out by another company (I think in India) and now they scam people (literally stole thousands of dollars from my mother who is now widowed) and nobody can touch them. I don’t want to mention their name because I was not involved in the details of what happened, but don’t buy a service online where they can go into your computer. Stick with Norton, etc.
Where are the Cyber Police when you need them? The internet can be a force for good . . . or a fortress for dark deeds. Sorry about your mom’s issues, Luanne. Some people SUCK!
They do. And too often I see that lately! Trying to tell myself there is much good!
Yes . . . try to focus on the good. It may not change anything, but you’ll feel better!
a valuable effort to share
to those of us trying
not to get conned again 🙂
It pays to listen
to that small still voice as it
whispers, “leave here now”
Well done. I would never give cc info without cost details. That’s a red flag flying that something’s up (and it’s probably the shipping costs!).
I decided to check the reviews a few days later to make sure I was seeing “red” due to healthy skepticism and caution, and not due to an overdose of unhealthy paranoia and distrust.
When my search revealed an entire column of 1* reviews and little else, I thanked the “alarm bells” for alerting me to abandon ship.
Love your healthy skepticism oor Nancy!
Thanks, Val!
Skepticism + Good Scottish Thrift = Perfect Together!
Smart to opt out of that one! I’ve run across places like that, too. No thank you!
I don’t do much on-line shopping so I’ve never run into this situation before. Hope it’s not a trend that spreads.
Love your poem. You’re so good with words and rhymes … you must be good at improv or even, if you so desired, freestyle rap.
ProFlowers got some well deserved publicity from you, and not the good kind. Sounds like they deserved it.
I enjoy playing with words and I love to sing
maybe rap, rap, rapping will be my next thing! 😀
On a funny note: every time I checked e-mail today . . . a HUGE ad for ProFlowers was waiting for me.
Ha ha ha!
These really are what they call ‘hidden costs’ Nancy. Good on you for pulling out of the deal. Sounds like a Shonky Bros website 😉
The shonk, shonk, shonkiest!
Years ago I used ProFlowers once and was disappointed. I had an arrangement sent to my elderly aunt who was in a assisted living facility. I saw what I sent and thought “never again.” Sadly ProFlowers, despite numerous attempts, would not remove my email addy from their marketing letters, so I used my email power and had their messages sent to spam. Have no idea if they still try to contact me, because filters are a wonderful thing. 😉
That’s awful and (perhaps) par for the course at ProFlowers. Some of the photos posted with the negative reviews were just SAD ~ the site shows bountiful beauty and in many cases disordered disarray is delivered. Sorry it happened to you.
Okay…I just had to google real-live artificial Christmas trees for your tale. I didn’t know they made such a thing. Here in Oregon, we call those seedlings…or the part you cut off the top of your tree if it’s too big and scrapes the ceiling. Mostly what I found were artificial table-toppers at Home Depot, but they were cute little buggers.
So I have the perfect solution for you. While I was at Fed-Ex today, a guy was mailing a WHOLE Christmas tree. Yep, they have netting and wrappers for it. I guess it’s not uncommon here since we grow 5 million of them and export 92% of them.
So why don’t you send a one-of-a-kind item? A Christmas tree kit.
Go yank some landscaping out of the ground, include a pot, and some baubles. Take them to UPS and you can bet your giftee will be amazed, saying. “I thought I had everything, but I now my Christmas is complete.
Hokey smokes. You may want to go in business. Mama Hatch’s Christmas Tree Kits will displayed nationwide—-right next to the chia pets.
If only I was entrepreneurial . . .
Or a tad more mercurial . . .
Alas, I am too lackadaisical to embark on such a strenuous endeavor.
Oh dear. I know. A couple of years I went for this scam when they advertised a very nice cheap thing. Due to all the added charges it ended up costing me more than the same thing would have cost at a reputable place. And that’s not all, our son sent me flowers through them once last year and they were almost ‘dead at arrival’. So no business for them from any of us.
Flowers that are DOA are so sad!
I’m with you, I want to know ALL the details before I give them any payment info… If they can’t give me that… well obviously they don’t “want” MY business 🙂
Exactly! I’m glad I headed straight for the exit sign . . . erasing my cyber footprint as I left.