Tuscaloosa Flower Shoppe — Local services in Tuscaloosa

My first time ordering flowers from this business was last month for Mother's Day. I selected flowers online and I also selected to have them delivered for a fee that I also paid for. I live in Georgia so I have never visited this business but from the reviews it seemed like a good place. Wrong! The day when my flowers were supposed to be delivered, the delivery driver called me so that I could give her directions to the address where they were supposed to be delivered. I told her that I did not live in that state and I was unfamiliar with how to get to the address. I then asked her if she had a GPS to use and she said that she did not. That was my first concern. My second concern was that she had already called my mom to tell her that she couldn't find the address and that she was delivering flowers. So that alone just ruined the whole point of having a special delivery. She totally ruined the moment. And then on top of it all she never found the address and my dad had to meet her somewhere to pick up the delivery himself. How terrible is that?!! A few days later I called to report the experience and the associate who listened to my complaint basically told me that I should not have a concern because they have voluntary delivery drivers who take the time out of their day to help them with the deliveries and not all of them have a GPS system. (Soooo...is it my problem that you don't provide your drivers with the equipment that they need to carry out the functions of their job?) So I then asked to speak with the manager who called me back the next day and she understood my concern and therefore credited my account for $40 (even though my purchase was over $65). So for Father's Day I decided to use my credit to have my father's flowers delivered to him for this holiday. When the flowers were delivered, my mom informed me (because my dad was embarrassed to tell me) that the vase that the flowers were in was so small that the flowers would not even stand up on their own. (Again another disaster!) I then called the business and told them of the situation and I spoke with an associate named Emily. Without getting my name or number or any type of information she told me that she vividly remembered the order and that the flowers were standing up perfectly fine when they left the business. She then spoke with her manager, Sarah (who was out of town), and her manager informed her that they would gladly go back and pick up my order and refund the amount if I was not satisfied. So rather than make the situation right by correcting their faulty product, they would rather just lose my business altogether, pick up my order and refund the purchase. (Some great customer service, right?) After Emily told me my options I was still confused as to how a delivery could be made without ensuring that the flowers were standing up. That seems kind of impossible. She then said, You only ordered three roses. What do you expect?!!" (Sooo...it appears that your order has to be a certain size in order for quality to be present...👀) Very frustrated I told her, "I expect my flowers to stand up!" She then hung up on me (or so she thought). I heard her then tell another associate that I raised my voice at her so that's why she hung up on me. So basically to sum it all up, my order was a disaster and when I called the business to try to get some kind of resolution the associate decides that hanging up on a paying customer was the best solution. Giving this business a one star rating is one...

UPDATED: I needed to come on here and update my review after the owner of the flower shop, Sarah, personally called me and texted me in regards to my original review. My parents purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses to be delivered to my office on campus after I passed my defense. In my previous review, I had been concerned about the black dots on the greenery of the bouquet and the lack of rose food provided. Sarah informed me that the black dots on the under side of the leaves are the reproductive spores of the plant. She clarified that you usually see them this time of year since this is their pollination season. I had been concerned about it being mold since I am allergic to mold and mildew and I immediately throw out anything that looks suspicious. (I have decided to leave the pictures here so that others can see that this is normal and is not mold, fungus, disease, etc.!) Sarah explained the reason that rose food is not provided is because their flowers are processed in a special solution in the shop so that the additional flower food is not needed. In addition, the roses live 5-7 days minimum. the flower solution is also in the water that is in the vase that the bouquet comes in.

I want to emphasize the customer service. I have legitimately never had a business personally take the time to read a review, find out specifically who I am, and then personally call and text me in order to discuss my review and answer my questions. Customer service isn't dead. This is a small, local business in Tuscaloosa and I am glad they take their customer service and customer satisfaction so seriously. They value communication and are willing to go the extra mile to...

Overall, the florist has a friendly customer service feel but I experienced a few problems. I was contacted a couple hours after I placed my order to tell me that they did not have certain flowers in inventory. The order form online has a place for recipient phone number but apparently they did not have it to call my daughter to make the delivery (this was for her 21st birthday). My daughter called saying she was on her way out and I had to tell her to stay home because I knew they were on their way to make the delivery. The delivery person wanted to leave the flowers, balloons, and chocolates at the leasing office of my daughter's apartment which could be locked at any time. It is simple enough to call my daughter to be buzzed in at the gate. The delivery person also had to ask my daughter for her apartment number which I placed on the delivery address. I would say the delivery process was very unprofessional! I hope they will take my review and understand that I am only hoping to use them more in the future and there is room for...