Flowers By Candle Lite — Local services in Denville

A female worker gave an option to put a large floral arrangement in a wooden crate ($200+). Assurances of anti-leak and nice floral bloom were made.

24 hours+ we come home to find a puddle on our wooden floor, trickling down from crate. Our expensive dining table received water mark damage. While we figured out what to do next steps, buds never bloomed as told.

We respectfully reached out & was told to call. We called but was turned away. We received an apology for it, but followed with gaslighting my husband for curating the crate for the large floral arrangement, as hydrangeas and roses aren’t supposed to be placed in this environment. The worker that took the order was the one who offered the crate to my husband in the first place, for an extra fee.

Furthermore, was told that leak could’ve been car moving, but failed to acknowledge that we provided the return of the arrangement in the crate, and placing moisture back inside to provide evidence that it results in leaking, even untouched.

It was also continually emphasizing to us how many years they’ve been in business, even though we never questioned their credibility or capability at any point, but mistakes aren’t impossible.

Through this, we were offered partial future credit. We corresponded with so much understanding and patience, even with more gaslighting from them, which evolved to a re-offer of a $150 refund (of the roughly $244 amount).

We felt like our request of $200 refund was gracious enough. We are allowing a loss of $40+, even if services rendered was breached due to mistake by their associate. We have consistently relayed empathy and understanding of the honest mistake, but unable to reach reason of why they feel they should keep almost $100 from our bill. This open-action item is still ongoing, currently without motion to resolve from establishment.

Floral mom and pop shops have a soft spot in my heart because my family used to own one, so it hurts to make such review. I was hoping reaching out respectfully would be met with understanding and accountability.

I would think someone who prides themselves so much wouldn’t find this quality of work and flowers acceptable at all in his conscience. We never got to enjoy the arrangement as it already had problems straight when it arrived home, per evidence.

We didn’t take advantage of requesting any added compensation for our troubles, only tried to be fair in asking for a $200 refund from the $240+ bouquet.

Update: The owner saying “we enjoyed the bouquet for 8 days”. 1) time stamps on iphone photos indicate otherwise. As per documented in all photos, you can see the wilted quality of the flowers in the bouquet with a time stamp showing the photo was taken the night the floral arrangement was received (nov 7 evening) and following daily updates. 2) he was on vacation so we had no choice but to wait.

He also still continues to lie and blame us as to why his “lined crate” leaked, even after the crate leaked again after it was refilled with a small amount of water at a stationary position for a couple of hours. Till date owner still withholds money while protecting the female associates mistake he inadvertently admitted to via email, and has robbed us $244+ as he still only wants to refund $150. We are still asking for $200 as a compromise - more than kind...

UPDATE 8/15/2020 Todd, I don’t know what you did but you did good...no not good, great...wait, not great...you did SUPER DELUXE AWESOME! My client was so impressed and elated she contacted me immediately to say thank you! Not only did she say thank you, her husband called to say thank you! Now, when was the last time you heard the husband doing that? Never! You’re so amazing Todd, I think I’m going to name my next golden retriever after you. We’ve never met, but from my coast to yours the appreciation for how much more special you made my clients birthday is immeasurable! Thought you would like to know the end result.

While searching the internet for a florist in the area I’m sending an arrangement to, I stumbled upon Flowers By Candle Lite in Denville, NJ and I’m very happy I did! Because of the time difference from West to East Coast, I hesitated to call knowing they would probably be closed. Guess what? They were! However, when the gentleman who very politely answered the phone explained that he was working late to make sure deliveries for the next morning were set I offered to call back, he wouldn’t hear of it! I knew this meant he would now have to work even later. He couldn’t have been nicer. He has a name and it happens to be the owner, Todd. Todd was so great! Offering suggestions and telling me what was available and when we came up with the “perfect” arrangement in volume, color and price, I was so excited to get exactly what I wanted for an affluent client of mine I wanted to board a jet that second and thank Todd in person. Todd and his work ethic are well above anything I have experienced in a long, long time. Small, independently owned businesses are getting fewer and far between these days and we need to support them. To get the personal, caring assistance I got over the phone was a treat and the best part of my day. I’m grateful to Todd and want to say thank you very much for being so wonderful to work with, patient, friendly, nice and professional! I hope you get everything back you put out Todd because you deserve a big pat on the back and my...

Todd & his team at Flowers by Candle Lite completely exceeded our expectations for our wedding day at The Ryland Inn Coach House. I was recommended to Todd by another couple that got married at the same venue and when hearing their experience, I knew we would be in good hands. From first time meeting Todd & walking him through the details of our day, he was able to quickly tap into his creativity to begin creating a vision. I came in with little to no details because it was so early on in the planning process and he was able to prompt me with questions & ideas to help get my ideas rolling. In that moment, he even went into the back of the shop and put together a boutique to emulate what we were discussing. Within SECONDS. And it was STUNNING. Todd made the process so easy, fun, and truly got us so excited for the wedding day. It was so simple to communicate with him which was such a plus. He took time out of his day to call me to check in, run ideas by me, and never got sick of me asking questions (which I’m so appreciative of). When it came time for our wedding day, we were absolutely blown away by what he put together. I tasked him with using whicker baskets & making them very tall - he made it clear to me early on this was a tough ask, but promised he would find a way to make it happen. And he truly blew us out of the water with the result. I couldn’t be more proud of my decision to choose Flowers by Candle Lite to be my selected florists for the most special day of my life. I can promise you you will have an incredible & affordable experience with Todd. He is willing to work within your budget and be honest with you every step of the way. Most genuine, creative, and passionate person I had the pleasure of working with. Thank you, Todd,...