Being an Educated Consumer

While posting a copy of a blog to Google+, I wrote an introduction that I thought was worthy of it's very own blog post. My staff and family often tell me that I have a lot of patience when it comes to our clients.  It stems from them listening in on wedding and party consultations, which quite frankly, is an area of our business that takes a great deal of time and thoughtfulness. Not everyone buys flowers on a regular basis and sometimes they get a bit of "sticker shock" because they don't understand what goes into growing them, transporting them, prepping them, arranging them and then delivering them. It really is a long, time consuming process and with everything in life, carries a price tag because of it. Below is the intro I used to one my "education" blogs and if you read further, you'll see how my earlier working experiences have made me the business person that I am today.

Enjoy and let me know your thoughts! ~

Georgianne

 

I'm a big believer in an educated consumer is a happier one. It reminds me of many years ago (many, many, I might add) when I worked for a car dealership one summer. I remember looking around the car lot with one of the sales men and he was showing me some of the new cars that had just arrived. One of them was the latest Jaguar and of course, it had a high price tag that at my tender age, was almost impossible to believe. He then went on to explain why the car cost that much, how it was made, the craftsmanship. I remember him saying that the dashboard was made from mahogany wood and it truly was beautiful. I think that lesson given to me by a very nice man to educate me, has always stuck with me. It's the reason why I love educating folks and why I take the time to do it. Knowing why something costs what it does is just one step in the process of learning if you should spend on it (if it's important to you) or not. Walking around grumpy and saying "Wow, why is everything so expensive" and not realizing that it has a certain worth, just for "Being" is very counter productive.

 

Remember, flowers are grown - by a farmer. They are transported by a truck driver. Once they arrive at our shop they are processed and hydrated, refrigerated and then arranged by hand - all by a Person! They are then loaded onto truck by our driver and then hand delivered to the recipient. Doesn't that sound like a lot of work? Doesn't that sound like a lot of effort, labor and expense? Perhaps the next time you think that a $1.50 is too much to pay for a lowly carnation, you'll think of that farmer, that trucker, that floral designer, that driver... and think - "Hey, what a bargain that flower is". Well, a girl can only hope. :o)