QUALITY CORNER
FLORIST SPOTLIGHT Emil Yedowitz Florist, located in Yonkers, NY, is celebrating their flower shop’s 105th anniversary in 2017, along with their 75th anniversary with FTD. What does it take to thrive for more than a century? We asked owner Bob Yedowitz for the secrets to his family business’s success.
As a professional florist, your customer’s satisfaction is a major business focus. It is also a priority for FTD because it creates a positive flower-buying experience and leads to repeat purchases, creating a win-win for you, the consumer and FTD. WHAT IS THE PATH TO ORDERS? The Path to Orders is a proven sequence of actions that FTD Member Florists can take to improve customer satisfaction and increase FTD.com orders. Your eligibility for an order is first determined by making sure that you:
BOB YEDOWITZ
Emil Yedowitz (front, seated) and his wife, Tecla, pose with their children Anne, Joseph, Arthur and Helen.
The second generation became Arthur and Joseph Yedowitz work involved in the business and built in the original flower shop. five greenhouses and a flower shop. Emil Yedowitz Florist also owned and operated a 500-acre Christmas tree farm in Somerset County, Maine, from the 1930s to mid-1970s. When South American product became available to florists, we retreated from the wholesale cut flower business and changed our wholesale crops over to seasonal potted plants, garden annuals, perennials, vegetable transplants, etc. Eventually the third generation (Joe Yedowitz and myself) dedicated our greenhouse facilities to the retail market with an expansion of a garden center. With the retirement of the second generation, the third generation took over full management in the late 1960s. Joe retired in 2010 and I continued the retail flower business, moving to a commercial space in Yonkers where we have been for the last seven years, celebrating our 105th year in business this year.
Depression. Had the third generation not reinvented themselves by expanding the garden center business, we might not still be in business. Like most retail businesses, the flower business is constantly changing. After 50 years in the flower industry, there is one rule to remember. As the character Gunnery Sergeant Tom “Gunny” Highway drilled into his troops in the movie Heartbreak Ridge, “Improvise, adapt and overcome.” That’s the secret in a nutshell.
By virtue of being in business for 105 years, our firm has gone through every depression and recession to date and met the challenges they faced. For example, had the second generation remained wholesale only and not gone into the retail flower business, the firm might not have made it through the Great 5 www.FTDi.com
GET ON THE PATH TO ORDERS PG. 6
3 Quality Rating 3 Refusal Rating
HOW IS THE REFUSAL RATING CALCULATED? A Refusal Rating of 4% or less demonstrates the importance of landing the order on the first try in order maximize fulfillment success. The Refusal Rating is calculated by taking the number of refused orders and dividing it by the total number of FTD.com orders received. HOW CAN YOU LEARN MORE? Visit www.FTDi.com/quality/path to schedule an in-depth quality review. For additional details, please email QSR@FTDi.com to connect with the FTD Florist Quality team.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH FTD?
If a consumer is satisfied with their floral delivery, they will be more likely to buy flowers again, which benefits both the FTD Florist and FTD.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR QUALITY AND REFUSAL RATINGS
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PG. 4
A Quality Rating of 98% or greater demonstrates positive order management and customer satisfaction. The Quality Rating is calculated by adding the Delayed Response Program (DRP) charges and FTD.com order refunded charges and dividing it by the total florist-to-florist and FTD.com order values filled. Your Quality Rating is included in your FTD Clearinghouse Statement each month.
My daughter Trish works for me from her home in Colorado. She handles all our email marketing and our Facebook page. We use an Internet phone system and Trish also answers the phones from her home. She has a Mercury terminal in her office, so she can take an order in Colorado and have it print out in our office in New York.
Current Emil Yedowitz Florist designers Ilise (left) and Carla.
REFER A NEW MEMBER, GET REWARDS
HOW IS THE QUALITY RATING CALCULATED?
I have worked in the flower business for 50 years, but I was raised in the flower business. When we were small, our winter playground was under the growing benches in the greenhouses. I didn’t know it then but that’s how I learned the business.
TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR BUSINESS’S LONGEVITY?
PG. 2
WHY WAS THIS ENHANCEMENT MADE? We know that accepting an order as it was sent to you (not rejecting or asking questions about it), the flower quality and design, the perceived value of the arrangement and flawless delivery are key to customer satisfaction. All of these factors are incorporated into either the Quality or Refusal ratings.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME A FLORIST? HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED IN FLORISTRY?
Over the years, our association with FTD has been very rewarding, from the educational programs, to technology, to providing us with quality orders that we can actually make money on. Now the FTD Flower Exchange offers us the ability to purchase wholesale flowers from more than 50 growers in South America and California, offering many items that you just can’t get from our local wholesaler. I can say our relationship with FTD has been part of our success over the years.
3 Have a Mercury technology endpoint that is on and accepting orders 3 Deliver to the ZIP codes/cities as noted in the Directory 3 Purchase Everyday and Holiday codified products (if applicable for the order)
ELEVATE THE GIFTING EXPERIENCE
A recent enhancement to the Path to Orders is the review of your Fulfillment Performance score before sending the order. This score is composed of your shop’s:
We are a third-generation florist started by my grandfather, Emil Yedowitz, in 1912. A Polish immigrant, he came to the United States in the early 1900s and worked on an estate in New Rochelle, New York, as a grounds keeper. He eventually saved enough money to purchase a couple of acres of land that included a small greenhouse in Yonkers, New York.
MERCURY MESSENGER
FOLLOW THE PATH TO ORDERS
FTD is providing us with quality orders that we can actually make money on.
CONGRATULATIONS ON CELEBRATING 75 YEARS WITH FTD! CAN YOU GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR BUSINESS’S HISTORY?
MAY 2017
QUALITY RATING
REFUSAL RATING
• Be familiar with the Delayed Response Program guidelines
• Right-size your delivery coverage area, including accurate ZIP codes and delivery cut-off times
• Use order management best practices • Deliver orders on time, on the right day • Fill FTD.com orders to recipe
• Follow the FTD Substitution Policy, if needed
• Source flowers from a trusted source
• Manage fresh and hard good inventory to be prepared for orders
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• Use care and handling best practices
• Refrain from asking for additional funds
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• Follow the FTD Substitution Policy, if needed
• Avoid sending ASK messages through the Mercury
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800.788.9000 | QSR@FTDi.com | FTDi.com/Quality
Deborah D. FTD Florist since 1986