John Alan Florist

[KirstyR]

I had a really unpleasant experience in here on Friday and I wondered what people opinions were on it.

I finished work for my maternity leave on Friday - I'm 36 weeks pregnant. My lovely colleagues bought me some beautiful flowers, unfortunately for the flowers my lovely husband had decided to take me for dinner to celebrate and they were not in water.

I went into John Alan (the flowers were not purchased here)and asked if I could pay for them to re wrap the flowers in cellophane with some water as I wanted them to survive, they were so beautiful and I really didn't want them to go to waste!

The woman behind the counter refused to do anything as they had not been bought there. I really struggled to see why if I had offered to pay what the problem was - Can anyone offer any insight?

I'm ashamed to say I was very hot and flustered at this point and did swear on my exit telling them how f*ing unhelpful they were. I wish I hadn't sworn at them and had instead questioned them on their reasoning as I would love to know if other than being very unhelpful to a visible hot and distressed pregnant woman there is any reason for this at all?!!

Thankfully the lovely chaps in the Palmerston put them in water for me and they survived.

Kirsty

'

[rendelharris]

Well...on the surface it does seem curmudgeonly, but maybe the woman behind the counter was hot and flustered too, maybe she'd just had a series of bad customers. If it'd been me, I'd have helped, but from the point of view of a business owner, I can see how such a request might seem something of a cheek, someone with an expensive bunch of flowers purchased elsewhere asking for a service for which at most they could have charged ?2. Imagine running a restaurant and having someone coming in saying they wanted to eat the expensive meal they'd purchased elsewhere, but were prepared to pay for the rental of a plate and cutlery.

It's a shame and would have been a nice goodwill gesture on the part of the florist, but I don't think one can really get too irate about a shop refusing to give you a service they don't offer just because one asked for it. More pertinently, wouldn't it have been better, once you were in a less flustered state of mind, to call/email/write to the shop owners(s) asking why they refused to help, if it bothers you so much, rather than traduce them on a public forum?

(No connection with John Allen either personally or as customer)

[KirstyR]

Thanks Rendelharris

The reason for posting on here was purely to see other people opinions.

I don't have much of an inclination to speak to them directly but as a public forum it seems a good place to see if other people shared my views.

Thanks for yours - I can definitely see it from that side and I;m with you in that I would have helped.

Interestingly the first girl I spoke to said yes, only to be told by her superior not to. So I guess they saw it from to sides also.

I guess we come from the side of the fence that a small kind gesture even if payment is taken can go a long way to make someones day better.

[singalto]

I have always found them lovely. I would have asked the restaurant where you were eating to put them in water - an ice bucket perhaps.

[KirstyR]

Thats good to know. I won't write them off just yet then :)

The Palmerston were very lovely and did so thankfully.

[DulwichFox]

Well look at it this way.

Buy some beer in a supermarket and then take it to the Pub and ask them for a glass.

See how you get on.

DulwichFox

I have always found the staff in John Alan lovely.

As singalto said, you could of asked the restaurant if they could put them in water.

DulwichFox

[Robert Poste's Child]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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> Well look at it this way.

> Buy some beer in a supermarket and then take it

> to the Pub and ask them for a glass.

> See how you get on.

>

> DulwichFox

Not really a fair comparison and the florist would have covered their costs as well as creating some good PR. Maybe they were just having a bad day and dying to get home - can't be fun standing on your feet all day in this weather (even if you're not pregnant).

[worldwiser]

Adding to previous people's thoughts, the people in John Alan are lovely and I've used them many times. They are usually incredibly busy in there and the working day for a florist begins at an inhumanly early hour. If you caught them near closing asking for something that wouldn't have made them any money, in boiling weather.. that may explain the short shrift.

[colville09]

I have always found the ladies who serve in John Alan very nice and when I once said I was buying flowers for a friend's birthday, the lady you mentioned insisted on taking my very very little cheap bunch of flowers and making them into a wonderful bouquet for no extra cost even though I offered to pay something towards it. It was a kind act and it meant a lot to me. I have on the other hand often witnessed the rude behaviour of customers especially towards the young Saturday staff. They bully, throw their weight around and are very nasty. You obviously went in there at the end of the hottest day when they had been on their feet from the early hours buying / preparing their flowers and were closing up. I can understand that you were tired and emotional but really you swore at them and then you announce it on a forum expecting people to feel you were hard done by and expect other people to moan about them. I'm sure when you think it through properly, you should be gracious and go and apologise for swearing at them.

[KirstyR]

I'm really pleased to hear that I caught them on a one off bad moment and are generally very nice.

Like I said I do still think I would have helped but each to their own opinion and I appreciate everyones responses.

It is good to get people opinions and get some perspective :)

Thanks everyone

[colville09]

So Kirsty, are you big enough to apologise to them for swearing. I don't think for one minute you meant to but your original posting was rather asking for other people to join in slagging them off.

[NewWave]

colville09 Wrote:

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> So Kirsty, are you big enough to apologise to them

> for swearing. I don't think for one minute you

> meant to but your original posting was rather

> asking for other people to join in slagging them

> off.

Totally agree with above statement.

I too buy flowers there regularly and find the staff lovely.

being pregnant is no excuse for rudeness to hardworking shop staff