Sending a bouquet is always a great idea to express one's affection on Valentine's Day, but it can also be a frustrating experience if the blooms did not turn out to be those customers thought they had ordered, or a bunch of languishing flowers on delivery.
From 2010 to 2012, the Consumer Council had received a total of 58 complaints on the ordering and delivering of bouquets and flower baskets, most of which revolved around late delivery or the quality of flowers.
In one case, Mr. Lok ordered a bouquet of white calla lily online at $880, with delivery specified to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, what his girlfriend eventually received was a broken bouquet of assorted colours - a mix of purple, orange and white calla lilies. Mr. Lok immediately contacted the florist, requesting them to deliver a proper set that resembled his order, but the company could only do so 2 days later. Given missing the Valentine's Day defeated his purpose, Mr. Lok requested for a full refund or a compensation with other merchandise sold online but was rejected by the florist. The case was finally settled with the company's offer of sending another bouquet of equivalent value in March, after conciliation by the Council.
In another case, Mr. Yeung ordered a Valentine's Day bouquet for his girlfriend through a group purchase website, and settled by cash payment. When the flowers were delivered, Mr. Yeung's girlfriend found that the bouquet withered already. Mr. Yeung immediately called the florist and requested for a refund, but a staff told him that the refund would have to be arranged by the group purchase company. Although the group purchase company later agreed to offer Mr. Yeung a refund, no definite date was given. Hence, he visited the florist again to follow up on the matter but found that the address posted on the website was non-existent. Mr. Yeung eventually lodged the case with the Council, and the group purchase company gave him a full refund one week after.
Consumers are advised to read the terms carefully before ordering online, as a study by the Consumer Council on over 30 online florists revealed that there may be no guarantee for an exact match on what the consumers saw and ordered.
The survey showed that almost all online florists include conditions on possible substitution of flowers due to climate, seasonal availability and shortage of supply. While some florists stated that they would inform and consult the consumers in advance if the principal flowers need to be replaced with other flowers of equal value, other florists did not state clearly whether they would notify the consumers or not.
For consumers who want to make sure the actual product is per order, they may look for shops that offer to send a photo of the bouquet delivered as record, but they should check if it comes with extra administrative charges.
Bouquet senders should be wary of the fact that some florists would not accept any cancellation or change in order, and that all deposits paid are non-refundable. Some would even impose HK$150 or 5% to 50% of the cost of the bouquet as cancellation charges after payment.
For special circumstances, some florists allow consumers to make changes on love notes or the date or address of delivery, but require consumers to give at least one to three days notice before delivery.
On special occasions like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Christmas or Chinese Lunar New Year, most shops in the study could not support fixed-time delivery, but some could do so with an extra charge of HK$200 to $250.
Some would charge additional fees from HK$50 to $450 if the bouquet has to be delivered outside the normal delivery hours of the shop.
If the recipient is unavailable to receive the bouquet when delivered, many florists would charge HK$60 to $200 extra for delivery again on the same day or the following day, some would add to the bill the transportation cost for returning the bouquet to the shop for customer's pick-up.
The Council advised consumers that before purchase, they should check carefully from the florist websites or related ones if refund or compensation procedures are inplace to handle complaints on late delivery or flower quality matters.
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