French's Flowers & Gifts Inc — Local services in Livonia

If I could give zero stars I would. My friend and I went in together on a nice arrangement for our friend who has been having a rough time lately. We searched the website for the perfect arrangement and vase. We finally found the blue bumble bee vase, which couldn’t have been more perfect for our friend. It was a beautiful full arrangement and a gorgeous and unique vase. My friend placed the order and it was delivered the next day to our friends house. Unfortunately our friend had left town for the night so I went to her house to grab the bouquet and keep it until she got home.

When I got to her house, I immediately noticed that the vase was not the vase we ordered, but a generic clear vase (I could have bought a similar one at the dollar store). The flower arrangement was nothing like the one advertised and smaller in size. I can understand flowers being different due to them being in season or not. But we were not contacted about the vase. Apparently they didn’t have it in stock....understandable, but at that point my friend who placed the order should have been contacted and informed seeing as it was a $50 arrangement.

My friend called and complained. All the girl on the phone said was it was my friends fault for not mentioning “no substitutions” in the note section. What company blames their customers? My friend explained that since this was advertised on their website she didn’t think she would have had to specify no substitutions. Substituting flowers due to being out of season is one thing, but substituting the whole arrangement is unacceptable and should require a call to the customer.

My friend placed a review on google, clearly not a positive one and they had to the nerve to call her and tell her that her review was rude. I’m sorry but your poor customer service and lack of care for your products is rude to people spending money at your establishment. We tried supporting a local small business but clearly we need to stick to the big chains. We will not being doing business with French’s again.

Feel free to call me and tell me my review is rude, I’d love...

If you order from French's online, be aware that they are not immune from bait & switch tactics. From French's website I ordered a lavender and white sympathy arrangement called Joyful Memory for the funeral of my close friend's mother. This flower arrangement is advertised as containing: "A classic assortment of flowers such as lavender larkspur, stock and roses, plus purple asters, white gladioli and pink heather."

That is not what was received. None of those flowers were included in this arrangement, except the roses, but they were dark pink, not the advertised lavender.

I sent an email asking for an explanation. The next morning I received a call from the person who filled the order. She said she was sorry that I didn't like the flowers (which is not a real apology, but a scripted customer service pitch). She defended her choice to make flower substitutions that were of equal value to the advertised flowers. To me it looks like a birthday bouquet with cheap fillers, minus the balloon. Consequently I felt compelled to apologize to the family of the deceased.

I stated that I should've been consulted before substituting 100% of the advertised flowers. I would've gladly worked with them based on what they had in stock, as long as it was appropriate for a funeral. She offered to refund the cost of the roses, which came to about $15 (the arrangement cost $132.44). I declined the refund out of principle. Such a flippant refund offer is part of bait & switch tactics.

It's disappointing considering French's good reputation over the years. They did my wedding years ago and the flowers were such a highlight. I've used them for other occasions with high satisfaction. I don't know, maybe they sold the business, because this recent experience was like dealing with Teleflora, not the Christian family run business...

Very Disappointed

The arrangements I received looked very little like the ones posted on their websites, which I used for the basis of my purchase. Primary difference was that full-sized roses were replaced by miniature roses, and the arrangement overall was not nearly as full as pictured. There is no way that what I received was reflective of the price I paid.

When I expressed my disappointment, the employee did share that they do the arrangements to the best "likeness" and they were limited on this occasion because it was a holiday weekend and they do not receive their regular delivery of flowers on holiday weekends.

This sounds reasonable - but either: a) state this when I place my order, or b) reduce the price when I am there to pick them up.

Also frustrating was that on the day I went to pick up the arrangements, I received a call around 11:45 AM informing me my flowers were ready for pick up and they were closing within half an hour. Problem being - the person who I placed my order with earlier in the week stated that they would be closing at 3:00 on the day of pick-up and I was about 40 minutes away. So I had to rush back to Livonia in order to be able to get my order in the first place.

To be fair - the staff was friendly and professional throughout the transaction, and they did accommodate a cancellation of a previous order. Unfortunately, what I received in the fulfillment of this order was very...