The Benchmark Setting the Standard for Quality Excellence
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Quality Professionals to Collaborate with Florists Since 1910, FTD has been known for quality, professionalism and customer satisfaction. Launching this year, a new Quality Service Representative (QSR) program will be available to help FTD Member Florists optimize order fulfillment. Quality Service Representatives will collaborate with participating FTD Florists, helping them identify profit opportunities, streamline fulfillment processes and increase overall customer satisfaction.
“Working with an FTD Quality Service Representative
helped my business identify opportunities to improve operations and order fulfillment. We were able to improve our order accuracy and on-time performance. Working together has provided insights for us both and opened the path to a stronger partnership.” Javier Brun, Dusty’s Flowers, San Antonio, TX
BENEFITS
• Potential to reduce cost of goods and managed labor • Reduction of fulfillment complaints, refunds and penalties • Improved product quality and performance • Greater customer experience with increased loyalty, leading to repeat business
The FTD® Purple Pop™ Bouquet (CDLd)
The QSR program underscores FTD’s commitment to continually improve the quality of orders fulfilled within the Mercury Network and strengthens the FTD brand experience for all consumers and florists.
Visit FTDi.com/Quality to review all FTD Quality Programs.
IN THIS ISSUE: • Quality Professionals to Collaborate with Florists • Tips to Help Prevent Late & Non-Deliveries • 2014 Quality Star Award Recipients • Improved Recipes Can Help Your Bottom Line • Put Your Arrangements to the Test
Tips to Help Prevent Late and Non-Deliveries Each year, orders are left unfilled, especially during peak holiday periods, harming the reputation of local florists, and the industry. To that end, FTD continually seeks new and collaborative ways to improve the fulfillment and delivery process for florists and the floral purchasing
experience for consumers. Help ensure your customers receive the gift selected for them on time with fresh and beautiful flowers by following best practices from the FTD Quality Assurance Team. •
Do not overextend your delivery area, as it could put orders at risk. Evaluate your delivery zone and reduce or expand as needed.
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Manage your zip codes with cut off times at 11:00 am, 2:00 pm or 3:00 pm local time for FTD.com orders.
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Evaluate each order to determine if the correct product is on hand. If not, decide if you can procure it by the delivery time requested. If not, reject the order within two hours.
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Be familiar with delivery instructions that are required for businesses in office complexes, gated communities and hospitals. For example, some may only accept deliveries during certain hours.
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Make sure your employees, especially drivers, understand the FTD Delivery Confirmation Policy (DCON) and cut-off times. Learn more at FTDi.com/Quality.
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Leverage the FTD® Mercury Point of Sale Delivery module and FTD Mercury Mobile App to properly organize each delivery route for timeliness and efficiency.
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Always check on a patient’s status before delivering to a hospital in case the patient has gone home or is in a unit that prohibits flowers. If the flowers cannot be delivered, contact the sending florist promptly.
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Adhere to funeral home delivery policies and procedures for flower deliveries. Always check ahead of time for visitation days and times.
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Make sure the driver signs the funeral home log or makes contact with the funeral director. If it is not possible to get a copy of the log, take a picture of it for proof of delivery.
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If the recipient was not present when a delivery was attempted, leave a door tag or phone message and follow up if necessary.
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If your delivery is unsuccessful, properly communicate with the sender per FTD Guidelines.
The FTD® Advantage
Business Solutions | Path to More Orders | Leading Technology | Brand & Innovation
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CONGRATULATIONS ★ 2014 Quality Star Recipients
The FTD Quality Star Program is a great resource that provides a uniform and consistent measurement of quality by taking actual, quantitative order data to calculate an exemplary quality level. The quality calculation gives FTD Florists a benchmark to show a comparison of eligible florists within the FTD network. FTD Florists that are at or above this “quality bar” will receive an FTD Quality Star.
2014
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The FTD Quality Star rating is evaluated for each four-month directory cycle and FTD Florists that successfully meet the rigorous designation’s criteria for the entire year receive an FTD Quality Star Award. We are pleased to announce that more than 1,000 florists successfully received the Quality Star for all three directory cycles in 2014! You can trust sending your next order FTD.
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Visit FTDi.com/Quality/Star to view the full list of 2014 Quality Star Award Recipients.
Improved Recipes Can Help Your Bottom Line In an effort to improve order fulfillment and member profitability, FTD has listened to your feedback and implemented new quality improvement processes to review florist-filled recipes. A crossfunctional FTD team worked diligently in conjunction with a team of FTD Florists to assess a variety of arrangements in the FTD Floral Selections Guide. They were tasked with identifying product recipes that negatively impact the consumer experience. Product availability, order rejections and consumer complaints are among the many topics taken into account to improve upon florist-filled recipes. The first of many recipes to benefit from this process is the bestselling FTD® Sweet Surprises® Bouquet (C12-4792). As a result of the team’s quality improvement evaluation, the new recipe for the bouquet has several benefits: • Improved longevity of the arrangement by designing with heartier flowers • Utilizing fresh product that is more easily attainable • Improved customer satisfaction for you and the consumer
The FTD® Sweet Surprises® Bouquet (C12-4792d)
Visit FTDi.com/FSG for the Standard, Deluxe, Premium and Exquisite bouquet recipes.
Questions? Contact the FTD Quality Department today. 800.788.9000 | quality@FTDi.com | FTDi.com/Quality
Put Your Arrangements to the Test If your local news station were to secretly place a test order
The FTD Test Order Management Program tests individual
with your shop, would your arrangements measure up?
florists by secret shopper at random, and offers feedback
Would all of your orders ace the test? We know it is not
and training for those that did not pass the test. If you
always easy, especially during peak holiday periods, but
have not been tested, you may consider this program to
your designs, the quality of the flowers and even delivery
see how your staff measures up. Review the following
status not only reflect on your business, but on the industry
checklist to see if your shop would pass the test.
as a whole. Avoid negative reviews and keep your customers happy by showing your best work and treating every order as if it will end up on your local TV news station.
HOW DOES YOUR ARRANGEMENT STAND THE TEST? the arrangement delivered ✔ Was on the scheduled delivery date?
PASSED
ORDERED
FAILED
The FTD® Light of My Life™ Bouquet (C6-4863)
the overall look and feel of the ✔ Did arrangement closely resemble the website photo in size, color and style? the type and number of flower stems, ✔ Did greenery and accessories (ribbons, bows, balloons, etc.) in the arrangement match the recipe summary? the flowers and greenery fresh ✔ Were and in good condition upon arrival (including accessories)?
ORDERED
PASSED
FAILED
The FTD® Wondrous Nature™ Bouquet (C12-4400)
the arrangement meet the ✔ Did 7-Day Satisfaction Guarantee? the vase ordered by the consumer ✔ Was used in the bouquet, and was it in good condition?
✔ Was the correct card message included? the recipient likely to make a future ✔ Ispurchase based on the order and delivery?
ORDERED
PASSED
FAILED
The FTD® Sweet Surprises® Bouquet (C12-4792)
Quality Department Contact Information 800.788.9000 | quality@FTDi.com | FTDi.com/Quality facebook.com/MercuryNetwork
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